The Gist

On the Gist, does Biden need a progressive VP? In the interview, Jesse Eisenberg is here for the first half of a two-part interview on his new Audible original, When You Finish Saving the World. Through a series of connected monologues, Eisenberg stitches together the portrait of a family and explores issues of issues of intimacy, growing up, and social change. He and Mike discuss his writing process and the origins of the project. In the spiel, teachers are inessential. Email us at thegist@slate.com Podcast production by Daniel Schroeder and Margaret Kelley. Slate Plus members get bonus segments and ad-free podcast feeds. Sign up now. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

On the Gist, staying hopeful, but realistic. In the interview, author, podcast host, and magazine editor Kurt Andersen joins Mike to talk about his new book, Evil Geniuses: The Unmaking of America: A Recent History. In it, Andersen explains how big business ran unchecked during the final decades of the 20th century allowing greed to ascend and the working person to feel powerless, all while unraveling the fabric of middle class normalcy. In the spiel, Trump tapped Anthony Tata. Email us at thegist@slate.com Podcast production by Daniel Schroeder and Margaret Kelley. Slate Plus members get bonus segments and ad-free podcast feeds. Sign up now. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

On the Gist, NBA jerseys. In the interview, In the interview, filmmaker Mark Duplass is here to talk about his anthology series Room 104 currently airing on HBO. He and Mike discuss the use of rules in the creative process, why the series seems to defy genre, and the experience of growing up with your brother as your artistic partner. Room 104 airs on Friday nights on HBO. In the spiel, Trump misunderstands the suburbs. Email us at thegist@slate.com Podcast production by Daniel Schroeder and Margaret Kelley. Slate Plus members get bonus segments and ad-free podcast feeds. Sign up now. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

On the Gist, Rep. John Lewis and his legacy. In the interview, Mike checks in with Oregon Public Broadcasting's Jonathan Levinson. As a multimedia reporter and producer, Levinson has been on the ground nightly in Portland following the protests, getting tear gassed in the process. Levinson says that it's more than just support for the BLM movement, its boiling frustration around governmental systemic failure. In the spiel, because of John Lewis, we have Barack Obama. Email us at thegist@slate.com Podcast production by Daniel Schroeder and Margaret Kelley. Slate Plus members get bonus segments and ad-free podcast feeds. Sign up now. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

On the Gist, anti-maskers are getting the coronavirus. In the interview, Dr. Jennifer Mercieca is here to discuss her new book, Demagogue for President: The Rhetorical Genius of Donald Trump. She and Mike talk about the origins of Trump's verbal tactics, and how he's been able to manipulate information. They also touch on the variety of ways presidents appeal to the people, and Joe Biden's best route forward in that regard. In the spiel, making a case for uppercase. Email us at thegist@slate.com Podcast production by Daniel Schroeder and Margaret Kelley. Slate Plus members get bonus segments and ad-free podcast feeds. Sign up now. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

On the Gist, gambling the nation's health on professional sports. In the interview, Mike talks with Capt. Lawrence Hunter, a retired commanding officer from the Waterbury Police Department in Connecticut, about policing in America. Hunter spent the majority of his career in law enforcement as a high-ranking officer, and as an educator and instructor. In his retirement, he has launched his own series, Captain Hunter's Podcast, which seeks to "bridge the gap between police and the communities they serve," expanding his emphasis on education and encouraging a reckoning with racism. In the spiel, Bill Barr just lets the Democrats rant. Email us at thegist@slate.com Podcast production by Daniel Schroeder and Margaret Kelley. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

On the Gist, the Republicans are misers. In the interview, Zephyr Teachout is here to discuss her new book Break 'Em Up: Recovering Our Freedom From Big Ad, Big Tech, and Big Money. She and Mike discuss how monopolies have come to dominate so many of our industries, the work that needs to be done to break them up, and why it's a multi-pronged solution. They also touch on Gov. Cuomo's response to the pandemic and how her team might have been different if she'd won office. In the spiel, baseball tried. Email us at thegist@slate.com Podcast production by Daniel Schroeder and Margaret Kelley. Slate Plus members get bonus segments and ad-free podcast feeds. Sign up now. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

On the Gist, losing all the stuff. In the interview, Mike heads to the Lone Star State to speak with Scott Braddock, editor and Texan political analyst at the Quorum Report. Braddock is also host of Texas Take, a podcast from the Houston Chronicle. They dissect Gov. Abbott's coronavirus response, his backtracking, and why he paused the state's reopening. And they get into how the state isn't as securely Republican as many think it is. In the spiel, the Lobstar of the Antentwig. Email us at thegist@slate.com Podcast production by Daniel Schroeder and Margaret Kelley. Slate Plus members get bonus segments and ad-free podcast feeds. Sign up now. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

On the Gist, Trump's mind. In a break from our normal format, Virginia Heffernan of Trumpcast is here with Mike to analyze the most aggressive anti-mask rants out there. From across the nation, people who suffer from a touch of the QAnon are unleashing their unsound mask fears on us all, blaming anything from the Deep State to 5G. We're going to figure out what makes for the most entertaining version of these conspiracy theorists, and what, if anything, we should take seriously. Email us at thegist@slate.com Podcast production by Daniel Schroeder and Margaret Kelley. Slate Plus members get bonus segments and ad-free podcast feeds. Sign up now. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

On the Gist, Life of Kanye. In the interview, Princeton History and Public Affairs Professor Julian Zelizer joins Mike to discuss his latest book on former speaker of the house, Newt Gingrich. With the help of Gingrich's own congressional documents, Burning Down the House: Newt Gingrich, the Fall of a Speaker, and the Rise of the New Republican Party explains the ways Newt seized an opportunity to use C-Span cameras and modern technology to his advantage, how he gave rise to partisanship, and his plans to conquer Congress through his appetite for disruption. In the spiel, Republicans embarrassing themselves. Email us at thegist@slate.com Podcast production by Daniel Schroeder and Margaret Kelley. Slate Plus members get bonus segments and ad-free podcast feeds. Sign up now. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices