Author: Peach Fish Productions

On The Gist, Kamala Harris still has a lot to answer for.

In the interview, media outlets used to employ ombudsmen—public editors who addressed readers’ concerns and weighed in on a newspaper’s reporting. Those roles have disappeared over the years but the Columbia Journalism Review wants to change that. Kyle Pope, the magazine’s editor, recently announced the hiring of four journalists to publicly engage with the work of the New York Times, the Washington Post, MSNBC, and CNN. 

In the Spiel, voters in Istanbul have just rebuked Turkish president Recep Erdogan.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

On The Gist, how much sanity does it cost to change a lightbulb?   

In the interview, babies don’t come with instructional manuals, but the publishing industry is more than ready to bombard new parents with the latest, always evolving wisdom on how to raise a human right. But Emily Oster’s new book is a rare scientific look at child-rearing, grounded in her expertise as a rational economist and her experience as an anxious mother. Oster is the author of Cribsheet: A Data-Driven Guide to Better, More Relaxed Parenting, from Birth to Preschool.    

In the Spiel, president Trump’s directionless foreign policy is on full display against Iran.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

On The Gist, are children growing horns? 

In the interview, how does Pandora know what music I want to hear? That’s all thanks to the work of Nolan Gasser, musicologist and the architect of Pandora’s Music Genome Project. He’s here to talk the origins of the project, the classification of music species, and why Sarah McLachlan fans might be in for a surprise. Gasser’s new book is Why You Like It: The Science & Culture of Musical Taste. 

In the Spiel, the most ambitious climate deal the world has ever seen.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

On The Gist, presidential candidates say the darndest things. 

In the interview, the best profile writer of our day doesn’t focus much on what her subjects are wearing—so we’ll only quickly mention that in the studio with The Gist, Taffy Brodesser-Akner was wearing a fetching leopard-print jumpsuit (“I’m dressed up for a party tonight”). Brodesser-Akner discusses her experience profiling the likes of Gwyneth Paltrow and other untouchable celebrities, and how that work is felt in her debut novel, Fleishman Is in Trouble. 

In the Spiel, the reparations hearing. 

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

On The Gist, when science proves George Carlin right.

In the interview, Raphael Bob-Waksberg is the creator of Bojack Horseman, but his so-earnest-it-hurts talent also extends to print. His new collection of short stories is Someone Who Will Love You in All Your Damaged Glory, and he’s here to talk with Mike about love, George Saunders, and why everybody is so down on puns.  

In the Spiel, the Patrick Shanahan debacle exposes a White House in shambles.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

On The Gist, Trump knows how to produce himself.

In the interview, America’s discovery of oil fields has long been entwined with godly significance—whether these were exploited by oil barons like the Rockefellers or the smaller producers (or “wildcatters”) they contended with. University of Notre Dame historian Darren Dochuk explores the intersection of oil and religion in America in his new book, Anointed with Oil: How Christianity and Crude Made Modern America. 

In the Spiel, Iran and attacks on oil tankers.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

On The Gist, Canada declares war on the plastic straw.   

In the interview, Emmy Blotnick has written for The Late Show with Stephen Colbert and served as head writer on The President Show. But she also does stand-up, including in her new album Party Nights, where she gets into her love of pop music and why she joined a social networking site… for tea-drinkers. Blotnick’s album is streaming now—and her next show is at The Bell House in Brooklyn on July 6. 

In the Spiel, there’s no good reason for the news media to cover Jessica Biel’s anti-vaxxer stance.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

On The Gist, who doesn’t get to be at the debates?

In the interview, David Epstein’s new book Range: Why Generalists Triumph in a Specialized World is all about how having a wide base of knowledge is so much better than narrowing your focus. He’s here to talk Roger Federer versus Tiger Woods, how fiction helped him retool his book, and what Malcolm Gladwell got wrong. 

In the Spiel, this is stupid.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

On The Gist, curse the gauntlet that is buying an event ticket online.

In the interview, John Urschel played as an offensive lineman in the NFL all while pursuing the PhD that would support an accomplished career as a mathematician. The values he practiced in each field are the same, he says, but there the similarities between pigskin and math end. Alongside sportswriter Louisa Thomas—the two are married—Urschel is the author of Mind and Matter: A Life in Math and Football. 

In the Spiel, “lock him up” (and you know who “him” is) isn’t a great call either.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

On The Gist, Joe Biden curing cancer.

In the interview, senior writer at the National Review Michael Brendan Dougherty is here to discuss his new book My Father Left Me Ireland: An American Son’s Search For Home. He and Mike talk about Dougherty’s journey into his father’s history, how the immigrant experience shaped his mother, and the ways Ireland has influenced his politics.  

In the Spiel, political pithiness.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices