Month: May 2015

On Start the Week Mariella Frostrup talks to the academic Hamid Dabashi about his critique of European intellectual heritage and identity. In his polemic Can Non-Europeans Think? Dabashi argues that those outside the West are often marginalised and mis-represented. Ancient Greece dominates the intellectual landscape in Europe and Edith Hall looks back to explore what made this civilisation so successful. The Greeks of Ancient Athens were always questioning their society and asking what makes people happy, and Douglas Murray wonders whether the secular West has stopped asking those questions, and is the shallower for it. The artist Glenn Ligon takes inspiration from black writers and abstract expressionists to give a fresh perspective on the values of contemporary America. Producer: Katy Hickman.

On Day Three of Mike's vacation, guest host David Plotz of Atlas Obscura and Slate's Political Gabfest welcomes Wesley Morris to air a few grievances about the state of American fine dining, including his dislike of pre-clearing, gratuitous cluster seating, restaurant uniforms, and being ignored.  Wesley is a staff writer at Grantland and co-host of the film podcast Do You Like Prince Movies? For the Spiel, there's something fishy going on at Gettysburg.   Join Slate Plus! Members get bonus segments, exclusive member-only podcasts, and more. Sign up for a free trial today at slate.com/gistplus. Join the discussion of this episode on Facebook. Email: thegist@slate.com Twitter: @slategist

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On Day Two of Mike's vacation, Sean Rameswaram guest hosts the show. He's the host of Sideshow, a podcast from Studio 360 about pop culture and the Internet. Today Sean sets out to prove his theory that creative ideas, no matter how bonkers or inconsequential, will find a home online.  First he talks with the creators and curators of the Tonya Harding and Nancy Kerrigan 1994 Museum in Brooklyn. Before you ask: Yes, it's in Williamsburg and, yes, it ran a Kickstarter campaign. Later he talks with David Javerbaum, the comedy writer who tweets as @TheTweetOfGod and wrote the new Joe Mantello-directed Broadway show An Act of God. In previews now, it stars Jim Parsons and opens on May 28 at Studio 54. For the Spiel, some pushback on push notifications. Join Slate Plus! Members get bonus segments, exclusive member-only podcasts, and more. Sign up for a free trial today at slate.com/gistplus. On Friday, David Plotz of Atlas Obscura and Slate's Political Gabfest sits in for Mike. His guest will be Wesley Morris, Grantland staff writer and co-host of the podcast Do You Like Prince Movies? Join the discussion of this episode on Facebook.

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With Mike spending his first vacation day on TV talking about the Deflategate report, his friend Zoe Chace of This American Life steps up to guest-host the show. Today on The Gist, she looks at the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office’s recent ruling on an aggressive claim to the soul of podcasting. Plus, Zoe and her former co-worker Jacob Goldstein of NPR’s Planet Money revisit one of their favorite things: the Planet Money Indicator. For the Spiel, why music lovers should be terrified of growing old.     Today’s sponsor: Shari’s Berries. Fresh berries dipped in chocolate, starting at just $19.99, are a great last-minute gift, and double your berries for just $5. Visit berries.com, click on the microphone, and use the code GIST.  Join Slate Plus! Members get bonus segments, exclusive member-only podcasts, and more. Sign up for a free trial today at slate.com/gistplus. On Tuesday, Sean Rameswaram of Studio 360’s Sideshow podcast guest hosts the show. Then, David Plotz of Atlas Obscura and Slate’s Political Gabfest sits in for Mike on Friday. 

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