Uploaded November 2025 | Updated September 2026, 3 weeks ago
Abby Phillip, anchor of CNN’s NewsNight and author of A Dream Deferred, joins Mike for a wide-ranging conversation about Jesse Jackson’s political rise, his electric rhetorical style, and the complicated legacy he left behind. They explore how Jackson navigated faith, activism, and national politics, the tensions within his presidential campaigns, and the barriers he faced inside and outside the Democratic Party.
Along the way, Phillip traces surprising connections between Jackson and later figures like Barack Obama, Bernie Sanders, and even Donald Trump, raising broader questions about what truly defines populism and political power in America. And toward the end, Mike presses on Jackson’s most controversial chapter: his fraught relationship with Louis Farrakhan.
Full episode on The Gist Podcast hosted by Mike Pesca - open.spotify.com/episode/0L97gm9iu5qgfcJNXhoSGf?si=nzcZ3Me6Tn6x4iueKVvkFw
Abby Phillip, anchor of CNN’s NewsNight and author of A Dream Deferred, joins Mike for a wide-ranging conversation about Jesse Jackson’s political rise, his electric rhetorical style, and the complicated legacy he left behind. They explore how Jackson navigated faith, activism, and national politics, the tensions within his presidential campaigns, and the barriers he faced inside and outside the Democratic Party.
Along the way, Phillip traces surprising connections between Jackson and later figures like Barack Obama, Bernie Sanders, and even Donald Trump, raising broader questions about what truly defines populism and political power in America. And toward the end, Mike presses on Jackson’s most controversial chapter: his fraught relationship with Louis Farrakhan.
Full episode on The Gist Podcast hosted by Mike Pesca - open.spotify.com/episode/0L97gm9iu5qgfcJNXhoSGf?si=nzcZ3Me6Tn6x4iueKVvkFw
