Christine Wenc: The Onion's Straight Face Made It Funnier

The Gist

Peach Fish Productions

Daily News, News

4.5 • 3.7K Ratings

🗓️ 8 September 2025

⏱️ 34 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

Christine Wenc joins to discuss Funny Because It's True: How The Onion Created Modern American News Satire, recalling its Wisconsin roots, AP-style discipline, and newsroom battles over absurd details. She traces the paper's arc from gas-station rent money to online cult influence, and the tension between preachiness and bite. Plus, the Ambazonian separatist movement run from Minneapolis, and a court ruling upholding E. Jean Carroll's $83 million judgment against Donald Trump. Come See Mike Pesca at Open Debate Produced by Corey Wara Production Coordinator Ashley Khan Email us at ⁠⁠⁠⁠thegist@mikepesca.com⁠⁠⁠⁠ To advertise on the show, contact ⁠⁠⁠⁠ad-sales@libsyn.com⁠⁠⁠⁠ or visit ⁠⁠⁠⁠https://advertising.libsyn.com/TheGist⁠⁠⁠⁠ Subscribe to The Gist: ⁠⁠⁠⁠https://subscribe.mikepesca.com/⁠⁠⁠⁠ Subscribe to The Gist Youtube Page: ⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC4_bh0wHgk2YfpKf4rg40_g⁠⁠⁠⁠ Subscribe to The Gist Instagram Page: ⁠⁠⁠⁠GIST INSTAGRAM⁠⁠⁠⁠ Follow The Gist List at: ⁠⁠⁠⁠Pesca⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠Profundities | Mike Pesca | Substack Download Cash App Today: https://click.cash.app/ui6m/7o5lsl42 #CashAppPod As a Cash App partner, I may earn a commission when you sign up for a Cash App account. Cash App is a financial services platform, not a bank. Banking services provided by Cash App's bank partner(s). Prepaid debit cards issued by Sutton Bank, Member FDIC. Visit cash.app/legal/podcast for full disclosures.

Transcript

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0:00.0	Hi, I'm doing a debate on Wednesday night at the comedy seller, and the proposal is masculinity is a prison.
0:08.7	If you'd like to come and see me win this debate, sorry, let me be a little less overtly masculine.
0:14.2	If you'd like to see me discuss and get to a point of agreement, I'd like for you to do that.
0:20.2	That is to come. Normally it's $25,
0:23.1	but I have a promo code for you. I'll put it in the show notes. You just click on, I'm not
0:29.0	going to tell you how to do show notes, but when you go to reserve your ticket for 25 bucks,
0:34.1	you do the promo code, Mike Pesca, all in caps, which is actually how I legally spell my name.
0:40.2	Mike Pesca.
0:41.3	And you can get in for 20 bucks to see me win this debate, to see me come together in a meeting of the minds and we'll collaborate.
0:54.5	Yeah, I'm going to win.
0:55.7	Gonna wipe the floor with her.
0:57.2	Masculinity is a prison this Wednesday, 6 p.m.
0:59.7	Be there.
1:00.4	$5 off.
1:05.0	It's Monday, September 8th, 2025 from Peachfish Productions.
1:08.8	It's the gist.
1:09.6	I'm Mike Peska.
1:12.7	And the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit has decided that Donald Trump will indeed have to pay E. Jean Carroll. She is
1:18.8	entitled to $83 million, $18 compensatory damages. And the Trump looked at the punitive
1:25.2	damages of about $65 million. And they said, yeah, that's fair. So I have no inside information. No one's leaking to me. But I predict that Donald Trump's just going to pay it. Who do I make the check out to? He says with a smile, fair's fair. You got me on this one. E. Gene, there is no way he will do it. I do not know how long. He could drag
1:45.6	his feet. I do not know what mechanisms he will use, but I just cannot see Donald Trump
1:51.3	actually paying E. Jean Carroll. I don't know. Maybe he'll say, look, this is what I had to get
	...

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