Month: June 2014

Today on the show, a look at a Tea Party resurgence in Mississippi’s GOP Senate primary with Slate’s David Weigel. Then, in our regular segment “Is This BS?,” Maria Konnikova explains why psychologist Walter Mischel’s famous marshmallow study has come to loom so large in child-rearing theories, and what its limitations might be. In the Spiel, Mike asks you to guess which words are used more by Democrats, and which by Republicans.

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President Obama’s speech to West Point graduates drew criticism for its restrained foreign policy prescriptions and less-than-lofty oratory. Today on the Gist, a look at Obama’s turn toward more restrained rhetoric with former Carter speechwriter and New Yorker staff writer Hendrik Hertzberg. Then, Joe McGinty from The Loser’s Lounge explains how his band performs tributes to our guiltiest of guilty musical pleasures. In the Spiel, we sniff through Mike’s browser cookies until we uncover a truffle. 

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Today on the Gist, a look at the release over the weekend of Army Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl in exchange for five Taliban prisoners held at Guantanamo Bay. Jonah Blank of the RAND Corporation explains whether the circumstances of Bergdahl’s capture matter. Then Mitchell Reiss, author of Negotiating with Evil, suggests that the question is not whether to negotiate with terrorists, but how to get the best deal. For the Spiel, Mike brings you news from places you might not have known existed.

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Tom Sutcliffe talks to the commentator Rod Liddle about his assertion that modern Western society has become politically and socially stagnant. In his polemic, Selfish Whining Monkeys, Liddle argues that his generation are self-obsessed, deluded and spoilt. Neil Jameson from Citizens UK dismisses this description of society and says his growing number of members are organised, socially active and community-minded. The Chinese writer and filmmaker Xiaolu Guo contrasts East and West in her latest tragic love story, and the Artistic Director Ramin Gray talks about the play The Events, which has a community choir at its heart and explores the aftermath of a violent event. Producer: Katy Hickman.

Tom Sutcliffe talks to the commentator Rod Liddle about his assertion that modern Western society has become politically and socially stagnant. In his polemic, Selfish Whining Monkeys, Liddle argues that his generation are self-obsessed, deluded and spoilt. Neil Jameson from Citizens UK dismisses this description of society and says his growing number of members are organised, socially active and community-minded. The Chinese writer and filmmaker Xiaolu Guo contrasts East and West in her latest tragic love story, and the Artistic Director Ramin Gray talks about the play The Events, which has a community choir at its heart and explores the aftermath of a violent event. Producer: Katy Hickman.