A week ago, Obama told CNN he’s doing everything he can to shutter the Guantánamo Bay prison. On The Gist, we speak with Clifford Sloan about his work as the special envoy for Guantánamo closure at the U.S. State Department. His recent departure was called “another blow to President Obama’s efforts” in the New York Times. He’s also a former publisher for Slate.

Plus, we get lost in translation with Emily Apter, an editor of the Dictionary of Untranslatables.

For the Spiel, the most off-putting boring news stories of 2014.

Get The Gist by email as soon as it’s available: slate.com/GistEmail

Subscribe to the podcast in iTunes: itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/slate…id873667927?mt=2Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices