The Gist

Why does the movie Revenge of the Nerds continue to resonate today? Because, aside from how funny it is, it stands up for outcasts. Actor Curtis Armstrong explains what he took away from the film playing Booger, who was accepted by the nerds despite not really being one of them. Armstrong is the author of Revenge of the Nerd: Or… The Singular Adventures of the Man Who Would Be Booger. In the Spiel, health care for all! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

On The Gist, Mike talks to one of his favorites: Musician Ted Leo discusses letting his political frustrations fuel his songwriting (see his song, "William Weld in the 21st Century") and explains how he finds solace in the tarot card image of the hanged man, which inspired the name of his new album. The Hanged Man is available now. For more on Ted Leo, read Michael Tedder's story in Stereogum, "Ted Leo Is Like You." In the Spiel, why it's silly to say that speech equals violence. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

On The Gist, Gretchen Rubin explains why her system of sorting people into four personality types (Rebel, Obliger, Questioner, and Upholder) will make your life easier. Rubin is the author of The Four Tendencies and host of the podcast Happier. In the Spiel, what happens when politics seeps into sports. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Late-night talk shows adhere to a form: a host behind a desk, pre-produced interviews, and tightly choreographed bits. Chris Gethard wants to break that form apart. With absurd gags like getting dunked in ice water or staying awake for 36 hours, Gethard wants to disarm his celebrity guests and put his viewers in charge. Gethard's new season of The Chris Gethard Show airs Thursday nights at 11 p.m. Eastern on truTV. In the Spiel, the fatberg of London. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Do germaphobic parents doom their kids to a lifetime of allergies and irritable bowels? This sounds like a question for our favorite game, "Is That Bullshit?" Returning champion Maria Konnikova helps us sort good bacteria from bad. Konnikova writes for the New Yorker and is the author of The Confidence Game. In the Spiel, what should we consider before changing the definition of sexual assault? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Former NFL cornerback Nnamdi Asomugha sees his time in football as a prep course for acting. On The Gist, he explains how he learned to study other people while developing his own style. Asomugha stars in Crown Heights, a film based on the true story of a Brooklyn man trying to prove the innocence of his imprisoned friend. Crown Heights is in select theaters and will be available nationwide starting Friday, Sept. 15. In the Spiel, why does anyone listen to Ivanka Trump? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Standup comic Ms. Pat is used to getting follow-up questions about her jokes. Did your mom really shoot a gun in the house? Did you really get pregnant when you were 13? Did you really have fleas? It's all true, and now it's even been fact-checked. Patricia Williams tells Mike about what it was like to write her book, Rabbit: The Autobiography of Ms. Pat. In the Spiel, a special statement from the president of Equifax. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Hurricane Harvey has caused a huge amount of property damage, but so far the death toll remains remarkably low. Why? Mike talks to John Mutter, a Columbia University professor who studies how natural disasters affect the poor. Mutter is the author of The Disaster Profiteers. In the Spiel, the deal-making wizardry of President Trump. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Did the sexual revolution inspire rock 'n' roll or vice versa? Was Elvis Presley a knowing sex symbol or a total innocent? Is it true that there are still blue laws on the books against playing "Tutti Frutti" after dark? NPR's music critic Ann Powers tackles these and other questions in her book, Good Booty: Love and Sex, Black and White, Body and Soul in American Music. In the Spiel, the perfect late-summer sports scandal. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The nation has weathered another major natural disaster, and the Army Corps of Engineers once again finds itself under scrutiny. NPR's national desk correspondent Wade Goodwyn says the corps made a choice to open the floodgates of two major reservoirs in southeast Texas, flooding certain neighborhoods and sparing others. Mike Pesca is back to take his rightful place as spieler in chief. Tuesday's topic: Jeff Sessions finally gets to stick it to the Deferred Action for Child Arrivals program. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices