The Gist - Don’t Call It a Comeback

Today on The Gist, Chicago’s Joshua Sebastian tells a story of parking ticket injustice. Then, in our regular segment “Is This Bulls---?,” we ask Maria Konnikova of the New Yorker what to make of Jonah Lehrer’s new books, and the mark he left on popular science. For the Spiel, Mike has solved the problem of backpacks on the subway. Get The Gist by email as soon as it’s available: slate.com/GistEmail Subscribe to the podcast in iTunes: itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/slate…id873667927?mt=2

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The Gist - Pumpkin Spice in July? That’s Too Soon

Today on The Gist, Philip Galewitz from Kaiser Health News explains how the health care shopping experience has improved since Obamacare. Plus, Dan Pashman from The Sporkful explains how artificial scarcity is the real selling point behind food fads like the Pumpkin Spice Latte. He’s the author of Eat More Better. For the Spiel, Mike investigates a claim made by Bobby Jindal on Meet The Press.

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Start the Week - Self-Portrayal

Self-portraits rarely fail to compel, but to what extent are they a true form of self-examination? James Hall maps the history of self-portraiture, from the earliest myths of Narcissus to the prolific self-image-making of contemporary artists. Rembrandt's self-portraits are the highlight of a major exhibition of the artist's work at The National Gallery. Its curator Betsy Wieseman discusses what these paintings can tell us about the artist. Poetry and memoir are the tools of John Burnside's self-exploration. A previous TS Eliot prize winner, he discusses his latest collection 'All One Breath' for which he has been nominated again this year. The musician Richard Tognetti argues that 'the self' can still shine through in interpretations of great classical works.

Producer: Fiona Woods.

Serious Inquiries Only - AS85: Jonathan Figdor

This week Jonathan Figdor joins us to discuss a multitude of topics. First up, he’s promoting a new book, Atheist Mind, Humanist Heart. That can be found on Amazon or on the home page here : http://www.atheistmindhumanistheart.com/ Also at that link you can find info on his ReThink prize! It sounds really cool and I’m thinking … Continue reading AS85: Jonathan Figdor →

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More or Less: Behind the Stats - WS MoreOrLess: Pregnancy and Homicide

The movie Gone Girl claims homicide is a leading cause of death for pregnant women. Ruth Alexander asks Dr Katherine Gold from the University of Michigan if this is true. And can we trust country rankings seen in the growing number of performance indices? We speak to the Economist?s international editor Helen Joyce. This programme was first broadcast on the BBC World Service.

The Gist - To Catch a Professor

Are the recent midterm voters reflective of the American public? Today on The Gist, history and public affairs professor Julian Zelizer explains what’s a lame-duck Congress to make of the midterm results. Then Slate’s Emily Yoffe joins us for a Post-Prudence Impact Statement with past letter writer “Ethical Dilemma.” For the Spiel, we finally get around to addressing the issue of being late. Get The Gist by email as soon as it’s available: slate.com/GistEmail Subscribe to the podcast in iTunes: itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/slate…id873667927?mt=2

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