The Art of The Psyop
Plus: The “orgasm cult” verdict, Trump’s birthday parade & which pope wore it better?
Israel has struck Iran, killing key military commanders and sending missiles annd quad copters deep inside the Islamic Republic’s nuclear apparatus. Aside from the intelligence and operational impressiveness of Israel’s strikes, there is the somewhat surprising role played by American officials. Who seemingly engaged in a very successful informal action campaign that the Iranians bought.
Just this Monday, reports were telling us that Trump was art-of-the-dealing Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, telling him to back off Iran and end the war in Gaza. It was a tense conversation in which Trump told Bibi to back off. This was in line with months of supposed tensions between Trump and Netanyahu. Maybe there were tensions, maybe those reports were erroneous or for public consumption. Maybe Netanyahu read Trump better than members of his inner circle did. It turns out that Trump knew about the plan to attack Iran all along, which was months in the making, although Marco Rubio insisted the U.S. wasn’t involved. The U.S. effectively acted as a cover for Israel going into these nuclear negotiations.
Welcome to the Gist List—a news roundup, interesting things you should know, and my thoughts leading up to today’s podcast episode.
Here’s what’s on my mind:
🪖 Trump’s military parade isn’t the first.
🎤 Sen. Alex Padilla forcibly removed from a DHS press conference.
📻 The House effectively guts public broadcasting.
💋 Is the “orgasm cult” OneTaste verdict a victory or just activist talking points?
⛪ Who wore it better: Papal edition.
The Gist List
What to Know About Trump's Army Anniversary Parade on June 14 (CBS)
The day is almost here for Trump’s birthday bonanza the parade commemorating the 250th anniversary of the U.S. Army. For months, we’ve gotten anguished commentary comparing this to military parades in North Korea, and dictatorships, and how the tanks are going to tear up the streets of D.C. (Spoiler: They won’t. The military has a long history of being able to move tanks from one military instillation to the next without destroying the freeway.)
Is this parade all here to bolster Trump’s ego? Absolutely, but I can’t help but feel that the outrage is overstated, especially considering that the military is the most respected institution in the country, and the occasional celebration might be warranted. For one, this is not our first military parade, and we are not the only Western country to do one, even regularly. This is the first full-scale D.C. military parade since 1991, when President George H.W. Bush wanted to mark the end of Operation Desert Storm, but it garnered relatively little controversy at the time. As for other countries, the Brits have a 45-minute military parade outside of Buckingham Palace almost every day and no one is accusing King Charles of turning the country into a Nazi hellscape over it.
Sen. Alex Padilla Forcibly Removed, Handcuffed from Noem's DHS Press Conference in Los Angeles (The Hill)
At a press conference by Homeland Security Secretary Kristi “Bedazzle the Border” Noem in Los Angeles turned chaotic when Sen. Alex Padilla was forcibly removed and handcuffed after attempting to question her publicly. DHS spokesperson Tricia McLaughlin has insisted that part of the reason for this is that he did not identify himself as a senator.
The takedown of a U.S. senator is very troubling, but CNN analyst and former FBI special agent Josh Campbell explained from a law enforcement perspective why the excess probably seemed logical in the moment:
“The second incident, in my view, happens the moment — as officers are trying to lead him out — he then turns and walks back towards kind of into those agents. At that point, from a security detail perspective, we’re taking this person out against their will. We’ve asked the person — and again, this is all happening very quickly — but the moment he then turns into them, they realize this is not someone who is going to comply.”
House Approves Trump's Request to Cut Funding for NPR, PBS and Foreign Aid (AP)
In a narrow 214–212 vote, the House passed a bill on Thursday to rescind $9.4 billion in previously approved federal spending—most notably $1.1 billion from the Corporation for Public Broadcasting (CPB), which would defund NPR, PBS, and over 1,500 local stations.
NPR has long used the line that 1% of its funding comes from federal sources, but this framing—although helpful in making it seem like they are not highly dependent on the feds—isn't the whole story. NPR receives only 1% of its funding DIRECTLY from the federal government, and it benefits indirectly from CPB-funded member stations, which provide 30% of NPR’s revenue.
Of course, percentages might even be less helpful—they are all numbers under 100 after all. CPB receives approximately $535 million in federal appropriations each year, which it divvies up between stations that rely on it for 8–30% of their budgets. Even a small cut of $535 million can be catastrophic for public media. This is the best breakdown of who would feel the pain:
“If every surveyed station that relied on federal funding for 20% or more of its total revenue in FY23 closed, the US would lose 68 public radio stations and 49 public television stations.”
The OneTaste Verdict Makes Federal Prosecutors Sound Like Activists (Reason)
First and foremost, we need to point out this headline. While everyone else is billing the story as the “orgasm cult” (and no doubt getting tons of clicks), Reason does what Reason does and points its laser focus on the cultural fallout of #MeToo.
To catch you up, a federal jury convicted Nicole Daedone and Rachel Cherwitz of conspiracy to commit forced labor for their roles in the sexual wellness organization OneTaste. The two were charged with coercing members of the group to have sex with clients and investors, under the guise of “orgasmic meditation.”
However shocking the details of the case, there is a conversation to be had about the legacy of #MeToo and if the cultural norms it shaped has also seeped into our legal framework, and if—instead of helping victims of sexual crimes—only serves to send the puritanical message that women are too weak and lacking in agency to fully consent under social pressure or spiritual influence, even as adults. In fact, I discussed this with Kat Rosenfield yesterday. Take a watch:
Pope Leo XIV's Fashion Choices Make Waves, and Many Wonder What They Mean (AP)
Vatican watchers have noticed that Pope Leo XIV has returned to the more elaborate variety of papal attire than that of his predecessor, Pope Francis, which has people speculating: Is this a revival of the old traditional ways of the Catholic Church, or is Leo just more of a Papal popinjay? (Has anyone asked his brother? He might know.)
It’s kind of like playing a game of “Who wore it better?” but with the pope. Did Francis pull off the Stola better than John Paul I? Did the alb flatter John XXIII’s figure better than Benedict XVI's? Will Leo XIV be daring enough to pull the papal tiara out of storage?
My take is that until Leo wears a jacket that says “I don’t care do u,” we should take it in stride and be happy to have a hypebeast with drip in the Vatican.
Not Even Mad: How to Protest Without Helping Trump?
Economist Allison Schraeger and Slow Boring’s Matt Yglesias join Mike to discuss the unrest in Los Angeles—and how to protest without giving Donald Trump a win. Then, the trio surveys the NYC mayoral mess—or, if not a mess, whatever government-run grocery stores are. Plus, the Big Beautiful Bill is only one of those things, and it’s the worst one. Goat Grinders: summer smells, promiscuous earbuds, and that final month of school when they stop even pretending to educate the children.
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.