FINE. Here’s Your Story About Epstein
Plus: A risqué pixelated mosaic returns to Rome, the day the music died on NPR & Thailand is re-criminalizing marijuana.
OKAY FINE. After days of news about the nation’s biggest fixation, the Jeffrey Epstein case, The Gist List is finally on the story—reluctantly. Laura Loomer said in an interview today that President Donald Trump’s handling of the investigation threatens to “consume his presidency.” And while we disagree on the particulars, she might be right. Trump has kicked the can around to the DOJ—the files are on Pam Bondi’s desk, and she’ll get to them just as soon as she organizes her pencil drawer—as well as to the FBI, which released a memo saying that it found "no credible evidence” that Epstein was blackmailing anyone. This is a problem because when asked, Trump deferred to Bondi, saying, "Whatever she thinks is credible, she should release.”
Moreover, the President is distancing himself from his followers who are doggedly chasing this case. In a social media post, he blasted his “PAST” supporters for buying “into this ‘bullshit,’ hook, line, and sinker.”
And while the president has his own cult of personality, people are willing to break ranks with him over the handling of this case, as per this poll posted by Matthew Yglesias. Also noteworthy is the 15% of people who haven’t heard anything about the case, yet either somewhat to strongly disapprove of the president’s handling of it.
My own persnickety sensibilities aside, I just talked to Jake Tapper today for an interview that will air tomorrow. I asked him, as a last question—what’s a story that you’re following that’s grabbing your attention. He could have said Pompei mosaics or Thailand’s cannabis industry. Instead, he said EPSTEIN! It’s a true mystery playing out in real time. Maybe so. Maybe I’ve been so put off by the whiff of unproven conspiracy, and I haven’t smelled the obvious rot of cover-up assaulting my nostrils.
Welcome to the Gist List—an obsessive news roundup, things you should know, and my thoughts leading up to today’s podcast episode.
Here’s what’s on my mind:
⬛ Saucy, pre-pixelated ancient mosaic heads back to Rome.
📻 The day the music died on NPR.
🎓 Now that you mention it, support for higher ed is up.
🤑 D.C. Council member is back in office after a bribery scandal.
🌿 Thailand is doing takebacksies on decriminalizing marijuana.
The Gist List
A Risqué Pompeii Mosaic Returns Home Decades After Wartime Theft (Art Net)
This erotic (to a horny piece of terracotta?) Roman mosaic from around 79 C.E., was stolen by a German Wehrmacht captain during WWII. It was repatriated in 2023 after the heirs of the last German owner contacted Italian authorities.
Before you get excited to see what this piece looks like, realize you can only do so much when your medium is randomly sized pieces of polished stone. It literally comes pre-pixelated. I also don’t know, exactly, what makes this mosaic “erotic” compared to, say, every other painting sitting in the Met.
Musicians Brace for Impact as Senate Vote on Public Radio Looms (Washington Post)
A bill passed by the House, which is now awaiting Senate action, could rescind over $1.1 billion in future funding for the Corporation for Public Broadcasting (CPB). If passed, the bill would eliminate CPB funding already allocated for 2026–2027, which would be a major blow to public radio’s ability to pay music licensing fees. For one thing having a song played on NPR can boost exposure and album sales for artists flying under the radar who have the good fortune to get picked up on public radio, like Yasmin Williams. After a feature, Williams’ album sales went up almost 2 million percent (which, I assume, means from 1 unit in a week to 20,000).
Secondly, I know defunding NPR is a major goal of the GOP, but this may be an own goal. Even without federal dollars, there will still be public radio. The question is: what will it sound like? Conservatives should realize that every minute of mopey Bon Iver music is a minute not devoted to what they’d call leftist agitprop. No music? That air still has to be filled. Instead of a beflanneled singer/songwriter they’ll be getting an anthropology major reading a reflective essay on subalternity and the patriarchy. Is that more their speed?
"For Once, Public Confidence in Higher Ed Has Increased" … and Other Contextually Based Data (Chronicle of Higher Ed)
After years of decline, American confidence in higher education has ticked up, according to a new Lumina Foundation–Gallup poll. Forty-two percent of Americans, up from 36% in 2023-2024, say they have “great deal” or “quite a lot” of confidence in higher ed.
But this story is less about higher ed and more about the public’s thermostatic reaction to any given issue. So why, exactly, is sentiment up in this case? Well, for one, the Democrats spent so much time not paying attention to universities underdelivering and over hyping their results. Trump capitalized on this sentiment and activated the activists who may have only had mild opinions of it in the first place.
A similar thing can be said about Americans’ views on immigration. Gallup did another recent poll showing 79% of Americans believe immigration is good for the country, the highest level recorded. Support for stricter immigration has also decreased by 15%. It’s not necessarily that the circumstances around immigration have changed, but now that the president has his hand on the thermostat, raising the temperature in the room, people are starting to have strong opinions about it. They are seeing the cost of their previous opinion on immigration is sad news stories, labor shortages and expensive lawn care.
Expelled D.C. Council Member Trayon White Wins Back Seat Amid Bribery Scandal (Axios)
After his removal five months ago for bribery charges, the AP projects Trayon White has won back his D.C. Council seat representing Ward 8. Despite the charges, he waltzed right back in, securing just under 29.5% of the vote in a race with the very, VERY low voter turnout of 12%. Understandably, this puts the D.C. Council in an awkward position: Either honor the votes or kick him out again, leaving his district unrepresented. This is a serious question they’ll have to ponder each day as they walk past the statue of Mayor Marion Barry.
Thailand's Changing Cannabis Rules Leave Farmers in a Tough Spot (Bloomberg)
After Thailand decriminalized cannabis in 2022, it experienced a “green rush,” sparking a billion-dollar industry with over 10,000 dispensaries and major benefits for Hmong farmers. Now the government is looking to reverse the legislation, restricting cannabis to medical use only and requiring prescriptions and limiting purchases to 30-day supplies. The government is also drafting up rules requiring dispensaries to have a doctor on-site and even to classify it as a Category 5 narcotic.
But the story is less about that this is happening, and more about WHY it is happening. Did the experiment fail? Thailand is seeing a spike in underage recreational use, as well as cannabis tourism and smuggling. This puts the farmers in the north of the country in a bad position as they have begun to rely on the higher profit margin of producing marijuana as opposed to corn, tea or vegetables.
Yesterday on The Show: Inside Israel’s War Strategy and Hamas’s Endgame
Times of Israel analyst Haviv Rettig Gur discusses the next phase of the war in Gaza and Israel's many enemies. He also discussed the ideological roots of Hamas’s mission to destroy Israel, settler violence in the West Bank, and the difficulty of safely getting food to the citizens of Gaza
This newsletter was put together in collaboration with Kathleen Sykes. All mistakes belong to Mike Pesca.
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