The Gist

This Saturday edition features an unaired segment from the interview with UC Berkeley law professor David Oppenheimer regarding standardized testing in higher education. The discussion centers on a debate over the statistical legitimacy of the LSAT and bar exam passage rates. The episode rounds out with a takedown of anyone claiming New York commuters pronounce the LIRR as the lure.

Produced by Corey Wara

Video and Social Media by Geoff Craig

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Today on The Gist, the upcoming Enhanced Games are analyzed not as an ethical crisis, but as a weak, corporate-sponsored satire of athletic boundaries. Then, Nobel Prize-winning economist Alvin Roth joins the show to discuss his book Moral Economics: From Prostitution to Organ Sales, What Controversial Transactions Reveal About How Markets Work. He maps out the baseline difference between evolutionary disgust and social repugnance, diving into historic natural experiments, including Rhode Island’s accidental legalization of indoor prostitution and the downstream legalities of international surrogacy, to reveal the real-world trade-offs of market bans. Finally, in the spiel, the latest legislative chaos out of Washington is unpacked, showing how the constant breaking of institutional norms has simply become par for the course.

Produced by Corey Wara

Video and Social Media by Geoff Craig

Do you have questions or comments, or just want to say hello? Email us at ⁠⁠⁠⁠[email protected]

For full Pesca content and updates, check out our website at https://www.mikepesca.com/⁠

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Today is Not Even Mad. Tangle founder Isaac Saul and journalist Jamie Kirchick discuss the creation of the Department of Justice's $1.776 billion anti-weaponization settlement fund, the legislative fallout from the Trump primary revenge tour, and the unpredictable new swing votes in the Senate. Finally, they honor the trailblazing legacy and posthumous warnings of the late Barney Frank before sharing their personal weekly grievances on everything from shrieking toddlers to Gen Z's lack of eye contact.

Produced by Corey Wara

Video and Social Media by Geoff Craig

Do you have questions or comments, or just want to say hello? Email us at ⁠⁠⁠⁠[email protected]

For full Pesca content and updates, check out our website at https://www.mikepesca.com/⁠

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Today on The Gist, the profound failure of empathy within our immigration bureaucracy is put under the microscope following the tragic freezing death of Nurul Amin Shah Alam, a blind Rohingya refugee abandoned in a Buffalo parking lot by Border Patrol. Then, UC Berkeley law professor David Oppenheimer joins the show to discuss his book, The Diversity Principle: The Story of a Transformative Idea. He traces the intellectual history of multiculturalism back to 1810 Prussia, arguing that a clash of perspectives is essential for institutional excellence, leading into a spirited debate over the replication crisis in social science and the institutional flaws of the modern DEI apparatus.

Produced by Corey Wara

Video and Social Media by Geoff Craig

Do you have questions or comments, or just want to say hello? Email us at ⁠⁠⁠⁠[email protected]

For full Pesca content and updates, check out our website at https://www.mikepesca.com/⁠

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Today on The Gist, Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche defends a massive compensation fund for Donald Trump alongside a highly convenient IRS waiver. Then, J Schuberth joins the show to discuss her write-in campaign for Oregon governor as a six-foot-tall pencil. She breaks down why the state ranks dead last in fourth-grade literacy, the political pushback against the science of reading, and why adult comfort should not override student outcomes. Finally, in the spiel, a fierce defense of the only correct way to pronounce the LIRR and a thorough takedown of anyone who dares to call it the lurr.

Produced by Corey Wara

Video and Social Media by Geoff Craig

Do you have questions or comments, or just want to say hello? Email us at ⁠⁠⁠⁠[email protected]

For full Pesca content and updates, check out our website at https://www.mikepesca.com/⁠

For ad-free content or to become a Pesca Plus subscriber, check out ⁠⁠⁠⁠https://subscribe.mikepesca.com/

For Mike's daily takes on Substack, subscribe to The Gist List https://mikepesca.substack.com/

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