Mike Pesca: How NPR Lost Its Way

Today’s guest is Mike Pesca, who publishes The Gist podcast every weekday. The Gist, which launched in 2014, is a tight 30 minutes of news, interviews, and opinions on the biggest issues of the day. Pesca is a veteran of NPR and Slate—experiences that have made him an outspoken critic of legacy media, especially its willingness to overthrow longstanding commitments to objectivity and fairness in pursuit of progressive versions of “moral clarity.”

Reason‘s Nick Gillespie talks with him about his controversial 2021 separation from Slate after he defended a New York Times reporter’s use of a racial slur, why once-vaunted newspapers such as The Washington Post and the Los Angeles Times are rightly losing readers and money, and whether the old world of three broadcast TV networks and heavily gate-kept media had any value.

Today’s sponsors:

• Lumen. Lumen is the world’s first handheld metabolic coach. You just breathe into the device and it measures your metabolism through your breath. The phone-based app lets you know if you’re burning fat or carbs, and it gives you tailored guidance to improve your nutrition, workouts, sleep, and even stress management. Your metabolism is your body’s engine—it’s how your body turns the food you eat into fuel that keeps you going. Because your metabolism is at the center of everything your body does, optimal metabolic health translates to a bunch of benefits, including easier weight management, improved energy levels, better fitness results, and better sleep. It can help women track their cycles and the onset of menopause, and adjust recommendations to keep your metabolism healthy through hormonal shifts. Take the next step in improving your health: Go to lumen.me/INTERVIEW to get 15 percent of your purchase.
• The Reason Speakeasy: The Reason Speakeasy is a monthly, unscripted conversation in New York City with outspoken defenders of free thinking and heterodoxy that doubles as a live taping of The Reason Interview With Nick Gillespie. The next event is scheduled for Wednesday, September 11, and features Fox News’ Kat Timpf, whose new book is I Used To Like You Until…(How Binary Thinking Divides Us). Tickets are $15 and include beer, wine, soft drinks, and food. Go here for details.
• An Evening with Richard Dawkins, hosted by Nick Gillespie. Nick Gillespie interviews the legendary scientist in Milwaukee on September 20 as part of his “final bow” tour. Details and tickets here.