The Gist - Crazy Rich Asians Is Important

On The Gist, guest host Stephanie Foo dives into Crazy Rich Asians, speaking with friend and fellow producer Kat Chow about Asian representation in media, the inspiration to create, and a hope that this film will lead to more Asian-centered media. 

Then she speaks with producer and former film professor B.A. Parker about seeing your own culture depicted on screen, and how exciting it is to see stories and jokes not meant for you. 

In the Spiel, Stephanie considers whether America has failed her, and why she is so proud of being an immigrant.

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The Gist - Sweep the Left

On The Gist, nobody move or the economy gets it, Trump says.

The guys behind the left’s most irreverent podcast (Chapo Trap House) want the Democratic Party to forget about Robert Mueller and set their sights on 2020. But in the short term? They’re rooting for a blue wave. Alongside Felix Biederman and Brendan James, Thursday’s guests Matt Christman, Will Menaker, and Virgil Texas are co-authors of The Chapo Guide to Revolution: A Manifesto Against Logic, Facts, and Reason.

In the Spiel, when you hear “everyone does it” down in Washington, you know something’s amiss.

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The Gist - Don’t Touch The “I” Word

On The Gist, guest host Alex Roarty thinks Sen. Elizabeth Warren has a way better message than simply “impeach Trump.”    

#NeverTrump Republicans are a vanishing breed. Crooked Media’s Tim Miller is one of them, and he tells Alex that the news media’s biases favor president Trump more than they weigh him down. 

In the Spiel, history suggests Democrats will sweep the House in November. But don’t forget that we’re dealing with the poll-defying Donald Trump here.  

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The Gist - Trolls and Trump’s Lies

On The Gist, guest host Max Kerman considers why politicians are getting duped by Sacha Baron Cohen.

Trump has lied so many times since he took office that it’s difficult for the normal person to focus on them. Luckily we’ve got Daniel Dale at the Toronto Star keeping track. Dale joins us to talk about what it’s like reporting on American politics as a Canadian, including the similarities of covering former Toronto Mayor Rob Ford.

In the Spiel, how to engage with trolls.

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The Gist - What Happened to “America’s Mayor”?

On The Gist, how will Rudy Giuliani go down in history, and in public memory?

The midterm elections are looming, and the big question is how far the Democrats will go. Are they really likely to retake the House of Representatives? And how would that affect Trump’s re-election campaign in 2020? Gist guest host Steve Kornacki talks to another political statistics wiz, Sean Trende of RealClearPolitics, about why we should be wary of using probabilities to predict elections.

In the Spiel, a tale of clear state borders and unclear rules.  

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The Gist - Listening to Inanimate Objects

On The Gist, if Trump weren’t so repulsive, would we judge his murky dealings a little more kindly?

And we don’t much think about the inanimate objects in our lives, never considering the rich inner life of the lamppost, the can of Coke, or the humble pillow. But Ian Chillag knows they have stories to tell, and he gets them to speak out in his new podcast Everything Is Alive.

In the Spiel, Mike talks to the guest hosts who will rule The Gist all next week.

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The Gist - Goodbye to the Queen of Soul

On The Gist, the free press.

Aretha Franklin has died at 76, and she was much more than a golden voice. Slate’s Chris Molanphy recalls her talents at the piano and in the composition room, where she wrote timeless music and, with her covers, transformed songs from her own genre and beyond. (See “Bridge Over Troubled Water,” “Let It Be,” and, of course, “Respect.”) Molanphy is the host of the Slate podcast Hit Parade

In the Spiel, the straw ban and balloons.

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The Gist - The Heart of Reality Television

On The Gist, autocracy isn’t always bad for an economy. But as Turkey shows, idiocy definitely is.

Reality television has a reputation for uninhibited narcissism, ruthless competition, and terrible business pitches. But when Jon Murray created The Real World in 1992, he worked to make something complex and innovative, not a circus of humanity’s basest instincts. And in A&E’s Born This Way, Murray follows the lives of individuals with Down syndrome in Los Angeles, sharing their laughter and tears, their beautiful community, and how they strive to be just like everyone else.

In the Spiel, Christine Hallquist makes history. Can she do it again in November?

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The Gist - Democracy Needs a Reboot

On The Gist, should news outlets halt election coverage on Election Day?

“Usually, if you look at American history, we’ve kind of taken a relook at our democracy every 50 years.” And now we’re overdue, according to Jason Kander, an Army veteran and Democratic candidate for mayor of Kansas City. The big things to shake up: how we draw district lines, run primaries, and finance electoral campaigns. Kander’s book is Outside the Wire: Ten Lessons I've Learned in Everyday Courage

In the Spiel, the president and nondisclosure agreements.

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The Gist - Trump’s Pyrite Touch

On The Gist, Trump is a racist? That’s not much of a scoop, Omarosa.

There were plenty of Republicans standing against Donald Trump—before he won the White House. After the 2016 election, many of them traded in their values for a seat on the bandwagon. Rick Wilson isn’t among them, and he explains why in his new book Everything Trump Touches Dies: A Republican Strategist Gets Real About the Worst President Ever.

In the Spiel, America’s worst kind of racism lies between microaggression and all-out white supremacy.

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