David Kessler on Why Junk Food Is America’s Nicotine
The Gist
Mike Pesca
4.4 • 3.6K Ratings
🗓️ 25 August 2025
⏱️ 44 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
Today on The Gist, the Trump administration’s lowering of FBI recruitment standards, where irony gives way to petty tyranny. Former FDA Commissioner David Kessler joins to discuss his new book Diet, Drugs, and Dopamine and his petition urging the FDA to strip refined carbohydrates of their “generally recognized as safe” status. Kessler explains why ultra-processed foods act more like narcotics than nourishment, how GLP-1 drugs change the weight-loss landscape, and why toxic fat may be the new tobacco.
Produced by Corey Wara
Production Coordinator Ashley Khan
Email us at [email protected]
To advertise on the show, contact [email protected] 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
Transcript
Click on a timestamp to play from that location
| 0:00.0 | The gist is looking for a social media manager. Do you want to get into the fast-paced world of |
| 0:05.3 | deciding if I look good on horizontal or vertical video? Well, then this is the job for you. |
| 0:11.4 | It's actually an excellent opportunity. It's a good staff to work with. If you listen to the show, |
| 0:16.8 | if you know someone who's good at social media, if you understand how YouTube can be leveraged to reach the youths, |
| 0:24.1 | please get in touch with us. |
| 0:25.7 | We're at TheGist at Mike Peska.com. |
| 0:28.3 | If you have any interest or know of someone with interest in this part-time job, |
| 0:34.0 | social media manager, the gist at Mike Peska.com. |
| 0:40.3 | It's Monday, August 25th, 2025 from Peachfish Productions. |
| 0:45.0 | It's the gist. |
| 0:45.8 | I'm Mike Pesca. |
| 0:46.8 | Trump admin, administration, lowers FBI recruitment standards in a deeply ironic twist. |
| 0:53.7 | That's the MSNBC headline. It is not a deeply ironic twist. That's the MSNBC headline. |
| 0:56.2 | It is not a deeply ironic twist. |
| 0:58.4 | I don't even think it qualifies as a shallowly ironic twist. |
| 1:02.8 | It is par for the course. |
| 1:05.8 | The recruitment standards were lowered when Cash Patel was hired to run the agency. Now, to be fair, I'm going to say |
| 1:13.7 | too fair to Cash Patel. He has run government agencies before on an interim basis because he's a |
| 1:19.7 | veteran of the Trump administration and worked as a federal prosecutor. But the standards were |
| 1:25.2 | thrown out the door, set on fire, and run over back and forth |
| 1:29.8 | with a dump truck, and then later the USC marching band, when Dan Bongino was hired as the number |
| 1:35.9 | two. I'll read some more coverage. The Daily Beast, looking at things glass half full, |
... |
Transcript will be available on the free plan in 26 days. Upgrade to see the full transcript now.
Disclaimer: The podcast and artwork embedded on this page are from Mike Pesca, and are the property of its owner and not affiliated with or endorsed by Tapesearch.
Generated transcripts are the property of Mike Pesca and are distributed freely under the Fair Use doctrine. Transcripts generated by Tapesearch are not guaranteed to be accurate.
Copyright © Tapesearch 2025.