Category: 3-SometimeCommentary

Posted on

What Could Go Right? - The Progress Report: Crime Is Down, Fear Is Up!

On this week’s episode, Zachary and Emma dig into three surprising pieces of underreported good news. Illinois becomes the first state to ban AI from acting as a therapist, which is sparking a debate about ethics, tech limits, and vulnerable users. Global deaths from extreme weather have hit record lows in 2025, and in the U.S., the FBI’s final 2024 crime stats show a dramatic drop in murder, violent crime, and property crime, even as public fear remains sky-high. As always, Zachary and Emma cut through the noise to uncover the facts and provide your weekly reminder that progress is happening.

What Could Go Right? is produced by The Progress Network and The Podglomerate.

For transcripts, to join the newsletter, and for more information, visit: theprogressnetwork.org

Watch the podcast on YouTube: ⁠⁠⁠https://www.youtube.com/theprogressnetwork⁠⁠⁠

And follow us on X, Instagram, Facebook, TikTok: @progressntwrk

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Posted on

The Gist - When the Train to Hell Runs on Time

Aziz Huq, author of The Collapse of Constitutional Remedies, explains how liability insurers shape policing in small towns, why “rights versus rights” conflicts—from same-sex marriage to police brutality—often hinge on public trust, and how Chicago’s low murder clearance rate reflects deep distrust of law enforcement. He analyzes the Supreme Court’s Grants Pass ruling on homelessness, arguing that its “status versus conduct” distinction masks moral judgments about choice and responsibility. Plus, Trump’s Kennedy Center Honorees include KISS, Gloria Gaynor, George Strait, Michael Crawford, and Sylvester Stallone—prompting thoughts on merchandising, coffin diplomacy, and the Kiss Army.

Produced by Corey Wara

Production Coordinator Ashley Khan

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

Posted on

1A - What Trump’s DC Takeover Means For The Capital And Beyond

President Donald Trump has taken over Washington D.C.’s police force and deployed the National Guard in the capital.

The president took over the city’s police department for 30 days, and says he wants Congress to grant him “long-term” control of the force.

All this in the name of public safety, despite the fact that D.C.'s violent crime rate is at a 30-year low.

He says he might do the same in places like Los Angeles, Chicago and Baltimore.

We get into what it all means for our nation’s capital and beyond.

Find more of our programs online. Listen to 1A sponsor-free by signing up for 1A+ at plus.npr.org/the1a. 

Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoices

NPR Privacy Policy
Posted on

The Bulwark Podcast - Michael Weiss: Helsinki in Anchorage?

At the Alaska summit, Putin will likely be angling for a sequel of the Helsinki meeting, the infamous tête-à-tête in 2018 where Trump got rolled and cajoled. And because Trump refuses to accept that his charisma and imaginary friendship with Vladimir will never be enough to close a ceasefire deal, the best outcome for Ukraine is that Putin makes Trump mad by not helping him land his long-sought peace prize. Meanwhile, Russian intelligence has been busy recruiting assets to commit acts of terror and foment unrest in Western countries. Plus, the role of Europe in standing up to Trump, and a hurled sandwich becomes an act of resistance to the takeover of DC.

Michael Weiss joins Tim Miller.

show notes

Posted on

The Commentary Magazine Podcast - Cultural Honors and the Culture War

What do the Kennedy Center Honors and the Smithsonian Institution have in common? They are both expressions of the surprising determination of the Trump administration to challenge liberal orthodoxy on the arts and on the question of American history and who gets to tell the tale. Give a listen.


Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Posted on

Bad Faith - Episode 500 – A Witness to War Crimes: GHF Whistleblower Calls Out Genocide for Profit (w/ Anthony Aguilar)

Subscribe to Bad Faith on Patreon to instantly unlock our full premium episode library: http://patreon.com/badfaithpodcast

Retired U.S. Special Forces officer Anthony Aguilar was hired by private contractor UG Solutions to provide security for the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, a for-profit entity funded to the tune of $30 million by the U.S. government to distribute food aid in Gaza. But the project was ill-fated from its inception. A good faith commitment to feeding Gazans would been leaving the U.N. Relief and Works Agency intact. Four hundred distribution sites under UNRWA became just four under GHF's control, and Palestinian corpses accumulated at distribution sites as contractors shot at crowds and distributed meagre meals to a starving population. Meanwhile, contractors being paid $1200 per day slept in luxury across the border in Israel, while they ordered Domino's Pizza to feed Palestinian staffers that had not been provided for. In his shocking testimony, Aguilar blows the whistle on offenses more egregious than you can imagine.

Subscribe to Bad Faith on YouTube for video of this episode. Find Bad Faith on Twitter (@badfaithpod) and Instagram (@badfaithpod).

Posted on

The Daily - The 100 Best Movies of the 21st Century

Warning: This episode contains strong language.

This summer, The New York Times put out a list of the top 100 movies of the past 25 years. It prompted furious debate about what movies stand the test of time, why they matter and what those movies tell us about ourselves.

Kyle Buchanan, a pop culture reporter for The Times, discusses how the list came to be, and actors and directors including Celine Song, Molly Ringwald and Ebon Moss-Bachrach speak about their votes.

Guest: Kyle Buchanan, who is a pop culture reporter and serves as The Projectionist, the awards season columnist for The New York Times.

Background reading: 

For more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily. Transcripts of each episode will be made available by the next workday. 

Photo: Jake May/The Flint Journal-MLive.com, via Associated Press

Unlock full access to New York Times podcasts and explore everything from politics to pop culture. Subscribe today at nytimes.com/podcasts or on Apple Podcasts and Spotify.

Posted on

Tech Won't Save Us - Will the Pope Be An Ally Against AI? w/ Paolo Benanti

Paris Marx is joined by Paolo Benanti to discuss what Pope Leo XIV’s statements on AI, the publications under Pope Francis, and the ethics of AI from a theological perspective.

Paolo Benanti is an author, academic, and priest. He teaches at the Pontifical Gregorian University and was an advisor to Pope Francis on artificial intelligence and technology ethics.

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.

Also mentioned in this episode:

  • Paris wrote about what Pope Leo XIV and the Church have been saying about AI.
  • In June, Pope Leo sent a message to the Second Annual Rome Conference on Artificial Intelligence.
  • Under Pope Francis, the Church published a note on AI called Antiqua et nova. Here is a short breakdown of its content.

Support the show

Posted on

Risky Business with Nate Silver and Maria Konnikova - What’s the Optimal Personality for AI?

This week Nate and Maria discuss the release of GPT-5, the latest model from OpenAI. This model promises to be faster, smarter, and more useful while also reducing hallucinations and sycophancy. It also lets users choose among different AI “personalities.” What do Nate and Maria think so far?

Then, they turn to the newly inked Nvidia trade deal, which notably includes a 15% cut of sales to China for the US government

Further Reading:

Ethical Issues In Advanced Artificial Intelligence by Nick Bostrom, 2003

SuperIntelligence: Paths, Dangers, Strategies by Nick Bostrom, 2014

For more from Nate and Maria, subscribe to their newsletters:

The Leap from Maria Konnikova

Silver Bulletin from Nate Silver

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

array(3) { [0]=> string(184) "https://www.omnycontent.com/d/clips/e73c998e-6e60-432f-8610-ae210140c5b1/951120d9-cf6e-4224-93d7-b15c014dcea5/c701ca0b-8b5f-4ace-9f6d-b338016a0e69/image.jpg?t=1755122813&size=Large" [1]=> string(10) "image/jpeg" [2]=> int(0) }
Posted on

The Gist - Rights You Can’t Use

Aziz Huq, University of Chicago law professor and author of The Collapse of Constitutional Remedies, lays out how federal courts have gutted the mechanisms for enforcing constitutional rights—blocking individuals harmed by police while greenlighting speculative corporate attacks on regulation. Also, Donald Trump crowns himself de facto CEO of the U.S. chip industry and gatekeeper of U.S. Steel’s future. And Matt Taibbi’s “year-to-date” murder stat takedown of D.C. backfires once he actually checks the date.

Produced by Corey Wara

Production Coordinator Ashley Khan

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