Author: Peach Fish Productions

Eli Lake and Michael A. Cohen take stock of the Biden health debate—diagnosis, exaggeration, and whether it’s actually affected his presidency. Michael pushes back on what he calls the “decline industrial complex,” while Eli says its denial to think Biden was up to the job. Then they turn to Donald Trump’s proudly post-moral foreign policy, where human rights don’t even make the brochure and alliances are strictly optional. Realpolitik or just real reckless? Either way, they’re not even mad. Produced by Corey Wara
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Katherine Stewart, author of Money, Lies, and God: Inside the Movement to Destroy American Democracy, explains how America’s Christian nationalist forces are exporting extremism abroad while cloaking domestic corruption in the guise of faith. Plus a suicide bombing outside a Palm Springs fertility clinic introduces the public to the dark ideology of “efilism”. Plus, Then, another look at the Yale professors fleeing to Toronto: their self-congratulatory tone is punctured by Sarah Longwell and Ben Wittes, who argue that true anti-fascist courage means staying and fighting. Produced by Corey Wara
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Katherine Stewart, author of Money, Lies, and God: Inside the Movement to Destroy American Democracy, joins to discuss Christian nationalism’s influence on modern conservatism. Also, the distinction between sincere and performative beliefs in the Trump administration, especially economic fictions like tariffs not being taxes. Plus, in the context of assessing Biden’s mental acuity, the new reporting and audio show Robert Hur as a rare source of unvarnished insight, unshaped by partisan aims. Produced by Corey Wara
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Today on The Gist we revisit an interview from 2017 with Lena Kahn and play a segment from this week where Mike talked abouts the new popes MAGA brother.

Produced by Corey Wara
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Henry Abbott joins to discuss Ballistic: The New Science of Injury-Free Athletic Performance, spotlighting insights from Dr. Marcus Elliott—not just about elite training, but how something as basic as learning to land can change careers and prevent lifelong injury. Plus, the three Yale professors so steeped in the study of fascism they fled to Toronto, prompting a reflection on American resilience versus alarmism. And FEMA’s new director storms in unprepared but aggressive, replacing a Trump-era appointee ousted simply for saying FEMA shouldn't be abolished. Produced by Corey Wara
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Michigan Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson joins to discuss her new book The Purposeful Warrior: Standing Up for What's Right When the Stakes Are High.  Benson, frontrunner to become Michigan's next governor discusses the tactics she and other secretaries of state used to combat 2020 election denialism, but also her restraint during efforts to keep Trump off the 2024 ballot.  Plus, RFK Jr. testifies before Congress and defends hiring a man fined for practicing medicine without a license. Produced by Corey Wara
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David Graham author of The Project: How Project 2025 is Changing America, explains how Project 2025 seeks not smaller government, but a more obedient one—politicizing civil service, gutting regulation, and embedding a Trump-aligned worldview across federal agencies. He discusses how its authors blend sincere constitutional theory with radical institutional overhaul. Plus, does the Pope's MAGA-leaning brother demystify the Papacy? Produced by Corey Wara
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Retired General Gen. Stanley McChrystal joins to discuss his book On Character: Choices that Define a Life, and how real character transcends grit or discipline to include values that hold under fire. Plus, Trump touches the economic stove, recoils, and suddenly recession odds drop along with tariffs rates. And from The Hague, Rodrigo Duterte wins re-election as mayor of Davao in a landslide. Produced by Corey Wara
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Sam Altman’s outsize ambition and messianic optimism take center stage in a conversation with Keach Hagey, author of The Optimist: Sam Altman, OpenAI, and the Race to Invent the Future. From failed flip-phone apps to billion-dollar AI bets, Altman emerges as one of Silicon Valley’s most effective—and unsettling—dream merchants. Plus: Trump’s flying palace may be more than a bribe; it’s a perfect symbol of soft corruption via cushy luxury. And of all the cease-fires for Trump to broker, he chooses one where U.S. weapons and interests are barely at stake. Produced by Corey Wara
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Today on The Gist we play back a section for our Chuck Todd interview that didn't make it on air and revisit a 2020 interview with Don Bacon.

Produced by Corey Wara
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