my private podcast channel
In 2016, veteran Democratic advisor Philippe Reines stepped up for an unconventional task: impersonating Donald Trump for Hillary Clinton's debate prep. And in 2024, he did it all again for Kamala Harris. Jon Lovett and Reines discuss the intricacies of playing Trump, the impact of debate performance on elections, and what Democrats should do to outwit the president going forward. Reines reveals what really happened the night Biden called Harris moments before her debate, Trump's biggest debate weaknesses, and what it was like working with Lovett as a Clinton staffer back in 2005.
For a closed-captioned version of this episode, click here. For a transcript of this episode, please email transcripts@crooked.com and include the name of the podcast.
For the full episode, plus more exclusive content and ad-free episodes of Pod Save America and other Crooked shows, subscribe to Friends of the Pod. Your support helps power Crooked’s mission as an independent, progressive media company. Subscribe at crooked.com/friends.
Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.
Comedian Robby Hoffman explains why she treats complaining as "enjoying"—and why her Depression-era instincts make her shakier during good times than disasters. Her approach to stand-up is visceral rather than cerebral: she doesn't remember the bit about the woman closing the airplane bathroom door, she replays the movie and watches her body operate on its own. Along the way: memories of growing up with nine siblings in Montreal poverty, where conflict wasn't optional ("we didn't get to not know anything"), the nightstand intervention that changed her brother Schnaer's life, and why she keeps a crisp $100 bill in her wallet like Depression-era insurance. Plus, the greatest taxonomy of social fakery ever delivered by a lesbian comedian—a warning that "being offended isn't that bad" and people who put "kind" in their Twitter bios are statistically suspect.
Produced by Corey Wara
Email us at thegist@mikepesca.com
To advertise on the show, contact ad-sales@libsyn.com or visit https://advertising.libsyn.com/TheGist
Subscribe to The Gist: https://subscribe.mikepesca.com/
Subscribe to The Gist Youtube Page: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC4_bh0wHgk2YfpKf4rg40_g
Subscribe to The Gist Instagram Page: GIST INSTAGRAM
Follow The Gist List at: Pesca Profundities | Mike Pesca | Substack
Investigative journalist Kit Klarenberg returns to Bad Faith to discuss what Israel's recognition of Somaliland and US strikes on Somalia have to do with the ongoing Gaza genocide and domestic attacks on Somalian Americans. Also, how does Israeli software offer backdoor access to your phone, and did AOC admit force the vote was a good idea?
Subscribe to Bad Faith on YouTube for video of this episode. Find Bad Faith on Twitter (@badfaithpod) and Instagram (@badfaithpod).
Produced by Armand Aviram.
Theme by Nick Thorburn (@nickfromislands).
Paris Marx is joined by Liz Pelly to discuss how Spotify changes how we listen to music and the broader impacts it has on the wider music industry. This episode previously aired in February 2025.
Liz Pelly is a music journalist and the author of Mood Machine.
Tech Won’t Save Us offers a critical perspective on tech, its worldview, and wider society with the goal of inspiring people to demand better tech and a better world. Support the show on Patreon.
The podcast is made in partnership with The Nation. Production is by Kyla Hewson. Production for this episode was originally by Eric Wickham.
Also mentioned in this episode:
Shout-out to the book The People’s Platform by Astra Taylor
You can read an excerpt of Liz’s book in Harper’s.
The CEO of Suno AI said people “don’t enjoy” making music.
The Edmonton Public Library was mentioned for spearheading some cool projects featuring local musicians - combat capitalism by supporting the cool projects operating out of your own local library!
Hoopla works with local libraries to share music (and Libby partners with libraries to share audiobooks)
Oxford-educated archaeology student turned freestyle sensation Chris Turner joins Mike Pesca to explain how his "British period" of deadpan one-liners evolved into the show-stopping rap flow that now defines his Comedy Cellar sets. Turner discusses the "evolutionary advantage" of not knowing the rules of hip hop as a ten-year-old in Manchester—a blissful ignorance that convinced him freestyling was just "making up a story"—and how he uses those same instincts to neutralize hecklers today. Along the way: a masterclass in the "tennis match" of flow state, the absurdity of 50 Cent's car-based fax machine, and a spontaneous freestyle that weaves together Jerry Springer, RFK Jr., and the "Antilles heel" of Hispaniola.
Produced by Corey Wara
Email us at thegist@mikepesca.com
To advertise on the show, contact ad-sales@libsyn.com or visit https://advertising.libsyn.com/TheGist
Subscribe to The Gist: https://subscribe.mikepesca.com/
Subscribe to The Gist Youtube Page: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC4_bh0wHgk2YfpKf4rg40_g
Subscribe to The Gist Instagram Page: GIST INSTAGRAM
Follow The Gist List at: Pesca Profundities | Mike Pesca | Substack
Ravi sits down with cultural critic W. David Marx (author of Blank Space) to ask a simple question: if there’s more music, TV, and art than ever, why does culture feel so… stuck? Marx argues it’s not that people stopped creating—it’s that we’ve stopped treating new, daring work like it matters, so breakthroughs rarely spread and change the mainstream. They unpack how algorithms and money-driven incentives steer us toward what’s already popular and easy, instead of what might challenge or surprise us. If you’ve ever wondered why everything feels like sequels, recycled trends, or endless scrolling, this conversation puts clear language to that feeling—and offers a way out.
W. David Marx’s book Blank Space and newsletter Culture: An Owner’s Manual
Ravi’s Substack https://realravigupta.substack.com
-----
Leave us a voicemail with your thoughts on the show! 201-305-0084
Follow Ravi at @RaviMGupta
Notes from this episode are also available on Substack: https://thelostdebate.substack.com/
Read more from Ravi on Substack: https://realravigupta.substack.com
Follow The Branch at @thebranchmedia
Listen to more episodes of Lost Debate on Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-lost-debate/id1591300785
Listen to more episodes of Lost Debate on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/7xR9pch9DrQDiZfGB5oF0F
Listen to Where the Schools Went: https://thebranchmedia.org/show/where-the-schools-went/