The Gist

Drew Magary is down to hang. His past story assignments for GQ include a day with Duck Dynasty and a trip with the Kid Rock cruise. But Magary, author of the "Why Your Team Sucks" series­­ on Deadspin, is not one to equivocate. On The Gist, he shares his secret to immersive reporting and explains why he's OK with grown men who wear sports jerseys. His latest book is The Hike: A Novel. For the Spiel, Donald Trump's generalizing about generals. Today's sponsors: Blue Apron. Blue Apron's meal kits are delivered right to your door and make cooking at home easy. Get your first three meals free by going to BlueApron.com/gist. Indochino, creators of one-of-a-kind men's suits that are customized just for you. Get any premium suit for just $399—plus free shipping—by going to Indochino.com and using the promo code GIST at checkout. Join Slate Plus! Members get bonus segments, exclusive member-only podcasts, and more. Sign up for a free trial today at slate.com/gistplus. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

College campuses have become hostile territory for some comedians. A wrong-headed joke can provoke everything from walkouts to protests to death threats. But how should students push back against material they find offensive? Director Ted Balaker and comedian Karith Foster discuss their new film Can We Take a Joke? and the tricky line between free speech and needless offense. For the Spiel, Mike takes on the dueling accusations of pay-for-play. Rendering judgement on the optics of the appearance of the whiff of the feeling of potential impropriety. This Gist is supported by Rocket Mortgage from Quicken Loans. Rocket Mortgage brings the mortgage process into the twenty-first century with an easy online process. Check out Rocket Mortgage today at QuickenLoans.com/gist. And by Club W. Get top quality wine delivered right to your door. For 20 dollars off your first order, go to ClubW.com/gist. Join Slate Plus! Members get bonus segments, exclusive member-only podcasts, and more. Sign up for a free trial today at Slate.com/gistplus. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Kori Schake, a former adviser to President George W. Bush, blanches at the idea of a Donald Trump presidency. But she still has reservations about Hillary Clinton. On The Gist, Schake says Clinton's poor follow-through at the Department of State gives her something in common with the Bush administration. Schake is a research fellow at Stanford University's Hoover Institution and regular guest on Foreign Policy's The Editor's Roundtable podcast. She edited the recently published Warriors & Citizens: American Views of Our Military with Jim Mattis. For the Spiel, Mike examines the enduring appeal of unsophisticated '80s video games—even Mr. Do. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

It was the best of times, it was the worst of times: Our guest Chris Molanphy says 1991 was a tale of multiple cities, as radio stations began to tailor their playlists to narrower audiences. The result? Little crossover among the Billboard pop, rock, and rap songs charts, and a very eclectic Hot 100 chart. Molanphy writes Slate's "Why Is This Song No. 1?" column. For the Spiel, Mike cleans out the fridge before vacation. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Most of us would be lost without GPS. So why do we think it's hilarious when people drive into the ocean or walk to the Arctic Circle because phone maps told them to? In Pinpoint, author Greg Milner looks at our uneasy relationship with the technology and the ways GPS has reorganized our culture and our brains. On The Spiel, Mike looks at Donald Trump's latest failed endeavor: public opinion polling. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Director Joshua Marston has done his share of shape-shifting. He's spent time as a teacher abroad. He's learned Albanian and made some stories for NPR. And he's directed critically acclaimed movies like Maria Full of Grace. His newest, Complete Unknown, stars Rachel Weisz as a serial imposter who gets stuck at a dinner party with someone from her past. On The Spiel, the Clinton Foundation pay-for-play mega-scoop that never was. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Why so many music phenoms from Iceland? On The Gist, Kaleo frontman JJ Julius Son says he comes from a "fearless" people. About that: Kaleo recently recorded in a volcano. Their latest album is called A/B. Plus, Slate's very own Mallory Ortberg, writer of the Dear Prudence column, tells us how to be an entertaining advice-giver. Ortberg is the author of Texts From Jane Eyre: And Other Conversations With Your Favorite Literary Characters. In the Spiel, Russia's Paralympics propaganda. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

What made the movies of the 1980s so special, especially as compared to movies being made now? On The Gist, the Guardian's Hadley Freeman explains. She's the author of Life Moves Pretty Fast: The Lessons We Learned From Eighties Movies (and Why We Don't Learn Them From Movies Anymore). For the Spiel, Mike revisits the items that have escaped his searching, skeptical gaze. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

On The Gist, the hosts of the podcast that has made the best use yet of the jazz drummer's brush technique: Politically Re-Active with W. Kamau Bell and Hari Kondabolu. The show picks up where the comedians left off when they stopped working in the same TV writers room. Bell hosts CNN's United Shades of America, and returning guest Kondabolu is on tour with a new comedy album, Mainstream American Comic. For the Spiel, grilling Jill Stein. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Are the nation's most dangerous warheads secure if a rag-tag troika of peaceniks can break through the storage facility's back door? On The Gist, Washington Post reporterDan Zak considers the good and not-so-good arguments for nuclear weapons. His book is Almighty: Courage, Resistance, and Existential Peril in the Nuclear Age. For the Spiel, Jill Stein's unforgivable comments on debt forgiveness. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices