The Gist

All this week on The Gist, we’re down with O.P.P.: Other People’s Podcasts. In this episode, Dana Gould explains why he’s decided to make a tightly edited comedy podcast: “I didn’t want to do my version of Marc Maron’s podcast. I thought: Marc’s doing his podcast. Why do I have to do his podcast?” Plus, we’ll hear an excerpt from the “Summer Testicular” episode of The Dana Gould Hour. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

All this week on the The Gist, we’re down with O.P.P.: Other People’s Podcasts. One of our favorites is Alex Blumberg’s StartUp, which tells the story of his startup, Gimlet Media. Blumberg explains the anxiety involved in pulling back the curtain each episode: “There’s this giant pit in my stomach before it drops. Like, have I said too much this time, or are people going to hate me, or am I going to embarrass myself?” For the Spiel, meet the podfather. We speak with Christopher Lydon from Open Source about the first audio weblog. Get The Gist by email as soon as it’s available: slate.com/GistEmail Subscribe to the podcast in iTunes: itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/slate…id873667927?mt=2 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

All this week on the The Gist, we’re down with O.P.P.: Other People’s Podcasts. First up: Marc Maron explains the role of empathy in his interviews on WTF: “I don’t know what happens in here, man, but I’m very open in an emotional way, more so than I am in any other part of my life.” We’ll find out what he’s learned over the years, and the story behind the making of his episode with Louis C.K. (Slate just named that 2010 conversation the best podcast episode of all time.) For the Spiel, Dick Cheney’s incredible interview on Meet The Press Sunday. Get The Gist by email as soon as it’s available: slate.com/GistEmail Subscribe to the podcast in iTunes: itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/slate…id873667927?mt=2 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

When your husband dies, must your sex life die too? Today on The Gist, Emily Yoffe of Slate’s Dear Prudence column joins us for a post-Prudie impact statement with past letter writer “Cut Off From a Sex Life Too Soon.” But first, understanding the protests in Ferguson and New York City with Brown University professor Tricia Rose. For the Spiel, are we all children? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Should America be the world police? Today on The Gist, columnist Bret Stephens from the Wall Street Journal suggests applying a “broken windows” model to foreign policy. He’s the author of America in Retreat. Plus, Josh Hyman, Adam Thomas Smith, Scott Griffin, and David Hudson tell us why Drunk Shakespeare is the perfect way to experience the Bard of Avon. For the Spiel, having it your way from McDonald’s to breastaurants. Get The Gist by email as soon as it’s available: slate.com/GistEmail Subscribe to the podcast in iTunes: itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/slate…id873667927?mt=2 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

While campus sexual assault is a real and serious problem, on The Gist we’ll explore how studies, including one particular statistic, are being used to inflate the dimension of the problem and inform bad policy. We’re joined by Slate’s Emily Yoffe to discuss her piece “The College Rape Overcorrection.” Plus, are all those stories about mother’s intuition real or magical thinking? Mike asks Maria Konnikova of The New Yorker, who listens to her gut on the issue. For the Spiel, does torture ever work? Get The Gist by email as soon as it’s available: slate.com/GistEmail Subscribe to the podcast in iTunes: itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/slate…id873667927?mt=2 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Today on The Gist, Mike comes out with his prediction for Time’s person of the year. Plus, Rick Bragg brings the greatest rock pianist of all time to life in his new biography Jerry Lee Lewis: His Own Story. As Bragg tells us, “When you talk about Jerry Lee Lewis getting old, you’re talking about a wolf with its foot in a trap.” For the Spiel, we’re going Gruber. Get The Gist by email as soon as it’s available: slate.com/GistEmail Subscribe to the podcast in iTunes: itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/slate…id873667927?mt=2 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Today on The Gist, Slate’s Jacob Weisberg offers a brief eulogy to the New Republic. Plus, Michael Hobbes explains how his experiences with international development informed his feature in, oddly enough, the New Republic (RIP). Also: the legacy of Uruguayan President José Mujica, with Michael Shifter from the Inter-American Dialogue. His article is “Stop Trying to Save the World.” For the Spiel, the road ahead for campus victims. Get The Gist by email as soon as it’s available: slate.com/GistEmail Subscribe to the podcast in iTunes: itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/slate…id873667927?mt=2 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Clarence Page is knowledgeable, reasonable, and nice, which makes you wonder how does this guy have a job in opinion journalism? On The Gist, we’ll speak with Page about the current state of race relations and media today, explored in his essay collection Culture Worrier. Plus, Judith Owen and Harry Shearer tell us about the war on wars on Christmas being waged in their show A Christmas Without Tears. Their new single is Christmas With the Devil. For the Spiel, a belated antentwig and the naming of our newest Lobstar. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

On The Gist, NPR’s David Greene joins us in studio to explain the many things Americans don’t understand about Russia. Greene traveled far from his cozy Moscow bureau to experience the vast country by train, an experience that is the subject of his book Midnight in Siberia: A Train Journey Into the Heart of Russia. For the Spiel, can the right and left come together around the death of Eric Garner? Get The Gist by email as soon as it’s available: slate.com/GistEmail Subscribe to the podcast in iTunes: itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/slate…id873667927?mt=2 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Today on The Gist, a look at the issues surrounding police brutality, disengagement, and disarmament in cases like Eric Garner’s. Eugene O'Donnell from John Jay College of Criminal Justice explains why we need a holistic review of policing. Plus, Colin Jones tells us the history of smiling in portraits. He’s the author of The Smile Revolution. For the Spiel, why we’re compelled by threats that are most certainly exaggerated. Get The Gist by email as soon as it’s available: slate.com/GistEmail Subscribe to the podcast in iTunes: itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/slate…id873667927?mt=2 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Pop-up ads keep telling Mike to test his food sensitivity. Is that bulls--t? Today on The Gist, we ask Maria Konnikova of The New Yorker about the differences between food allergies and intolerance. Plus, Meghan Daum discusses the craft of essay writing, and the near-death experience that taught her nothing. She’s the author of The Unspeakable. For the Spiel, the importance of the galvanizing anecdote in the University of Virginia rape case. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Starting Wednesday, Billboard will change the way it measures success on the album chart. Today on The Gist, Chris Molanphy explains how the new system reflects our listening habits—and the evolution of the album inside the music business. Plus, reporter Jody Avirgan gives us the backstory on his recent Studio 360 piece about one of the strangest works ever composed by jazz giant Charles Mingus: a toilet-training guide. For cats. For the Spiel, do we need a perfect expression of popular sentiment? Mike ponders galvanizing anecdotes in the wake of Ferguson. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Thanksgiving is for eaters, so we’ve called in an expert. On The Gist, Dan Pashman from The Sporkful explains how to best prepare your belly for the meal ahead. (Hint: Skip the nuts!) He’s the author of Eat More Better. Plus, you know Les Marshak’s voice, but do you know his story? We’ll hear about new markets for old-school-announcer pipes. For the Spiel, Mike’s advice for the inevitable argument about Ferguson over Thanksgiving dinner. Get The Gist by email as soon as it’s available: slate.com/GistEmail Subscribe to the podcast in iTunes: itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/slate…id873667927?mt=2 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Today on The Gist, Mike begins the show with his Spiel about the Ferguson decision. We’ll discuss what’s unusual (and totally expected) about the grand jury proceedings with Jami Floyd from Al Jazeera America and David Feige, author of Indefensible. To end the show, we head out to our neighborhood spot Hudson Clearwater for a drink with Peter Thomas Fornatale and Chris Wertz. Get The Gist by email as soon as it’s available: slate.com/GistEmail Subscribe to the podcast in iTunes: itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/slate…id873667927?mt=2 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

How come Scandinavians are always the international good guys when it comes to diplomatic relations? Today on The Gist, RAND political scientist Jonah Blank explains the necessity of a Swedish go-between for U.S. relations. Plus, Dan Pashman from The Sporkful explains tricks for a moist turkey with crispy skin. He’s the author of Eat More Better. For the Spiel, the death of Marion Barry, the mayor for life. Get The Gist by email as soon as it’s available: slate.com/GistEmail Subscribe to the podcast in iTunes: itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/slate…id873667927?mt=2 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Today on The Gist, Chuck Todd from NBC’s Meet the Press shares insight into the character of the president, as recounted in his new book The Stranger: Barack Obama in the White House. For the Spiel, Mike concerns himself with easy questions like, “How many Elmos make a quorum?” Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

If it bleed, it leads, but today on The Gist we discuss the bloodless. Our guest Caitlin Doughty is the author of Smoke Gets in Your Eyes: And Other Lessons From the Crematory and host of the popular series Ask a Mortician. Plus, Eric Fine from Van Eck Global shares insight into Brazil’s economy, plus pop-up commentary from NPR’s Adam Davidson. For the Spiel, explaining Serial to people who explain things (badly) to other people. Get The Gist by email as soon as it’s available: slate.com/GistEmail Subscribe to the podcast in iTunes: itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/slate…id873667927?mt=2 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

When our feelings about Hamid Karzai cooled, did we miss out on the Afghan president's vision for his country? Today on The Gist, Middle East correspondent Jack Fairweather of Bloomberg News sketches a broad history of Afghanistan from his book The Good War. For the Spiel, Mike fans the flames of a debate from last week’s Superfest East. Get The Gist by email as soon as it’s available: slate.com/GistEmail Subscribe to the podcast in iTunes: itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/slate…id873667927?mt=2 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Today on The Gist, Chicago’s Joshua Sebastian tells a story of parking ticket injustice. Then, in our regular segment “Is This Bulls---?,” we ask Maria Konnikova of the New Yorker what to make of Jonah Lehrer’s new books, and the mark he left on popular science. For the Spiel, Mike has solved the problem of backpacks on the subway. Get The Gist by email as soon as it’s available: slate.com/GistEmail Subscribe to the podcast in iTunes: itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/slate…id873667927?mt=2 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices