The Gist

The Made-for-TV President

Antiheroes are great TV characters, but terrible real-world leaders.

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About the Show

A daily afternoon show about news, culture, and whatever else you’ll be discussing with friends and family tonight.

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  • Mike Pesca is the host of the Slate daily podcast The Gist. He also contributes reports and commentary to NPR.

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Episode Notes

On The Gist, Bolton is out.

In the interview, New York Times TV critic James Poniewozik is here to talk about his new book about Trump and television. He and Mike discuss how the increasing variety of television networks and the boom of reality TV led to Trump, and his similarities to the classic antihero trope. Poniewozik’s new book is Audience of One: Donald Trump, Television, and the Fracturing of America.

In the Spiel, mass shootings and mental health.

Email us at thegist@slate.com.

Podcast production by Daniel Schroeder and Pierre Bienaimé.

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