Category: 3-SometimeCommentary

• Tim's interview with "Minnesota Angry Man," Chris Ostroushko 
  
  
• The holiday-themed Bulwark Pod with Wright Thompson 
  
  
• Monday's "Morning Shots"

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If trust in politicians is broken and the political system isn't delivering, then how might we go about fixing things? Can we revive faith in democratic government by doing things differently? The political scientist Hélène Landemore argues that electoral politics is broken and that the answer lies in doing away with career politicians. She imagines dismantling a system that is biased in favour of the special interests of big money, propelled by the constant quest for re-election and the jaded proffering empty promises. In her new book, Politics without Politicians she posits that, among other solutions, we need Athenian style participation through mechanisms such as civic lotteries. More people need to be involved first hand in decision making if everyone is to feel heard.

Author and broadcaster Phil Tinline explains why he thinks politicians need to start thinking and talking about power again if they are to stand a chance of delivering on their promises. He argues that if nothing ever changes, then we need to understand who has too much power and who has too little and be prepared to do something about it.

Michael Gove is the editor of The Spectator and a member of the House of Lords. He has extensive experience of government, serving in cabinet under four prime ministers between 2010 and 2024. It is widely acknowledged among, both his admirers and his critics, that he rapidly got to grips with his department's brief and knew exactly how to drive an agenda for change. He reflects on his experiences.

Producer: Ruth Watts

The future of work is going to be about advanced manufacturing — cyber security and cyber control, A.I. — robotics, and space. Where will San Antonio fit into that world? Alamo Colleges District is preparing the local workforce for these jobs.

There’s a lot of anxiety about artificial intelligence invading Hollywood; the general mood there right now could be called “doom and gloom.” But speculation about a future where A.I. actors perform A.I. scripts in A.I.-generated movies often obscures the role A.I. is currently playing in the industry.

In this episode, the host Michael Barbaro talks with the Hollywood reporter Brooks Barnes and the movie critic Alissa Wilkinson about the ways that A.I. is already showing up in our movies and television today, and how they see it contributing to — and complicating — the future.

 

On Today’s Episode:

Alissa Wilkinson is a Times movie critic.

Brooks Barnes is the chief Hollywood correspondent for The Times.

 

Background Reading:

Can You Believe the Documentary You’re Watching?

Disney Agrees to Bring Its Characters to OpenAI’s Sora Videos

‘The Wizard of Oz’ Is Getting an A.I. Glow-Up. Cue the Pitchforks.

Is ‘The Wizard of Oz’ at Sphere the Future of Cinema? Or the End of It?

 

Photo: Roger Kisby for The New York Times

Subscribe today at nytimes.com/podcasts or on Apple Podcasts and Spotify. You can also subscribe via your favorite podcast app here https://www.nytimes.com/activate-access/audio?source=podcatcher. For more podcasts and narrated articles, download The New York Times app at nytimes.com/app.

Mike joins Jeremy Hobson on The Follow Up to discuss the "awful but lawful" nuances of the Minneapolis ICE shooting, the potential blowback of the Trump administration branding it a "riot," and why threats against Iran often ignore dangerous second-order effects. Plus, a Spiel from the week analyzing the flood of anonymous quotes in Dexter Filkins' New Yorker profile of Marco Rubio, and why unnamed sources might reveal more about the reader's bias than the subject's character.

Produced by Corey Wara

Coordinated by Lya Yanne

Video and Social Media by Geoff Craig

Do you have questions or comments, or just want to say hello? Email us at ⁠⁠⁠⁠thegist@mikepesca.com

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The ultrarunner and mountaineer finds peace through doing unimaginably hard things.

Subscribe today at nytimes.com/podcasts or on Apple Podcasts and Spotify. You can also subscribe via your favorite podcast app here https://www.nytimes.com/activate-access/audio?source=podcatcher. For more podcasts and narrated articles, download The New York Times app at nytimes.com/app.

The Trump administration sent hundreds more ICE agents to Minnesota this week as protests continue. President Donald Trump referred to the demonstrators as “professional agitators” and threatened to invoke the Insurrection Act.

Diplomats from Denmark and Greenland traveled to the White House to meet with Vice President JD Vance after President Trump once again threatened to annex Greenland following major foreign intervention in Venezuela.

Meanwhile, protesters in Iran are attempting to keep up their demonstrations against the country’s theocracy after a week of bloody crackdowns by authorities.

In an interview with Reuters this week, Donald Trump says Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy is the one holding up peace negotiations for the war in Ukraine, not Russian President Vladimir Putin.

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Comedian Liza Treyger explains why she prefers the 1:30 a.m. Comedy Cellar crowd—the drunk, the horny, the post-Broadway undead—and why bombing early is harder than thriving late. Her Netflix special Night Owl doubles as a thesis on power, hypocrisy, and why men who "hate Taylor Swift" seem uniquely unable to stop talking about her. Treyger argues that worst moments often are the résumé, that comedy works better when it sounds unwritten, and that moral panic is usually just bad joke construction in disguise. Plus: owls, tattoos, true crime, and just a little but about Luigi.

Produced by Corey Wara

Coordinated by Lya Yanne

Video and Social Media by Geoff Craig

Do you have questions or comments, or just want to say hello? Email us at ⁠⁠⁠⁠thegist@mikepesca.com

For full Pesca content and updates, check out our website at https://www.mikepesca.com/⁠

For ad-free content or to become a Pesca Plus subscriber, check out ⁠⁠⁠⁠https://subscribe.mikepesca.com/

For Mike's daily takes on Substack, subscribe to The Gist List https://mikepesca.substack.com/

Follow us on Social Media:⁠⁠⁠⁠ YouTube https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC4_bh0wHgk2YfpKf4rg40_g⁠⁠⁠⁠ Instagram https://www.instagram.com/pescagist/ X https://x.com/pescami TikTok https://www.tiktok.com/@pescagist

To advertise on the show, contact ⁠⁠⁠⁠ad-sales@libsyn.com⁠⁠⁠⁠ or visit ⁠⁠⁠⁠https://advertising.libsyn.com/TheGist