Pulitzer Prize Photo Credit
The sheath dress showdown, controversy over “The Terror of War” & using mind reading to solve murders.
Apparently, there is an unofficial dress code for women in the Trump administration: the sheath dress. I say “apparently” because I didn’t actually notice until reading this NYT style advice column about the Republican women’s uniform and not wanting to look like a MAGA conservative, and I had to look up what a sheath dress is (not to be confused with the shift dress, which is… somehow different.)
But what makes the sheath dress a Republican staple? I recall that this style was also a staple in Michelle Obama’s wardrobe and strikes me as something that would be in the closets of many a professional woman.
But I get it—the way you dress can say a lot about how you live and your values, although I’m pretty sure if an alien were to drop into the conversation, they would be confused at how many tiny details are being considered. Are parachute pants a dead giveaway for the Scottish National Party? Does a part on your left side out you as a member of the Bloc Québécois? (Khaki shorts do make you an Afrikaner, that one’s true) Perhaps all this sheath-dress drama boils down to is a little bit of women trying to knock each other down a peg by criticizing each other’s looks, and a little bit of a panic over cultural signifiers as a stand-in for real differences.
Welcome to the Gist List—a stylish news roundup, interesting things you should know, and my thoughts leading up to today’s podcast episode.
Here’s what’s on my mind:
📸 ”The Terror of War” photo credit is called into question.
🧳 Are these professors leaving in protest, or did they get a great new gig?
🧠 Indian law enforcement is honing their mind-reading skills.
🌪️ FEMA’s job descriptions are self-selecting for disaster.
🥽 Apple’s VR goggles are not worth the price, but you didn’t need WSJ to tell you that.
🍽️ U.S. aid food stores are going bad.
🕵️♂️ The Secret Service is investigating James Comey over a social media post.
The Gist List
Investigating Claims About "The Terror of War" Photograph (AP)
The iconic Vietnam War photo “The Terror of War” or “Napalm Girl” is now being called into question over the photo credit. It has long since been credited to the AP photographer, “Nick” Huynh Cong Ut, but now a film challenging the credit of this photograph has been screened at Sundance, and the AP went to great lengths to do a detailed visual analysis defending Ut’s claim on the photo.
The World Press suspended attribution, but the AP did a VERY thorough investigation and did not go that far and instead said they couldn't prove one way or another. I would say the strongest evidence that it WASN’T Nick Ut was the camera he took the photo with, and donated to a museum—a Leica—was judged to have been highly unlikely to have been the source of the picture.
But as I scroll through the extremely detailed AP investigation, I’m left wondering why the stakes are seen as so high. I understand that a Pulitzer can change a life, and stealing credit is bad, but those things pale in comparison to what happened to Kim Phuc, and in this debate, she is treated as something closer to "state exhibit A" than as a little girl suffering. Luckily, she survived and made something of her life. She also said in a statement, “I have refused to participate in this outrageous and false attack on Nick Ut raised by Mr. Robinson over the past years. … I would never participate in the Gary Knight film because I know it is false.”
We Study Fascism at Yale. We’re Leaving the U.S (NYT)
Three Yale professors—Jason Stanley, the Jacob Urowsky Professor of Philosophy at Yale University, Marci Shore and Timothy Snyder—are leaving the United States for positions at the University of Toronto in protest of the Trump administration. They argue in the NYT video that a sense of American exceptionalism has made us uniquely prone to fascism. They also consider it a warning, with Jason Stanley, the Jacob Urowsky Professor of Philosophy at Yale University, saying, “I want Americans to realize that this is a democratic emergency.”
I, too, am concerned about the state of American democracy under Donald Trump—if you listened to The Spiel a few weeks ago, I laid out all my grievances. But it strikes me as a not-terribly-relatable protest when these professors are leaving for U of Toronto's sabbaticals.
By the way, did I mention that Jason Stanley was the Jacob Urowsky Professor of Philosophy at Yale University? I don’t know why this is so funny. It’s probably unfair. But what do I care, I understand there’s no way someone in Canada can harass an American, and vice versa.
Indian Police Are Trying to 'Read Minds' of Suspects, Over Neuroscientists' Objections (Science)
In a “Minority Report” style turn of events, Indian police stations have started using a BEOS (brain electrical oscillation signature profiling) system that claims to be able to determine whether a person has “experiential knowledge” of specific events—meaning whether they actually participated in, or directly experienced, a crime. Proponents in India say it's humane and nearly infallible. Indian courts have ruled BEOS inadmissible, although they can still affect bail hearings and investigative leads.
Obviously, it is not hard to call this one’s bluff. Axxonet, the company that developed it, likes to boast of its results and application in real life, but, among other things, it has no peer-reviewed research to support that it does what it says.
FEMA Head Admits in Internal Meetings He Doesn’t Yet Have a Plan for Hurricane Season (WSJ)
In a confidence-inspiring move, David Richardson, the now acting head of FEMA without emergency management experience, is completing a hurricane plan after taking over last week, largely without input from experienced FEMA staff. It’s kind of like showing up to class without having done your homework. Or reading the book. Or even asking a classmate what the test is going to be on.
What’s funny is that he replaced Cameron Hamilton, who was effectively removed from FEMA when he opposed eliminating it. You might be thinking, “Well, that’s what Big Bureaucracy™️ would say to protect their jobs!” Sure. But also, when your top job interview question is, “Do you think this job should exist?” and you eliminate everyone who says yes, you shouldn’t be surprised when the guy they eventually land on finds it hard to complete all the deliverables.
They Paid $3,500 for Apple’s Vision Pro. A Year Later, It Still Hurts (WSJ)
Apple’s Vision Pro VR goggles are causing more than people’s wallets to hurt. For how well-designed most Apple products are, they failed to consider what putting headgear on that weighs just over a pound might cause neck pain, with many early adopters stowing them away after a few uses.
What’s most shocking to me is not that they obviously will cause a headache in addition to not looking cool, but the price. I mean, $3500 for a pair of goggles you’ll only wear a few times? If you want to look ridiculous while watching YouTube videos, might I suggest watching them on your phone while wearing a funny hat. Or at the very least, wait a few months to avoid Apple’s aggressive price-skimming strategy and get them at a lower cost.
Exclusive: US Aid Cuts Leave Food for Millions Mouldering in Storage (Reuters)🔒
Never has there been a more notorious case of mouldering since John Brown’s body “mouldering in the grave” than the more than 60,000 tons of U.S. food aid sitting in storage. These stocks could feed 3.5 million people for a month, but are sitting unused in several U.S. government warehouses after DOGE cut USAID. Of course, this all comes at a terrible time as global hunger is on the rise, and 343 million people (roughly the population of the U.S.) are facing food insecurity.
What will happen to the food? It’s unclear as much of it could expire soon, but it might have to be converted to animal feed, or it might just sit there and continue to go bad.
Noem Says DHS, Secret Service Investigating Comey Over Alleged 'Assassination' Threat (The Hill)
Kristi “The Ice Goddess Skaði” Noem has accused former FBI Director James Comey of calling for the assassination of President Trump after Comey posted an Instagram photo of seashells arranged as “8647.” Which, if it went over your head, is apparently saying “86 the 47th president.”
I don’t know about you, but the last time I heard someone tell someone to “86” something, it was when a diner server told the kitchen to 86 the pastrami sandwich I just ordered when I changed my mind and got the turkey. “Jimmy! 86 the Pittsburgh Wax Pistol, gimme a Whiskey Gobbler, drag it through the garden!” Which, in that context, yeah, I can imagine there are a lot of people who would like to 86 Trump back to Mar-A-Lago.
Comey removed the photo and clarified that he did not intend to call for violence, but nevertheless, the Secret Service confirmed they are looking into the post as a potential threat.
There’s more where that came from. Listen to The Gist, and upgrade to Pesca Plus for the ad-free version.
Have a story you want us to talk about or an opinion you want to share? Email us at thegist@mikepesca.com or share your thoughts in the comments. We might give you a shoutout in our next newsletter or on the air.