Mike Pesca

Mike Pesca is the host of The Gist. Follow him on Twitter here. Follow The Gist on Twitter here.

You listen to a LOT of podcasts. How has your list changed over the years?
As new ones are invented, old ones fade, but sometimes it’s more oversight than choice. Lately I have rediscovered some old podcasts that used to be go-to’s. Left, Right & Center on a Friday after some political news has come out on a Thursday or Friday morning is a great listen. And I got back into The Jeff Rubin Jeff Rubin Show. I got away from The Adam Carolla Show for two years, but now I never miss one.

What were the first shows you started listening to?
At first, I loved the fact that Fresh Air was there whenever you wanted it. Jesse Thorn’s The Sound of Young America was also an early favorite, it’s since become Bullseye. I also used to listen to Coverville (which has dropped off) and a talk show that ran on St Louis KMOX. I can’t remember the name of the host, but it was magic to be able to check in on these out-of-market stations.

What is a show you listen to that you love that nobody knows about?
Oh lots. One that I stumbled across in the strangest way is called Settling the Score. The hosts are two music experts, real, (degreed and such,) who take a film score and break it down highlighting influences and nuances. Jaws is great. American Beauty, also stellar. It’s so good.

What is the most surprising show you listen to?
I don’t know how many people are inside the Venn Diagram of Live from the Brookings Cafeteria / The Adam Ferrara Podcast / Arms Control Wonk / The Bulwark and Everything Is Alive. I might be the only listener to the National Review Editor’s Roundtable and Chapo Trap House disagreeing with them both in equal measure.

You got your start on podcasts before they were cool. How did you explain podcasts to people before they knew what they were?
Aha. I did have the first podcast on NPR by an NPR employee. It was called “On Gambling.” It was good. I think all episodes are lost to history because recently I wanted to find a segment I did about risk and amniocentesis (ED NOTE: A PROCEDURE IN WHICH AMNIOTIC FLUID IS REMOVED FROM THE UTERUS FOR TESTING OR TREATMENT.) Since my oldest son is 12 1/2, this must have been done 13 years ago. I interviewed the economist and writer Emily Oster about her book that touched on risks and odds and babies but alas, the episode is gone.

But the answer to the question is for many years I had the podcast as a kind of labor of love and also my full-time job as an NPR reporter. I always found time to do both. I wasn’t dependent on anyone actually aligning to my podcast though many did. Then I joined Slate’s Hang Up And Listen about 11 years ago. That was also a side gig. I got paid $200 a week to talk about sports, it was fun and, once again, just a bit of bonus effort—for which I was compensated! Then, when I started working full time for Slate 5 years ago—well, podcasting was cool by then right? Or I helped make it so. And by help, I mean it was all me and some Sarah Koenig.

The Gist is a daily show, something that seems insanely stressful to me. Do you ever get used to doing it? How do you maintain not being stressed all the time?
I almost never consciously think about it. But I do try to consume out of town news and not do too much local New York stuff. Of course, New York is a big and interesting place, and when AOC drives Amazon out of Long Island City, I’m going to talk about it. Because I have thoughts. So many thoughts. One way to think of it is that I’m not going to cover to much of deBlasio’s day in day out foibles but when he (weirdly) I will be on that. Just to help, you know?

What are your favorite and least favorite parts of your job?
My favorite part is having an outlet and a place to put all my thoughts. Least favorite is that it’s such a fiery engine that keeps needing coal, it’s hard to pivot and do much more time consuming reported work that might take days or weeks to really sing.

Are there too many podcasts?
There aren’t too many podcasts. But discovery is a real problem. People I know and am a fan of sometimes have podcasts—and have had them for months, without my knowing about it. That’s wrong. Also celebrity interviewers relying on their Rolodex isn’t a great trend. If podcasting were the only form of interview shows, would a Terry Gross even be able to break through? I do think some of these celebrity interviewers really are good (like Dax Sheppard.) But others are very much not.

Describe your listeners in three words.
Counterintuitive. Skeptical. Informed.