Today on The Gist, you will either be happily relieved or totally devastated by what we’ve learned about the “five-second rule.” Mike asks Maria Konnikova of the New Yorker if she’d eat what we’ve dropped in a series we call “Is That Bulls--t?” For the Spiel, Mike speaks with current high school students in Oceanside, New York.
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Is there a relationship between celebrity worship and a lack of social mobility? Today on The Gist, we explore the allure of celebrity with professor Timothy Caulfield. He’s the author of Is Gwyneth Paltrow Wrong About Everything?: How the Famous Sell Us Elixirs of Health, Beauty & Happiness. Plus, Bobby Jindal makes a special announcement and his son knows just what to say.
Ever wonder where Mike Pesca gets all his great ideas? In a Slate Plus exclusive, Pesca shares something he calls his “Gist List.” Sign up for a free trial today at slate.com/gistplus.
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Mike took three months off after each of his sons were born. He considers that time to be the most important bonding he’s ever done, but when it comes to family leave, some new dads aren’t so lucky. CNN’s Josh Levs makes a case for paid paternity leave as a gender equality issue in his new book All In. For The Spiel, is the Trans-Pacific Partnership a good pact?
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Entrepreneurs create enormous value, but freely give away the moral high ground. The for-profit private sector should instead defend their benefit to society. John Mackey, co-CEO of Whole Foods Market, explains.
This year, Texas had thirteen opportunities to reform the police practice of seizing citizens' property without securing criminal convictions. Texas rejected any and all reform. Arif Panju of the Institute for Justice discusses the fixes to civil asset forfeiture that might have been.
On this weekend’s Meet the Press, Mike Huckabee asked, “Is South Carolina a racist state because of the flag that flies on their Capitol grounds?” On The Gist, Mike Pesca answers, “No, the flag flies over the Capitol because it’s a racist state.”
Also on the show, professional storyteller Matthew Dicks is here for another lesson with our winning listener, Frank Kennedy. This class focuses on the four lies you’re encouraged to tell when framing your own story.
For the Spiel, some non-obvious points about the shooting in Charleston, South Carolina.
Today’s sponsor: Stamps.com, where you can buy and print official U.S. postage right from your desk using your own computer and printer. Use the promo code THEGIST to get a no-risk trial and a $110 bonus offer.
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On Start the Week Tom Sutcliffe looks at the landscapes of communism with the writer Owen Hatherley whose new book reflects how power transformed the cities of the twentieth century. Jacqueline Yallop looks back at one of the most enduring experiments of Victorian philanthropy - the utopian 'model' village. The architect Graham Morrison is involved in a model village of his own, the regeneration and development of the 67 acre site at Kings Cross, and the artist Doug Aitken, famous for his large scale outdoor film installations which he's called 'liquid architecture', is creating a 30-day happening, Station-to-Station.
Producer: Katy Hickman.
*Al Davis' dance theme is Watusi Bounce from Bo Diddly's Ride On/The Chess Masters
*Helen watches Eugenia on the lawn at the Grand Hotel to the tune of To a Wild Rose by Patricia Rossborough from the collection Dainty Debutantes: Female Novelty Pianists of the 1930's (And, ugh. Dismissive much?)
*The Judge drones over one of Scott Watson's Six Solos for the Beginning Tuba Player from his 2008 album, Stepping Stones for Tuba, vol. 1 (like I need to tell you that)
I first stumbled across this story in my torn up copy of New York: Confidential! Jack Lait and Lee Mortimer's truly mucky, muck-raking guide to the city's underbelly from 1951. I read a ton of old news paper articles about the case (the New York Times covered it extensively, if you want to go back and read those).
The two most useful books I came across in the process were Joshua Zeitz' Flapper and Lewis Erenberg's Steppin' Out: New York Nightlife and the Transformation of American Culture, 1890-1930
What kind of person is drawn to write for children’s television? And why does that person always seem to sneak in adult jokes and pop culture references? The creator and executive producer of Doc McStuffins, Chris Nee, shares the wide variety of experiences that led her to create the Peabody Award–winning show for Disney Junior. For the Spiel, it’s time to name a new Lobstar of the antentwig.
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