Category: 3-SometimeCommentary

From the annals of monkey research, how 10 primates were gassed in the service of a bad study.

Today on The Gist, investigative reporter David Cay Johnston, who has been reporting on President Trump long enough to simply call him Donald. Johnston has an appreciation for Donald’s trademark swindles: refusing payment, lying to vendors, abridging photocopies. He’s not surprised to see the same methods at work in the Trump administration. He likens the Trump administration to “political termites,” eating their way through the structures of the U.S. government, leaving holes throughout. Johnston is the author of It’s Even Worse Than You Think: What the Trump Administration Is Doing to America. 

In the Spiel, the trial, coverage, and sentencing of Larry Nassar.

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On The Gist, Devin Nunes probably doesn’t know squat. 

In the interview, Democrats hold most of the Senate seats up for grabs in this year’s midterms, which means they have a lot to lose. But importantly, mathematician Jordan Ellenberg says election predictions often fail to account for national mood. Ellenberg is the author of How Not to Be Wrong: The Power of Mathematical Thinking. 

In the Spiel, Mike defends his bougie laundry routine.

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On The Gist, more details come out about Garrison Keillor.

In the interview, it turns out something can be good for your taste buds without being bad for your health. Monosodium glutamate has gotten a bad rap since 1968, when a medical journal suggested it might cause all kinds of symptoms. Dan Pashman, creator and host of the Sporkful podcast, tells us why MSG isn’t the boogeyman it’s been made out to be (and why he adds it to his own cooking).

In the Spiel, behold, the mystical power of Maine Sen. Susan Collins’ talking stick.

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On The Gist, what just happened?

And are Democrats sniveling losers or Machiavellian savants?  McClatchy reporter Alex Roarty explains why the animating force driving both Democrats and Republicans right now is a loud conservative minority. 

In the Spiel, Greece has beef regarding which part of world gets to be called “Macedonia.”

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Art was power for Britain's kings and queens. In a new BBC TV series, Andrew Graham-Dixon visits the paintings amassed by King Charles I, the first great royal collector in British history. He tells Andrew Marr why after Charles was executed his royal artworks were flogged across Europe. The lost royal collection will finally be reunited this year in an exhibition at the Royal Academy of Arts. Historian Leanda de Lisle brings the Stuart monarch back to life in her biography White King. But was the art-loving king a traitor, a murderer or a martyr? And it is not only kings who use art to impress. Don Thompson meets hedge fund managers and foreign oligarchs in his study of the contemporary art scene, while artist Kelly Chorpening describes the role of Camberwell College of Art in shaping the art scene. Producer: Hannah Sander

Picture credit: Anthony van Dyck (1599-1641), Charles I in Three Positions, 1635-36 Royal Collection Trust / (c) Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II 2018, www.royalcollection.org.uk.

Up first on The Gist: It appears the Stormy Daniels story checks out.  

Plus, Saturday marks the first anniversary of President Trump’s inauguration. The hosts of Slate’s Trumpcast join Mike to revise old predictions, make new ones, and consider whether Democrats should be rooting for impeachment via the Robert Mueller investigation.  

And in the Spiel, we’re on the verge of another government shutdown. It seems normal now. Or have we lost track of what normal looks like?

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On The Gist, how about those Fake News Awards, huh? 

Alan Jacobs questions your ability to think for yourself. Can you really rid yourself of your biases, or do you just develop better biases? Are you really any better than your estranged friends at finding answers, or have you just chosen a different group with whom to associate? Jacobs is the author of How to Think: A Survival Guide for a World at Odds.  

In the Spiel, relive the horrifying 43 minutes during which America thought a just-inaugurated President Donald Trump had removed Martin Luther King Jr.’s sacred bust from the Oval Office.

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