Mike often takes a very moderate position and strives for fairness. I truly appreciate this. He’s extremely well spoken and good at arguing his points. He seems to care about hearing the opinions of people on all sides of an issue and doesn’t shy away from changing his view in light of new information. He covers a lot of topics I don’t necessarily find interesting but has a way of making them interesting in his style of speaking. For a daily podcast this is excellent, not every episode is a hit but sometimes there are really stellar ones that stick with me for a while. And forgive me for being a little mushy: he seems like a really nice and good person.

I really like this show, but Mike has a tendency to be exceptionally pedantic with the added bonus that he seems to think that he can talk you into being as pedantic as he. It can be exhausting.

Excellent job per usual Mike. Long time first time. Great to hear someone intelligently engage the youths. Keep it up

Mike was always upfront about his left bias but in the past he did a good job of fairly challenging Democrat doctrine. This built trust that he was an honest broker. Lately he’s given himself over to the accepted left narratives: the causes of racial wealth gaps (racism!), barely warmed-over stories of Emmet Till (Really? Again?) and most recently (Knucklehead episode) an apoplectic Democrat strategist slinging the most specious far-left arguments that went completely unchallenged. Once the host gives up any pretense of neutrality what’s left? Another Pod Save America.

Mike fails to understand. Trump bringing up eating cats as the most remembered thing from the debate puts the spotlight on the immigration crisis. Immigration is one of trumps strongest issues. With a little bit of time the debate was a strong plus for Trump.

I don’t always agree but I appreciate the way the arguments are structured to give the best possible counter to my beliefs. Highly recommend it to all sides of the political spectrum.

Same dynamic in German army currently. May the institutions hold!

A daily go-to podcast for current events and cultural relevance. Mike is the rare moderate ...criticizing the right and keeping the left honest. The show also balances the trivial with consequential, with editorial format, bookending the shows substantial interview in the middle.

I wouldn’t mind the host’s somewhat overbearing style if I was into the issues and people he covers. But I think it comes down to my just not being interested in what seems to be pop culture — or at least subject matter that’s a bit too superficial for what interests me.

His weak support of the trans “woman “ at the Olympics pummeling the real woman made me sick. His writing is mostly good but he must get paid by the number of words he can put down on paper.

Frequently wrong, never in doubt. Hot takes, but almost never asks the right questions.

I have been listening from the beginning. You made the rare request for a review. But I’m always in the gym listening! This time I’m in Heathrow waiting to board. Mike, thank you for your work, edgy & unapologtic commentary, superb interviewing technique. You are my never miss podcast. I read WAPO, NYT, WSJ everyday. Economist every week. Regular suspect other podcasts and audio books. You never fail to give me a new perspective. Thank you Pesca

Found out about this podcast from BAR Pod, and appreciated this guys voice there. Here he speaks w a level of certainty and lack of humility that even Katie Herzog doesn’t reach

I have listened to nearly every episode of The Gist since it launched, and I always liked Mike’s reporting from his NPR days. One reason I have stuck with it is even though I often disagree with his takes (and always presenting himself as the smartest and wittiest person in the room), he challenged my own notions of the world and made sure I wasn’t always in a news/ideological bubble. However, over the years I find him most off putting when he glazes over things he gets wrong (assertions of fact, style critiques of media or even minor things like names and dates) as the cost of doing business in a daily podcast. He like all journalists (including myself) make mistakes. That is expected. And his occasional antantwig segments sort of account for that. But even then I think he glosses over how many mistakes he makes with a kind of “Oh well, it’s podcasting. Waddaya gonna do?” explanation. I have never gotten the sense that he “regrets the error” in the journalism parlance or that he wants to take any real steps to lessen errors in the future. I don’t think he takes seriously how media credibility hinges on trying to prevent errors and how contrite one is after making them. Everyone needs an editor, even daily opinion/interview podcasters. I think Mike would do well to consider some of the criticisms he makes of other media outlets and journalists and whether he would benefit from other people challenging his ideas and scripts before they go live.

Mike it’s strange to see you bend over backwards to help uri to make his argument. He definitely needed your help to make it and we can sense your loyalty. He seems like a person later in his career who has lost the plot. The example of college debt coverage was underwhelming! This is the example he gives? I didn’t get my college debt forgiven but I’d much prefer my tax dollars spent on that than on bombs. Knowing nothing about this issue - other than your extensive coverage - it’s left me with the opposite conclusion than the one you seem at pains to lead us to. I’m younger and a woman so that may be why it seems clear, he’s just a old white guy who is being left behind by the era. NPR is less popular because of podcasts. Be careful that you don’t get too sidetracked by this issue.

I had assumed when the Slate feed of the gist went dead a few years ago that Mike Pesca was cancelled or something and was seriously bummed. I only recently rediscovered the podcast feed and am glad it’s back in my life. Love the show!

Not too right; not too left. Helpful insights abound and I like the humor and wordplay.

Great show. The sheer number of times that his White Bonus lady Invokes the rhetorical crutch “…right?” in her advocacy is so off putting. I did really want to hear the data she’s mined here and appreciate what’s she is tryna get at but at a certain point i feel gaslit. (Related to NPR voice / editorial…) Re: NPR - let it rip, speak your truth lol. It can only help reform an institution i value in spite of its recent insistence on speaking to me like a kindergartener.

Always thought-provoking and interesting. I am as far from a MAGA Republican as you could possibly be, but at the same time, I don’t feel like I have a real home on the progressive left, and I think that’s where a lot of people (including Mike) find themselves. More power to people who look for nuance and who are not afraid to cut against the grain when necessary. And yes, I would like to hear more about the situation at NPR. Thank you.

I enjoy learning about this. I’m also a disappointed fan of npr. Old enough to remember the wonder of the early years. And the CBC As It Happens.

The Gist was here before Trump was a candidate, and there’s a reason it has worked for so long. It’s that Mike Pesca’s curiosity and playful energy happens to be far stronger than a pure desire to get high ratings. This leads him to pursue genuinely interesting and diverse topics while resisting the siren song to give red meat for a tribal audience. I’ve returned to the Gist after several years of absence, and it is refreshing. I’d admit I spent some of those years listening to heterodox podcasts that were enjoyable in the way they exposed the lunacy of some on the left. But they also became predictable and downright annoying when many of them drifted rightward due to audience capture. The Gist, after all these years, still holds to those center-left values that I hold dear: Be curious, follow the truth fairly where it leads, and don’t be a jerk.

When The Gist launched, I heard one episode and called it quits. Who has time to keep up with a 30-minute daily show of news that I'm already reading on the same six news outlets that the host seems to follow? A year or so later I gave it another try and now it's the only podcast I never miss. Pesca is independent, clever and conscientious. He's a quirky voice of reason and respect in a media audioscape of screamers and haters.

Other podcasts may be heavier, cohosts can certainly tip the scales, but Pesca’s in a different class. That’s why you have to use the “pound for pound” measurement. The point is THIS particular podcast us much better than your current favorite podcast.

Awesome job, Mike! You’re a better man than me, with the patience you show with these Progressive Bozos. They’re straight up delusional. I thought the MAGA Heads were bad, but these losers are sooooooooooooooooo bad that they make Trump look decent! Keep up the good work Champ!

It’s a good podcast

I’ve always appreciated Mike’s dedication to objectivity. “Articulate” is an understatement as it pertains to his command of the English language.

This may end up being my favorite podcast ( and I listen to a lot if podcasts). Love the humor and the culture references. Move over lexicon valley and on the media. Pesca rules! Thanks. Updating in 2024: Absolutely my favorite podcast and 1 of only 2 that I support monetarily. Sometimes I don’t know what to think about an issue until I hear Mike’s take. Other times, I think I’m insane for thinking something about an issue, until Mike reveals that he has the same opinion. Speaking of insanity, The Gist has made me look like a crazy person as I walk my dogs and laugh out loud at one of his fantastic quips.

Do better

I have been a faithful listener of The Gist for about six years now. I don’t want all my information to come from an echo chamber, and I liked that Mike Pesca would sometimes present a viewpoint that challenged my own. Having said that, it feels more and more to me that he is often just playing the contrarian for his own sake. His jokey use of puns and rhymes no longer feels cute to me. He comes off as someone who feels like he is the smartest person in the room, and it has become stifling. He often will play an audio clip of a political figure being asked a question and then haughtily tell us what a far better reply he would have given. Really all of this has come to a head with some of his recent Gists I found to be just plain wrong if not offensive. I am not trying to get him Cancelled, and I just want to cancel my subscription and let you know why. Continued listening would cause me some harm, to have to put up with any more of Pesca’s smarm

Consistently excellent and thought-provoking even when you disagree with the host or the guests. Give it a listen or three (or 3,000) before you believe the naysayers.

Mike Pesca is great, but I lost a lot of admiration for him when he started advertising gold. Gold, seriously?

Got recommended this podcast. Where’s the substance? The discussion was so superficial and simplistic lacking any depth or nuance. Nothing of value was gained here. I feel like the host posits an idea(s) but simply never dives deeper than the surface. He seems more interested in establishing himself as arbiter of wisdom and knowledge rather than actually pursuing those values. Really it all just seems to want to exploit the binary zero sum logic concept of politics he seems to want to decry? Best of luck but found this show to be nothing but a waste of time and energy.

Mike has always welcomed and thoughtfully engaged differing perspectives. In recent episodes he seems a little less dispassionate and has drop a little bit of the journalistic remove and, frankly, I love it! I’ve been a devoted listener for the last four years and have benefited no small amount from the show. As soon as they offered the subscription option I signed on and I am not a the subscribing type. The ad-free and longer form is so worth the price. There are people in my life who might describe me as a Mike fanboy, which I think is unfair - I just believe he delivers some of the best value to be found in the marketplace of ideas.

Are things getting worse and worse? Is humanity doomed to extinct ourselves within a generation or two? Host Mike Pesca disagrees, and his tempered optimism and playful attitude help me preserve my mental health while also staying somewhat abreast of the news.

Smart analysis, crisply rendered — skeptical, probing, and therefore essential. (That should be enough positive adjectives for you.) Devoted listener over here.

If you challenge your beliefs, this is the podcast for you. It's smart, funny, and incredibly insightful ti the issues of our times. He challenges your beliefs, and very often challenges his own. Admitting that he is wrong sometimes is his greatest strength. The diversity of the topics will at times confuse you, but often delight you. Some episodes will not be your bailiwick, but others will leave you wanting to learn more. And that's exactly what Mike Pesca wants.

I enjoy Mike’s podcasts—they are the 2nd podcast I listen to almost every day (Up First being the first). He’s smart, well read, and I love his play on words. More important, I find his views as a good counterbalance to my lefty viewpoints. I appreciate his thoughtful analysis and opinions, and even though I don’t agree with some, I do consider them and feel more well-rounded for it. And it doesn’t hurt that I’m a weirdo gay that finds him (and his voice) sexy 😂. Definite Daddy vibes! Keep the episodes coming!!!

Mike Pesca carries on the tradition of balanced journalism. He challenges his interview subjects but he allows them to make their points. If you’re trying to find a podcast that educates you, challenges the consensus, without political bias—I’d recommend The Gist.

I have been listening to the Gist almost since day one. I find Mike to be a reasonable middle l-of-the-road liberal leaning person, one that is open to the opinions and feedback of others. The Gist is part of my daily routine.

Airplane! Was a scene-for-scene, line-for-line ripoff of the 1957 film Zero Hour. How Mike Pesca didn’t know this and went on to fawn over the “writers” is a dereliction of (someone’s) duty. Duty. Heh-heh.

Been listening for many years. Mike’s interviewing skills are excellent. His politics are left of center but he is honest when discussing all subjects. I would like to hear the whole story of his break with Slate. I could do without his singing.

Not sure why I didn’t review before. I’ve been listening for many years; and missed this greatly during the hiatus. The Gist is the perfect name for this podcast. I like the intros and the spiels and the interviews which always get to the gist of the interviewee’s reason for being someone who should be interviewed. Thank you Mike Pesca.

Love the show. Love the word play.

I like the dude a lot, but the show’s not what it was before the ridiculous cancelling. The topics don’t draw me, mainly. Will still stick with it and see what happens. UPDATE : It’s uneven, but Pesca’s smart and worth listening to.

This show is what On The Media used to be over ten years ago. It does a good job at taking stories currently in the news and give as close to an objective description of what is actually happening with political perspectives removed and replaced with sense and understanding.

Mike is a savvy interviewer who consistently drills down to what his guest knows…or doesn’t! Mike tells it like it is. Five stars.

I start each morning listening to the Gist . Challenging and analytical 5 stars

Mike is funny but also serious. He has wide ranging interests and expertise and regularly educates me on subjects I am not familiar with. He engages with political and otherwise topical material in a way that is authentic and personal, not catering to the partisan divide that is eroding our public discourse. Sometimes we agree, sometimes we disagree, and this is appreciated. The energy, wit and singularity of his rhetorical style is refreshing and reliably entertaining. His interviews are sharp and insightful, often deepening my respect for the interviewer and introducing me to interesting people and ideas. The Gist is a gem and I am happy to have it in my life.

I can count on Mike to provide different ways of looking at current issues. He seems to have an open mind while being opinionated at the same time. He’s one step ahead and also funny. I appreciate that he acknowledges those that help with the podcast. Jane in Wisconsin

Whether I’m hanging on every word of a discussion on some subject I’m really into, or just enjoying Mike’s back-and-forth with a guest , The Gist is must-hear podcasting. I don’t always love his policy and political slants. But he’s serious and thoughtful.