Mike Pesca

Mike Pesca first appeared on radio as a ten-year-old caller to a local New York City sports program, offering his opinion on the New York Jets.{{cite web |title=Mike Pesca, NPR Biography |url=https://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=4142110 |publisher=National Public Radio |accessdate=May 17, 2011 |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20100122012550/https://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=4142110 |archivedate=January 22, 2010 |url-status=dead}} In 1997, Pesca got his first job in radio, as an intern at the station working on New York & Co, which would later become The Leonard Lopate Show.{{cite web|title=People – Mike Pesca |url=http://www.wnyc.org/people/mike-pesca/ |publisher=WNYC |accessdate=May 17, 2011 |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20140329015217/http://www.wnyc.org/people/mike-pesca/ |archivedate=March 29, 2014 |url-status=live }}

Pesca went on to work as Producer-At-Large for the WNYC and NPR program On the Media (OTM). He had a recurring segment on OTM called "Mike's Shoes", in which he would "disgorge little bits of media fluff" he encountered.{{cite web|title=Mike's Pockets (transcript) |url=http://www.onthemedia.org/transcripts/2002/04/27/03 |publisher=On the Media |date=April 27, 2002 |accessdate=May 17, 2011 |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20140329082543/http://www.onthemedia.org/story/131667-mikes-pockets/transcript/ |archivedate=March 29, 2014 |url-status=live }} In late 2005, he became the first NPR reporter to have his own podcast, On Gambling with Mike Pesca on which he discussed topics related to gambling. He served as a reporter for NPR and Slate's mid-day show Day to Day, on which he also occasionally filled in as host. Other public radio programs he has guest hosted include The Bryant Park Project, Talk of the Nation, On Point, Wait Wait... Don't Tell Me! and The Brian Lehrer Show.

Since 2014, Pesca has served as host of Slate's daily podcast The Gist. Prior to joining the Slate staff, Pesca served as a National Desk correspondent for National Public Radio (NPR). Pesca's reports have been featured on Morning Edition, All Things Considered and Weekend Edition. He covered mainly sports and pop culture for the network, and previously he has covered a wide range of topics including politics, economics, and the arts. He also appears on the WBUR-FM/NPR program Here and Now as well as CNN, PBS NewsHour, and MSNBC. He is a regular contributor to the NPR program Weekend Edition Sunday.[https://www.npr.org/2013/11/24/246984890/remembering-when-a-teacher-had-his-back "Remembering When A Teacher Had His Back"], Weekend Edition Sunday November 24, 2013.

He has also written for Slate and the Washington Post.

In addition to his weekly duties as a panelist on Slate's Hang Up and Listen podcast, Pesca has appeared as a guest on many popular podcasts including NPR's Planet Money,{{cite web|title=Pesca on Planet Money|url=https://www.npr.org/search/index.php?aggId=93559255&aggTitle=Planet+Money&searchinput=pesca|publisher=National Public Radio|accessdate=May 19, 2011}} Slate's Culture Gabfest,{{cite web|title=The Culture Gabfest, "How Does That Make You Feel?" Edition|url=http://www.slate.com/id/2287042/|publisher=Slate|date=March 9, 2011|accessdate=May 19, 2011}} Luke Burbank's Too Beautiful to Live,{{cite web|title=This Year – recapping the best podcasts|url=http://thisyearcollection.blogspot.com/2011/04/8-too-beautiful-to-live-2011-q1.html|publisher=Too Beautiful to Live|date=April 22, 2011|accessdate=May 19, 2011}} The Sporkful{{cite web|title=Episode 14: Gum (with NPR's Mike Pesca)|url=http://sporkful.posterous.com/episode-14-gum-with-nprs-mike-pesca-0|publisher=The Sporkful Blog]|accessdate=May 19, 2011|archive-date=August 27, 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110827190016/http://sporkful.posterous.com/episode-14-gum-with-nprs-mike-pesca-0|url-status=dead}} and Maximum Fun's Jordan, Jesse, Go!.{{cite web|title=The Complete Episode Guide|url=http://www.jjgo.org/referenced?term=Mike+Pesca|publisher=Jordan, Jesse, Go!|accessdate=May 19, 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100820062105/http://www.jjgo.org/referenced?term=Mike+Pesca|archive-date=August 20, 2010|url-status=dead}}

In February 2014, Pesca announced that he was leaving NPR to join Slate magazine. In announcing the hiring, Slate podcasts executive producer Andy Bowers called Pesca "one of the most interesting, exciting on-air personalities working today."{{cite news|last=Taube |first=Aaron |title=Slate Hires NPR Sports Reporter To Boost Its Podcast Business |url=http://www.businessinsider.com/slate-hires-nprs-pesca-for-new-podcast-2014-2 |accessdate=February 13, 2014 |newspaper=Business Insider |date=February 12, 2014 |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20140214134040/http://www.businessinsider.com/slate-hires-nprs-pesca-for-new-podcast-2014-2 |archivedate=February 14, 2014 |url-status=dead }} Pesca has also filled in as host of the NPR radio program Wait, Wait, Don't Tell Me when Peter Sagal was away.

In May 2018, Pesca edited and published Upon Further Review: The Greatest What-Ifs in Sports History, a collection of essays in which authors explore alternative histories in the world of sports. That month, Slate started releasing Upon Further Review, a weekly podcast based on chapters from the book.

In February 2021, Slate indefinitely suspended Pesca after he debated colleagues over whether people who are not Black should be able to quote a racial slur in some contexts. Slate's announcement stated that "this was not a decision based around making an isolated abstract argument".{{Cite news|last1=Robertson|first1=Katie|last2=Smith|first2=Ben|date=2021-02-23|title=Slate Suspends Podcast Host After Debate Over Racial Slur|language=en-US|work=The New York Times|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2021/02/22/business/media/slate-mike-pesca-suspended.html|access-date=2021-02-23|issn=0362-4331}} On September 3, 2021, Pesca and Slate "mutually agreed to part ways", and Slate sold The Gist to Pesca, who announced plans to take the show to an independent platform.{{Cite news|last=Wemple|first=Erik|date=2021-09-03|title=Opinion: Slate and Mike Pesca have agreed to 'part ways'|language=en-US|newspaper=The Washington Post|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2021/09/03/slate-mike-pesca-part-ways-investigation-n-word/|issn=0190-8286}}

The Gist has returned for "Season 2," produced by Peach Fish Productions. It premiered on January 24, 2022.{{Cite web|url=https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-gist/id873667927?i=1000548383096|title = The Gist: The Return of the Gist on Apple Podcasts}}

Mike Pesca was born in Oceanside, Long Island, New York. He is of Italian heritage, and his surname is the Italian word for "peach."{{Cite journal|url=https://slate.com/news-and-politics/2014/08/slate-weekly-roundup-what-the-gists-mike-pesca-thinks-you-should-read-from-the-magazine-this-week.html|title = What Should I Read from Slate This Week? Mike Pesca Shares His Picks| journal=Slate |date = 22 August 2014| last1=Pesca | first1=Mike }}

In his podcast, The Gist, Pesca has described himself as "the son of a Catholic and a Jew"{{cite AV media|title=George Carlin Gets His Way|people=Mike Pesca|date=October 13, 2014|type=Podcast|minutes=28|url=http://www.slate.com/articles/podcasts/gist/2014/10/the_gist_on_george_carlin_way_and_how_turkey_understands_conflict_in_syria.html}} and as someone who "grew up Catholic, a little bit."{{cite AV media|title=Will Gay Marriage Upend Gay Culture?|date=June 30, 2015|type=Podcast|minutes=1.6|people=Mike Pesca|url=http://www.slate.com/articles/podcasts/gist/2015/06/the_gist_j_bryan_lowder_on_gay_marriage_and_the_soundtrack_of_chris_christie.html}} Pesca attended Emory University in Atlanta, Georgia, where he was a member of the Alpha Epsilon Pi fraternity and served as vice-president of the school's intra-fraternity council. He graduated from Emory in 1994.{{cite web |title=Testing the bonds of brotherhood, Apes embodies the fraternal spirit

|url=http://emorywheel.com/detail.php?n=22975 |publisher=The Emory Wheel |date=February 11, 2003 |accessdate=May 19, 2011 |url-status=dead |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20110815162213/http://emorywheel.com/detail.php?n=22975

|archivedate=August 15, 2011}}

Pesca has two sons (Milo and Emmett) with his ex-wife, Robin Dolch, a public relations executive.{{cite news|title=Robin Dolch, Michael Pesca|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2005/03/06/fashion/weddings/robin-dolch-michael-pesca.html|accessdate=13 August 2015|work=New York Times|date=6 March 2005}}{{cite web|title=The Founder|url=http://hundredstoriespr.com/the-team/|website=Hundred Stories Public Relations|accessdate=13 August 2015|url-status=dead|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20150818145849/http://hundredstoriespr.com/the-team/|archivedate=18 August 2015}} He is a fan of the New York Jets, New York Mets, New York Knicks and St. Johns Red Storm. In 2006, Pesca appeared as a contestant on the game show Jeopardy!,{{cite web|title=J-Archive: Mike Pesca|url=http://www.j-archive.com/showplayer.php?player_id=2232|publisher=[J! Archive]|accessdate=May 17, 2011}} where he led going into the Final Jeopardy round, but finished in third place.{{cite web|title=Show #5036- Monday, July 3, 2006|url=http://www.j-archive.com/showgame.php?game_id=1099|publisher=[J! Archive]|accessdate=May 17, 2011}} In 2020, Pesca became engaged to Michelle Hunter with the assistance of Buddy the Rat.{{Cite web|date=2020-11-30|title=VIDEO: Buddy The Rat returns – not to the subway, but to help a New Yorker with a marriage proposal|url=https://www.radio.com/1010wins/news/local/video-buddy-the-rat-returns-to-help-with-marriage-proposal|access-date=2021-02-24|website=www.radio.com|language=en}}

Pesca is a two-time Edward R. Murrow Award winner. The Murrow awards are presented by the Radio Television Digital News Association (formerly the Radio and Television News Directors Association) for excellence in electronic journalism.{{cite web|title=2010 National Edward R. Murrow Award Winners|url=http://www.rtdna.org/pages/media_items/2010-national-edward-r.-murrow-award-winners1961.php?id=1961|publisher=Radio Television Digital News Association|accessdate=May 19, 2011|url-status=dead|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20110617202311/http://www.rtdna.org/pages/media_items/2010-national-edward-r.-murrow-award-winners1961.php?id=1961|archivedate=June 17, 2011}}

He most recently was awarded the 2010 Murrow for audio sports reporting in the Radio Network/Syndication Service category. He received the award for the season-long weekly series, Friday Night Lives, on "the phenomenon of high school football"{{cite web|title=NPR News kicks off "Friday Night Lives"|website=NPR|url=https://www.npr.org/about/press/2009/082609.HighSchoolFootball.html|date=August 26, 2009|accessdate=May 19, 2011}} which Pesca created with NPR sports correspondent Tom Goldman.{{cite web|title=NPR won four national Edward R. Murrow Awards in this year's RTDNA contest honoring excellence in electronic journalism|url=http://www.current.org/awards/awards2010-6e.shtml|publisher=Current|date=July 4, 2010|accessdate=May 19, 2011|url-status=dead|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20101224183643/http://current.org/awards/awards2010-6e.shtml|archivedate=December 24, 2010}} The series aired throughout 2009 and 2010 on All Things Considered.

Pesca won the 2001 Murrow Award for Best Radio Feature Reporting for his report "Cracker Jack" that aired on On the Media on August 4, 2001.{{cite web|title=NPR's On the Media Wins 2001 Edward R. Murrow Award For Best Feature Reporting, for "Cracker Jack"|url=http://www.onthemedia.org/yore/pesca_murrow.html|publisher=On the Media (website)|date=June 20, 2002|accessdate=May 17, 2011|url-status=dead|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20110523063253/http://www.onthemedia.org/yore/pesca_murrow.html|archivedate=May 23, 2011}} The feature's premise was that Cracker Jack's inclusion by name in the song Take Me Out to the Ballgame amounts to the "most successful product placement in history".

{{reflist|30em}}

• {{Twitter}}
• [https://www.npr.org/people/4142110/mike-pesca Pesca's NPR archive]

Selected stories by Mike Pesca:

• 2010 Murrow award winner, [https://web.archive.org/web/20110810163058/http://2010.contests.rtdna.org/entries/public_view/2591 Friday Night Lives]
• [https://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=10328143 Just How Fattening Is That Cupcake?]
• [https://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=10207390 Voters Clueless on Giuliani's Abortion View]
• [https://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=4833613 Are Katrina's Victims 'Refugees' or 'Evacuees?']
• [https://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=4851627 A Race to Save the Dogs of New Orleans]

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Category:NPR personalities

Category:American radio reporters and correspondents

Category:American male journalists

Category:Living people

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Category:Contestants on American game shows

Category:Place of birth missing (living people)

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Category:Jewish American journalists

Category:Emory University alumni

Category:21st-century American journalists

Category:21st-century American Jews

Category:American people of Italian descent