The Gist - Free Money City

On The Gist, Team USA’s low medal count would be a bummer if these Winter Olympics weren’t so goofy.     

In the interview, Stockton Mayor Michael Tubbs didn’t campaign on universal basic income, but he’s bringing it to his city. Later this year, some residents will start getting $500 a month. 

In the Spiel, conservative commentators have it plain wrong when it comes to gun control.

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The Gist - Ban the AR-15

On The Gist, the market for “how to survive a shooting spree” videos shows how far we’ve strayed in dealing with gun violence.   

Interracial marriage on a national level has only been legal for 50 years, after the landmark Supreme Court decision Loving v. Virginia. Anna Holmes and Lacey Schwartz are two of the minds behind The Loving Generation, a video series by Topic.com on identity and dynamics within multiracial families. 

In the Spiel, it’s a no-brainer: Ban civilian ownership of the AR-15, and fewer will die.

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The Gist - Which Side Are You On?

Filling in for Mike Pesca today is Leon Neyfakh, still smoldering after his first season as host of Slate’s hit podcast, Slow Burn. 

Leon is indulging in a new fascination lately: the latest “left Twix vs. right Twix” ad campaign and its insistence that we should all pick one. 

But, of course, we insist on taking sides. Slate writer Justin Peters sheds some light on the New York Times’ swift hiring and firing of tech journalist Quinn Norton. 

In Leon’s Spiel: We must have some moral absolutes. But what is the cost of eschewing bothsidesism? 

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The Gist - Runaway Military Spending

On The Gist, names are stupidly important when it comes to getting elected. 

The Trump administration is proposing a boost in military spending, but the country’s defense budget actually peaked under President Obama during the troop surge for the war in Afghanistan. Bipartisan support for massive defense spending has been the norm since the Reagan era. Foreign Policy’s Dan De Luce tells us about it.

In the Spiel, lawyer Michael Cohen’s out-of-pocket expenses. 

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The Gist - Spoon-Fed by the Feds

On The Gist, on the White House budget’s effort to replace half of food-stamp funding with crappy meal boxes.

How do you fix one of the most gerrymandered states in the country? It helps to have a tireless amateur mapmaker in your ranks. Mike talks to Amanda Holt, who spurred Pennsylvania to redraw its legislative districts in 2013 and is closely watching the state’s ongoing court battle over its congressional districts.  

In the Spiel, the American intelligence community still has to convince the White House that Russia’s up to no good.

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The Gist - Don’t Call It a White House Shake-Up

On today’s Gist, we get metaphysical. The White House is always in chaos. But can chaos be a permanent condition?

Maria Konnikova returns to play our favorite game and answer the question: Does an athletic uniform’s color affect the athlete’s performance? Konnikova writes for the New Yorker is the author of The Confidence Game.  

In the Spiel, why Norway is a Winter Olympics marvel.

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The Gist - Dumb About Deficits

On The Gist, it’s The $10,000 Pyramid with a budget deal twist.

Is it possible we don’t know enough about national debt to call our politicians when they’re peddling nonsense? New Yorker staff writer Adam Davidson addresses some common misconceptions and sums up the Republican tax cuts and spending bill this way: “Rich people are stealing the money.” 

In the Spiel, the Olympics are back, and the Russians got off easy.

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The Gist - The Longest War Is Lost

Trump wants a parade.

On The Gist, America's longest war, in Afghanistan, rumbles on under a third U.S. president. There is still no exit plan. Steve Coll’s new book explores the covert side of America’s campaign in Afghanistan and the secretive Pakistani intelligence wing lending support to the Taliban. Coll's book isDirectorate S: The C.I.A. and America's Secret Wars in Afghanistan and Pakistan.  

In the Spiel, considering Christopher Steele and Carter Page. 

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The Gist - America Adrift

Listen, chattering classes: Let’s at least chatter correctly. We take a minute on the proper name pronunciation for the scandals of the day.

Today on The Gist, U.S. foreign policy is a mess. But U.S. foreign policy has been a mess for decades. Ian Bremmer, president of the Eurasia Group, explains. 

In the Spiel, what they were thinking in the stands of President Trump’s speech on Monday in Ohio.

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