Author: Peach Fish Productions

In books like Moneyball and The Big Short, Michael Lewis has written about people who think in a completely different way from their colleagues. For his latest, The Undoing Project, Lewis profiles the patron saints of different thinking, Israeli psychologists Daniel Kahneman and Amos Tversky. The two men completely upended the study of decision-making in the early 1950s.

For the Spiel, the artist formerly known as the Affordable Care Act. 

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Henry Winkler is an icon of American comedy. Between roles in Happy Days, Arrested Development, and Parks and Recreation, Winkler has been writing children’s books starring the character Hank Zipzer. Winkler says the stories have helped him come to terms with his own dyslexia, which he only discovered as an adult. His newest book is Always Watch Out for the Flying Potato Salad.

For the Spiel, you might want to learn to spell “wiretap” because you accuse someone of ordering a wiretap.

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Stamps.com. Buy and print official U.S. postage using your own computer and printer. Sign up for Stamps.com and get a four-week trial, plus postage and a digital scale, when you use promo code THEGIST.

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The Gist’s Billboard charts Sherpa Chris Molanphy returns to hearken back to more recent musical history: the hits of 2012. We learn why Psy’s ubiquitous “Gangnam Style” isn’t technically on the list and how a Swedish stable of songwriters dominated the charts with “turbo pop.” Molanphy writes the Why Is This Song No. 1? column for Slate.

In the Spiel, chasing down a lesser-known lie.   

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The inexplicable oddness of Florida takes on a sort of logic after you listen long enough to Dave Barry, Pulitzer Prize–winning humorist and longtime denizen of the state. On The Gist, Barry provides a mental atlas for the various regions of weird within Florida, its incompetent government (but what a bargain), and its unrivaled weirdos. His book is Best. State. Ever.: A Florida Man Defends His Homeland.

In the Spiel, Attorney General Jeff Sessions stands confused and, now, recused.   

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Three years ago, Maeve Higgins left a successful career as an author comedian in Ireland to try her hand at New York City. Since then, she’s been obsessed with fellow immigrants, people who have chosen to make their life in the USA, often against formidable odds. In her podcast, Maeve in America, Higgins tells these stories, from Syrian refugees to Korean academics to English comedians. 

For the Spiel, a fable that explains everything you know about Trump’s speech to Congress.

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Control GX gray-reducing shampoo. It is the first shampoo that gradually reduces gray. It reduces gray a little with each shampoo. It’s easy to use and provides subtle, natural-looking results.

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China isn’t a boogeyman, North Korea is genuinely frightening, and we could stand to be more diplomatic with Russia. Those ideas come from Richard Haass, president of the Council on Foreign Relations, who says the U.S. can be a stabilizing force in the world, so long as it does a better job of discerning when to speak softly and when to use the big stick. Haass is the author of A World in Disarray: American Foreign Policy and the Crisis of the Old Order.

For the Spiel, you’re nobody until you’re somebody that President Trump considers—and then you’re everybody.

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Who was Jim Henson, and why did he see something special in a couple googly eyes glued on felt? Best-selling history writer Brad Meltzer says he was inspired to tell Henson’s story not because of The Muppets or Sesame Street, but because of Henson’s tenacity. Meltzer’s book, I Am Jim Henson, is the latest edition of his biography series for kids, Ordinary People Change the World.

For the Spiel, Oscars so contrite.

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Betterment, an automated investing service that makes investing easy. Get one month managed free when you go to Betterment.com/gist.

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George Saunders’ first novel, Lincoln in the Bardo, is a bit of a head trip. Half of it takes place in the liminal phase between life and death. It’s about Abraham Lincoln’s son, Willie, who died at the age of 11, but we almost never hear from him. And it takes about four to five chapters to understand what’s going on. “My goal is the early difficulty pays off later,” says Saunders. “Once the book teaches you how to read it, it takes you to places you couldn’t have gone otherwise.” Saunders talks to Mike about Lincoln, research, and his recent nonfiction work for the New Yorker.

In the Spiel, why CPAC has come around on Trump. (Hint: It’s because he’s the president.) 

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Tripping.com. Tripping.com gives you access to millions of vacation properties all in one place. Visit Tripping.com/gist to find your perfect vacation rental today.

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Jon Ralston has decades of experience covering politics in Nevada, as a columnist for both major Las Vegas newspapers and a host on local TV. But as the major news outlets have cut their politics coverage, Ralston has launched an experiment to save local political news: a nonprofit site called The Nevada Independent. Ralston is also a contributing editor to Politico.

In the Spiel: Republican lawmakers face their constituents. It’s not going well for the lawmakers. 

Today’s sponsors:

Goldman Sachs. To learn about developments currently shaping markets, industries, and the global economy, subscribe to the firm’s podcast, Exchanges at Goldman Sachs, available on iTunes.

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John Nixon was the lead CIA analyst tasked with studying Saddam Hussein during the U.S.-led invasion of Iraq. It fell to Nixon to identify Hussein when he was captured, interrogate him while in U.S. custody, and present what he learned to the Bush White House. Nixon’s book is Debriefing the President: The Interrogation of Saddam Hussein.

In the Spiel: Don’t blame the provocateur, blame his followers.

Today’s sponsors:

The Great Courses Plus, a video learning service that offers lectures on all kinds of topics. Get a free trial when you sign up by going to TheGreatCoursesPlus.com/gist.

Green Mountain Coffee. Green Mountain Coffee is passionate about making a smoother-tasting cup. Try it today with code TRYGMC.

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