The Gist

On The Gist, who cares that Tim Kaine speaks Spanish? Nelson Flores says white liberals might be more excited about it than Latino voters are. Flores is an assistant professor in educational linguistics at the University of Pennsylvania. Plus, Foreign Policy’s Michela Wrong describes some of the more curious memorials popping up in Rwanda. Wrong recently published her first novel, Borderlines.  For the Spiel, why the news should be fair, but not balanced. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

On The Gist, Brad Meltzer from Lost History explains why he thinks of himself as one part of a “literary peanut butter cup.” Meltzer teamed up with Tod Goldberg to write The House of Secrets, a spy novel that imagines the final moments between Benedict Arnold and George Washington.  For the Spiel, the kiddie press corps takes over.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

On The Gist, Facebook has become one of the world’s biggest disseminators of journalism, but it doesn’t care about journalism. Is that a problem? Farhad Manjoo ticks off a few reasons to be wary. Manjoo writes the State of the Art technology column in the New York Times. His podcast is called the Jay & Farhad Show. For the Spiel, the RINOs among us.   Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

On The Gist, should you swear off summer cookouts? Our regular guest Maria Konnikova joins us for a round of “Is That Bulls---?” Konnikova writes for the New Yorker and is the author of The Confidence Game. For the Spiel, the parade of worries ahead of the Olympic Games.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

On The Gist, Jessi Klein explains her theory that women can be sorted into two categories: poodles and wolves. It’s an idea she explores in her new book, You’ll Grow Out of It. Klein is the head writer on the Comedy Central show Inside Amy Schumer.  For the Spiel, Trump is giving voice to an element we’ve known about—but he’s still losing. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

On The Gist, we bring you this never-before-aired interview with writer and human rights advocate Larry Siems, who edited the writings of Guantánamo Bay detainee Mohamedou Slahi for the 2015 book Guantánamo Diary. Slahi has been approved for release. For the Spiel, a quick game of “Have You Even Read the Constitution?”  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

100 years ago, a man named Michael Kristoff strolled onto an island in the New York harbor armed with explosives cooked by German chemists. He was there to blow up a stockpile of munitions pledged to the Allied Powers.  On The Gist, Chad Millman tells the story of the first major act of foreign terrorism on the United States. His 2006 book, The Detonators: The Secret Plot to Destroy America and an Epic Hunt for Justice, has just been released in e-book form to coincide with the 100th anniversary of the attack.  The regular Spiel will be back next week -- get your fix by checking out out the past two weeks of a.m. Spiels on the Republican and Democratic conventions.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Hillary Clinton’s remarks to the Democratic National Convention didn’t match those of the exceptional orators who preceded her, but she’ll have significant advantages in the presidential debates this fall.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

On The Gist, Mike confesses his nerdy fascinations to Tricia Bobeda and Greta Johnsen, hosts of WBEZ’s Nerdette podcast.  Check back Friday for another a.m. Spiel, complete with a Quick and Dirty Dissection of the fourth and final day of the Democratic National Convention.   Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

A Quick & Dirty Dissection of Day 3 of the Democratic National Convention, where heavy hitters lined up to vaunt the nominee President Obama called “the woman in the arena.” Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

On The Gist, Mike realizes he’s not the liberal he thought he was, and the film Tallulah shows you what a sympathetic child-snatcher looks like. The movie’s writer and director, Sian Heder, (who also writes for Orange Is The New Black) and starring actress Tammy Blanchard stop by to discuss (fictional) women with abandonment issues. Check back for another a.m. Spiel offering a Quick and Dirty Dissection of Day 3 of the DNC.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

On Day 1, the speakers galvanized. On Day 2, they humanized. A Quick & Dirty Dissection on the latest from the Democratic National Convention. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

On The Gist, should Sandra Bland’s mother be part of the DNC’s Day 2 lineup? Then, former political advance man Josh King shows us how to spot the subtle stage-managing of the nominating conventions. His book is Off Script: An Advance Man’s Guide to White House Stagecraft, Campaign Spectacle, and Political Suicide.  Check back for an a.m. Spiel Quick & Dirty Dissection of the DNC, Day 2.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Day 1 of the Democratic National Convention brought dissension, a speech for the ages, and one good zinger.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

On The Gist, the problem with corn dogs. Dan Pashman from the Sporkful podcast explains why Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump don’t eat in public.  In the Spiel, it’s the return of the Trump Anxiety Hotline.  And check back for an a.m. Spiel about the Democratic National Convention’s first day. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

On The Gist, comedian Hari Kondabolu says he doesn’t mind updating his jokes to heed the sensitivities of his fans. His new stand-up comedy album is Mainstream American Comic. He hosts the Politically Re-Active podcast with comedian W. Kamau Bell. For your Spiel fix, check out the three a.m. Spiels on the Republican National Convention. More of that to come for the Democratic National Convention in Philadelphia. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Donald Trump’s laundry-list speech on Day 4 of the Republican National Convention was full of falsehoods and gloom. Will it have any sway over voters who don’t already support the official GOP presidential candidate? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

On The Gist, regular guest Maria Konnikova returns to play “Is That Bulls--t?” The assertion: “Your dog is going crazy because he smells my dog on me.” Konnikova writes for the New Yorker and is the author of The Confidence Game. Wherefore art the Spiel? Check back Friday morning for an a.m. Spiel on Day 4 of the Republican National Convention.   Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Day 3 of the Republican National Convention brought a Ted Cruz crescendo, a little Cruz-splaining.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

On The Gist, crackers, rednecks, hillbillies—Nancy Isenberg explains the persistence of these terms and why they can’t be called ethnic identities. Her book is called White Trash: The 400-Year Untold History of Class in America. Where’s the Spiel? Check back Thursday morning for another a.m. Spiel on the Republican National Convention.   Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices