The Gist

On The Gist, Bill de Blasio flapping his arms to R. Kelly. In the interview, Sal Gentile writes for late night television, but he lives in president Trump's mind around the clock. Every day he writes insights and jokes about Trump's latest ramblings for "A Closer Look," a segment on NBC's Late Night with Seth Meyers. Gentile talks about his writing process—lots of jokes go into a first draft, but only a few make the cut—and how the instinct to laugh is itself a reliable bullshit detector. In the Spiel, the college admissions scandal involving Felicity Huffman and Lori Loughlin. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

On The Gist, much ado about a toothpick ban. In the interview, Wikipedia is famously edited by its own readers. And no one has made more contributions than Steven Pruitt. A third of English language pages on the site bear his mark! What goes into editing a Wikipedia page, and is it as toxic as other democratic spaces on the internet? In the Spiel, which Democratic candidate gets The Gist's vote? The one to make Daylight Saving Time permanent. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

On The Gist, Rep. Ilhan Omar and Israel. In the interview, the Guardian's Chris McGreal covered the deadly toll opiates take on poor American communities "long before it became fashionable because of Trump." He speaks to Purdue Pharma's zealous campaign to push OxyContin ("a chemical cousin of heroin", in the words of the New Yorker) onto doctors and patients—and the federal government's failure to stop it. McGreal is the author of American Overdose: The Opioid Tragedy in Three Acts. In the Spiel, another Lobstar of the Antentwig. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

On The Gist, Stormy is in the news (but not that Stormy). In the interview, Donald Trump speaks many untruths every day, and someone has to track them all. Somehow that task has fallen to a Canadian. The Toronto Star's Daniel Dale is here to tell us what counts as a lie, why details matter, and how neither the left nor the right seem satisfied with his work. In the Spiel, theology isn't all that interesting… unless there's drama involved, of course. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

On The Gist, distracting Congress from H.R. 1. In the interview, sexual promiscuity is judged differently among men compared to women, and that goes double for sex addiction. Franco-Moroccan novelist Leïla Slimani's latest protagonist, Adèle, knows that firsthand. Slimani joins us to talk about her relationship with her translator—and her own characters—and the French sex scandal that inspired her initial research. In the Spiel, bad arguments are hard to believe, like those used to defend Michael Jackson. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

On The Gist, Fox News isn't distributing Trump's talking points. Worse, it's defining them. In the interview, reality TV typically thrives on drama and negativity. Top Chef isn't necessarily an exception, but season 16 competitor David Viana says morale was high on set—and that that's a good sign for the culinary world overall. "Better, healthier kitchens are popping up," Viana says. "It isn't the Gordon Ramsay style." David Viana is the executive chef of New Jersey's Heirloom Kitchen. The finale of Top Chef: Kentucky airs March 14, 2019 on Bravo. In the Spiel, more from Trump's nonsensical CPAC speech. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

On The Gist, the White House PR machine. In the interview, John Carlin is a former Asst. Attorney General for the Dept. of Justice and former Chief of Staff to Robert Mueller, and his new book Dawn of the Code War tracks the rise of global cyber threats from Russia and China, and how our country is working to respond. In the Spiel, the CPAC lets Trump get away with anything he wants. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

On The Gist, John Hickenlooper might be running for president. In the interview, Dan Reed reached out to Wade Robson and James Safechuck before #MeToo exploded, but its influence is clear. In the director's documentary for HBO, Leaving Neverland, we hear again how the effects of sexual abuse—in this case, at the hands of Michael Jackson—can manifest in counterintuitive ways; Robson and Safechuck once shielded Jackson. Now they're coming forward with their truth. In the Spiel, the House Oversight Committee and racism. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

On The Gist, the empty political rhetoric that is "everyday people." In the interview, fact-checking is big business in the age of Trump. But one politician diametrically opposed to the president—Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez—is playing fast and loose with statistics too, and journalists have noticed. Should she be called out? NY Magazine's Eric Levitz says it's complicated. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

On the Gist, Michael Cohen is not a smart guy, and that makes his testimony all the more trustworthy. In the interview, Casey Burgat of R Street is here to talk about Sen. Amy Klobuchar's staff turnover data. Does she seem to churn through staff more than most, or are a few big exits skewing the numbers? And is it so bad to have high turnover anyway? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices