The Gist - The Résumé Says “Loafer,” but the Loafers Scream “Executive”

The Gist has been bedeviled by one question: Do the clothes really make the man? On today’s show, regular guest Maria Konnikova joins us to investigate the link between clothing and performance. Konnikova writes for the New Yorker and is the author of The Confidence Game.

For the Spiel, Trump, truth, and fact-checking. 

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The Gist - Mike Birbiglia and Ira Glass Followed the Fear Here

On every great improv team there’s an undertow of angst. Who will get snatched up by a TV show? Who will toil in relative obscurity? Who will quit after the big break doesn’t come? On Ep. 560, comedian Mike Birbiglia and This American Life creator Ira Glass talk about their film Don’t Think Twicean ode to improvisational comedy and recalibrating what it means to be a success. Find it in a theater near you

For the Spiel, our Lobstar of the Antentwig. 

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The Gist - Should You Have Your Silver Medal Bronzed?

On The Gist, Republican “merchant of mud” Mike Murphy ponders Donald Trump’s effect on down-ballot GOP candidates. Murphy is known for putting the “!” in “Jeb!” as an adviser to Jeb Bush’s presidential campaign. His podcast is called Radio Free GOP.

For the Spiel, Mike tries to get to the bottom of an Olympian canard about the happiness of bronze medalists. 

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The Gist - John Dickerson Has a Follow-Up. He’s Willing to Ask It Seven Times.

Are voters in 2016 better compared to an angry customer at a drive-thru window? Or are the two major parties on completely different planets, unable to agree on a shared reality? On The Gist, Slate columnist and Face the Nation moderator John Dickerson discusses elections past and present. He is the author of Whistlestop: My Favorite Stories From Presidential Campaign History.

For the Spiel, when it comes to Donald Trump’s Second Amendment comment, it’s hard for the media to acknowledge what everyone knows they heard.  

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The Gist - Republicans Are Using Leeches to Cure Cancer

On The Gist, Trump critic and longtime Republican consultant Stuart Stevens shares his bleak take on his party’s chances at winning the White House anytime soon. Stevens was a top strategist for Mitt Romney’s 2012 presidential campaign and is the author of The Innocent Have Nothing to Fear

The Spiel is taking a brief hiatus. 

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The Gist - Playing the Spanish Card

On The Gist, who cares that Tim Kaine speaks Spanish? Nelson Flores says white liberals might be more excited about it than Latino voters are. Flores is an assistant professor in educational linguistics at the University of Pennsylvania. Plus, Foreign Policy’s Michela Wrong describes some of the more curious memorials popping up in Rwanda. Wrong recently published her first novel, Borderlines

For the Spiel, why the news should be fair, but not balanced.

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The Gist - History’s First Benedict Arnold

On The Gist, Brad Meltzer from Lost History explains why he thinks of himself as one part of a “literary peanut butter cup.” Meltzer teamed up with Tod Goldberg to write The House of Secrets, a spy novel that imagines the final moments between Benedict Arnold and George Washington. 

For the Spiel, the kiddie press corps takes over. 

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The Gist - If It Feeds, It Leads

On The Gist, Facebook has become one of the world’s biggest disseminators of journalism, but it doesn’t care about journalism. Is that a problem? Farhad Manjoo ticks off a few reasons to be wary. Manjoo writes the State of the Art technology column in the New York Times. His podcast is called the Jay & Farhad Show.

For the Spiel, the RINOs among us.  

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The Gist - Jessi Klein Says Women Are Dogs

On The Gist, Jessi Klein explains her theory that women can be sorted into two categories: poodles and wolves. It’s an idea she explores in her new book, You’ll Grow Out of It. Klein is the head writer on the Comedy Central show Inside Amy Schumer

For the Spiel, Trump is giving voice to an element we’ve known about—but he’s still losing.

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