Month: January 2015

Before the Revolutionary War, the tavern founded by Samuel Fraunces in lower Manhattan was the meeting place for the Sons of Liberty. During the Revolutionary War, the tavern took a cannonball through the roof, and after the war’s end, it’s where George Washington bid farewell to his officers. The tavern’s last true brush with history came 40 years ago. On Jan. 24, 1975, Puerto Rican nationalists set off a bomb in the tavern annex, injuring 50 people and killing four people. One off those victims was Frank Connor, a banker from Fair Lawn, New Jersey. His son Joe Connor joins us on The Gist to describe his ongoing work preserving his father’s legacy and pursuing justice. He and Michael Duncan are the authors of The New Founders. For the Spiel, why NFL quarterbacks should get to do whatever they want with their balls. Read Mike’s full article “Let Them Deflate” on Slate. Today’s sponsors: Acura. Check out the all new Acura TLX at acura.com or test drive one for yourself at your local Acura dealer. Also, The Great Courses. Their course on The Art of Storytelling: From Parents to Professionals is a great fit for The Gist listeners. Visit thegreatcourses.com/GIST.

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Winning the public relations war against ISIS won’t be easy, but maybe we’re not using the right weapons. On The Gist, Ambassador Marc Ginsberg calls for SEAL Team Six–style social media barrage and an army of entertainer-diplomats, including Jason Alexander, aka Seinfeld’s George Castanza. Plus, songwriter David Lowery tells how musicians are banding together against the corporate music industry. For the Spiel, a Springsteen-esque moment in the Republican response to the State of the Union. Today’s sponsors: Stamps.com, enter promo code The Gist for a special offer. Get a no-risk trial plus $110 bonus offer, which includes a digital scale and up to $55 free postage. Also, Casper mattresses. Get $50 toward any mattress purchase by visiting www.casper.com/Gist and using our promo code Gist.

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After elementary school, who will cater to your learning style? Today on The Gist, Mike asks Maria Konnikova of The New Yorker if learning styles are bulls---. She’s the author of Mastermind, and her learning style is best described as “give me the information and please don’t make me work in groups or make a craft.” In the Spiel, Stephanopoulos and sugar daddies. Today’s sponsors: GoToMeeting.com. To try their service free for 30 days, visit GoToMeeting.com and click the “Try It Free” button. Also, Friday Night Tykes. The new season premieres Jan. 20 at 9 p.m. on the Esquire Network.

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Tom Sutcliffe's joined in the studio by Pulitzer Prize winning poet Paul Muldoon, Oxford professor of Russian Catriona Kelly, Philip Schofield who is a professor at UCL and director of The Bentham Project and by Canadian blogger and science fiction writer Cory Doctorow. How do we respond, creatively, when people or algorithms put our physical and virtual worlds under surveillance?

Producer: Simon Tillotson.