The Gist - Does DEI Work?

All week, we'll be taking a deep dive into DEI—Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion—which has come under attack from conservatives. A great defense would be to point to the many demonstrable successes of DEI, but that's not always easy, because many of the highest profile expressions of DEI haven't yielded quantifiable successes. To kickoff DEI Week, we're joined today by Northwestern School of Education's Ahmmad Brown, a Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Justice (DEIJ) scholar. This is the first part in our week-long series discussing DEI in a way that expresses doubts, allows for eye-opening revelations, and relies on inquiry. Also, as a bit of an appetizer, we poke gentle fun at "Woke Kindergarten," which is a real thing. "Real" being defined as, the curriculum costs schools that choose to participate $250,000.


Produced by Joel Patterson and Corey Wara

Email us at thegist@mikepesca.com

To advertise on the show, visit: https://advertisecast.com/TheGist

Subscribe to The Gist Subscribe: https://subscribe.mikepesca.com/

Follow Mikes Substack at: Pesca Profundities | Mike Pesca | Substack

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The Gist - BEST OF THE GIST: Death Penalty Edition

In this installment of Best Of The Gist, we listen back to Mike’s 2019 interview with Anthony Ray Hinton, who was wrongfully convicted for the murder of two teenagers in Alabama in 1985. After 30 years on death row, Hinton’s conviction was overturned, and he was released. He’s since become an advocate for those facing the death penalty and the abolishment of it in the United States. Hinton’s book is titled, The Sun Does Shine: How I Found Life and Freedom on Death Row. Then we hear Mike’s Wednesday Spiel about Kenneth Eugene Smith’s recent execution by nitrogen hypoxia. Observers were disturbed by the process of Smith's final five minutes on Earth, but officials of the state of Alabama where only disturbed by others’ disturbed-ness. 

 

Produced by Joel Patterson and Corey Wara 

Email us at thegist@mikepesca.com 

To advertise on the show: https://advertisecast.com/TheGist 

Subscribe to our ad-free and/or PescaPlus versions of The Gist: https://subscribe.mikepesca.com/ 

Follow Mike’s Substack: Pesca Profundities | Mike Pesca | Substack 

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The Gist - Who Are The Night Owls?

Political experts and podcast partners in the Night Owls Podcast, Joe Klein and John Ellis analyze the political pitfalls of Democrats in the next election and contrast those with the co-situational dangers of Trump. Plus, smushy-faced dogs and the dire lack of cow-part funding. Finally, Mike criticizes a New Yorker magazine story about Oregon overdoses that defied credulity.


Produced by Joel Patterson and Corey Wara

Email us at thegist@mikepesca.com

To advertise on the show, visit: https://advertisecast.com/TheGist

Subscribe to The Gist Subscribe: https://subscribe.mikepesca.com/

Follow Mikes Substack at: Pesca Profundities | MikePesca | Substack

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The Gist - Bland Tacos, Tap Water, And Joe Biden

Luppe Luppen is a lawyer who is also the Twitter pugilist @nycsouthpaw. He is now the co-author of a new book, The Truce: Progressives, Centrists, and the future of the Democratic Party. Plus, a beheading with talking points from Tucker.


Produced by Joel Patterson and Corey Wara

Email us at thegist@mikepesca.com

To advertise on the show, visit: https://advertisecast.com/TheGist

Subscribe to The Gist Subscribe: https://subscribe.mikepesca.com/

Follow Mikes Substack at: Pesca Profundities | MikePesca | Substack

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The Gist - Innovation, Alabama-Style

On January 25th, Kenneth Eugene Smith was the first American executed by nitrogen hypoxia. Observers were disturbed by the process of Smith's final five minutes on Earth, but officials of the state of Alabama where only disturbed by others disturbed-ness. Also on the show, Joshua Green discusses his new book, The Rebels: Elizabeth Warren, Bernie Sanders, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, and the Struggle For A New American Politics. And, when the status quo is objected to, it doesn't mean the change is agreeable.


Produced by Joel Patterson and Corey Wara

Email us at thegist@mikepesca.com

To advertise on the show, visit: https://advertisecast.com/TheGist

Subscribe to The Gist Subscribe: https://subscribe.mikepesca.com/

Follow Mikes Substack at: Pesca Profundities | Mike Pesca | Substack

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The Gist - Yellow Lines And Dead Armadillos

Jeremy Hobson has been hosting The Middle, a call-in public radio program. That sounds scintillating enough, but it gets even spicier when you learn that the show is dedicated to non-extremism. As much as this reasonable-seeming description might evoke thoughts of high-minded even-handedness, in practice it's actually quite exciting and exceedingly rare. Plus, the newest members of The Squad squander the brand name, while every Republican on the House Homeland Security committee claims that Alejandro Mayorkis has committed the High Crimes and Misdemeanors worthy of impeachment.


Produced by Joel Patterson and Corey Wara

Email us at thegist@mikepesca.com

To advertise on the show, visit: https://advertisecast.com/TheGist

Subscribe to The Gist Subscribe: https://subscribe.mikepesca.com/

Follow Mikes Substack at: Pesca Profundities | Mike Pesca | Substack

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The Gist - Paging Doctor Death

We're joined by the show runner of the Peacock series Dr. Death, Ashley Michel Hoban, to discuss why we are drawn to doctors who first do some harm. Lots of it in fact.  Plus, Nikki Haley just has no idea about any details of Donald Trump's Trials. And the Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act is making progress, yet it feels like ghoulish wound-opening.


Produced by Joel Patterson and Corey Wara

Email us at thegist@mikepesca.com

To advertise on the show, visit: https://advertisecast.com/TheGist

Subscribe to The Gist Subscribe: https://subscribe.mikepesca.com/

Follow Mikes Substack at: Pesca Profundities | Mike Pesca | Substack

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The Gist - Introducing American Scandal: Police Corruption in Baltimore

In the spring of 2017, a police corruption scandal rocked the city of Baltimore. And at the heart of it was an elite undercover unit called the Gun Trace Task Force.


American Scandal is a podcast from Wondery that takes you deep into the most infamous scandals in American history, from presidential lies to environmental disasters and corporate fraud. Their new season looks at a Baltimore police unit that was supposed to reduce violence in the community. But they operated with little oversight, and instead became a breeding ground for rogue cops who were abusing their power.


This is just a preview of American Scandal. You can listen to the full episode wherever you get your podcasts, or at Wondery.fm/AS_TheGist.


LINKS:

Wondery.fm/AS_TheGist

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The Gist - BEST OF THE GIST: Penguin Poop Edition

In this installment of Best Of The Gist, upon hearing the news that researchers had discovered four previously unknown colonies of emperor penguins with the help of satellite imagery, we give to you Mike’s 2017 interview with penguin researcher Michelle LeRue. Then we replay Mike’s January 24, 2024 Spiel about The Los Angeles Times, which isn’t his favorite news source. 

 

Produced by Joel Patterson and Corey Wara 

Email us at thegist@mikepesca.com 

To advertise on the show: https://advertisecast.com/TheGist 

Subscribe to our ad-free and/or PescaPlus versions of The Gist: https://subscribe.mikepesca.com/ 

Follow Mike’s Substack: Pesca Profundities | Mike Pesca | Substack 

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The Gist - Hague: Vague, Schmague, Or Making A Mistake?

The International Court of Justice rules on the plausibility of Israel committing genocide, one particularly incendiary Israeli official tweets "Hague Schmague." Taylor Swift pics are everywhere, as is always true, but these were invented by a perverted computer. And we're joined once more by Professor Brian Klaas, who takes down certainty and his own field of political science in his new book, Fluke: Chance, Chaos, and Why Everything We Do Matters.


Produced by Joel Patterson and Corey Wara

Email us at thegist@mikepesca.com

To advertise on the show, visit: https://advertisecast.com/TheGist

Subscribe to The Gist Subscribe: https://subscribe.mikepesca.com/

Follow Mikes Substack at: Pesca Profundities | Mike Pesca | Substack

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices