Category: 3-SometimeCommentary

Last summer, the Supreme Court stopped North Carolina from using a strict voter ID law that would likely disadvantage Democrats and “target African Americans with almost surgical precision.”

Now, the court is facing two more restrictive voter laws that could seriously change American elections. Rick Hasen covers the wild world of election law on his blog. He joins Mike to discuss the new cases, and other ways that Republican-governed states have tried to suppress turnout.

For the Spiel, a Pesca family musical postcard for the holidays.

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Rocket Mortgage from Quicken Loans. Rocket Mortgage brings the mortgage process into the 21st century with an easy online process. Check out Rocket Mortgage today at QuickenLoans.com/gist.

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Jon Stewart had a rough time hosting The Daily Show. By 2015, he hadn’t had a good night’s sleep in years. Exposure to Fox News had taken a toll. Writer Chris Smith chronicles Stewart’s reign in a new oral history, which looks at the comedian’s broader impact on political culture. 

For the Spiel, Mike has cat scratch fever! Literally.   Today’s sponsors:

 

Betterment, the largest automated investing service. Get up to six months of investing free when you go to Betterment.com/gist.  

And Bon Appetit. For a limited time, you can give a one-year subscription to Bon Appetit for 15 percent off. Plus, they’ll even throw in a cool tote bag! Get this deal today by going to bonappetit.com/giveBA and use promo code 15OFF.

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As Michael McFaul knows well, sometimes the interests of the United States and the interests of Exxon Mobil don’t line up. “You have to find oil where it is … and that tends to be controlled by autocrats around the world, and you have to do deals with them,” says McFaul, who was America’s ambassador to Russia from 2012 to 2014. Here, McFaul weighs in on the Rex Tillerson nomination for secretary of state, Russia’s likely hacking of the U.S. election, and Putin’s designs in the Baltics.

For the Spiel, what we know about Trump’s plan for Taiwan.   

Today’s sponsors:

Soothe. For a massage delivered right to your door, go to Soothe.com. Use code GIST at checkout and you’ll get $30 towards your first massage.

And LifeAfter.What happens to our digital lives when we’re gone? LifeAfter, a new series from GE Podcast Theater and Panoply, the creators of last year’s award-winning The Message, explores these very questions. Listen and download LifeAfter wherever you find your podcasts.

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James Osborne writes about energy and politics for the Houston Chronicle. He’s covered Rex Tillerson for years, yet they’ve never spoken directly. During his time as CEO of ExxonMobil, Tillerson has rarely granted interviews and only gives one press conference a year. For 15 minutes. Osborne says Tillerson has never really had to face the press—a luxury he’ll be forfeiting if he’s confirmed as secretary of state next year.

In The Spiel, the media still doesn’t know how to cover blue collar workers.

Today’s sponsors:

1-800-Flowers. To get beautiful bouquets starting at just $29.99, go to 1800Flowers.com on your desktop or mobile device, click the radio icon, and enter code gist.

And by Stamps.com. With Stamps.com, you can buy and print official U.S. postage for any letter or package using your own computer and printer. For a four-week trial and a $110 bonus offer, go to Stamps.com, click on the microphone, and enter GIST.

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Tom Sutcliffe talks to the academic Simon Morrison about the remarkable story of the Bolshoi ballet: a 250 year history that encompasses being the pride of Tsarist Russia to state control by Stalin to the scandal of acid attacks in the 21st century. Ismene Brown explores the different styles which set apart the Russian corps de ballet from its British counterpart. Art and politics are also at the forefront of Nigel Cliff's story of the Texan pianist Van Cliburn, who for a short time bridged the divide between the two superpowers during the Cold War, and the curator Edith Devaney explains how the CIA used Abstract Expressionism to promote the US. Producer: Katy Hickman

Photo: The Bolshoi Ballet perform for Prince Charles & the Duchess of Cornwall on a royal tour of Bahrain on 11th November, 2016 Credit: Chris Jackson/ Getty Images.

Kyle Kinane doesn’t want your agreement applause. Or your voting boosterism. In fact, Kinane is quite prepared to disappoint you—he’s kind of built a brand on it. On The Gist, Kinane raises a hand in support of jokes about rich people and racists—just let him explain. Kinane’s latest stand-up special is Loose in Chicago, you can see him in the Netflix series Love, and his podcast is called Boogie Monster. 

For the Spiel, Mike goes trawling for another Lobstar.  

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Writer Jeff Chang went to Ferguson, Missouri, on the one-year anniversary of the shooting of Michael Brown. What he saw there helped inspire his latest collection of essays, We Gon’ Be Alright: Notes on Race and Resegregation (a book the Washington Post’s Carlos Lozada has called the year’s smartest). On The Gist, Chang explains why the calls for police accountability are valid even in cases when officers appear to follow protocol. 

For the Spiel, an evaluation of the Trump Cabinet according to age, demographic, and proximity to women in bikinis. 

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On Tuesday, President-elect Donald Trump decried the cost of a very important plane, tweeting, “Boeing is building a brand new 747 Air Force One for future presidents, but costs are out of control, more than $4 billion. Cancel order!” Boeing then disputed Mr. Trump’s numbers, saying their contract was worth only $170 million. Turns out, unlike other Twitter rants, Trump was kind of right this time. But on The Gist, analyst Todd Harrison warns that lowering the cost of Air Force One might involve some compromises, like outsourcing the contract to a foreign company. Harrison is a director at the Center for Strategic and International Studies. 

For the Spiel, Mike works his sources to get you the latest on Canadian birds.

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Ezra Edelman wasn’t planning to make a documentary about O.J. Simpson. But then ESPN offered him five hours of airtime. Edelman’s movie (which eventually grew to nearly eight hours) explores a variety of themes through the lens of Simpson’s life and trial. O.J.: Made in America has just been named to the Oscar shortlist for Best Documentary.  

For the Spiel, Mike goes to school on the Electoral College.  

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With the nomination of Tom Price for health and human services secretary, it’s clear that Donald Trump wants to repeal Obamacare and replace it with a more conservative plan. Sarah Kliff has spent weeks looking through the health care plans put forward by Republicans such as Price and Paul Ryan. Her conclusion? Good news for healthy people, not so much for sick people. Sarah is a co-host of The Weeds podcast. 

For the Spiel, what the media can and can’t do.

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