The Gist

Elliott Abrams narrowly missed out on the State Department's No. 2 job under President Trump, and it wasn't just because of his sharp criticism of Trump, the candidate. In his book, Realism and Democracy, he argues that the U.S. should stay involved ­in the Arab world, going against the Trump administration's "America First" doctrine. Abrams also sounds off on Trump's use of the presidential pardon. In the Spiel, Mike weighs the New York Times' coverage of your run-of-the-mill American Nazi. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Standup comic and writer Dana Gould talks to Mike about growing up in a family of manly hunters and writing a character inspired by his dad. Gould is the creator of IFC's Stan Against Evil, a show about a small-town New Hampshire sheriff who fights demons. In the Spiel, how to get a rise out of your uncle over the holidays. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The anti-war movement of 1968 looks inevitable today, but at the time, it felt "freaking bananas." MSNBC's Lawrence O'Donnell explains the charisma of Bobby Kennedy, the fervor of Eugene McCarthy, and the crushing blow they dealt to sitting President Lyndon B. Johnson, who withdrew from the campaign after a narrow win in the New Hampshire primary. O'Donnell wrote about the race in his latest book, Playing With Fire. In the Spiel, Mike skewers president Trump's double standards when it comes to sexual assault. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

In his 37 years as president of Zimbabwe, Robert Mugabe has learned how to play hardball. While his past methods have invited sanctions for human rights violations, the 93-year-old is staying within the confines of the law to fend off the coup at his doorstep. Chipo Dendere, a visiting assistant professor of political science at Amherst College, tells us more. In the Spiel, Mike considers Charles Manson and why serial killers don't get attention like they used to. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Comedian Gilbert Gottfried is known for his notorious voice and jokes that toe the borderline between daring and tasteless. In the documentary Gilbert, we see his softer side: his wife, Dara, rubs schmutz off his robe, his kids hug him goodbye before padding off to school, he sweet-talks a hotel concierge into giving him free deodorant. Gottfried, Dara, and the film's director Neil Berkeley joined Mike to talk about what makes Gilbert special. In the Spiel, are you running for office? A sitting senator? A first-term president? Mike Pesca is here to give you advice on surviving your sexual misconduct scandals. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Elizebeth Smith got her start poring over Shakespearean verse for secret messages that were not there. But she soon used those skills to break codes used by America's enemies in both world wars. The FBI took credit for her decryptions of Nazi messages, and her husband's work received much greater attention from the wars' historians. Jason Fagone changes that with his latest book,­ The Woman Who Smashed Codes, and joins Mike to talk about it. In the Spiel, Mike surveys podcasting comedians' reactions to Louis C.K.'s admitted sexual misconduct. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

How can savvy activism topple decades of legal precedent? The ACLU's David Cole tells us about three issues in which like-minded citizens advanced their agenda: marriage equality, gun ownership, and checking George W. Bush's war on terror. Cole's book is Engines of Liberty: The Power of Citizen Activists to Make Constitutional Law. In the Spiel, Mike considers Brett Talley, President Trump's odd pick for federal district judge. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

President Trump's top economics adviser is Kevin Hassett, a guy who has made some very bad calls—most notably, his assertion that the Bush tax cuts would make the U.S. economy recession-proof. New Yorker writer Adam Davidson takes us to economics school and parses some of Hassett's years old gobbledygook. In the Spiel, holding Bill Clinton's accusers to today's standards. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

As America's prison population surged in the '80s and '90s, private prisons were billed as the solution. They were supposed to bring innovations to incarceration and save tax dollars. But as criminal justice expert Lauren-Brooke Eisen tells us, private prisons are no more cost-effective, and the corporations behind them operate in secrecy. Eisen's book is Inside Private Prisons. In the Spiel, Mike skewers the Republican tax plan. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Loudon Wainwright III has been plumbing his personal relationships and dysfunctions for decades in his music. His latest book continues on that theme as he examines the influence of his father. The book is Liner Notes: On Parents & Children, Exes & Excess, Death & Decay, & a Few of My Other Favorite Things. In the Spiel, Mike is not yet done talking about Roy Moore and Louis C.K. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices