Category: 3-SometimeCommentary

Will a recent Gallup poll be a wake-up call for states like Texas and South Carolina? Today on The Gist, Gallup editor-in-chief Frank Newport explains what political parties could learn from the underlying political leanings in each state. Plus, we visit our neighborhood haunt Hudson Clearwater to delve into the world of cocktail bitters with Peter Thomas Fornatale and Chris Wertz. They’re the authors of Brooklyn Spirits: Craft Distilling and Cocktails from the World’s Hippest Borough. For the Spiel, a public servant with a private server. Today’s sponsor: Audible, a leading provider of spoken audio information and entertainment. Listen to audiobooks whenever and wherever you want. Get a free audiobook of your choice at AudiblePodcast.com/TheGist. Trying to pick out the right audio book? The Gist recommends Red Notice by our past guest Bill Browder.

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Today on The Gist, Mary Pilon shares the real history of the board game your family never finishes. She’s the author of The Monopolists: Obsession, Fury, and the Scandal Behind the World's Favorite Board Game. Plus, Mike and his son Emmett explain what Dumbo tells us about the Greek economy. For the Spiel, a deep dive into voice-casting.

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Obama promised hope and change, but what about managing expectations for hope and change? Today on The Gist, former Obama strategist David Axelrod shares insights from his new book Believer: My Forty Years in Politics. Plus, we examine a strange transitional moment for popular music and the American Songbook with Ben Yagoda. He’s the author of The B Side: The Death of Tin Pan Alley and the Rebirth of the Great American Song. For the Spiel, a man who never e-mails, and the Yemenis who got caught in the crosshairs. Today’s sponsor: Stamps.com. Sign up for a no-risk trial and get a $110 bonus offer, when you visit Stamps.com and enter promo code TheGist.

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On Start the Week Tom Sutcliffe finds out what goes on inside the mind of a mathematician. Cédric Villani explains the obsession and inspiration which led him to being awarded the Fields Medal, 'the mathematicians' Nobel Prize' in 2010. Zia Haider Rahman combines pure maths, investment banking and human rights in his exploration of how abstract theory can impact on real life. Vicky Neale reveals the beauty of prime numbers, while the director Morgan Matthews finds love in his film x+y at the International Mathematics Olympiad. Producer: Katy Hickman.

Dream job alert. Today on the Gist, Mike talks with KYRSP33DY, jahovaswitniss, and NobodyEpic, a trio of video gamers and video editors who turned their love of comedy and Grand Theft Auto into lucrative YouTube channels. Plus, Seth Stevenson has been reporting for Slate on the trial of accused Boston Marathon bomber Dzhokhar Tsarnaev. He reacts to Thursday’s gut-wrenching day of testimony. And in the Spiel, Mike’s second take on Hillary’s email scandal. Today’s sponsors: Squarespace.com. Get a free trial and 10 percent off your first purchase when you visit Squarespace.com and enter offer code GIST. And HBO, presenting the new documentary miniseries The Jinx: The Life and Deaths of Robert Durst. Sundays at 8, only on HBO.

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For ages, athletes have been judged by their importance to their team’s bottom line, their popularity with fans, and their win-loss record against better opponents. Today on The Gist, we apply those same rubrics to the dozen or so politicians likely to tangle in the Republican primary. Our guest is Harry Enten, senior political writer and analyst for FiveThirtyEight. For the Spiel, you just gotta watch The All-Star Party for “Dutch” Reagan. Today’s sponsors: Squarespace.com. Get a free trial and 10 percent off your first purchase when you visit Squarespace.com and enter offer code GIST. And The Great Courses. Save up to 80 percent off the original price when you go to TheGreatCourses.com/GIST.

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Before he was a Pulitzer Prize–winning journalist and president of the Council on Foreign Relations, Leslie H. Gelb negotiated with the Soviet Union as a senior official in the Pentagon and State Department. Today on The Gist, Mike asks Gelb about negotiating with Iran and Benjamin Netanyahu's address to Congress. For the Spiel, it's pledge-drive season in public radio. Mike tabs up the amount of time you spend listening to noncommercial appeals for cash. Today’s sponsors: Stamps.com. Sign up for a no-risk trial and get a $110 bonus offer, when you visit Stamps.com and enter promo code TheGist. Also, Squarespace.com. Get a free trial and 10 percent off your first purchase when you visit Squarespace.com and enter offer code GIST.

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The New York outpost of France’s famed Maille mustard empire features myriad varieties of the spicy condiment, including some on tap. Today on The Gist, mustard sommelier Pierette Huttner gives Mike a tour. Plus, the financial side of the mustard-yellow and white (or blue and black) dress with Slate Editor-in-Chief Julia Turner. For the Spiel, Mr. Bibi goes to Washington. Today’s sponsors: Citrix GoToMeeting. When meetings matter, millions choose GoToMeeting. Get a free 30-day trial by visiting GoToMeeting.com and clicking the “try it free” button. Also, Squarespace.com. Get a free trial and 10 percent off your first purchase when you visit Squarespace.com and enter offer code GIST.

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Slate's Dahlia Lithwick discusses the issue of legal standing in the upcoming Obamacare case before the Supreme Court. Plus, is aromatherapy bulls--t? And Mike spiels about Bibi's boo-boo, and we hear another new They Might Be Giants track, "I Can Help the Next in Line."

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On Start the Week Tom Sutcliffe explores the fracturing political landscape and the rise of anti-establishment parties. The politics lecturer Robert Ford explains the increasing support for the SNP, UKIP, and the Greens and what that means for the forthcoming General Election. Catherine De Vries is a Professor of European politics and compares what's happening across the Channel. Srdja Popovic was one of the leaders of Otpor - the movement that played a pivotal role in bringing down Slobodan Milosevic - and he advises how using humour, rice pudding and lego men can change the world. The Royal Opera House is staging Brecht and Weill's Rise and Fall of the City of Mahagonny, a satire on money, morality and pleasure-seeking, and its director John Fulljames seeks out the contemporary resonances in this story of consumerism and loss of humanity.

Producer: Katy Hickman.