Uploaded January 2026 | Updated September 2026, 3 weeks ago
Robert Wright talks with Mike Pesca, host of the long-running daily podcast The Gist, about new technological challenges to independent journalists and the perils of opining on Israel.
Subscribe to The NonZero Newsletter at: nonzero.org/subscribe
Exclusive Overtime discussion: nonzero.org/p/the-past-and-future-of-digital-media
Join NonZero's newly established Discord server: discord.gg/Zy4jAhTQMF
0:00 Are Bob and Mike the godfathers of podcasting?
5:46 Slate and the origins of podcasting
9:12 NotebookLM’s humanless podcasts
13:41 From blogs to Substack
17:48 Looking back at BloggingHeads
23:14 The tribalizing influence of algorithms
30:49 New news models
39:37 What happened to the rules in professional sports?
48:25 The consequences of paying college athletes
59:44 Mike's comprehensive take on sports gambling
1:06:21 Heading into OT: The perils of opining on Israel
Discussed in Overtime:
Losing subscribers over Israel.
Is Bibi boosting antisemitism?
Bob: The Bibi-antisemitism question shouldn’t be taboo.
Mike steelmans Jonah Goldberg.
Why bother with such a controversial topic?
What works on Substack?
Robert Wright (Nonzero, The Evolution of God, Why Buddhism Is True) and Mike Pesca (The Gist, mikepesca.substack.com/). Recorded December 23, 2025.
Twitter: twitter.com/NonzeroPods
Robert Wright talks with Mike Pesca, host of the long-running daily podcast The Gist, about new technological challenges to independent journalists and the perils of opining on Israel.
Subscribe to The NonZero Newsletter at: nonzero.org/subscribe
Exclusive Overtime discussion: nonzero.org/p/the-past-and-future-of-digital-media
Join NonZero's newly established Discord server: discord.gg/Zy4jAhTQMF
0:00 Are Bob and Mike the godfathers of podcasting?
5:46 Slate and the origins of podcasting
9:12 NotebookLM’s humanless podcasts
13:41 From blogs to Substack
17:48 Looking back at BloggingHeads
23:14 The tribalizing influence of algorithms
30:49 New news models
39:37 What happened to the rules in professional sports?
48:25 The consequences of paying college athletes
59:44 Mike's comprehensive take on sports gambling
1:06:21 Heading into OT: The perils of opining on Israel
Discussed in Overtime:
Losing subscribers over Israel.
Is Bibi boosting antisemitism?
Bob: The Bibi-antisemitism question shouldn’t be taboo.
Mike steelmans Jonah Goldberg.
Why bother with such a controversial topic?
What works on Substack?
Robert Wright (Nonzero, The Evolution of God, Why Buddhism Is True) and Mike Pesca (The Gist, mikepesca.substack.com/). Recorded December 23, 2025.
Twitter: twitter.com/NonzeroPods
