Political Gabfest

This week, Emily Bazelon, John Dickerson, and David Plotz discuss whether this week's Supreme Court intervention rejecting Trump's mail-in ballot restrictions will prevent midterm chaos, explore the fast-evolving dynamics of public and political anxieties about AI, and dissect remarkable new reporting from ProPublica exposing the Putin-adjacent Russian oligarch who paid for much of Donald Trump Jr.'s private island wedding.

Here are this week’s chatters:

Emily: New podcast Examined: The Backfire Effect, by Josie Duffy Rice; Supremacy: How Rule by the Court Replaced Government by the People by Nikolas Bowie and Daphna Renan

John: Wild Card with Rachel Martin (NPR): John Dickerson says doubt only helps to solidify his faith; Derek DelGaudio's In & Of Itself (Trailer on YouTube) (Streaming on Hulu); Linda Holmes for NPR: 'In & Of Itself' Is A Study Of Identity And Magic; AMORALMAN: A True Story and Other Liesby Derek DelGaudio

David: Colin from Accounts on Paramount Plus; Daniel Wu for The Washington Post: Pollution spikes after Trump halted global air-monitoring efforts, report says

Listener chatter from Julian Ozen in Brooklyn, NY: Ordinary Abundance

For this week’s Slate Plus bonus episode, Emily, John, and David discuss what California Gov. Gavin Newsom told Jake Tapper about running for president in 2028. They discuss the signaling work of the fly-fishing tableau, what Newsom is really saying about Harris, and whether there's an appetite in the Democratic party for either of them to run.

In the latest Gabfest Reads, David Plotz talks with John Lanchester about his new novel, Look What You Made Me Do, a darkly funny psychological thriller about two couples in modern-day London whose lives collide in a story of infidelity, obsession, and revenge. The book explores the performance of niceness, class, intergenerational frictions and how technology makes vengeance not just possible but almost exceedingly easy in the modern age.

Email your chatters, questions, and comments to gabfest@slate.com. (Messages may be referenced by name unless the writer stipulates otherwise.)

Podcast production by Nina Porzucki

Research by Emily Ditto

You can find the full Political Gabfest show pages here.

Want more Political Gabfest? Join Slate Plus to unlock weekly bonus episodes. Plus, you’ll access ad-free listening across all your favorite Slate podcasts. You can subscribe directly from the Political Gabfest show page on Apple Podcastsand Spotify. Or visit slate.com/gabfestplus to get access wherever you listen.

Find out more about David Plotz's monthly tours of Ft. DeRussy, the secret Civil War fort hidden in Rock Creek Park.  

Follow

@SlateGabfest on X / https://twitter.com/SlateGabfest

Slate Political Gabfest on Facebook / https://www.facebook.com/Gabfest/

Need to set up your Slate Plus feed? If you subscribed through Slate.com, check out our FAQ at slate.com/podcastfaqs for easy instructions. Members subscribed via Apple Podcasts get automatic access—no setup required.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week, Emily Bazelon, John Dickerson, and David Plotz discuss why Republicans are holding an unusual midterm convention and what it says about the state of the race at the homestretch, talk about the new book Profiles in Cowardice: A Study of Collaboration in the Trump Era with author Jacob Weisberg, and reflect on memories and historical consequences on the 25th anniversary of the 9/11 terror attack.

Here are this week’s chatters:

Emily: Hansi Lo Wang for NPR: Trump officials propose sweeping changes to the census that would reshape voting maps; Data Are Made, Not Found: A Story of Politics, Power, and the Civil Servants Who Saved the US Census by danah boyd; Charity and Sylvia by Tillie Walden

John: Associated Press: US Attorney confirms no meth was found in van of Texas man shot by immigration officers; Kristen Wong for Sports Illustrated: At His Highest Moment, Frances Tiafoe Rose Even Higher. His Viral U.S. Open Hug Is Why We Love Sports.

David: Colossus: The Forbin Project (1970) - Official Trailer (HD) (2:56 long on YouTube)

Listener chatter from Adam Forkner in Boston, Massachusetts: Dave Epstein for The Boston Globe: What my Maine dock taught me about the threat of invasive marine life looming in the Persian Gulf; Tamburri, M.N., Carlton, J.T., Blakeslee, A.M.H. et al. Closure of the Strait of Hormuz may trigger a bioinvasion super-spreader event.Biol Invasions 28, 177 (2026).

For this week’s Slate Plus bonus episode, Emily, John, and David discuss this week's big AI story, a researcher's resignation from Anthropic and his dire warnings about AI's imminent dangers to humanity, with guest Nathan Calvin, general counsel at Encode. They discuss the exponential pace of AI development, what the big companies are or are not doing to protect humans from apocalypse, and the simultaneous governmental and industry cooperation that could help manage risks.

In the latest Gabfest Reads, David Plotz talks with John Lanchester about his new novel, Look What You Made Me Do, a darkly funny psychological thriller about two couples in modern-day London whose lives collide in a story of infidelity, obsession, and revenge. The book explores the performance of niceness, class, intergenerational frictions and how technology makes vengeance not just possible but almost exceedingly easy in the modern age.

Email your chatters, questions, and comments to gabfest@slate.com. (Messages may be referenced by name unless the writer stipulates otherwise.)

Podcast production by Nina Porzucki

Research by Emily Ditto

You can find the full Political Gabfest show pages here.

Want more Political Gabfest? Join Slate Plus to unlock weekly bonus episodes. Plus, you’ll access ad-free listening across all your favorite Slate podcasts. You can subscribe directly from the Political Gabfest show page on Apple Podcastsand Spotify. Or visit slate.com/gabfestplus to get access wherever you listen.

Find out more about David Plotz's monthly tours of Ft. DeRussy, the secret Civil War fort hidden in Rock Creek Park.  

Follow

@SlateGabfest on X / https://twitter.com/SlateGabfest

Slate Political Gabfest on Facebook / https://www.facebook.com/Gabfest/

Need to set up your Slate Plus feed? If you subscribed through Slate.com, check out our FAQ at slate.com/podcastfaqs for easy instructions. Members subscribed via Apple Podcasts get automatic access—no setup required.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week, Emily Bazelon, John Dickerson, and David Plotz discuss how a narrow Supreme Court majority used aesthetic standing to greenlight Trump's ballroom construction, why bond yields are rising around the world and how that impacts everyone with guest Jason Furman, and how the extradition showdown between Texas and Minnesota over an ICE officer involved in a shooting betrays fraying relations among the states.

Here are this week’s chatters:

Emily: Does Cutting Flower Stems Underwater Really Help?; Rachel Feltman for The Washington Post: How to keep fresh cut flowers from dying (with science)

John: Crime and Punishmentby Fyodor Dostoevsky; Line of Dutyon Rotten Tomatoes; The Economist: What Democrats—and Republicans—can learn from Raphael Warnock; Lia Picard for Huffpost: The Hidden Health Benefits Of Eating Leftovers For Breakfast

David: Simon Ducroquet and John Ismay for The New York Times: The Logistics Nightmare Facing U.S. Warships; The Last Shipon Netflix

Listener chatter from Daniela Koontz in Houston, Texas: Anthropeum

For this week’s Slate Plus bonus episode, Emily, John, and David discuss Army secretary Dan Driscoll's resignation as the latest high-level Army official to run afoul of Pete Hegseth, whether Hegseth is capable of leading the military through a moment of real strain, and the increasing leaks from inside the Pentagon.

In the latest Gabfest Reads, David Plotz talks with John Lanchester about his new novel, Look What You Made Me Do, a darkly funny psychological thriller about two couples in modern-day London whose lives collide in a story of infidelity, obsession, and revenge. The book explores the performance of niceness, class, intergenerational frictions and how technology makes vengeance not just possible but almost exceedingly easy in the modern age.

Email your chatters, questions, and comments to gabfest@slate.com. (Messages may be referenced by name unless the writer stipulates otherwise.)

Podcast production by Nina Porzucki

Research by Emily Ditto

You can find the full Political Gabfest show pages here.

Want more Political Gabfest? Join Slate Plus to unlock weekly bonus episodes. Plus, you’ll access ad-free listening across all your favorite Slate podcasts. You can subscribe directly from the Political Gabfest show page on Apple Podcastsand Spotify. Or visit slate.com/gabfestplus to get access wherever you listen.

Find out more about David Plotz's monthly tours of Ft. DeRussy, the secret Civil War fort hidden in Rock Creek Park.  

Follow

@SlateGabfest on X / https://twitter.com/SlateGabfest

Slate Political Gabfest on Facebook / https://www.facebook.com/Gabfest/

Need to set up your Slate Plus feed? If you subscribed through Slate.com, check out our FAQ at slate.com/podcastfaqs for easy instructions. Members subscribed via Apple Podcasts get automatic access—no setup required.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week, John Dickerson, David Plotz, and guest host Juliette Kayyem discuss this week's Supreme Court ruling allowing the Trump administration to move forward for now with his order restricting mail-in voting, the likely effects of trade wars with Canada and Iran, and what we humans can do about safety as A.I. models rapidly get more sophisticated and autonomous.

For this week’s Slate Plus bonus episode, John, David, and guest host Juliette Kayyem discuss the newest drama enveloping semi-royals Prince Harry and Meghan after they announced an impending move back to the UK.

In the latest Gabfest Reads, David Plotz talks with John Lanchester about his new novel, Look What You Made Me Do, a darkly funny psychological thriller about two couples in modern-day London whose lives collide in a story of infidelity, obsession, and revenge. The book explores the performance of niceness, class, intergenerational frictions and how technology makes vengeance not just possible but almost exceedingly easy in the modern age.

Email your chatters, questions, and comments to gabfest@slate.com. (Messages may be referenced by name unless the writer stipulates otherwise.)

Podcast production by Kevin Bendis

Research by Emily Ditto

You can find the full Political Gabfest show pages here.

Want more Political Gabfest? Join Slate Plus to unlock weekly bonus episodes. Plus, you’ll access ad-free listening across all your favorite Slate podcasts. You can subscribe directly from the Political Gabfest show page on Apple Podcastsand Spotify. Or visit slate.com/gabfestplus to get access wherever you listen.

Find out more about David Plotz's monthly tours of Ft. DeRussy, the secret Civil War fort hidden in Rock Creek Park.

Need to set up your Slate Plus feed? If you subscribed through Slate.com, check out our FAQ at slate.com/podcastfaqs for easy instructions. Members subscribed via Apple Podcasts get automatic access—no setup required.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week, Emily Bazelon, John Dickerson, and David Plotz answer listeners' questions of all kinds: the political, the personal, and everything in-between.

Many thanks to all question contributors: Daniel, Karen, Kelly, Jason, Phoebe, Phil, Alex, Adrian, and Dale!

For this week’s Slate Plus bonus episode, Emily, John, and David answer a few more listener questions, just to tide you over until after a quick break.

In the latest Gabfest Reads, David Plotz talks with John Lanchester about his new novel, Look What You Made Me Do, a darkly funny psychological thriller about two couples in modern-day London whose lives collide in a story of infidelity, obsession, and revenge. The book explores the performance of niceness, class, intergenerational frictions and how technology makes vengeance not just possible but almost exceedingly easy in the modern age.

Email your chatters, questions, and comments to gabfest@slate.com. (Messages may be referenced by name unless the writer stipulates otherwise.)

Podcast production by Nina Porzucki

Research by Emily Ditto

You can find the full Political Gabfest show pages here.

Want more Political Gabfest? Join Slate Plus to unlock weekly bonus episodes. Plus, you’ll access ad-free listening across all your favorite Slate podcasts. You can subscribe directly from the Political Gabfest show page on Apple Podcastsand Spotify. Or visit slate.com/gabfestplus to get access wherever you listen.

Find out more about David Plotz's monthly tours of Ft. DeRussy, the secret Civil War fort hidden in Rock Creek Park.  

Follow

@SlateGabfest on X / https://twitter.com/SlateGabfest

Slate Political Gabfest on Facebook / https://www.facebook.com/Gabfest/

Need to set up your Slate Plus feed? If you subscribed through Slate.com, check out our FAQ at slate.com/podcastfaqs for easy instructions. Members subscribed via Apple Podcasts get automatic access—no setup required.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

David Plotz interviews John Lanchester about his new novel Look What You Made Me Do, a darkly funny psychological thriller about two couples in modern-day London whose lives collide in a story of infidelity, obsession, and revenge. The book explores the performance of niceness, class, intergenerational frictions and how technology makes vengeance not just possible but almost exceedingly easy in the modern age. The novel's real pleasure lies in its voice and humor, including a legendary dinner party scene where a character launches into a scathing riff on the ubiquity of Yotam Ottolenghi's cooking in contemporary British life. The result is simultaneously a thriller, a comedy, and a dark meditation on niceness in an age when everyone is watching everyone else.

Tweet us your questions @SlateGabfest or email us at gabfest@slate.com. (Messages could be quoted by name unless the writer stipulates otherwise.)

Podcast production by Nina Porzucki.

Need to set up your Slate Plus feed? If you subscribed through Slate.com, check out our FAQ at slate.com/podcastfaqs for easy instructions. Members subscribed via Apple Podcasts get automatic access—no setup required.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week, Emily Bazelon, David Plotz, and guest host Juliette Kayyem discuss the security calculations behind Trump’s plane switch operation; the White House’s attempts to circumvent Supreme Court rulings in its continued obsession with ‘birth tourism’; and whether ‘burritogate’ reveals the extent of today’s economic anxiety or that young Americans simply aren’t learning to cook anymore. 

For this week’s Slate Plus bonus episode, Emily, David, and guest host Juliette Kayyem discuss whether the benefits of the Flock surveillance network are worth its tradeoffs. Flock cameras help police solve crimes, but cases of officers abusing their access to the technology for stalking raise concerns about privacy violations. 

In the latest Gabfest Reads, John Dickerson interviews Maggie Haberman and Jonathan Swan about their new book Regime Change: Inside the Imperial Presidency of Donald Trump. Drawing on extensive reporting from inside the White House, they explore how Trump’s second term differs radically from his first, from his decision-making process to the people surrounding him and his relationship with power, money, and the presidency itself.

Email your chatters, questions, and comments to gabfest@slate.com. (Messages may be referenced by name unless the writer stipulates otherwise.)

Podcast production by Jay Cockburn

Research by Nora Moses

You can find the full Political Gabfest show pages here.

Want more Political Gabfest? Join Slate Plus to unlock weekly bonus episodes. Plus, you’ll access ad-free listening across all your favorite Slate podcasts. You can subscribe directly from the Political Gabfest show page on Apple Podcastsand Spotify. Or visit slate.com/gabfestplus to get access wherever you listen.

Find out more about David Plotz's monthly tours of Ft. DeRussy, the secret Civil War fort hidden in Rock Creek Park.  

Follow

@SlateGabfest on X / https://twitter.com/SlateGabfest

Slate Political Gabfest on Facebook / https://www.facebook.com/Gabfest/

Need to set up your Slate Plus feed? If you subscribed through Slate.com, check out our FAQ at slate.com/podcastfaqs for easy instructions. Members subscribed via Apple Podcasts get automatic access—no setup required.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week, Emily Bazelon, John Dickerson, and David Plotz discuss what Abdul El-Sayed's Michigan primary win signals about the future of the Democratic Party, Todd Blanche's march toward confirmation as attorney general and how opposition to AI data centers swiftly became a bipartisan political fight.

Listener chatter from Francis Creighton in Bethesda, Maryland: UK Parliament: Chiltern Hundreds and the Manor of Northstead; Martin Spychal for History of Parliament: How does an MP resign? The Chiltern Hundreds & the Manor of Northstead

For this week’s Slate Plus bonus episode, Gabfest discusses the political fallout surrounding Rep. Max Miller and what the episode says about today’s Republican Party. 

In the latest Gabfest Reads, John Dickerson interviews Maggie Haberman and Jonathan Swan about their new book Regime Change: Inside the Imperial Presidency of Donald Trump. Drawing on extensive reporting from inside the White House, they explore how Trump’s second term differs radically from his first, from his decision-making process to the people surrounding him and his relationship with power, money, and the presidency itself.

Email your chatters, questions, and comments to gabfest@slate.com. (Messages may be referenced by name unless the writer stipulates otherwise.)

Podcast production by Kevin Bendis

Research by Nora Moses

You can find the full Political Gabfest show pages here.

Want more Political Gabfest? Join Slate Plus to unlock weekly bonus episodes. Plus, you’ll access ad-free listening across all your favorite Slate podcasts. You can subscribe directly from the Political Gabfest show page on Apple Podcastsand Spotify. Or visit slate.com/gabfestplus to get access wherever you listen.

Need to set up your Slate Plus feed? If you subscribed through Slate.com, check out our FAQ at slate.com/podcastfaqs for easy instructions. Members subscribed via Apple Podcasts get automatic access—no setup required.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week, Emily Bazelon, John Dickerson, and David Plotz discuss the expanding Iran war and what it means for Trump that news of U.S. missile shortages is leaking from the inside, the blend of conspiracy theory and Rand Paul's personal umbrage that drove the show trial of a Senate hearing with Dr. Anthony Fauci, and various developments that brought medication abortion and FDA restrictions back to the news this week.

Here are this week’s chatters:

Emily: Julia Lurie for Mother Jones: Me, Myself, and IUDs

John: Space Daily: Astronauts returning from six-month missions describe a persistent 'observer' sensation — the feeling of watching their own lives from a half-step outside the frame, weeks after they're back on the ground

David: Jill Lawless for The Associated Press: Glen Hansard, Irish musician who won Oscar for ‘Once,’ dies in motorcycle crash; Once (2007) Trailer HD | Glen Hansard | Markéta Irglová (YouTube); RTÉ News on YouTube:

'Fairytale of New York' played at Shane MacGowan's funeral; City Cast: Your City Could Be Better (podcast); Eli Sabin for New Haven

Listener chatter from Craig Kujawa in Washington, D.C.: Barbershop Harmony Society: History Made: GQ Wins World Championship; Barbershop Harmony Society: GQ - Mothers & Daughters (Maddie Zahm cover) • 2026 BHS International Quartet Champions (YouTube)

For this week’s Slate Plus bonus episode, Emily, John, and David discuss the rise of the Democratic Socialists of America with guest Grace Mausser, Co-Chair of the New York City DSA. They talk about its European-style organizing model, its uneasy alliance with the Democratic Party, the primacy of canvassing and volunteering, and the art of compromise.

In the latest Gabfest Reads, John Dickerson interviews Maggie Haberman and Jonathan Swan about their new book Regime Change: Inside the Imperial Presidency of Donald Trump. Drawing on extensive reporting from inside the White House, they explore how Trump’s second term differs radically from his first, from his decision-making process to the people surrounding him and his relationship with power, money, and the presidency itself.

Email your chatters, questions, and comments to gabfest@slate.com. (Messages may be referenced by name unless the writer stipulates otherwise.)

Podcast production by Nina Porzucki

Research by Emily Ditto

You can find the full Political Gabfest show pages here.

Want more Political Gabfest? Join Slate Plus to unlock weekly bonus episodes. Plus, you’ll access ad-free listening across all your favorite Slate podcasts. You can subscribe directly from the Political Gabfest show page on Apple Podcastsand Spotify. Or visit slate.com/gabfestplus to get access wherever you listen.

Find out more about David Plotz's monthly tours of Ft. DeRussy, the secret Civil War fort hidden in Rock Creek Park.  

Follow

@SlateGabfest on X / https://twitter.com/SlateGabfest

Slate Political Gabfest on Facebook / https://www.facebook.com/Gabfest/

Need to set up your Slate Plus feed? If you subscribed through Slate.com, check out our FAQ at slate.com/podcastfaqs for easy instructions. Members subscribed via Apple Podcasts get automatic access—no setup required.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week, Emily Bazelon, John Dickerson, and David Plotz discuss why the war in Iran has flared back up despite the increasing likelihood of political consequences for Trump and his allies, the promises and perils for the U.K.'s newest Prime Minister Andy Burnham with guest Adrian Wooldridge, and the chilling effect of the DOJ's subpoenas of journalists for their reporting on Trump's Qatari Air Force One.

Here are this week’s chatters:

Emily: The Emilys: A Novelby Heather Abel

John: Kiuko Notoya and Francesca Regalado for The New York Times: It’s So Hot That Japan Needs a New Word for It;Miriam Waldvogel for The Washington Post: Bam! See these killer whales explode fish into pieces.

David: Heavy Metal Parking Lot; Tom Cole for NPR: 30 Years Of 'Heavy Metal Parking Lot,' The Classic 'Cult Classic' Film

Listener chatter from Phoebe Saltzstein in Albuquerque, New Mexico: Ray Delahanty | CityNerd on YouTube

For this week’s Slate Plus bonus episode, Emily, John, and David discuss whether Trump and his Republican allies will break the Smithsonian after a White House report accused the head of the Museum of American History of pushing "radical activist ideology." They also examine the Smithsonian's uncertain legal status, and whether the museum's real problem is chaotic organization rather than ideology.

In the latest Gabfest Reads, John Dickerson interviews Maggie Haberman and Jonathan Swan about their new book Regime Change: Inside the Imperial Presidency of Donald Trump. Drawing on extensive reporting from inside the White House, they explore how Trump’s second term differs radically from his first, from his decision-making process to the people surrounding him and his relationship with power, money, and the presidency itself.

Email your chatters, questions, and comments to gabfest@slate.com. (Messages may be referenced by name unless the writer stipulates otherwise.)

Podcast production by Nina Porzucki

Research by Emily Ditto

You can find the full Political Gabfest show pages here.

Want more Political Gabfest? Join Slate Plus to unlock weekly bonus episodes. Plus, you’ll access ad-free listening across all your favorite Slate podcasts. You can subscribe directly from the Political Gabfest show page on Apple Podcastsand Spotify. Or visit slate.com/gabfestplus to get access wherever you listen.

Find out more about David Plotz's monthly tours of Ft. DeRussy, the secret Civil War fort hidden in Rock Creek Park.  

Follow

@SlateGabfest on X / https://twitter.com/SlateGabfest

Slate Political Gabfest on Facebook / https://www.facebook.com/Gabfest/

Need to set up your Slate Plus feed? If you subscribed through Slate.com, check out our FAQ at slate.com/podcastfaqs for easy instructions. Members subscribed via Apple Podcasts get automatic access—no setup required.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

John Dickerson interviews Maggie Haberman and Jonathan Swan about their new book Regime Change: Inside the Imperial Presidency of Donald Trump. Drawing on extensive reporting from inside the White House, they explore how Trump's second term differs radically from his first, from his decision-making process to the people surrounding him and his relationship with power, money, and the presidency itself. Unlike his first term, when he felt under siege, Trump now operates from absolute confidence. 

He's surrounded by loyalists and flatterers, getting information through a curated ecosystem that includes Fox News, Truth Social, and aides like Natalie Harp ("the human printer") who fetch him what he asks for, regardless of its accuracy. His decision-making is reactive and gut-driven, shaped by what people want to tell him. Meanwhile, his family and inner circle are making unprecedented wealth from the presidency, and Trump himself, who equates money with intelligence, is richer than ever. With Supreme Court immunity, total command over his party, incomparable wealth, and an administration of unequivocal supporters, Trump appears completely in his element: free to exercise power exactly as he wishes, being praised constantly, and getting richer by the day.

Tweet us your questions @SlateGabfest or email us at gabfest@slate.com. (Messages could be quoted by name unless the writer stipulates otherwise.)

Podcast production by Nina Porzucki.

Need to set up your Slate Plus feed? If you subscribed through Slate.com, check out our FAQ at slate.com/podcastfaqs for easy instructions. Members subscribed via Apple Podcasts get automatic access—no setup required.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week, Emily Bazelon, John Dickerson, and David Plotz discuss how the confirmation hearing for Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche is yet another example of Trump trying to force Congress to bend the knee, what is behind the horrific ICE killings of two men this week and what can be done about it, and the details of a new multi-state antitrust lawsuit to block the Paramount-Warner Bros. merger led by guest California AG Rob Bonta.

For this week’s Slate Plus bonus episode, Emily, John, and David discuss what voters deserve to know about the health and aging of our lawmakers, including the nuances of missing legislators versus executive officers, how political pressure from voters could encourage transparency and accountability, and possible solutions like term limits.

In the latest Gabfest Reads, Emily Bazelon talks with Senator Chris Murphy about his new book, Crisis of the Common Good: The Fight for Meaning and Connection in a Broken America.Murphy lays out a provocative agenda for Democrats to call Americans to national service, break up corporate power, rebuild local communities, and create a bigger tent that reaches disaffected conservatives hungry for change.

Email your chatters, questions, and comments to gabfest@slate.com. (Messages may be referenced by name unless the writer stipulates otherwise.)

Podcast production by Jay Cockburn

Research by Emily Ditto

You can find the full Political Gabfest show pages here.

Want more Political Gabfest? Join Slate Plus to unlock weekly bonus episodes. Plus, you’ll access ad-free listening across all your favorite Slate podcasts. You can subscribe directly from the Political Gabfest show page on Apple Podcastsand Spotify. Or visit slate.com/gabfestplus to get access wherever you listen.

Find out more about David Plotz's monthly tours of Ft. DeRussy, the secret Civil War fort hidden in Rock Creek Park.  

Follow

@SlateGabfest on X / https://twitter.com/SlateGabfest

Slate Political Gabfest on Facebook / https://www.facebook.com/Gabfest/

Need to set up your Slate Plus feed? If you subscribed through Slate.com, check out our FAQ at slate.com/podcastfaqs for easy instructions. Members subscribed via Apple Podcasts get automatic access—no setup required.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week, Emily Bazelon, John Dickerson, and David Plotz discuss why an insurgent candidate with so many red flags got so far, how shocking new details about Trump's 2025 income show billions in earnings while those who bought his crypto lost billions, and what everyone lost when the president decided World Cup rules didn't apply to us.

For this week’s Slate Plus bonus episode, Emily, John, and David talk with guest Jesse Wegman, Senior Fellow at the Brennan Center for Justice, about his new book The Lost Founder: James Wilson and the Forgotten Fight for a People's Constitution.Wilson, a Scottish-born delegate at the Constitutional Convention, argued that the people—not the states—held true governing power, pushing for a directly elected president, only to be erased from history after his career collapsed into debt and disgrace.

In the latest Gabfest Reads, Emily Bazelon talks with Senator Chris Murphy about his new book, Crisis of the Common Good: The Fight for Meaning and Connection in a Broken America.Murphy lays out a provocative agenda for Democrats to call Americans to national service, break up corporate power, rebuild local communities, and create a bigger tent that reaches disaffected conservatives hungry for change.

Email your chatters, questions, and comments to gabfest@slate.com. (Messages may be referenced by name unless the writer stipulates otherwise.)

Podcast production by Nina Porzucki

Research by Emily Ditto

You can find the full Political Gabfest show pages here.

Want more Political Gabfest? Join Slate Plus to unlock weekly bonus episodes. Plus, you’ll access ad-free listening across all your favorite Slate podcasts. You can subscribe directly from the Political Gabfest show page on Apple Podcastsand Spotify. Or visit slate.com/gabfestplus to get access wherever you listen.

Find out more about David Plotz's monthly tours of Ft. DeRussy, the secret Civil War fort hidden in Rock Creek Park.  

Follow

@SlateGabfest on X / https://twitter.com/SlateGabfest

Need to set up your Slate Plus feed? If you subscribed through Slate.com, check out our FAQ at slate.com/podcastfaqs for easy instructions. Members subscribed via Apple Podcasts get automatic access—no setup required.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week, Emily Bazelon, David Plotz, and guest host Ruth Marcus discuss this week's momentous Supreme Court rulings. The FTC/Slaughter case overturns nearly a century of precedent protecting independent agencies from presidential power while Cookmakes a suspicious exception for the Fed, birthright citizenship prevails on constitutional grounds but the close vote further reveals what's broken at the Court, and the Court rules against transgender people, again, by upholding state bans on trans athletes.

For this week’s Slate Plus bonus episode, Emily, David, and guest host Ruth Marcus discuss how Trump's rally-turned-fireworks-delay, a militarized downtown, and a rebranded "Freedom 250" have turned DC's festivities into a loyalty test. They ponder whether skipping DC's fireworks means ceding the flag to Trump and if attending old-fashioned local cookouts and parades is the more patriotic move.

In the latest Gabfest Reads, Emily Bazelon talks with Senator Chris Murphy about his new book, Crisis of the Common Good: The Fight for Meaning and Connection in a Broken America.Murphy lays out a provocative agenda for Democrats to call Americans to national service, break up corporate power, rebuild local communities, and create a bigger tent that reaches disaffected conservatives hungry for change.

Email your chatters, questions, and comments to gabfest@slate.com. (Messages may be referenced by name unless the writer stipulates otherwise.)

Podcast production by Nina Porzucki

Research by Emily Ditto

You can find the full Political Gabfest show pages here.

Want more Political Gabfest? Join Slate Plus to unlock weekly bonus episodes. Plus, you’ll access ad-free listening across all your favorite Slate podcasts. You can subscribe directly from the Political Gabfest show page on Apple Podcastsand Spotify. Or visit slate.com/gabfestplus to get access wherever you listen.

Find out more about David Plotz's monthly tours of Ft. DeRussy, the secret Civil War fort hidden in Rock Creek Park.  

Follow

@SlateGabfest on X / https://twitter.com/SlateGabfest

Slate Political Gabfest on Facebook / https://www.facebook.com/Gabfest/

Need to set up your Slate Plus feed? If you subscribed through Slate.com, check out our FAQ at slate.com/podcastfaqs for easy instructions. Members subscribed via Apple Podcasts get automatic access—no setup required.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week, Emily Bazelon, John Dickerson, and David Plotz discuss Tuesday's NY congressional primaries won by three Mamdani-backed democratic socialists and what they could mean for the Democratic Party, two new Supreme Court immigration rulings siding with the Trump administration, and the ongoing Reflecting Pool debacle as the symbol of a presidency of obsessive ego and shiny objects.

For this week’s Slate Plus bonus episode, Emily, John, and David discuss a rare bipartisan win, the 21st Century ROAD to Housing Act, its numerous provisions which aim to help ease the nationwide housing crisis, and how this victory rapidly shifted into a different kind of crisis when Trump abruptly announced he wouldn't sign the bill unless the SAVE Act passes.

In the latest Gabfest Reads, Emily Bazelon talks with Senator Chris Murphy about his new book, Crisis of the Common Good: The Fight for Meaning and Connection in a Broken America.Murphy lays out a provocative agenda for Democrats to call Americans to national service, break up corporate power, rebuild local communities, and create a bigger tent that reaches disaffected conservatives hungry for change.

Email your chatters, questions, and comments to gabfest@slate.com. (Messages may be referenced by name unless the writer stipulates otherwise.)

Podcast production by Nina Porzucki

Research by Emily Ditto

You can find the full Political Gabfest show pages here.

Want more Political Gabfest? Join Slate Plus to unlock weekly bonus episodes. Plus, you’ll access ad-free listening across all your favorite Slate podcasts. You can subscribe directly from the Political Gabfest show page on Apple Podcastsand Spotify. Or visit slate.com/gabfestplus to get access wherever you listen.

Find out more about David Plotz's monthly tours of Ft. DeRussy, the secret Civil War fort hidden in Rock Creek Park.  

Follow

@SlateGabfest on X / https://twitter.com/SlateGabfest

Slate Political Gabfest on Facebook / https://www.facebook.com/Gabfest/

Need to set up your Slate Plus feed? If you subscribed through Slate.com, check out our FAQ at slate.com/podcastfaqs for easy instructions. Members subscribed via Apple Podcasts get automatic access—no setup required.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Emily Bazelon interviews Senator Chris Murphy about his new book Crisis of the Common Good: The Fight for Meaning and Connection in a Broken America. Murphy argues that Trump is not the root cause of America's political crisis—he's a symptom. The real diagnosis: a country ravaged by loneliness, disconnection, and the collapse of community. From gun violence to Jan. 6, Murphy traces our troubles back to a spiritual unspooling, a loss of meaning and purpose. But his book offers solutions. Murphy lays out a provocative agenda for Democrats to call Americans to national service, break up corporate power, rebuild local communities, and create a bigger tent that reaches disaffected conservatives hungry for change.

Murphy makes the case that fixing America's spiritual crisis is not just morally necessary—it's the only way Democrats win. Winning by being against Trump is not enough. Democrats must offer a proactive vision of an America where people feel powerful in their economy, connected to their communities, and called to something greater than themselves. The book isn’t about policy prescriptions, but rather a fundamental reimagining of what Americans want from their government and from each other.

Tweet us your questions @SlateGabfest or email us at gabfest@slate.com. (Messages could be quoted by name unless the writer stipulates otherwise.)

Podcast production by Nina Porzucki.

Need to set up your Slate Plus feed? If you subscribed through Slate.com, check out our FAQ at slate.com/podcastfaqs for easy instructions. Members subscribed via Apple Podcasts get automatic access—no setup required.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week, Emily Bazelon, John Dickerson, and David Plotz discuss what the U.S. is getting and what it is giving up with the deal to end Trump's Iran war, how Trump's UFC fight at the White House intentionally used the symbols of the presidency to divide rather than unite Americans, and the intensifying conflict between the government and powerful AI companies.

For this week’s Slate Plus bonus episode, Emily, John, and David discuss today's narrow Supreme Court ruling in the case of United States v. Hemani. The hosts talk about the court's decision on guns and marijuana use, but also, thanks to Justice Gorsuch's focus on the Founding Fathers as "habitual drunkards," veer in a surprisingly philosophical discussion about history and its role in modern legal reasoning.

In the latest Gabfest Reads, John Dickerson talks with Bloomberg columnist Adrian Wooldridge about his new book The Revolutionary Center: The Lost Genius of Liberalism. In a moment when American democracy is under assault from authoritarian populists and dogmatic progressives, Wooldridge argues that liberalism itself offers the most resilient framework for pluralistic, self-correcting societies.

Email your chatters, questions, and comments to gabfest@slate.com. (Messages may be referenced by name unless the writer stipulates otherwise.)

Podcast production by Nina Porzucki

Research by Emily Ditto

You can find the full Political Gabfest show pages here.

Want more Political Gabfest? Join Slate Plus to unlock weekly bonus episodes. Plus, you’ll access ad-free listening across all your favorite Slate podcasts. You can subscribe directly from the Political Gabfest show page on Apple Podcastsand Spotify. Or visit slate.com/gabfestplus to get access wherever you listen.

Find out more about David Plotz's monthly tours of Ft. DeRussy, the secret Civil War fort hidden in Rock Creek Park.  

Follow

@SlateGabfest on X / https://twitter.com/SlateGabfest

Slate Political Gabfest on Facebook / https://www.facebook.com/Gabfest/

Need to set up your Slate Plus feed? If you subscribed through Slate.com, check out our FAQ at slate.com/podcastfaqs for easy instructions. Members subscribed via Apple Podcasts get automatic access—no setup required.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week, Emily Bazelon, John Dickerson, and David Plotz discuss whether this week's resumption of open hostilities in the Iran war has changed the likelihood of an imminent end to the conflict, what to do about how California's slow vote-counting emboldens Trump's cries of election foul, and the most hotly contested D.C. mayoral election in a generation with guest Mike Schaffer from City Cast DC.

For this week’s Slate Plus bonus episode, Emily, John, and David discuss how the online shaming of one couple for their reproductive decision has deformed an already hard conversation about disability, quality of life, and what we owe each other. The hosts try to hold all of it at once as they consider this viral story that sits at the intersection of disability rights and reproductive autonomy.

In the latest Gabfest Reads, John Dickerson talks with Bloomberg columnist Adrian Wooldridge about his new book The Revolutionary Center: The Lost Genius of Liberalism. In a moment when American democracy is under assault from authoritarian populists and dogmatic progressives, Wooldridge argues that liberalism itself offers the most resilient framework for pluralistic, self-correcting societies.

Email your chatters, questions, and comments to gabfest@slate.com. (Messages may be referenced by name unless the writer stipulates otherwise.)

Podcast production by Nina Porzucki

Research by Emily Ditto

You can find the full Political Gabfest show pages here.

Want more Political Gabfest? Join Slate Plus to unlock weekly bonus episodes. Plus, you’ll access ad-free listening across all your favorite Slate podcasts. You can subscribe directly from the Political Gabfest show page on Apple Podcastsand Spotify. Or visit slate.com/gabfestplus to get access wherever you listen.

Find out more about David Plotz's monthly tours of Ft. DeRussy, the secret Civil War fort hidden in Rock Creek Park.  

Follow

@SlateGabfest on X / https://twitter.com/SlateGabfest

Slate Political Gabfest on Facebook / https://www.facebook.com/Gabfest/

Need to set up your Slate Plus feed? If you subscribed through Slate.com, check out our FAQ at slate.com/podcastfaqs for easy instructions. Members subscribed via Apple Podcasts get automatic access—no setup required.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week, Emily Bazelon, John Dickerson, and David Plotz discuss whether Graham Platner's accumulating self-inflicted wounds will cost Democrats their best shot at Senate control, how Trump's evolving plans for America's semiquincentennial are giving us all a real time lesson in what the Founders were trying to avoid, and the political and social dimensions of being an American World Cup soccer fan.

For this week’s Slate Plus bonus episode, Emily, John, and David discuss consuming escapist vs. difficult art and the turmoil of modern marriage through The Dramaand BeefSeason 2.

In the latest Gabfest Reads, John Dickerson talks with Bloomberg columnist Adrian Wooldridge about his new book The Revolutionary Center: The Lost Genius of Liberalism. In a moment when American democracy is under assault from authoritarian populists and dogmatic progressives, Wooldridge argues that liberalism itself offers the most resilient framework for pluralistic, self-correcting societies.

Email your chatters, questions, and comments to gabfest@slate.com. (Messages may be referenced by name unless the writer stipulates otherwise.)

Podcast production by Nina Porzucki

Research by Emily Ditto

You can find the full Political Gabfest show pages here.

Want more Political Gabfest? Join Slate Plus to unlock weekly bonus episodes. Plus, you’ll access ad-free listening across all your favorite Slate podcasts. You can subscribe directly from the Political Gabfest show page on Apple Podcastsand Spotify. Or visit slate.com/gabfestplus to get access wherever you listen.

Find out more about David Plotz's monthly tours of Ft. DeRussy, the secret Civil War fort hidden in Rock Creek Park.  

Follow

@SlateGabfest on X / https://twitter.com/SlateGabfest

Slate Political Gabfest on Facebook / https://www.facebook.com/Gabfest/

Need to set up your Slate Plus feed? If you subscribed through Slate.com, check out our FAQ at slate.com/podcastfaqs for easy instructions. Members subscribed via Apple Podcasts get automatic access—no setup required.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week, Emily Bazelon, John Dickerson, and David Plotz discuss what Ken Paxton's dominant win over John Cornyn could mean when he faces Democrat James Talarico for the Texas Senate seat in November, how Trump has no good options in the ongoing negotiations over a possible deal with Iran, and why lawmakers need to act on AI before it's too late with guest Alex Bores, New York Assemblymember and Democratic candidate for Congress.

For this week’s Slate Plus bonus episode, Emily, John, and David discuss the content and context of Pope Leo's first encyclical letter, "Magnifica Humanitas," its warnings against the dangers of ungoverned AI, and the realism of its approach to technology that outpaces our ability to solve very human problems.

In the latest Gabfest Reads, John Dickerson talks with Bloomberg columnist Adrian Wooldridge about his new book The Revolutionary Center: The Lost Genius of Liberalism. In a moment when American democracy is under assault from authoritarian populists and dogmatic progressives, Wooldridge argues that liberalism itself offers the most resilient framework for pluralistic, self-correcting societies.

Email your chatters, questions, and comments to gabfest@slate.com. (Messages may be referenced by name unless the writer stipulates otherwise.)

Podcast production by Nina Porzucki

Research by Emily Ditto

You can find the full Political Gabfest show pages here.

Want more Political Gabfest? Join Slate Plus to unlock weekly bonus episodes. Plus, you’ll access ad-free listening across all your favorite Slate podcasts. You can subscribe directly from the Political Gabfest show page on Apple Podcastsand Spotify. Or visit slate.com/gabfestplus to get access wherever you listen.

Find out more about David Plotz's monthly tours of Ft. DeRussy, the secret Civil War fort hidden in Rock Creek Park.  

Follow

@SlateGabfest on X / https://twitter.com/SlateGabfest

Slate Political Gabfest on Facebook / https://www.facebook.com/Gabfest/

Need to set up your Slate Plus feed? If you subscribed through Slate.com, check out our FAQ at slate.com/podcastfaqs for easy instructions. Members subscribed via Apple Podcasts get automatic access—no setup required.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week, Emily Bazelon, John Dickerson, and David Plotz discuss what Trump is actually trying to buy with his blatantly corrupt "anti-weaponization" slush fund and self-dealing, why Trump can exact primary election revenge on his Republican critics when his own popularity is so low, and how the federal government is obstructing attempts to hold ICE agents involved in shootings accountable with guest Mary Moriarty, Hennepin County DA.

For this week’s Slate Plus bonus episode, Emily, John, and David discuss the Slow Burnpodcast's new season, Becoming Justice Gorsuch,with host Susan Matthews. They talk about the conservative legal project he was built for, his splits with the president who appointed him, and his seeming conviction that he's the only justice who's doing it right.

In the latest Gabfest Reads, John Dickerson talks with Bloomberg columnist Adrian Wooldridge about his new book The Revolutionary Center: The Lost Genius of Liberalism. In a moment when American democracy is under assault from authoritarian populists and dogmatic progressives, Wooldridge argues that liberalism itself offers the most resilient framework for pluralistic, self-correcting societies.

Email your chatters, questions, and comments to gabfest@slate.com. (Messages may be referenced by name unless the writer stipulates otherwise.)

Podcast production by Nina Porzucki

Research by Emily Ditto

You can find the full Political Gabfest show pages here.

Want more Political Gabfest? Join Slate Plus to unlock weekly bonus episodes. Plus, you’ll access ad-free listening across all your favorite Slate podcasts. You can subscribe directly from the Political Gabfest show page on Apple Podcastsand Spotify. Or visit slate.com/gabfestplus to get access wherever you listen.

Find out more about David Plotz's monthly tours of Ft. DeRussy, the secret Civil War fort hidden in Rock Creek Park.  

Follow

@SlateGabfest on X / https://twitter.com/SlateGabfest

Slate Political Gabfest on Facebook / https://www.facebook.com/Gabfest/

Need to set up your Slate Plus feed? If you subscribed through Slate.com, check out our FAQ at slate.com/podcastfaqs for easy instructions. Members subscribed via Apple Podcasts get automatic access—no setup required.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this month’s episode of Gabfest Reads, John Dickerson interviews Bloomberg columnist Adrian Wooldridge about his new book The Revolutionary Center: The Lost Genius of Liberalism. In a moment when American democracy is under assault from authoritarian populists and dogmatic progressives, Wooldridge argues that liberalism itself offers the most resilient framework for pluralistic, self-correcting societies. 

Dickerson and Wooldridge discuss what liberalism really is, why both the left and right have become illiberal, and what citizens can do to defend the democratic principles on which the nation was built.

Tweet us your questions @SlateGabfest or email us at gabfest@slate.com. (Messages could be quoted by name unless the writer stipulates otherwise.)

Podcast production by Nina Porzucki.

Need to set up your Slate Plus feed? If you subscribed through Slate.com, check out our FAQ at slate.com/podcastfaqs for easy instructions. Members subscribed via Apple Podcasts get automatic access—no setup required.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week, Emily Bazelon, John Dickerson, and David Plotz discuss the geopolitical dynamics and possible outcomes of the Trump-Xi summit with former New York Times Beijing Bureau Chief  and host of Face-Off: the US vs. China, Jane Perlez, whether or not the United States has essentially lost the war it started in Iran, and how badly the latest round of gerrymandering will hurt the Democrats and America as a whole in the upcoming midterms and beyond.

For this week’s Slate Plus bonus episode, Emily, John, and David discuss who actually benefits from this week's resignation of FDA chief Marty Makary amid overlapping pressure campaigns from the tobacco industry and anti-abortion groups.

In the latest Gabfest Reads, Emily Bazelon talks with journalist Mark Oppenheimer about his new book, Judy Blume: A Life.Oppenheimer, who spent years with Blume’s papers at Yale and conducted extensive interviews with the author herself, traces how a restless housewife in New Jersey became one of the most beloved—and most banned—writers in American history.

Email your chatters, questions, and comments to gabfest@slate.com. (Messages may be referenced by name unless the writer stipulates otherwise.)

Podcast production by Nina Porzucki

Research by Emily Ditto

You can find the full Political Gabfest show pages here.

Want more Political Gabfest? Join Slate Plus to unlock weekly bonus episodes. Plus, you’ll access ad-free listening across all your favorite Slate podcasts. You can subscribe directly from the Political Gabfest show page on Apple Podcastsand Spotify. Or visit slate.com/gabfestplus to get access wherever you listen.

Find out more about David Plotz's monthly tours of Ft. DeRussy, the secret Civil War fort hidden in Rock Creek Park.  

Follow

@SlateGabfest on X / https://twitter.com/SlateGabfest

Slate Political Gabfest on Facebook / https://www.facebook.com/Gabfest/

Need to set up your Slate Plus feed? If you subscribed through Slate.com, check out our FAQ at slate.com/podcastfaqs for easy instructions. Members subscribed via Apple Podcasts get automatic access—no setup required.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week, Emily Bazelon, John Dickerson, and David Plotz discuss how the Iran War is hurting Trump and the Republicans as its economic fallout grows, the sudden revival of abortion pill politics which ended an uneasy equilibrium between federal law and state bans, and early results of a study on school cellphone bans.

For this week’s Slate Plus bonus episode, Emily, John, and David discuss recent reporting on Trump's escalating and self-aggrandizing efforts to remake the landscape of Washington D.C. including the takeover of municipal golf courses, planning for the "Garden of Heroes," and developments in the ongoing White House ballroom saga.

In the latest Gabfest Reads, Emily Bazelon talks with journalist Mark Oppenheimer about his new book, Judy Blume: A Life.Oppenheimer, who spent years with Blume’s papers at Yale and conducted extensive interviews with the author herself, traces how a restless housewife in New Jersey became one of the most beloved—and most banned—writers in American history.

Email your chatters, questions, and comments to gabfest@slate.com. (Messages may be referenced by name unless the writer stipulates otherwise.)

Podcast production by Nina Porzucki

Research by Emily Ditto

You can find the full Political Gabfest show pages here.

Want more Political Gabfest? Join Slate Plus to unlock weekly bonus episodes. Plus, you’ll access ad-free listening across all your favorite Slate podcasts. You can subscribe directly from the Political Gabfest show page on Apple Podcastsand Spotify. Or visit slate.com/gabfestplus to get access wherever you listen.

Find out more about David Plotz's monthly tours of Ft. DeRussy, the secret Civil War fort hidden in Rock Creek Park.  

Follow

@SlateGabfest on X / https://twitter.com/SlateGabfest

Slate Political Gabfest on Facebook / https://www.facebook.com/Gabfest/

Need to set up your Slate Plus feed? If you subscribed through Slate.com, check out our FAQ at slate.com/podcastfaqs for easy instructions. Members subscribed via Apple Podcasts get automatic access—no setup required.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week, Emily Bazelon, John Dickerson, and guest host Juliette Kayyem discuss the ongoing political fallout from Saturday's attempted assassination at the White House Correspondents' Dinner, the monumental impact the Supreme Court ruling in Louisiana v. Callaiswill have on minority political representation, and what yesterday's oral arguments at SCOTUS portend for immigrants under Temporary Protected Status.

For this week’s Slate Plus bonus episode, Emily, John, and guest host Juliette Kayyem discuss King Charles and Queen Camilla's state visit to the U.S., including the subtle digs in Charles's address to Congress and his inescapable position as a foil to President Trump.

In the latest Gabfest Reads, Emily Bazelon talks with journalist Mark Oppenheimer about his new book, Judy Blume: A Life.Oppenheimer, who spent years with Blume’s papers at Yale and conducted extensive interviews with the author herself, traces how a restless housewife in New Jersey became one of the most beloved—and most banned—writers in American history.

Email your chatters, questions, and comments to gabfest@slate.com. (Messages may be referenced by name unless the writer stipulates otherwise.)

Podcast production by Nina Porzucki

Research by Emily Ditto

You can find the full Political Gabfest show pages here.

Want more Political Gabfest? Join Slate Plus to unlock weekly bonus episodes. Plus, you’ll access ad-free listening across all your favorite Slate podcasts. You can subscribe directly from the Political Gabfest show page on Apple Podcastsand Spotify. Or visit slate.com/gabfestplus to get access wherever you listen.

Find out more about David Plotz's monthly tours of Ft. DeRussy, the secret Civil War fort hidden in Rock Creek Park.  

Follow

@SlateGabfest on X / https://twitter.com/SlateGabfest

Slate Political Gabfest on Facebook / https://www.facebook.com/Gabfest/

Need to set up your Slate Plus feed? If you subscribed through Slate.com, check out our FAQ at slate.com/podcastfaqs for easy instructions. Members subscribed via Apple Podcasts get automatic access—no setup required.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week, Emily Bazelon, John Dickerson, and David Plotz discuss Trump's need for a face-saving exit amid his economically disastrous standoff with Iran over the Strait of Hormuz, how Kash Patel's defamation suit against The Atlantic could hurt him more than help him, and a controversial new Yale report on trust in higher education with guest and report committee co-chair Beverly Gage.

For this week’s Slate Plus bonus episode, Emily, John, and David discuss the personal and political dimensions of President Trump's new executive order aimed at increasing federal psychedelics research and therapeutic access for mental health treatments.

In the latest Gabfest Reads, Emily Bazelon talks with journalist Mark Oppenheimer about his new book, Judy Blume: A Life.Oppenheimer, who spent years with Blume’s papers at Yale and conducted extensive interviews with the author herself, traces how a restless housewife in New Jersey became one of the most beloved—and most banned—writers in American history.

Email your chatters, questions, and comments to gabfest@slate.com. (Messages may be referenced by name unless the writer stipulates otherwise.)

Podcast production by Kevin Bendis

Research by Emily Ditto

You can find the full Political Gabfest show pages here.

Want more Political Gabfest? Join Slate Plus to unlock weekly bonus episodes. Plus, you’ll access ad-free listening across all your favorite Slate podcasts. You can subscribe directly from the Political Gabfest show page on Apple Podcastsand Spotify. Or visit slate.com/gabfestplus to get access wherever you listen.

Need to set up your Slate Plus feed? If you subscribed through Slate.com, check out our FAQ at slate.com/podcastfaqs for easy instructions. Members subscribed via Apple Podcasts get automatic access—no setup required.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Emily Bazelon talks with journalist Mark Oppenheimer about his new book

Judy Blume: A Life. Oppenheimer, who spent years with Blume’s papers at

Yale and conducted extensive interviews with the author herself, traces

how a restless housewife in New Jersey became one of the most

beloved—and most banned—writers in American history.

They discuss what made Blume’s frank, funny voice so revolutionary for

young readers in the 1970s, the surprisingly progressive household that

shaped her, and the genius of Forever, her landmark novel in which

teenage sex is depicted as pleasurable rather than catastrophic. They

also dig into the scandalous adult novel Wifey, Blume’s dogged

persistence through rejection, and her tireless championing of other

writers’ right to be read.

Tweet us your questions @SlateGabfest or email us at gabfest@slate.com.

(Messages could be quoted by name unless the writer stipulates

otherwise.)

Podcast production by Nina Porzucki.

Need to set up your Slate Plus feed? If you subscribed through Slate.com, check out our FAQ at slate.com/podcastfaqs for easy instructions. Members subscribed via Apple Podcasts get automatic access—no setup required.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week, Emily Bazelon, John Dickerson, and David Plotz discuss Trump's Hormuz blockade and his feud with the Pope, a new oral history chronicling stark shifts inside the Department of Homeland Security during Trump's second term, and how to unwind authoritarianism after the consequential electoral defeat of Hungary's Viktor Orbán with guest Anne Applebaum.

For this week’s Slate Plus bonus episode, Emily, John, and David discuss the joint resignation of Reps. Eric Swalwell and Tony Gonzales after accusations of sexual misconduct became public, why powerful men make such terrible choices, and whether we live in a world where shame still matters.

In the latest Gabfest Reads, David Plotz talks with journalist Gabriel Sherman about his new book Bonfire of the Murdochs: How the Epic Fight to Control the Last Great Media Dynasty Broke a Family—and the World. Sherman, who also wrote the bestselling biography of Fox News chief Roger Ailes, spent 15 years reporting on the Murdoch empire. In this book he turns his lens on the family itself — the rivalries, the wounds, and the secret Nevada courtroom battle that finally forced Rupert’s hand.

Email your chatters, questions, and comments to gabfest@slate.com. (Messages may be referenced by name unless the writer stipulates otherwise.)

Podcast production by Nina Porzucki

Research by Emily Ditto

You can find the full Political Gabfest show pages here.

Want more Political Gabfest? Join Slate Plus to unlock weekly bonus episodes. Plus, you’ll access ad-free listening across all your favorite Slate podcasts. You can subscribe directly from the Political Gabfest show page on Apple Podcastsand Spotify. Or visit slate.com/gabfestplus to get access wherever you listen.

Find out more about David Plotz's monthly tours of Ft. DeRussy, the secret Civil War fort hidden in Rock Creek Park.  

Follow

@SlateGabfest on X / https://twitter.com/SlateGabfest

Slate Political Gabfest on Facebook / https://www.facebook.com/Gabfest/

Need to set up your Slate Plus feed? If you subscribed through Slate.com, check out our FAQ at slate.com/podcastfaqs for easy instructions. Members subscribed via Apple Podcasts get automatic access—no setup required.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week, Emily Bazelon, John Dickerson, and David Plotz discuss the state of the U.S. war with Iran including what Tuesday night's abject ceasefire means, a deeply unsettling profile of the internet fringe group "Groypers" that shows how they are affecting Republican politics with guest Antonia Hitchens, and legal and moral arguments over mandatory school reading lists being considered in Texas which contain Bible passages.

For this week’s Slate Plus bonus episode, Emily, John, and David discuss the ins and outs of a strange story in which a FEMA official claims to have miraculously teleported to a Waffle House in Georgia, including the media treatment of the story and what it means that some U.S. officials are reporting such experiences.

In the latest Gabfest Reads, David Plotz talks with journalist Gabriel Sherman about his new book Bonfire of the Murdochs: How the Epic Fight to Control the Last Great Media Dynasty Broke a Family—and the World. Sherman, who also wrote the bestselling biography of Fox News chief Roger Ailes, spent 15 years reporting on the Murdoch empire. In this book he turns his lens on the family itself — the rivalries, the wounds, and the secret Nevada courtroom battle that finally forced Rupert’s hand.

Email your chatters, questions, and comments to gabfest@slate.com. (Messages may be referenced by name unless the writer stipulates otherwise.)

Podcast production by Nina Porzucki

Research by Emily Ditto

You can find the full Political Gabfest show pages here.

Want more Political Gabfest? Join Slate Plus to unlock weekly bonus episodes. Plus, you’ll access ad-free listening across all your favorite Slate podcasts. You can subscribe directly from the Political Gabfest show page on Apple Podcastsand Spotify. Or visit slate.com/gabfestplus to get access wherever you listen.

Find out more about David Plotz's monthly tours of Ft. DeRussy, the secret Civil War fort hidden in Rock Creek Park.  

Follow

@SlateGabfest on X / https://twitter.com/SlateGabfest

Slate Political Gabfest on Facebook / https://www.facebook.com/Gabfest/

Need to set up your Slate Plus feed? If you subscribed through Slate.com, check out our FAQ at slate.com/podcastfaqs for easy instructions. Members subscribed via Apple Podcasts get automatic access—no setup required.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week, Emily Bazelon, John Dickerson, and David Plotz discuss yesterday's oral arguments in the monumentally important birthright citizenship case at the Supreme Court, Trump's primetime attempt to convince Americans that both their wallets and the Iran war are just fine, and strategy versus vibes in key Senate races in Maine and Texas.

For this week’s Slate Plus bonus episode, Emily, John, and David discuss the launch of NASA's Artemis II mission to the Moon. They muse poetically about space exploration, ask what NASA has been doing all this time, and discuss the benefits to humanity of such expensive missions.

In the latest Gabfest Reads, David Plotz talks with journalist Gabriel Sherman about his new book Bonfire of the Murdochs: How the Epic Fight to Control the Last Great Media Dynasty Broke a Family—and the World. Sherman, who also wrote the bestselling biography of Fox News chief Roger Ailes, spent 15 years reporting on the Murdoch empire. In this book he turns his lens on the family itself — the rivalries, the wounds, and the secret Nevada courtroom battle that finally forced Rupert’s hand.

Email your chatters, questions, and comments to gabfest@slate.com. (Messages may be referenced by name unless the writer stipulates otherwise.)

Podcast production by Nina Porzucki

Research by Emily Ditto

You can find the full Political Gabfest show pages here.

Need to set up your Slate Plus feed? If you subscribed through Slate.com, check out our FAQ at slate.com/podcastfaqs for easy instructions. Members subscribed via Apple Podcasts get automatic access—no setup required.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week, Emily Bazelon, John Dickerson, and David Plotz discuss why politicians keep failing to solve the escalating crisis of American air travel as massive lines and ICE agents disrupt airport operations, what could happen to the 2026 elections when the Supreme Court decides the fate of a state law on mail-in ballot deadlines, and how two jury verdicts provide new legal hooks to hold social media companies liable for harms to children.

For this week’s Slate Plus bonus episode, Emily, John, and David discuss the new book This Land is Your Land: A Road Trip Through U.S. History with author and historian Beverly Gage. They talk about the value of exploring U.S. historical sites in all their complexity as the 250th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence approaches this summer.

In the latest Gabfest Reads, David Plotz talks with journalist Gabriel Sherman about his new book Bonfire of the Murdochs: How the Epic Fight to Control the Last Great Media Dynasty Broke a Family—and the World. Sherman, who also wrote the bestselling biography of Fox News chief Roger Ailes, spent 15 years reporting on the Murdoch empire. In this book he turns his lens on the family itself — the rivalries, the wounds, and the secret Nevada courtroom battle that finally forced Rupert’s hand.

Email your chatters, questions, and comments to gabfest@slate.com. (Messages may be referenced by name unless the writer stipulates otherwise.)

Podcast production by Nina Porzucki

Research by Emily Ditto

You can find the full Political Gabfest show pages here.

Want more Political Gabfest? Join Slate Plus to unlock weekly bonus episodes. Plus, you’ll access ad-free listening across all your favorite Slate podcasts. You can subscribe directly from the Political Gabfest show page on Apple Podcastsand Spotify. Or visit slate.com/gabfestplus to get access wherever you listen.

Find out more about David Plotz's monthly tours of Ft. DeRussy, the secret Civil War fort hidden in Rock Creek Park.  

Follow

@SlateGabfest on X / https://twitter.com/SlateGabfest

Slate Political Gabfest on Facebook / https://www.facebook.com/Gabfest/

Need to set up your Slate Plus feed? If you subscribed through Slate.com, check out our FAQ at slate.com/podcastfaqs for easy instructions. Members subscribed via Apple Podcasts get automatic access—no setup required.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

David Plotz talks with journalist Gabriel Sherman about his new book Bonfire of the Murdochs: How the Epic Fight to Control the Last Great Media Dynasty Broke a Family—and the World. Sherman, who also wrote the bestselling biography of Fox News chief Roger Ailes, spent 15 years reporting on the Murdoch empire. In this book he turns his lens on the family itself — the rivalries, the wounds, and the secret Nevada courtroom battle that finally forced Rupert's hand.

Sherman sketches each of the three main Murdoch children: the shrewd and overlooked Elisabeth, the conservative golden child Lachlan, and the restless, brittle James. He explains how Rupert pitted each of his children against each other to consolidate his own power. He and Plotz explore the parallels between the Murdoch and Trump dynasties, debate whether a James-led Fox News could ever have been tethered to reality, and ask what happens to the empire once Rupert is gone. Sherman's prediction: Lachlan sells.

Tweet us your questions @SlateGabfest or email us at gabfest@slate.com. (Messages could be quoted by name unless the writer stipulates otherwise.)

Podcast production by Nina Porzucki.

Need to set up your Slate Plus feed? If you subscribed through Slate.com, check out our FAQ at slate.com/podcastfaqs for easy instructions. Members subscribed via Apple Podcasts get automatic access—no setup required.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week, Emily Bazelon, John Dickerson, and David Plotz discuss how policies of anger and dominance structure President Trump’s approach to adversaries, allies, and the independent press alike, how the dangers of the online sports-betting industry are outrunning limited guardrails with guest McKay Coppins, and how a federal judge just handed RFK Jr.’s war on vaccines its biggest setback yet.

For this week’s Slate Plus bonus episode, Emily, John, and David discuss what the conventional postmortems of USAID are missing and where global development might go from here with guest Tim Hirschel-Burns.

In the latest Gabfest Reads, John Dickerson talks with Father James Martin about his new book, Work in Progress: Confessions of a Busboy, Dishwasher, Caddy, Usher, Factory Worker, Bank Teller, Corporate Tool, and Priest. They discuss the spiritual lessons learned through eight different jobs, Martin’s controversial LGBTQ ministry that made him a target of criticism within the Catholic Church, and what the Gospels demand about welcoming strangers and caring for the marginalized.

Email your chatters, questions, and comments to gabfest@slate.com. (Messages may be referenced by name unless the writer stipulates otherwise.)

Podcast production by Nina Porzucki

Research by Emily Ditto

You can find the full Political Gabfest show pages here.

Want more Political Gabfest? Join Slate Plus to unlock weekly bonus episodes. Plus, you’ll access ad-free listening across all your favorite Slate podcasts. You can subscribe directly from the Political Gabfest show page on Apple Podcastsand Spotify. Or visit slate.com/gabfestplus to get access wherever you listen.

Find out more about David Plotz's monthly tours of Ft. DeRussy, the secret Civil War fort hidden in Rock Creek Park.  

Follow

@SlateGabfest on X / https://twitter.com/SlateGabfest

Slate Political Gabfest on Facebook / https://www.facebook.com/Gabfest/

Need to set up your Slate Plus feed? If you subscribed through Slate.com, check out our FAQ at slate.com/podcastfaqs for easy instructions. Members subscribed via Apple Podcasts get automatic access—no setup required.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week, Emily Bazelon, John Dickerson, and David Plotz discuss whether Trump will be willing to endure the political pain if his capricious Iran war causes gas to hit $5 a gallon, the system of ICE mega-prisons DHS is starting to build, and new fronts in Trump’s efforts to control the 2026 elections and beyond.

For this week’s Slate Plus bonus episode, Emily, John, and David discuss last weekend’s attempted bomb attack in front of Gracie Mansion in NYC, and how it somehow managed to be a terrorism story, a protest story, and a media story all in one.

In the latest Gabfest Reads, John Dickerson talks with Father James Martin about his new book, Work in Progress: Confessions of a Busboy, Dishwasher, Caddy, Usher, Factory Worker, Bank Teller, Corporate Tool, and Priest. They discuss the spiritual lessons learned through eight different jobs, Martin’s controversial LGBTQ ministry that made him a target of criticism within the Catholic Church, and what the Gospels demand about welcoming strangers and caring for the marginalized.

Email your chatters, questions, and comments to gabfest@slate.com. (Messages may be referenced by name unless the writer stipulates otherwise.)

Podcast production by Nina Porzucki

Research by Emily Ditto

You can find the full Political Gabfest show pages here.

Want more Political Gabfest? Join Slate Plus to unlock weekly bonus episodes. Plus, you’ll access ad-free listening across all your favorite Slate podcasts. You can subscribe directly from the Political Gabfest show page on Apple Podcastsand Spotify. Or visit slate.com/gabfestplus to get access wherever you listen.

Find out more about David Plotz's monthly tours of Ft. DeRussy, the secret Civil War fort hidden in Rock Creek Park.  

Follow

@SlateGabfest on X / https://twitter.com/SlateGabfest

Slate Political Gabfest on Facebook / https://www.facebook.com/Gabfest/

Need to set up your Slate Plus feed? If you subscribed through Slate.com, check out our FAQ at slate.com/podcastfaqs for easy instructions. Members subscribed via Apple Podcasts get automatic access—no setup required.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week, Emily Bazelon, John Dickerson, and David Plotz discuss the possible political outcomes of the war in Iran given the complexities of Iranian society with guest Karim Sadjadpour, whether the primary election results could mean that Texas will finally turn blue, and the amazing legal back-and-forth between the embarrassed Trump DOJ and the victorious Big Law firms who fought back against its clear abuse of executive power.

For this week’s Slate Plus bonus episode, Emily, John, and David discuss this week’s Supreme Court arguments over whether the federal government can bar marijuana users from owning a gun.

In the latest Gabfest Reads, John Dickerson talks with Father James Martin about his new book, Work in Progress: Confessions of a Busboy, Dishwasher, Caddy, Usher, Factory Worker, Bank Teller, Corporate Tool, and Priest. They discuss the spiritual lessons learned through eight different jobs, Martin’s controversial LGBTQ ministry that made him a target of criticism within the Catholic Church, and what the Gospels demand about welcoming strangers and caring for the marginalized.

Email your chatters, questions, and comments to gabfest@slate.com. (Messages may be referenced by name unless the writer stipulates otherwise.)

Podcast production by Nina Porzucki

Research by Emily Ditto

You can find the full Political Gabfest show pages here.

Want more Political Gabfest? Join Slate Plus to unlock weekly bonus episodes. Plus, you’ll access ad-free listening across all your favorite Slate podcasts. You can subscribe directly from the Political Gabfest show page on Apple Podcastsand Spotify. Or visit slate.com/gabfestplus to get access wherever you listen.

Find out more about David Plotz's monthly tours of Ft. DeRussy, the secret Civil War fort hidden in Rock Creek Park.  

Follow

@SlateGabfest on X / https://twitter.com/SlateGabfest

Slate Political Gabfest on Facebook / https://www.facebook.com/Gabfest/

Need to set up your Slate Plus feed? If you subscribed through Slate.com, check out our FAQ at slate.com/podcastfaqs for easy instructions. Members subscribed via Apple Podcasts get automatic access—no setup required.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week, Emily Bazelon, John Dickerson, and David Plotz discuss whether Trump’s State of the Union address effectively convinced voters to ignore the pain in their wallets because he says he’s “winning” the economy, how the Supreme Court finally stood up to the president on something he really cares about, and the Pentagon’s ominous ultimatum against AI company Anthropic.

For this week’s Slate Plus bonus episode, Emily, John, and David discuss James Talarico, Jasmine Crockett, and what might happen in next week’s consequential Texas Senate primary races.

In the latest Gabfest Reads, John Dickerson talks with Father James Martin about his new book, Work in Progress: Confessions of a Busboy, Dishwasher, Caddy, Usher, Factory Worker, Bank Teller, Corporate Tool, and Priest. They discuss the spiritual lessons learned through eight different jobs, Martin’s controversial LGBTQ ministry that made him a target of criticism within the Catholic Church, and what the Gospels demand about welcoming strangers and caring for the marginalized.

Email your chatters, questions, and comments to gabfest@slate.com. (Messages may be referenced by name unless the writer stipulates otherwise.)

Podcast production by Nina Porzucki

Research by Emily Ditto

You can find the full Political Gabfest show pages here.

Want more Political Gabfest? Join Slate Plus to unlock weekly bonus episodes. Plus, you’ll access ad-free listening across all your favorite Slate podcasts. You can subscribe directly from the Political Gabfest show page on Apple Podcastsand Spotify. Or visit slate.com/gabfestplus to get access wherever you listen.

Find out more about David Plotz's monthly tours of Ft. DeRussy, the secret Civil War fort hidden in Rock Creek Park.  

Follow

@SlateGabfest on X / https://twitter.com/SlateGabfest

Slate Political Gabfest on Facebook / https://www.facebook.com/Gabfest/

Need to set up your Slate Plus feed? If you subscribed through Slate.com, check out our FAQ at slate.com/podcastfaqs for easy instructions. Members subscribed via Apple Podcasts get automatic access—no setup required.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

John Dickerson talks with Father James Martin about his new book, Work in Progress: Confessions of a Busboy, Dishwasher, Caddy, Usher, Factory Worker, Bank Teller, Corporate Tool, and Priest. They discuss the spiritual lessons learned through eight different jobs, Martin's controversial LGBTQ ministry that made him a target of criticism within the Catholic Church, and what the Gospels demand about welcoming strangers and caring for the marginalized.

Tweet us your questions @SlateGabfest or email us at gabfest@slate.com. (Messages could be quoted by name unless the writer stipulates otherwise.)

Podcast production by Nina Porzucki.

Need to set up your Slate Plus feed? If you subscribed through Slate.com, check out our FAQ at slate.com/podcastfaqs for easy instructions. Members subscribed via Apple Podcasts get automatic access—no setup required.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week, Emily Bazelon, John Dickerson, and David Plotz discuss the public figures being shamed and punished for their associations with Jeffrey Epstein while others remain unscathed, the insights and lessons revealed by a new oral history archive and interview with former President Obama, and the meaning of the Trump administration’s efforts to whitewash history.

For this week’s Slate Plus bonus episode, Emily, John, and David discuss this week’s dust-up between Stephen Colbert and CBS amid FCC threats over an interview with Texas Democrat James Talarico.

In the latest Gabfest Reads, Emily Bazelon talks with author Curtis Sittenfeld about her short story collection, “Show Don’t Tell.” They discuss the recurring themes of the book from troubled marriages and middle age to the passage of time, and characters who are navigating moments of racial privilege and prejudice.

Email your chatters, questions, and comments to gabfest@slate.com. (Messages may be referenced by name unless the writer stipulates otherwise.)

Podcast production by Kevin Bendis

Research by Emily Ditto

You can find the full Political Gabfest show pages here.

Want more Political Gabfest? Join Slate Plus to unlock weekly bonus episodes. Plus, you’ll access ad-free listening across all your favorite Slate podcasts. You can subscribe directly from the Political Gabfest show page on Apple Podcastsand Spotify. Or visit slate.com/gabfestplus to get access wherever you listen.

Find out more about David Plotz's monthly tours of Ft. DeRussy, the secret Civil War fort hidden in Rock Creek Park. 

@SlateGabfest on X / https://twitter.com/SlateGabfest

Slate Political Gabfest on Facebook / https://www.facebook.com/Gabfest/

Need to set up your Slate Plus feed? If you subscribed through Slate.com, check out our FAQ at slate.com/podcastfaqs for easy instructions. Members subscribed via Apple Podcasts get automatic access—no setup required.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week, live from Sixth & I in Washington DC to celebrate 20 years of the Political Gabfest, Emily Bazelon, John Dickerson, and David Plotz discuss the contentious House Judiciary Committee hearing with AG Pam Bondi and the Trump administration’s violations of constitutional rights with guest Rep. Jamie Raskin, how Trump’s assaults on DC have radically transformed the city, and patriotism at the Olympics.

For this week’s Slate Plus bonus episode, Emily, John, and David answer questions from the live audience at Sixth & I in Washington, DC to celebrate 20 years of the Political Gabfest.

In the latest Gabfest Reads, Emily Bazelon talks with author Curtis Sittenfeld about her short story collection, “Show Don’t Tell.” They discuss the recurring themes of the book from troubled marriages and middle age to the passage of time, and characters who are navigating moments of racial privilege and prejudice.

Email your chatters, questions, and comments to gabfest@slate.com. (Messages may be referenced by name unless the writer stipulates otherwise.)

Podcast production by Nina Porzucki

Research by Emily Ditto

You can find the full Political Gabfest show pages here.

Want more Political Gabfest? Join Slate Plus to unlock weekly bonus episodes. Plus, you’ll access ad-free listening across all your favorite Slate podcasts. You can subscribe directly from the Political Gabfest show page on Apple Podcastsand Spotify. Or visit slate.com/gabfestplus to get access wherever you listen.

Find out more about David Plotz's monthly tours of Ft. DeRussy, the secret Civil War fort hidden in Rock Creek Park.  

Follow

@SlateGabfest on X / https://twitter.com/SlateGabfest

Slate Political Gabfest on Facebook / https://www.facebook.com/Gabfest/

Need to set up your Slate Plus feed? If you subscribed through Slate.com, check out our FAQ at slate.com/podcastfaqs for easy instructions. Members subscribed via Apple Podcasts get automatic access—no setup required.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week, Emily Bazelon, David Plotz, and guest host Juliette Kayyem discuss the juxtaposition between the devastating layoffs at The Washington Post and the exorbitant price owner Jeff Bezos and Amazon paid for the Melaniamovie, this week’s ominous foreshadowing of the Trump administration’s real threats to the 2026 elections with election law expert Nate Persily, and why the Clintons are facing deposition in House Epstein investigations.

For this week’s Slate Plus bonus episode, Emily, David, and guest host Juliette Kayyem discuss a fascinating profile of anti-government militia leader Ammon Bundy, the contrast between Bundy’s and his former allies’ views on ICE tactics, and how messages about individual liberty and government intervention might be affecting the Trump administration’s narratives about immigration enforcement.

In the latest Gabfest Reads, Emily Bazelon talks with author Curtis Sittenfeld about her short story collection, “Show Don’t Tell.” They discuss the recurring themes of the book from troubled marriages and middle age to the passage of time, and characters who are navigating moments of racial privilege and prejudice.

Email your chatters, questions, and comments to gabfest@slate.com. (Messages may be referenced by name unless the writer stipulates otherwise.)

Podcast production by Nina Porzucki

Research by Emily Ditto

You can find the full Political Gabfest show pages here.

Want more Political Gabfest? Join Slate Plus to unlock weekly bonus episodes. Plus, you’ll access ad-free listening across all your favorite Slate podcasts. You can subscribe directly from the Political Gabfest show page on Apple Podcastsand Spotify. Or visit slate.com/gabfestplus to get access wherever you listen.

Find out more about David Plotz's monthly tours of Ft. DeRussy, the secret Civil War fort hidden in Rock Creek Park.  

Follow

@SlateGabfest on X / https://twitter.com/SlateGabfest

Slate Political Gabfest on Facebook / https://www.facebook.com/Gabfest/

Need to set up your Slate Plus feed? If you subscribed through Slate.com, check out our FAQ at slate.com/podcastfaqs for easy instructions. Members subscribed via Apple Podcasts get automatic access—no setup required.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week, Emily Bazelon, John Dickerson, and David Plotz discuss how the shocking killing of Alex Pretti by federal agents could represent a real turning point for Trump’s immigration enforcement policies, the cognitive dissonance about constitutional rights and conservative principles displayed by political leaders in the wake of Pretti’s killing, and a new book by guest Jason Zengerle: Hated by All the Right People: Tucker Carlson and the Unraveling of the Conservative Mind.

For this week’s Slate Plus bonus episode, Emily, John, and David discuss a landmark trial starting in California that aims to adjudicate between children and families who say that social media caused them immense harm because companies intentionally engineered addicting platforms, and social media giants like Meta who argue they’re not responsible for content protected by the First Amendment.

In the latest Gabfest Reads, Emily Bazelon talks with author Curtis Sittenfeld about her short story collection, “Show Don’t Tell.” They discuss the recurring themes of the book from troubled marriages and middle age to the passage of time, and characters who are navigating moments of racial privilege and prejudice.

Email your chatters, questions, and comments to gabfest@slate.com. (Messages may be referenced by name unless the writer stipulates otherwise.)

Podcast production by Nina Porzucki

Research by Emily Ditto

You can find the full Political Gabfest show pages here.

Want more Political Gabfest? Join Slate Plus to unlock weekly bonus episodes. Plus, you’ll access ad-free listening across all your favorite Slate podcasts. You can subscribe directly from the Political Gabfest show page on Apple Podcastsand Spotify. Or visit slate.com/gabfestplus to get access wherever you listen.

Find out more about David Plotz's monthly tours of Ft. DeRussy, the secret Civil War fort hidden in Rock Creek Park.  

Need to set up your Slate Plus feed? If you subscribed through Slate.com, check out our FAQ at slate.com/podcastfaqs for easy instructions. Members subscribed via Apple Podcasts get automatic access—no setup required.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week, Emily Bazelon, John Dickerson, and David Plotz discuss whether Trump’s lust for Greenland will break the world (or indeed, whether it already has), what this week’s arguments at the Supreme Court suggest about the future of Fed independence, and how FBI sources say the Bureau is being turned into a weapon of the president.

For this week’s Slate Plus bonus episode, Emily, John, and David discuss a new memoir from Pennsylvania governor and likely presidential candidate Josh Shapiro, and what it tells us about his views on the presidency, his relationship with former VP Kamala Harris, and how he might approach a campaign.

In the latest Gabfest Reads, Emily Bazelon talks with author Curtis Sittenfeld about her short story collection, “Show Don't Tell.” They discuss the recurring themes of the book from troubled marriages and middle age to the passage of time, and characters who are navigating moments of racial privilege and prejudice. 

Email your chatters, questions, and comments to gabfest@slate.com. (Messages may be referenced by name unless the writer stipulates otherwise.)

Podcast production by Nina Porzucki

Research by Emily Ditto

You can find the full Political Gabfest show pages here.

Want more Political Gabfest? Join Slate Plus to unlock weekly bonus episodes. Plus, you’ll access ad-free listening across all your favorite Slate podcasts. You can subscribe directly from the Political Gabfest show page on Apple Podcastsand Spotify. Or visit slate.com/gabfestplus to get access wherever you listen.

Find out more about David Plotz's monthly tours of Ft. DeRussy, the secret Civil War fort hidden in Rock Creek Park.  

Follow

@SlateGabfest on X / https://twitter.com/SlateGabfest

Slate Political Gabfest on Facebook / https://www.facebook.com/Gabfest/

Need to set up your Slate Plus feed? If you subscribed through Slate.com, check out our FAQ at slate.com/podcastfaqs for easy instructions. Members subscribed via Apple Podcasts get automatic access—no setup required.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Emily Bazelon talks with author Curtis Sittenfeld about her short story collection, “Show Don't Tell.” They discuss the recurring themes of the book from troubled marriages and middle age to the passage of time, and characters who are navigating moments of racial privilege and prejudice. 

Tweet us your questions @SlateGabfest or email us at gabfest@slate.com. (Messages could be quoted by name unless the writer stipulates otherwise.)

Podcast production by Nina Porzucki.

Need to set up your Slate Plus feed? If you subscribed through Slate.com, check out our FAQ at slate.com/podcastfaqs for easy instructions. Members subscribed via Apple Podcasts get automatic access—no setup required.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week, Emily Bazelon, John Dickerson, and David Plotz discuss why Trump is stepping up his attacks on Fed Chair Powell and how it could backfire, the increasingly inflammatory actions of ICE and the slim likelihood of justice for Renee Good in Minneapolis, and the Trump administration’s unsettling efforts to sow doubt about election integrity ahead of the midterms.

For this week’s Slate Plus bonus episode, Emily, John, and David discuss this week’s arguments at the Supreme Court in two cases about state bans on the participation of transgender kids in sports.

In the latest Gabfest Reads, David Plotz talks with Wikipedia co-founder Jimmy Wales about his new book The Seven Rules of Trust: A Blueprint for Building Things That Last.They discuss how Wikipedia’s culture of assuming good faith and shared purpose became a model for building trustworthy digital communities — and what lessons that holds for companies, social media, and politics today.

Email your chatters, questions, and comments to gabfest@slate.com. (Messages may be referenced by name unless the writer stipulates otherwise.)

Podcast production by Nina Porzucki

Research by Emily Ditto

You can find the full Political Gabfest show pages here.

Want more Political Gabfest? Join Slate Plus to unlock weekly bonus episodes. Plus, you’ll access ad-free listening across all your favorite Slate podcasts. You can subscribe directly from the Political Gabfest show page on Apple Podcastsand Spotify. Or visit slate.com/gabfestplus to get access wherever you listen.

Find out more about David Plotz's monthly tours of Ft. DeRussy, the secret Civil War fort hidden in Rock Creek Park.  

Follow

@SlateGabfest on X / https://twitter.com/SlateGabfest

Slate Political Gabfest on Facebook / https://www.facebook.com/Gabfest/

Need to set up your Slate Plus feed? If you subscribed through Slate.com, check out our FAQ at slate.com/podcastfaqs for easy instructions. Members subscribed via Apple Podcasts get automatic access—no setup required.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

David Plotz talks with Wikipedia co-founder Jimmy Wales about his new book The Seven Rules of Trust: A Blueprint for Building Things That Last. They discuss how Wikipedia’s culture of assuming good faith and shared purpose became a model for building trustworthy digital communities — and what lessons that holds for companies, social media, and politics today.

Wales reflects on how to maintain trust in polarized times, the challenges of AI-generated information, and why genuine civility still matters online.

Tweet us your questions @SlateGabfest or email us at gabfest@slate.com. (Messages may be quoted by name unless the writer stipulates otherwise.)

Podcast production by Nina Porzucki.

Need to set up your Slate Plus feed? If you subscribed through Slate.com, check out our FAQ at slate.com/podcastfaqs for easy instructions. Members subscribed via Apple Podcasts get automatic access—no setup required.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Political Gabfest host Emily Bazelon talks with Jonathan Mahler about his new book, The Gods of New York.They discuss the unraveling of Mayor Ed Koch’s New York City; how the city’s current mayoral race is mirroring the past; and more.

Tweet us your questions @SlateGabfest or email us at gabfest@slate.com. (Messages could be quoted by name unless the writer stipulates otherwise.)

Podcast production by Cheyna Roth.

Need to set up your Slate Plus feed? If you subscribed through Slate.com, check out our FAQ at slate.com/podcastfaqs for easy instructions. Members subscribed via Apple Podcasts get automatic access—no setup required.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week, Emily Bazelon, John Dickerson, and guest host Juliette Kayyem discuss the ominous juxtaposition of Trump sending National Guard troops and Marines to quell mostly peaceful protests in LA with his impending military parade in DC, RFK Jr. firing the entire CDC vaccine advisory board and what this means for the future of vaccines, and a unanimous Supreme Court decision that makes it easier to win “reverse discrimination” cases.

Here are this week’s chatters:

Emily: David Marchese for the New York Times: The Interview: Ocean Vuong Was Ready to Kill. Then a Moment of Grace Changed His Life; Ocean Vuong for the New York Times (Opinion): My Brother’s Keeper.

John: The University of Cambridge: Medieval Murder Maps; podcast series: Medieval Murders.

Juliette: Graham Dunbar for the Associated Press: What the Trump travel ban means for the 2026 World Cup and 2028 Olympic Games; Chelsea Jones for CBS News Miami: Will ICE agents be at Miami’s FIFA Club World Cup games? Sheriff Cordero-Stutz responds after deleted CBP post.

Listener chatter from Katie Johnston in Bangor, Northern Ireland: Sophie Hardach for the BBC: How the humble chestnut traced the rise and fall of the Roman Empire

For this week’s Slate Plus bonus episode, Emily, John, and guest host Juliette Kayyem discuss favorite dark comedy drama Hacks, which tackles the relationship between two women of differing generations and clashing opinions with witty banter and emotional richness.

In the latest Gabfest Reads, Emily talks with author Susan Dominus about her new book, The Family Dynamic: A Journey into the Mystery of Sibling Success.

Email your chatters, questions, and comments to gabfest@slate.com. (Messages may be referenced by name unless the writer stipulates otherwise.)

Research by Emily Ditto

Need to set up your Slate Plus feed? If you subscribed through Slate.com, check out our FAQ at slate.com/podcastfaqs for easy instructions. Members subscribed via Apple Podcasts get automatic access—no setup required.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Emily Bazelon talks with author Susan Dominus about her new book, The Family Dynamic: A Journey into the Mystery of Sibling Success. They discuss the commonalities among families that have multiple high-achieving children, what we can learn from these unique families, and more.

Tweet us your questions @SlateGabfest or email us at gabfest@slate.com. (Messages could be quoted by name unless the writer stipulates otherwise.)

Podcast production by Cheyna Roth.

Need to set up your Slate Plus feed? If you subscribed through Slate.com, check out our FAQ at slate.com/podcastfaqs for easy instructions. Members subscribed via Apple Podcasts get automatic access—no setup required.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week, John Dickerson and David Plotz are joined by Juliette Kayyem to discuss how Elon Musk and DOGE are endangering Americans; the Trump administration’s attacks on universities and the arrest of Palestinian activist Mahmoud Khalil; and the politics of the measles outbreak centered on West Texas.

For this week’s Slate Plus bonus episode, John and David are joined by Juliette Kayyem to discuss taking your kids to work: great, weird, terrible, or all of the above?

In the latest Gabfest Reads, Emily talks with author Rich Benjamin about his new book, Talk to Me: Lessons From a Family Forged by History.

Email your chatters, questions, and comments to gabfest@slate.com. (Messages may be referenced by name unless the writer stipulates otherwise.)

Research by Emily Ditto

Want more Political Gabfest? Join Slate Plus to unlock weekly bonus episodes. Plus, you’ll access ad-free listening across all your favorite Slate podcasts. You can subscribe directly from the Political Gabfest show page on Apple Podcasts and Spotify. Or visit slate.com/gabfestplus to get access wherever you listen.

Need to set up your Slate Plus feed? If you subscribed through Slate.com, check out our FAQ at slate.com/podcastfaqs for easy instructions. Members subscribed via Apple Podcasts get automatic access—no setup required.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week, Emily Bazelon, John Dickerson, and David Plotz close out a confounding year by answering listeners’ Conundrums. 

Thank you to Conundrums contributors Mitchell, Alan, Rajesh, Margot, Josh, Rob, Thad, Tobi, Collin, Anna, Glenn, Tom, Aimee, Brad, Phil, Erin, and Sam!

For this week’s Slate Plus bonus segment, Emily, John, and David conduct a Conundrums lightning-round. 

In the latest Gabfest Reads, Emily talks with Stephanie Gorton about her new book, The Icon & the Idealist: Margaret Sanger, Mary Ware Dennett, and the Rivalry That Brought Birth Control to America. 

Email your chatters, questions, and comments to gabfest@slate.com. (Messages may be referenced by name unless the writer stipulates otherwise.)

Podcast production by Jared Downing and Cheyna Roth with live show support from Katie Rayford

Research by Julie Huygen

Disclosure in Podcast Description:A Bond Account is a self-directed brokerage account with Public Investing, member FINRA/SIPC. Deposits into this account are used to purchase 10 investment-grade and high-yield bonds. As of 9/26/24, the average, annualized yield to worst (YTW) across the Bond Account is greater than 6%. A bond’s yield is a function of its market price, which can fluctuate; therefore, a bond’s YTW is not “locked in” until the bond is purchased, and your yield at time of purchase may be different from the yield shown here. The “locked in” YTW is not guaranteed; you may receive less than the YTW of the bonds in the Bond Account if you sell any of the bonds before maturity or if the issuer defaults on the bond. Public Investing charges a markup on each bond trade. See our Fee Schedule. Bond Accounts are not recommendations of individual bonds or default allocations. The bonds in the Bond Account have not been selected based on your needs or risk profile. See https://public.com/disclosures/bond-account to learn more.

Need to set up your Slate Plus feed? If you subscribed through Slate.com, check out our FAQ at slate.com/podcastfaqs for easy instructions. Members subscribed via Apple Podcasts get automatic access—no setup required.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Slate Political Gabfest host David Plotz talks with author David Greenberg about his new book, John Lewis: A Life. They discuss how Lewis went from marching with Martin Luther King, Jr. to an iconic career as a politician, Lewis’s commitment to non-violence, how Greenberg uncovered never-before-seen documents, and more.

Tweet us your questions @SlateGabfest or email us at gabfest@slate.com. (Messages could be quoted by name unless the writer stipulates otherwise.)

Podcast production by Cheyna Roth.

Need to set up your Slate Plus feed? If you subscribed through Slate.com, check out our FAQ at slate.com/podcastfaqs for easy instructions. Members subscribed via Apple Podcasts get automatic access—no setup required.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week, Emily Bazelon, John Dickerson, and David Plotz discuss the capitulation of American media and corporations to President-Elect Donald Trump; the government shutdown and surrender of House Republicans to Elon Musk; and the appeal of TikTok to the Supreme Court. 

For this week’s Slate Plus bonus episode, Emily, John, and David discuss the drones over New Jersey.

In the latest Gabfest Reads, Emily talks with Stephanie Gorton about her new book, The Icon & the Idealist: Margaret Sanger, Mary Ware Dennett, and the Rivalry That Brought Birth Control to America. 

Email your chatters, questions, and comments to gabfest@slate.com. (Messages may be referenced by name unless the writer stipulates otherwise.)

Podcast production by Cheyna Roth

Research by Julie Huygen

Want more Political Gabfest? Join Slate Plus to unlock weekly bonus episodes. Plus, you’ll access ad-free listening across all your favorite Slate podcasts. You can subscribe directly from the Political Gabfest show page on Apple Podcasts and Spotify. Or visit slate.com/gabfestplus to get access wherever you listen.

Need to set up your Slate Plus feed? If you subscribed through Slate.com, check out our FAQ at slate.com/podcastfaqs for easy instructions. Members subscribed via Apple Podcasts get automatic access—no setup required.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week, Emily Bazelon, John Dickerson, and David Plotz discuss the big wins of Donald Trump and Senate Republicans; the what-next of the second Trump presidency; and the electoral victories and possible setbacks for abortion rights. Join us on December 4 for Political Gabfest Live in Brooklyn! Tickets are on sale now. And send us your Conundrums at slate.com/conundrum.

Email your chatters, questions, and comments to gabfest@slate.com. (Messages may be referenced by name unless the writer stipulates otherwise.)

Podcast production by Cheyna Roth

Research by Julie Huygen

Want more Political Gabfest? Join Slate Plus to unlock weekly bonus episodes. Plus, you’ll access ad-free listening across all your favorite Slate podcasts. You can subscribe directly from the Political Gabfest show page on Apple Podcasts and Spotify. Or visit slate.com/gabfestplus to get access wherever you listen.

Disclosure in Podcast Description:A Bond Account is a self-directed brokerage account with Public Investing, member FINRA/SIPC. Deposits into this account are used to purchase 10 investment-grade and high-yield bonds. As of 9/26/24, the average, annualized yield to worst (YTW) across the Bond Account is greater than 6%. A bond’s yield is a function of its market price, which can fluctuate; therefore, a bond’s YTW is not “locked in” until the bond is purchased, and your yield at time of purchase may be different from the yield shown here. The “locked in” YTW is not guaranteed; you may receive less than the YTW of the bonds in the Bond Account if you sell any of the bonds before maturity or if the issuer defaults on the bond. Public Investing charges a markup on each bond trade. See our Fee Schedule. Bond Accounts are not recommendations of individual bonds or default allocations. The bonds in the Bond Account have not been selected based on your needs or risk profile. See https://public.com/disclosures/bond-account to learn more.

Need to set up your Slate Plus feed? If you subscribed through Slate.com, check out our FAQ at slate.com/podcastfaqs for easy instructions. Members subscribed via Apple Podcasts get automatic access—no setup required.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

David Plotz talks with author Sierra Greer about her new book, Annie Bot. They discuss how much discomfort Annie (a “Cuddle Bunny” type of robot) can feel, how the story of a robot is really about the right to control a body, and more.  

Tweet us your questions @SlateGabfest or email us at gabfest@slate.com. (Messages could be quoted by name unless the writer stipulates otherwise.)

Podcast production by Cheyna Roth.

Need to set up your Slate Plus feed? If you subscribed through Slate.com, check out our FAQ at slate.com/podcastfaqs for easy instructions. Members subscribed via Apple Podcasts get automatic access—no setup required.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week, Emily Bazelon, John Dickerson, and David Plotz discuss the now-former Speaker of the House Kevin McCarthy and the for-now Republican Matt Gaetz; the Supreme Court’s new term; and crime in America.

Here are some notes and references from this week’s show:

Marianna Sotomayor, Leigh Ann Caldwell, and Colby Itkowitz for The Washington Post: “Fight for speakership begins as House reels from McCarthy ouster”

David Leonhardt for The New York Times: “America’s Political Turmoil”

Matt Ford for The New Republic: “The Supreme Court Eyes Its Next Big Power Grab”

Gerhard Peters and John T. Woolley for The American Presidency Project: “Summary of the Report of the Committee on Administrative Management [the Brownlow Report].”

Ian Millhiser for Vox: “The Supreme Court will decide if abusive spouses have a right to own guns”

Mark Sherman for AP: “Supreme Court is asked to reject limits on a drug used in the most common method of abortion”

Andrew Chung for Reuters: “Supreme Court ethics concerns aren’t going away”

Ernesto Lopez, Richard Rosenfeld, and Bobby Boxerman for the Council on Criminal Justice: “Crime Trends in U.S. Cities: Mid-Year 2023 Update" 

Rebecca Crosby, Judd Legum, and Tesnim Zekeria for Popular Information: “Target says it’s closing 9 stores due to theft. The crime data tells a different story.”

Trisha Ahmed and Jim Salter for AP: “Some small towns in America are disbanding police forces, citing hiring woes”

Gabe Cohen for CNN: “Doubling up on classrooms, using online teachers and turning to support staff: How schools are dealing with the ongoing teacher shortage” 

John Dickerson for CBS News: “Chronic school absences on the rise in 40 states, study finds”

Michael D. Shear for The New York Times: “Bidens’ Dog Is No Longer at White House After Latest Biting Incident”

Molly Olmstead for Slate: “The Bidens’ Dog Keeps Biting People. Why?”

Judicial Watch: “Judicial Watch Sues Secret Service for Records of Attacks by Biden German Shepherd ‘Commander’”

Here are this week’s chatters: 

Emily: North Woods: A Novel by Daniel Mason and “Tiny Beautiful Things” on Hulu

John: “Endeavour” on PBS; Daniel Garisto for Scientific American: “This Year’s Physics Nobel Awards Scientists for Slicing Reality into Attoseconds”; John Uri for NASA: “65 Years Ago: Sputnik Ushers in the Space Age”; and Charles Fishman for Fast Company: “The birth of the electronic beep, the most ubiquitous sound design in the world”

David: Paul M.M. Cooper’s Fall of Civilizations Podcast and Dan Carlin’s Hardcore History podcast

Listener chatter from Danny O’Malley: “Canary” 

For this week’s Slate Plus bonus segment, Emily, John, and David discuss President Joe Biden’s dog, Commander, his biting of Secret Service personnel, and his recent banishment from the White House. 

In the next Gabfest Reads in October, David talks with Kristi Coulter about her book, Exit Interview: The Life and Death of My Ambitious Career.

Email your chatters, questions, and comments to gabfest@slate.com. (Messages may be referenced by name unless the writer stipulates otherwise.)

Podcast production by Cheyna Roth

Research by Julie Huygen

Need to set up your Slate Plus feed? If you subscribed through Slate.com, check out our FAQ at slate.com/podcastfaqs for easy instructions. Members subscribed via Apple Podcasts get automatic access—no setup required.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

David Plotz talks with author Alexandra Petri about her new book, Alexandra Petri’s US History: Important American Documents. They discuss how to transform staid history documents into rollicking parodies, how Petri found her “voice” multiple times, and her grander ambitions for the book. Plus, Petri reads some choice selections.

Tweet us your questions @SlateGabfest or email us at gabfest@slate.com. (Messages could be quoted by name unless the writer stipulates otherwise.)

Podcast production by Cheyna Roth.

Need to set up your Slate Plus feed? If you subscribed through Slate.com, check out our FAQ at slate.com/podcastfaqs for easy instructions. Members subscribed via Apple Podcasts get automatic access—no setup required.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

John Dickerson talks with author Chris Miller about his new book, Chip War: The Fight for The World’s Most Critical Technology. They discuss how semiconductor chips became so important, why everyone is so dependent on Taiwan for chips, and what lessons China can glean from what’s happening in Ukraine.

Tweet us your questions @SlateGabfest or email us at gabfest@slate.com. (Messages could be quoted by name unless the writer stipulates otherwise.)

Podcast production by Cheyna Roth.

Need to set up your Slate Plus feed? If you subscribed through Slate.com, check out our FAQ at slate.com/podcastfaqs for easy instructions. Members subscribed via Apple Podcasts get automatic access—no setup required.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Emily Bazelon talks with author Rebecca Makkai about her new book, I Have Some Questions For You. They discuss why it’s so easy to suspend disbelief with this type of story, the “cancelled” subplot, and whether we’d be better off without Twitter.

Tweet us your questions @SlateGabfest or email us at gabfest@slate.com. (Messages could be quoted by name unless the writer stipulates otherwise.)

Podcast production by Cheyna Roth.

Need to set up your Slate Plus feed? If you subscribed through Slate.com, check out our FAQ at slate.com/podcastfaqs for easy instructions. Members subscribed via Apple Podcasts get automatic access—no setup required.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week, David Plotz, Emily Bazelon, and John Dickerson are Live in Atlanta discussing Georgia’s midterm election with NPR-WABE’s Rose Scott, as well as increasing political violencein the U.S.; and affirmative action at the Supreme Court.

Here are some notes and references from this week’s show:

Closer Look with Rose Scott

John Dickerson for CBS Primetime: “Political Threats And Violence In The U.S.” (Inteview with Robert Pape)

Steal This Book, by Abbie Hoffman

Here are this week’s chatters:

John: Carrie McBride for The New York Public Library: “100 Years Ago Men and Boys Fought on the Streets of New York Over Wearing Straw Hats Past Summer”

Emily: Fleishman Is in Trouble

David: The Candy House, by Jennifer Egan; Fall; or, Dodge in Hell, by Neil Stephenson; The Immortal King Rao, by Vauhini Vara; Cloud Cuckoo Land, by Anthony Doerr; The Circle, by Dave Eggers

Listener chatter from John Campbell McMillian: Atlanta Police Department’s Citizen's Police Academy

For this week’s Slate Plus bonus segment Emily, David, and John take listener questions live.

Tweet us your questions and chatters @SlateGabfest or email us at gabfest@slate.com. (Messages may be quoted by name unless the writer stipulates otherwise.)

Podcast production by Cheyna Roth.

Research by Bridgette Dunlap.

Need to set up your Slate Plus feed? If you subscribed through Slate.com, check out our FAQ at slate.com/podcastfaqs for easy instructions. Members subscribed via Apple Podcasts get automatic access—no setup required.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

David Plotz, Emily Bazelon, and John Dickerson talk to civil rights journalist and WHYY radio host Cherri Gregg about the Pennsylvania midterm campaigns.

Tweet us your questions and chatters @SlateGabfest or email us at gabfest@slate.com. (Messages may be quoted by name unless the writer stipulates otherwise.)

Podcast production by Cheyna Roth.

Research by Bridgette Dunlap

Need to set up your Slate Plus feed? If you subscribed through Slate.com, check out our FAQ at slate.com/podcastfaqs for easy instructions. Members subscribed via Apple Podcasts get automatic access—no setup required.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week, David Plotz, Emily Bazelon, and John Dickerson concerning polls for Democrats, women protesting Iran’s regime, and the trial of Arkansas’ law targeting trans kids.

Here are some notes and references from this week’s show:

Roya Hakakian for The Atlantic: “The Bonfire of the Headscarves”

A Beginner’s Guide to America for the Immigrant and the Curious, by Roya Hakakian 

Matthew Yglesias for Slow Boring: “Pre-Registering Some Takes On The Midterms: Why I Think Democrats Will Undershoot Their Polling And What It Means”

Kelli María Korducki for The Atlantic: “'I Think the Women Are Winning': Roya Hakakian on Iran” 

Here are this week’s chatters:

John: The Trump Tapes: Bob Woodward's Twenty Interviews with President Donald Trump; Michael Wines and Neil Vigdor for The New York Times: “Videos Show Confusion as Florida Police Arrest People on Voter Fraud Charges”

Emily: Emily Heil for The Washington Post: “Olivia Wilde Solves Salad Dressing Mystery With A Nora Ephron Recipe”

David: Jeff Maysh for The Atlantic: “The $30 Million Lottery Scam”

Listener chatter from Lara Lowenstein: The Mountain Dogs

For this week’s Slate Plus bonus segment Emily, David, and John discuss Ye buying Parler.

Tweet us your questions and chatters @SlateGabfest or email us at gabfest@slate.com. (Messages may be quoted by name unless the writer stipulates otherwise.)

Podcast production by Cheyna Roth.

Research by Bridgette Dunlap.

Need to set up your Slate Plus feed? If you subscribed through Slate.com, check out our FAQ at slate.com/podcastfaqs for easy instructions. Members subscribed via Apple Podcasts get automatic access—no setup required.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week, David Plotz, John Dickerson, and Mark Leibovich discuss Biden’s 2024 plans, the establishment Republicans who stand by Trump, and Herschel Walker’s alarming Senate campaign.

Here are some notes and references from this week’s show:

Thank You for Your Servitude: Donald Trump's Washington and the Price of Submission,by Mark Leibovich

Anne Applebaum for The Atlantic: “History Will Judge The Complicit”

Mark Leibovich for the New York Times Magazine: “Donald Trump Is Not Going Anywhere”

Mark Leibovich for the New York Times: “Kevin McCarthy, Four Months After Jan. 6, Still on Defensive Over Trump”

Here are this week’s chatters:

John: The New York Times: “168 Writing Prompts to Spark Discussion and Reflection”

Mark: Mark shared his thoughts on whether life was better before cell phones.

David: City Cast DC’s July 12, 2022 newsletter.

Listener chatter from Josie Beyer: Julia Medina for Sleepopolis: “Sleeping While Rowing in the Great Pacific Race”; Lat 35 Racing Team on Instagram

Tweet us your questions and chatters @SlateGabfest or email us at gabfest@slate.com. (Messages may be quoted by name unless the writer stipulates otherwise.)

Podcast production by Cheyna Roth.

Research by Bridgette Dunlap.

Need to set up your Slate Plus feed? If you subscribed through Slate.com, check out our FAQ at slate.com/podcastfaqs for easy instructions. Members subscribed via Apple Podcasts get automatic access—no setup required.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Emily Bazelon, John Dickerson and David Plotz discuss Elon Musk’s Twitter takeover, Title 42, and the current prayer in school debate.

Here are some notes and references from this week’s show:

Daphne Keller for The Center for Internet and Society: “What Does The DSA Say?”

John Dickerson for Slate: “Born Identity”

Here are this week’s chatters:

David: Ed Kilgore for New York Magazine: “Utah Democrats Endorse Independent Evan McMullin in Challenge to Mike Lee”; CityCast.fm/jobs 

John: Reddit thread: “This is a 3200-year old attendance sheet found in Deir el-Medina, Egypt. Reasons for worker absence include ‘embalming brother’, ‘brewing beer’ and ‘bitten by scorpion’”; The British Museum: Ostracon 

Emily: Ronald Brownstein for The Atlantic: “Why California Wants to Recall Its Most Progressive Prosecutors”; Vanessa Romo for NPR: “The LA Sheriff Now Says No Charges For The Reporter Who Wrote About A Cover-Up”

Listener chatter from J.T. Horn: Mary Pols for Downeast Magazine "Why Maine Owes Its Most Breathtaking Public Lands to One 1972 Newspaper Story" 

For this week’s Slate Plus bonus segment Emily, David, and John discuss John’s prescient 2011 piece about Trump’s birtherism.

Tweet us your questions and chatters @SlateGabfest or email us at gabfest@slate.com. (Messages may be quoted by name unless the writer stipulates otherwise.)

Podcast production by Kevin Bendis.

Research and show notes by Bridgette Dunlap.

Need to set up your Slate Plus feed? If you subscribed through Slate.com, check out our FAQ at slate.com/podcastfaqs for easy instructions. Members subscribed via Apple Podcasts get automatic access—no setup required.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Emily Bazelon, John Dickerson and David Plotz discuss voting rights, Russia's recent moves, with guest Nina Jankowicz; and the increasing politicization of cable news.

Here are some notes and references from this week’s show:

Cornell Law School’s Legal Information Institute:Electoral Count Act of 1887

David Becker on Face the Nation: “Elections Expert David Becker Denounces ‘Efforts to Sow Confusion and Chaos’ ”

Emily Bazelon for the New York Times: “Democracy Worked This Year. but It Is Under Threat.”

Christina A. Cassidy for AP News: “Far Too Little Vote Fraud to Tip Election to Trump, AP Finds”

How to Lose the Information War: Russia, Fake News, and the Future of Conflict, by Nina Jankowicz

Anne Applebaum for the Atlantic: “The Science of Making Americans Hurt Their Own Country”

Here’s this week’s chatter:

Emily: Jan Ransom for the New York Times: “A Look Inside Rikers: ‘Fight Night’ and Gang Rule, Captured on Video”

David: Nathanael Johnson thread on Twitter and We Are Lady Parts TV show

John: The Mezzanine, by Nicholson Baker and “On Keeping a Notebook,” by Joan Didion

Listener chatter from Bea Scott: The History of Democracy Has Yet to Be Written by Thomas Geoghegan

For this week’s Slate Plus bonus segment John, Emily, and David discuss rule-breaking and Novak Djokovic’s moves in Australia.

Tweet us your questions and chatters @SlateGabfest or email us at gabfest@slate.com. (Messages may be quoted by name unless the writer stipulates otherwise.)

Podcast production by Jocelyn Frank.

Research and show notes by Shayna Elliot.

Need to set up your Slate Plus feed? If you subscribed through Slate.com, check out our FAQ at slate.com/podcastfaqs for easy instructions. Members subscribed via Apple Podcasts get automatic access—no setup required.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Emily, John and David talk about whether President Biden ought to run in 2024, the Rittenhouse verdict and former Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull joins the Gabfest to talk about international relations with China.

Here are some notes and references from this week’s show:

Edward-Isaac Dovere and Jasmine Wright for CNN: “Exasperation and Dysfunction: Inside Kamala Harris' Frustrating Start as Vice President.”

Jonathan Chait for New York magazine: “Joe Biden’s Big Squeeze”

High Conflict, by Amanda Ripley

David French for the Atlantic: “Kyle Rittenhouse’s Acquittal Does Not Make Him a Hero”

A Bigger Picture, by Malcolm Turnbull

Here’s this week’s chatter:

Emily: Cloud Cuckoo Land, by Anthony Doerr

David: Conversation topic generator thanxiety.com

John: Jonathan Edwards for the Washington Post: “A Michigan Woman Tried to Hire an Assassin Online at RentAHitman.com. Now, She’s Going to Prison.”

Listener chatter from Keith Watabayashi @KeithWatabayash: Hieronymus Burps @hieronymus_burps about Long Boom Wired Cover

For this week’s Slate Plus bonus segment John, Emily, and David ask Malcolm Turnbull about the mundane details of life as the leader of a nation.

Tweet us your questions and chatters @SlateGabfest or email us at gabfest@slate.com. (Messages may be quoted by name unless the writer stipulates otherwise.)

Podcast production by Jocelyn Frank.

Research and show notes by Shayna Elliot.

Need to set up your Slate Plus feed? If you subscribed through Slate.com, check out our FAQ at slate.com/podcastfaqs for easy instructions. Members subscribed via Apple Podcasts get automatic access—no setup required.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

John, Emily and David discuss Biden’s approval numbers, authoritarianism on the rise, and they are joined by author Jay Caspian Kang to talk about his new book, The Loneliest Americans.

Here are some notes and references from this week’s show:

FiveThirtyEight, Latest Polls 

Isaac Chotiner for the New Yorker: “Can Biden’s Agenda Survive Inflation?”

Jason Furman for the Wall Street Journal: “​​Biden Can Whip Inflation and Build Back Better”

The Loneliest Americans, by Jay Caspian Kang

Pew Research Center: “Where Do You Fit In The Political Typology?”

Christopher Borrelli for the Chicago Tribune: “What We’re Reading: 4 Korean American Memoirs, From Personal Stories To An Unsettling Confrontation on Identity and Assimilation”

Anne Appelbaum for the Atlantic: “The Bad Guys Are Winning”

Freedom House: “Freedom in the World 2021: Democracy Under Siege”

The Dictator's Learning Curve: Inside the Global Battle for Democracy, by William J. Dobson

Twitter and Tear Gas: The Power and Fragility of Networked Protest, by Zeynep Tufekci 

Zeynep Tufekci for the Atlantic: “How the Coronavirus Revealed Authoritarianism’s Fatal Flaw”

Here’s this week’s chatter:

Emily: Ashley Southall and Jonah E. Bromwich for the New York Times: “2 Men Convicted of Killing Malcolm X Will Be Exonerated After Decades”

John: The Faber Book of Reportage, by John Carey; The Way We Live Now, by Anthony Trollope audiobook 

David: Geoffrey Leavenworth for the New York Times: “One Chaste Marriage, Four Kids, and the Catholic Church”; Spencer Buell for Boston magazine: “New England Hidden Gems You’ll Find on the New Atlas Obscura App”; City Cast Houston

Listener chatter from Melissa Ocepek: A fox listens to the banjo

For this week’s Slate Plus bonus segment Emily, John, and David discuss the most useful friend to have.

Tweet us your questions and chatters @SlateGabfest or email us at gabfest@slate.com. (Messages may be quoted by name unless the writer stipulates otherwise.)

Podcast production by Jocelyn Frank.

Research and show notes by Bridgette Dunlap.

Need to set up your Slate Plus feed? If you subscribed through Slate.com, check out our FAQ at slate.com/podcastfaqs for easy instructions. Members subscribed via Apple Podcasts get automatic access—no setup required.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

John and David are joined by guest host Ruth Marcus to discuss Biden’s infrastructure win, Trump’s January 6 obstruction, and the Rittenhouse trial.

Here are some notes and references from this week’s show:

Adie Tomer, Joseph W. Kane, Caroline George, and Andrew Bourne, for The Brookings Institution: “America Has An Infrastructure Bill. What Happens Next?”

Ruth Marcus for the Washington Post: “At Yale Law School, a Party Invitation Ignites a Firestorm”

Josh Dawsey, Isaac Stanley-Becker, and Michael Scherer for The Washington Post: “Donors Threatened to Shun the Gop After Jan. 6. Now, Republicans Are Outraising Democrats.”

Sandy West for Kaiser Health News: “‘Drinking Through a Lead Straw’ — $15B Approved to Fix Dangerous Water Pipes”

The Constitution of Knowledge: A Defense of Truth, by Jonathan Rauch 

Here’s this week’s chatter:

Ruth: Julian Mark for The Washington Post: “A Fertility Center Mixed Up Two Couples’ Embryos, Lawsuit Says. When They Found Out, They Had To Trade Babies.”

David: David is leading an “Exploring a Secret Fort” tour of Fort DeRussy in Washington, D.C. for Atlas Obscura and Airbnb; Jonathan D. Karl for The Atlantic: “The Man Who Made January 6th Possible”

John: Pew Research Center: “Where Do You Fit In The Political Typology?”

Listener chatter from Tsur Somerville: Reuters: “Wandering Dog is Istanbul Commuters' Best Friend”

For this week’s Slate Plus bonus segment Ruth, John, and David discuss the controversy over the founding of the University of Austin.

Tweet us your questions and chatters @SlateGabfest or email us at gabfest@slate.com. (Messages may be quoted by name unless the writer stipulates otherwise.)

Podcast production by Jocelyn Frank.

Research and show notes by Bridgette Dunlap.

Need to set up your Slate Plus feed? If you subscribed through Slate.com, check out our FAQ at slate.com/podcastfaqs for easy instructions. Members subscribed via Apple Podcasts get automatic access—no setup required.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

NYTimes columnist Ross Douthat joins the show to help untangle the implications of the off-year elections and John, Emily and David discuss the Supreme Court arguments on abortion in Texas and guns in New York.

Here are some notes and references from this week’s show:

The Deep Places: A Memoir of Illness and Discovery, by Ross Douthat

Emily Bazelon for The New York Times: “It’s Amy Coney Barrett’s Supreme Court Now”

Here’s this week’s chatter:

Emily: Associated Press: “University Of Florida Faces Investigation After Blocking Professors From Voting Case”

David: Scott MacFarlane, Rick Yarborough, and Steve Jones for NBC 4 Washington: “DC Tunnel History Site Flagged Suspicious Activity Before Capitol Insurrection”

John: Jeff Stein for The Washington Post: “Financial Firms Announce $130 Trillion In Commitments For Climate Transition, But Practical Questions Loom”

Listener chatter from JD Cameron @J_D_Cameron: John Muller for FiveThirtyEight: “Soccer Looks Different When You Can’t See Who’s Playing”

For this week’s Slate Plus bonus segment John, Emily, and David talk to Ross about his new book, The Deep Places. 

Tweet us your questions and chatters @SlateGabfest or email us at gabfest@slate.com. (Messages may be quoted by name unless the writer stipulates otherwise.)

Podcast production by Jocelyn Frank.

Research and show notes by Bridgette Dunlap.

Need to set up your Slate Plus feed? If you subscribed through Slate.com, check out our FAQ at slate.com/podcastfaqs for easy instructions. Members subscribed via Apple Podcasts get automatic access—no setup required.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Emily, John and David talk about the Facebook Papers; Building Back (somewhat) Better; and are joined by author Pamela Paul to talk about the trivial and serious sides of her new book: 100 Things We've Lost to the Internet.

Here are some notes and references from this week’s show:

Casey Newton for Platformer on Substack: “How The American Internet Is Turning European”

Farhad Manjoo for The New York Times: “Facebook Is Bad. Fixing It Rashly Could Make It Much Worse.”

Adrienne LaFrance for The Atlantic: “‘History Will Not Judge Us Kindly’”

Nitish Pahwa for Slate: “The Facebook Crisis in India Might Be the Worst Facebook Crisis of All”

Alan Rappeport and Jim Tankersley for The New York Times: “Hunting for Money, Democrats Rush to Rewrite Tax Code”

100 Things We've Lost to the Internet, by Pamela Paul 

Here’s this week’s chatter:

Emily: Alix Wall for Berkeleyside: “This Couple Loves Berkeley Bowl So Much, They Took Their Engagement Photos There” (hat tip: Cyrus Farivar @cfarivar)

David: Andrea Salcedo for The Washington Post: “A Hiker Got Lost In Colorado, Then Ignored Rescuers’ Calls Because They Came From An Unknown Number”

John: Bailey Vogt for Washington City Paper: “Iconic D.C. Barber Diego D’Ambrosio Died At 87”; The Lost Daughter

Listener chatter from Kerry Donovan @KerryDonovanCO: Bill Chappell for NPR: “A Mysterious 'A Team' Just Rescued Dogs From a Volcano's Lava Zone in La Palma”

For this week’s Slate Plus bonus segment John, Emily, and David discuss the best things the internet has given them.

Tweet us your questions and chatters @SlateGabfest or email us at gabfest@slate.com. (Messages may be quoted by name unless the writer stipulates otherwise.)

Podcast production by Jocelyn Frank.

Research and show notes by Bridgette Dunlap.

Need to set up your Slate Plus feed? If you subscribed through Slate.com, check out our FAQ at slate.com/podcastfaqs for easy instructions. Members subscribed via Apple Podcasts get automatic access—no setup required.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Emily, John and David discuss Steve Bannon’s contempt of Congress, supply chain woes, and Americans pro-actively leaving their jobs.

Here are some notes and references from this week’s show:

Jordan Weissmann for Slate: “The Absolute Simplest Explanation for America’s Supply Chain Woes”

David J. Lynch for The Washington Post: “Inside America’s Broken Supply Chain”

Derek Thompson for The Atlantic: “The Great Resignation Is Accelerating”

Matt Bruenig for The People’s Policy Project: “Democratic Child Care Plan Will Spike Prices for the Middle Class by $13,000”

The Unknowns, by Gabriel Roth

Tonja Jacobi and Dylan Schweers for The Harvard Business Review: “Female Supreme Court Justices Are Interrupted More by Male Justices and Advocates”

Kate Murphy for The New York Times: “You’re Not Listening. Here’s Why”

Deborah Tannen for The New York Times: “In Real Life, Not All Interruptions Are Rude”

Elan Morgan for Medium: “99% Invisible Podcast’s Brilliant Response to Criticism of Women’s Voices”

Here’s this week’s chatter:

Emily: Paul Shechtman for The New York Law Journal: “Understanding the Significance of Supreme Court Cert in ‘Shinn v. Jones’”

David: Hetty McKinnon for the New York Times: “Sook Mei Faan (Cantonese Creamed Corn With Tofu and Rice)”

John: “One Hour to Think,” in On Democracy, by E.B. White; Vera

Listener chatter from Adrian Monthony: Twitter threadon the strange story of an abandoned airplane by Chris Croy @ChrisCroy; Harish Pullanoor for Quartz: “The Crazy Story Behind a Rickety Boeing 720 Parked at an Indian Airport For 24 Years”

For this week’s Slate Plus bonus segment John, Emily, and David discuss the data provided by listener Lindsay Lee about which host does the most interrupting on the Political Gabfest. Check out Lee's blog post here.

Go to Slate.com/gabfestplus to become a slate plus member today!

Tweet us your questions and chatters @SlateGabfest or email us at gabfest@slate.com. (Messages may be quoted by name unless the writer stipulates otherwise.)

Podcast production by Jocelyn Frank.

Research and show notes by Bridgette Dunlap.

Need to set up your Slate Plus feed? If you subscribed through Slate.com, check out our FAQ at slate.com/podcastfaqs for easy instructions. Members subscribed via Apple Podcasts get automatic access—no setup required.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Emily, John and David discuss the ways that U.S. democracy is in peril, the Democrats‘ strategy woes, and they are joined by author Andrea Elliott to talk about her new book Invisible Child.

Here are some notes and references from this week’s show:

Ezra Klein for The New York Times: “David Shor Is Telling Democrats What They Don’t Want to Hear”

Jamelle Bouie for The New York Times: “Bill Clinton, Race and the Politics of the 1990s”

The Ezra Klein Show. “Transcript: Ezra Klein Interviews Heather McGhee About the Cost of Racism”

The Sum of Us: What Racism Costs Everyone and How We Can Prosper Together, by Heather McGhee 

Simon Bazelon and David Shor for Slow Boring: “A Permanent CTC Expansion With a Sharper Means-Test Would Protect Poor Kids Better and be More Popular”

Matt Yglesias for Slow Boring: “If You Want To Talk About Racism, Talk About Racism”

Invisible Child: Poverty, Survival & Hope in an American City, by Andrea Elliott

Andrea Elliot for The New York Times Magazine: “When Dasani Left Home”

Andrea Elliot for The New York Times: 2013 Invisible Child series

Here’s this week’s chatter:

David: Gastro Obscura: A Food Adventurer's Guide, by Cecily Wong and Dylan Thuras 

John: John’s donation page for the Covenant House Sleep Out; Gurwinder @G_S_Bhogal’s Twitter thread about the 40 powerful concepts for understanding the world. 

Emily: Jan Ransom, Jonah E. Bromwich and Rebecca Davis O’Brien for The New York Times: “Inside Rikers: Dysfunction, Lawlessness and Detainees in Control”

Listener chatter from Nettie Hendricks: The Fetler Family Band on YouTube

For this week’s Slate Plus bonus segment John, Emily, and David discuss what they’d do with their days if they didn’t need to work.  Visitwww.slate.com/gabfestplusto become a member today!

Tweet us your questions and chatters @SlateGabfest or email us at gabfest@slate.com. (Messages may be quoted by name unless the writer stipulates otherwise.)

Podcast production by Jocelyn Frank.

Research and show notes by Bridgette Dunlap.

Need to set up your Slate Plus feed? If you subscribed through Slate.com, check out our FAQ at slate.com/podcastfaqs for easy instructions. Members subscribed via Apple Podcasts get automatic access—no setup required.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Emily and John are joined by guest host Mary Harris (host of What Next) to talk about the dangerous debt ceiling games; blowing the whistle on Facebook; and new revelations about January 6th and the plan to overturn the election.

Here are some notes and references from this week’s show:

Wall Street Journal: The Facebook Files

Wall Street Journal: The Facebook Files, A Podcast Series

Nathaniel Persily for the Washington Post: “Facebook Hides Data Showing It Harms Users. Outside Scholars Need Access.”

Charlie Warzel’s Substack, Galaxy Brain: “The Algorithm Tweaks Won't Save Us”

Katie Benner for The New York Times: “Report Cites New Details of Trump Pressure on Justice Dept. Over Election”

Mike Stobbe for The Associated Press: “More Than 120,000 Us Kids Had Caregivers Die During Pandemic”

YouTube video: “Richard Feynman Magnets”

Slate’s What Next With Mary Harris

Here’s this week’s chatter:

John: The President Is a Sick Man: Wherein the Supposedly Virtuous Grover Cleveland Survives a Secret Surgery at Sea and Vilifies the Courageous Newspaperman Who Dared Expose the Truth, by Matthew Algeo

Mary: Gary Shteyngart for The New Yorker: “A Botched Circumcision and Its Aftermath”; Robert Kolker for The New York Times Magazine: “Who Is the Bad Art Friend?”

Emily: Bazelon Center for Mental Health Law: Annual Awards Virtual Event–Championing Disability Rights for 49 Years; Sabrina Tavernise and Katie Benne for The New York Times: “Federal Judge Pauses Strict Texas Law Banning Most Abortions”

Listener chatter from Kyle Amann: Matthew Fox for Insider: “A Hamster Has Been Trading Cryptocurrencies In A Cage Rigged To Automatically Buy And Sell Tokens Since June - And It's Currently Outperforming The S&P 500”

For this week’s Slate Plus bonus segment John and Emily talk to Mary about work as a daily podcaster. Slate Plus members get benefits like zero ads on any Slate podcast, bonus episodes of shows like Slow Burn and Danny Lavery's show Big Mood, Little Mood and you’ll be supporting the Political Gabfest.

Sign up now atslate.com/gabfestplusto help support our work.

Tweet us your questions and chatters @SlateGabfest or email us at gabfest@slate.com. (Messages may be quoted by name unless the writer stipulates otherwise.)

Podcast production by Jocelyn Frank.

Research and show notes by Bridgette Dunlap.

Need to set up your Slate Plus feed? If you subscribed through Slate.com, check out our FAQ at slate.com/podcastfaqs for easy instructions. Members subscribed via Apple Podcasts get automatic access—no setup required.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

John, Emily and David discuss the fate of the Build Back Better agenda; vaccine mandates working; and journalist Caitlin Dickerson helps explain the recent U.S. immigration actions and to identify some fresh strategies for change.

Here are some notes and references from this week’s show:

Jamelle Bouie for The New York Times: “It’s All or Nothing for These Democrats, Even if That Means Biden Fails”

Josh Marshall for Talking Points Memo: “Kill the Bill”

Caitlin Dickerson for The Atlantic: “Democrats’ Free Pass on Immigration Is Over”

Caitlin Dickerson for The Atlantic: “America’s Immigration Amnesia”

Here’s this week’s chatter:

John: Glamourdaze YouTube video: “A Walk in the Park - c.1900 | Bois de Boulogne Paris - AI Enhanced; Peril, by Bob Woodward and Robert Costa

Emily: CNN: “Florida Man Fights Alligator With Trash Can”; Jonathan Mann’s folk song celebrating the Florida Man Who Caught An Alligator In A Trash Can

David: The Cult of We: WeWork, Adam Neumann, and the Great Startup Delusion, by Eliot Brown and Maureen Farrell 

Listener chatter from Matthew Ringel: Veritasium YouTube video, about the history of potash: “These Pools Help Support Half The People On Earth” 

For this week’s Slate Plus bonus segment John, David, and Emily talk about earlier times in history they would have liked to have been podcasting together. Slate Plus members get benefits like zero ads on any Slate podcast, bonus episodes of shows like Slow Burn and Danny Lavery's show Big Mood, Little Mood and you’ll be supporting the Political Gabfest.

Sign up now at slate.com/gabfestplus to help support our work.

Tweet us your questions and chatters @SlateGabfest or email us at gabfest@slate.com. (Messages may be quoted by name unless the writer stipulates otherwise.)

Podcast production by Jocelyn Frank.

Research and show notes by Bridgette Dunlap.

Need to set up your Slate Plus feed? If you subscribed through Slate.com, check out our FAQ at slate.com/podcastfaqs for easy instructions. Members subscribed via Apple Podcasts get automatic access—no setup required.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Emily, John and David discuss what it will take to save the Biden agenda, the abortion doctor's defiance of the Texas ban; and true crime mania.

Here are some notes and references from this week’s show:

Josh Marshall for Talking Points Memo: “Policy vs Positioning Has Dems in a Stalemate”

Michael Dorf for Dorf on Law: “Texas Could Not Get Away With This Absent SCOTUS-Created Limits On Constitutional Adjudication”

Emily Bazelon for The New York Times: “The Dawn of the Post-Clinic Abortion”

Impeachment: American Crime Story 

The Clinton Impeachment - Slow Burn: Season 2

Here’s this week’s chatter:

Emily: Susan Dominus for The New York Times Magazine: “He Was the ‘Perfect Villain’ for Voting Conspiracists”

John: Elizabeth Elkin for Bloomberg: “Food Prices Poised to Surge With Fertilizer at Highest in Years

By” 

David: CityCast: “City Cast Houston Launches Oct. 5”; “Evidence That A Cosmic Impact Destroyed Ancient City In The Jordan Valley”; Ted E. Bunch et al, for Scientific Reports: “A Tunguska Sized Airburst Destroyed Tall El-hammam A Middle Bronze Age City In The Jordan Valley Near The Dead Sea”

Listener chatter from Jeffrey Itell: You Tube: “15 Unfinished Buildings in Kunming Were Demolished by Blasting”

For this week’s Slate Plus bonus segment John, David, and Emily discuss the merits of revisiting the stories of Bill Clinton’s impeachment. Slate Plus members get benefits like zero ads on any Slate podcast, bonus episodes of shows like Slow Burn and Danny Lavery's show Big Mood, Little Mood and you’ll be supporting the Political Gabfest.

Sign up now at slate.com/gabfestplus to help support our work.

Tweet us your questions and chatters @SlateGabfest or email us at gabfest@slate.com. (Messages may be quoted by name unless the writer stipulates otherwise.)

Podcast production by Jocelyn Frank.

Research and show notes by Bridgette Dunlap.

Need to set up your Slate Plus feed? If you subscribed through Slate.com, check out our FAQ at slate.com/podcastfaqs for easy instructions. Members subscribed via Apple Podcasts get automatic access—no setup required.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Emily, John and David discuss the Biden’s administration’s vaccine rule, the legitimacy of the Supreme Court, and the new book from Bob Woodward and Robert Costa.

Here are some notes and references from this week’s show:

Isaac Stanley-Becker for The Washington Post: “Top General Was So Fearful Trump Might Spark War That He Made Secret Calls To His Chinese Counterpart, New Book Says”

Peril, by Bob Woodward and Robert Costa 

Susan B. Glasser for The New Yorker: “‘You’re Gonna Have a Fucking War’: Mark Milley’s Fight to Stop Trump from Striking Iran”

I Alone Can Fix It: Donald J. Trump's Catastrophic Final Year, by Carol Leonnig and Philip Rucker

Here’s this week’s chatter:

Emily: Georgia Wells, Jeff Horwitz and Deepa Seetharaman for The Wall Street Journal: “Facebook Knows Instagram Is Toxic for Teen Girls, Company Documents Show”

John: Harlem Shuffle, by Colson Whitehead

David: “College Students Reported Record-High Marijuana Use and Record-Low Drinking in 2020, Study Says”

Listener chatter from James Evans: Verity Stevenson for CBC News: “In Facing Death, Concordia Neuroscientist Nadia Chaudhri Has Built a Lasting Legacy and Inspired Thousands”; 

@DrNadiaChaudhri’s Twitter feed

For this week’s Slate Plus bonus segment John, David, and Emily discuss the contentiousness of daylight saving time. If you enjoy the show, please consider signing up for Slate Plus.

Slate Plus members get benefits like zero ads on any Slate podcast, bonus episodes of shows like Slow Burn and Danny Lavery's show Big Mood, Little Mood and you’ll be supporting the Political Gabfest. Sign up now at slate.com/gabfestplus to help support our work.

Tweet us your questions and chatters @SlateGabfest or email us at gabfest@slate.com. (Messages may be quoted by name unless the writer stipulates otherwise.)

Podcast production by Jocelyn Frank.

Research and show notes by Bridgette Dunlap.

Need to set up your Slate Plus feed? If you subscribed through Slate.com, check out our FAQ at slate.com/podcastfaqs for easy instructions. Members subscribed via Apple Podcasts get automatic access—no setup required.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Emily, John and David reflecton 9/11; the fight for the infrastructure agenda, and declining college enrollment among men.

Here are some notes and references from this week’s show:

Garrett M. Graff for the Atlantic: “After 9/11, the U.S. Got Almost Everything Wrong”

The Only Plane in the Sky: An Oral History of 9/11,by Garrett M. Graff

Ady Barkan for The New York Times: “Home Care Keeps Me Alive. It Should Be Fully Funded.”

Jamelle Bouie for The New York Times: “$1 Trillion Isn’t as Much as It Sounds”

Douglas Belkin for The Wall Street Journal: “A Generation of American Men Give Up on College: ‘I Just Feel Lost’”

Emily Bazelon for The New York Times: “How Will America Recover From a Broken School Year?”

Kevin Carey for The New York Times: “Men Fall Behind in College Enrollment. Women Still Play Catch-Up at Work.”

The Case Against Education: Why the Education System Is a Waste of Time and Money, by Bryan Caplan

Here’s this week’s chatter:

John: Lee Drutman for The New York Times: “Quiz: If America Had Six Parties, Which Would You Belong To?”; John Dickerson for The Atlantic: “Every Dog Is a Rescue Dog”

Emily: Ben Rothenberg for The New York Times: “At U.S. Open, Teen Spirit Rules and It’s Contagious”

David: Wilson Wong for NBC News: “Original 'Blue's Clues' Host Steve Tells Millennials He Never Forgot Them. He Just Went To College.”

Listener chatter from Michael Sagmeister: Philip Oltermann for The Guardian: “‘Scholz Will Sort It’ – The Catchphrase Winning the Hearts of German Voters”

For this week’s Slate Plus bonus segment John, David, and Emily discuss television’s most indelible characters in the wake of Michael K. Williams’ death.

If you enjoy the show, please consider signing up for Slate Plus. Slate Plus members get benefits like zero ads on any Slate podcast, bonus episodes of shows like Slow Burn and Danny Lavery's show Big Mood, Little Mood and you’ll be supporting the Political Gabfest. Sign up now at slate.com/gabfestplus to help support our work.

Tweet us your questions and chatters @SlateGabfest or email us at gabfest@slate.com. (Messages may be quoted by name unless the writer stipulates otherwise.)

Podcast production by Jocelyn Frank.

Research and show notes by Bridgette Dunlap.

Need to set up your Slate Plus feed? If you subscribed through Slate.com, check out our FAQ at slate.com/podcastfaqs for easy instructions. Members subscribed via Apple Podcasts get automatic access—no setup required.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

John, Emily and David discuss SCOTUS letting the Texas abortion ban go into effect; the Afghanistan exit; and Dr. Atul Gawande joins the show to explain how Costa Rica has surpassed US life expectancy by getting serious about public health.



Here are some notes and references from this week’s show:

Atul Gawande for the New Yorker: “Costa Ricans Live Longer Than Us. What’s the Secret?”

Here’s this week’s chatter:

John: Erin Donaghue for CBS News: “Officers and Paramedics Charged in Death of Elijah McClain” 

Emily: Jed Kolko for The New York Times: “The Downtown Decade: U.S. Population Density Rose in the 2010s”

David: The Very Nice Box, by Eve Gleichman and Laura Blackett; Nile Cappello for The Atavist: “The Girl In The Picture”

Listener chatter from Karl Richter: A compilation of Nanci Griffith’s performances on Letterman

For this week’s Slate Plus bonus segment John, David, and Emily share their advice for people starting college.

If you enjoy the show, please consider signing up for Slate Plus. Slate Plus members get benefits like zero ads on any Slate podcast, bonus episodes of shows like Slow Burn and Danny Lavery's show Big Mood, Little Mood and you’ll be supporting the Political Gabfest. Sign up now at slate.com/gabfestplus to help support our work.

Tweet us your questions and chatters @SlateGabfest or email us at gabfest@slate.com. (Messages may be quoted by name unless the writer stipulates otherwise.)

Podcast production by Jocelyn Frank.

Research and show notes by Bridgette Dunlap.

Need to set up your Slate Plus feed? If you subscribed through Slate.com, check out our FAQ at slate.com/podcastfaqs for easy instructions. Members subscribed via Apple Podcasts get automatic access—no setup required.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Jamelle, Emily and David discuss the Afghanistan evacuation, starting school during delta, and the path forward for infrastructure.

Here are some notes and references from this week’s show:

Jamelle Bouie for the New York Times: “$1 Trillion Isn’t as Much as It Sounds” 

Here’s this week’s chatter:

Jamelle: Godzilla: The Album

Emily: Jessica Stoya for Slate: “What We Can Really Learn From the OnlyFans Debacle”

David: Atul Gawande for the New Yorker: “Costa Ricans Live Longer Than Us. What’s the Secret?”

Listener chatter from Nilo Garza: The Daily:“Why Mexico is Suing U.S. Gun Manufacturers”; James Fredrick for NPR: “Mexico's Suit Against U.S. Gun Companies May Seek More Than A Court Win” 

If you enjoy the show, please consider signing up for Slate Plus. Slate Plus members get benefits like zero ads on any Slate podcast, bonus episodes of shows like Slow Burn and Danny Lavery's show Big Mood, Little Mood and you’ll be supporting the Political Gabfest. Sign up now at slate.com/gabfestplus to help support our work.

For this week’s Slate Plus bonus segment Jamelle, Emily, and David talk about electric bikes and scooters.

Tweet us your questions and chatters @SlateGabfest or email us at gabfest@slate.com. (Messages may be quoted by name unless the writer stipulates otherwise.)

Podcast production by Jocelyn Frank.

Research and show notes by Bridgette Dunlap.

Need to set up your Slate Plus feed? If you subscribed through Slate.com, check out our FAQ at slate.com/podcastfaqs for easy instructions. Members subscribed via Apple Podcasts get automatic access—no setup required.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Emily, David and Alexandra Petri discuss the Afghanistan withdrawal, with guest Annie Pforzheimer; California’s recall election; and personal pandemic ethics.

Here are some notes and references from this week’s show:

AnniePforzheimer for the Washington Post, “Leaving Afghanistan Will Lead to Yet Another Civil War There”

AnniePforzheimer for the Washington Post, “In Afghanistan, a Summer of Pain Awaits”

AnniePforzheimer for the New York Times,“The Long Road Out of Afghanistan”

Rachel Feintzeig for the Wall Street Journal: “These People Who Work From Home Have a Secret: They Have Two Jobs”

Daniel Lavery’s Substack newsletter: The Chatner 

Nothing Is Wrong and Here Is Why,by Alexandra Petri

A Field Guide to Awkward Silences,by Alexandra Petri

The Best of Wodehouse: An Anthology

Clouds, by Aristophanes 

Raymond Chandler: Collected Stories

Three Men In A Boat: (To Say Nothing of the Dog), by Jerome K. Jerome

Solutions and Other Problems, by Allie Brosh

Hyperbole and a Half: Unfortunate Situations, Flawed Coping Mechanisms, Mayhem, and Other Things That Happened, by Allie Brosh

New Teeth, by Simon Rich

Ant Farm: And Other Desperate Situations, by Simon Rich

Simon Rich for the New Yorker: “Sell Out”

Simon Rich for the New Yorker: “The Big Nap”

Simon Rich for the New Yorker: “Raised by Wolves”

Pride and Prejudice, by Jane Austen

My Life and Hard Times, by James Thurber

Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea, by Jules Verne

The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, by Douglas Adams

Here’s this week’s chatter:

Emily: Meira Levinson, Alan C. Geller, and Joseph G. Allen for The Lancet: “Health Equity, Schooling Hesitancy, and the Social Determinants of Learning”

Alexandra: Never a Dull Moment: The Memoirs of Countess Marguerite Cassini

David: Dahlia Lithwick for Slate: “The Fierce Legal Battle at the Heart of the Fight Over Reclining Airline Seats”

Listener chatter from Lesley Gild: Bored Panda: “People Are Sharing ‘Alternate Angles’ of Iconic Events and Places in History, Here Are 30 of the Best”

If you enjoy the show, please consider signing up for Slate Plus. Slate Plus members get benefits like zero ads on any Slate podcast, bonus episodes of shows like Slow Burn and Danny Lavery's show Big Mood, Little Mood and you’ll be supporting the Political Gabfest. Sign up now at slate.com/gabfestplus to help support our work.

For this week’s Slate Plus bonus segment, Alexandra, Emily, and David discuss their favorite funny books.

Tweet us your questions and chatters @SlateGabfest or email us at gabfest@slate.com. (Messages may be quoted by name unless the writer stipulates otherwise.)

Podcast production by Jocelyn Frank.

Research and show notes by Bridgette Dunlap and Shayna Elliot.

Need to set up your Slate Plus feed? If you subscribed through Slate.com, check out our FAQ at slate.com/podcastfaqs for easy instructions. Members subscribed via Apple Podcasts get automatic access—no setup required.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Here are some notes and references from this week’s show:

Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change Report 

Little Fires Everywhere, by Celeste Ng  

Public Citizens: The Attack on Big Government and the Remaking of American Liberalism,by Paul Sabin

Paul Sabin for the New York Times: “How Liberals Can Attack From the Left—and Win”

Charged: The New Movement to Transform American Prosecution and End Mass Incarceration, by Emily Bazelon

The Genius Factory: Unravelling the Mystery of the Nobel Prize Sperm Bank, by David Plotz

The Most Dangerous Writing App

Here’s this week’s chatter:

Josie: How the Word Is Passed: A Reckoning with the History of Slavery Across America, by Clint Smith; Maya and the Robot, by Eve L. Ewing

Emily: Ally Mutnick and Zach Montellaro for Politico: “Redistricting Sprint Begins With Major Census Data Drop”

David: Jen Senior for the Atlantic: “What Bobby McIlvaine Left Behind”

Listener chatter from Matt Gousman: “Starbase Tour With Elon Musk” 

For this week’s Slate Plus bonus segment, Josie, David, and Emily share their experiences and advice about trying to write a book.

Tweet us your questions and chatters @SlateGabfest or email us at gabfest@slate.com. (Messages may be quoted by name unless the writer stipulates otherwise.)

Podcast production by Jess Miller.

Research and show notes by Bridgette Dunlap and Grace Woodruff.

Need to set up your Slate Plus feed? If you subscribed through Slate.com, check out our FAQ at slate.com/podcastfaqs for easy instructions. Members subscribed via Apple Podcasts get automatic access—no setup required.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

John and David are joined by Andrea Valdez of The Atlanticto discuss New York Mayor Andrew Cuomo refusing to resign, the survival of the eviction moratorium and the arrival of vaccine passports.

Here are some notes and references from this week’s show:

Annie Lowery for the Atlantic: “The Time Tax”

Here’s this week’s chatter:

Andrea: Planet Money: “Three Reasons for the Housing Shortage”; Jerusalem Demsa for Vox: “Homeownership Can Bring Out the Worst in You”

John: Jason Kottke for Kottke.org: “This App Identifies Birds by Their Songs”; Merlin Bird ID app

David: Right of Way: Race, Class, and the Silent Epidemic of Pedestrian Deaths in America, by Angie Schmitt; The @FrogandToadbot Twitter account 

Listener chatter from Noah Lieberman: David Gilbert for Vice: “‘I’m a Parkland Shooting Survivor. QAnon Convinced My Dad It Was All a Hoax.’”

Tweet us your questions and chatters @SlateGabfest or email us at gabfest@slate.com. (Messages may be quoted by name unless the writer stipulates otherwise.)

Podcast production by Cheyna Roth.

Research and show notes by Bridgette Dunlap.

Need to set up your Slate Plus feed? If you subscribed through Slate.com, check out our FAQ at slate.com/podcastfaqs for easy instructions. Members subscribed via Apple Podcasts get automatic access—no setup required.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Emily, John and David discuss the January 6th Commission, the return of masks and they are joined by guest Annie Lowrey to talk about the "time tax."

Here are some notes and references from this week’s show:

Annie Lowrey for The Atlantic: “The Time Tax: Why is so much American bureaucracy left to average citizens?”

Here’s this week’s chatter: 

John: Max Fisher for the New York Times: “Disinformation for Hire, a Shadow Industry, Is Quietly Booming”

Emily: The Vanishing Halfand The Mothers by Brit Bennet

David: Louis Maurice Botet de Monvel’s Joan of Arc series on display at the National Gallery of Art

Listener chatter from Ryan Good, @RyanScGood: Gabriel Hoyle’s Twitter thread of modern presidential branding schemes

If you enjoy the show, please consider signing up for Slate Plus. Slate Plus members get benefits like zero ads on any Slate podcast, bonus episodes of shows like Slow Burn and Danny Lavery's show Big Mood, Little Mood and you’ll be supporting the Political Gabfest. Sign up now at slate.com/gabfestplus to help support our work.

For this week’s Slate Plus bonus segment, David, Emily, and John discuss: Have you really reada book if you’ve completely forgotten it?

Tweet us your questions and chatters @SlateGabfest or email us at gabfest@slate.com. (Messages may be quoted by name unless the writer stipulates otherwise.)

Podcast production by Jocelyn Frank.

Research and show notes by Grace Woodruff.

Need to set up your Slate Plus feed? If you subscribed through Slate.com, check out our FAQ at slate.com/podcastfaqs for easy instructions. Members subscribed via Apple Podcasts get automatic access—no setup required.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Emily, John and David discuss the Delta variant and the vaccination decline, the bipartisan infrastructure plan living another day, and the pandemic Olympics.

Here are some notes and references from this week’s show:

David Leonhardt for The New York Times: “Why Aren’t the Vaccines Approved?”

Matthew Yglesias for Slow Boring: “Let's Get More People Vaccinated”

Ross Douthat for The New York Times: “How to Reach the Unvaccinated”

John Dickerson for CBS News: “Governor Asa Hutchinson on ‘Face the Nation,’ June 27, 2021”

Here’s this week’s chatter:

John: Jack Thomas for The Boston Globe: “I Just Learned I Only Have Months to Live. This Is What I Want to Say”; Susan B. Glasser for The New Yorker: “‘You’re Gonna Have a Fucking War’: Mark Milley’s Fight to Stop Trump from Striking Iran”

Emily: Eliza Apperly for The Guardian: “‘Stumbling Stones’: A Different Vision of Holocaust Remembrance”; Atlas Obscura: “The Bebelplatz, Berlin, Germany: The Site of the Famous Nazi Book Burning Campaign of 1933 Remembers It’s ‘Night of Shame.’” 

David: The Quiet American, by Graham Greene; Catherine Bosley for Bloomberg: “Women Are Still Suffering More Than Men in Pandemic Job Hit”

Listener chatter from Ragav Venkatesan: “W Series: Off Track”; Giles Richards for The Guardian: “Hamilton Commission Report Aims to Improve Diversity in Motorsport”

If you enjoy the show, please consider signing up for Slate Plus. Slate Plus members get benefits like zero ads on any Slate podcast, bonus episodes of shows like Slow Burn and Danny Lavery's show Big Mood, Little Mood and you’ll be supporting the Political Gabfest. Sign up now at slate.com/gabfestplus to help support our work.

For this week’s Slate Plus bonus segment, Emily, David, and John discuss billionaires in space.

Tweet us your questions and chatters @SlateGabfest or email us at gabfest@slate.com. (Messages may be quoted by name unless the writer stipulates otherwise.)

Podcast production by Jocelyn Frank.

Research and show notes by Bridgette Dunlap.

Need to set up your Slate Plus feed? If you subscribed through Slate.com, check out our FAQ at slate.com/podcastfaqs for easy instructions. Members subscribed via Apple Podcasts get automatic access—no setup required.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

John, David and Josie discuss the escalating threats to democratic elections, minors’ rights to vaccination, and Josh Levin on the podcast One Year: 1977.

Here are some notes and references from this week’s show:

Slate’s One Year: 1977

The Queen: The Forgotten Life Behind an American Myth, by Josh Levin 

Citizen Kane

Ulysses, by James Joyce

Here’s this week’s chatter:

John: Gaia Pianigiani and Emma Bubola for The New York Times: “Italy’s Government to Ban Cruise Ships From Venice”; The New York Times: “How Much Hotter Is Your Hometown Than When You Were Born?”

Josie: Detransition, Baby, by Torrey Peters   

David: City Cast: “City Cast Expands to 8 New Cities”

Listener chatter from Chris Heuberger, @chrisbup: David Owen for The New Yorker: “How a Young Activist Is Helping Pope Francis Battle Climate Change”; Solvable podcast: “Mapping Catholic Lands Can Help Solve Biodiversity Loss and Climate Change.” 

If you enjoy the show, please consider signing up for Slate Plus. Slate Plus members get benefits like zero ads on any Slate podcast, bonus episodes of shows like Slow Burn and Danny Lavery's new show Big Mood, Little Mood" and you’ll be supporting the Political Gabfest. Sign up now at slate.com/gabfestplus to help support our work. For this week’s Slate Plus bonus segment, John, Josie and David give classical music another review. 

Tweet us your questions and chatters @SlateGabfest or email us at gabfest@slate.com. (Messages may be quoted by name unless the writer stipulates otherwise.)

Podcast production by Jocelyn Frank.

Research and show notes by Bridgette Dunlap.

Need to set up your Slate Plus feed? If you subscribed through Slate.com, check out our FAQ at slate.com/podcastfaqs for easy instructions. Members subscribed via Apple Podcasts get automatic access—no setup required.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Emily, John and David discuss New York City’s primary election, J.D. Vance’s Senate run, and injustice illuminated by Britney Spears.

Here are some notes and references from this week’s show:

Hillbilly Elegy: A Memoir of a Family and Culture in Crisis, by J.D. Vance

Molly Ball for Time: “Breakfast with J.D. Vance, Anti-Trump Author Turned Pro-Trump Candidate”

Ronan Farrow and Jia Tolentino for The New Yorker: “Britney Spears’s Conservatorship Nightmare”

Caitlin Flanagan for The Atlantic: “You Really Need to Quit Twitter” 

Deep Work: Rules for Focused Success in a Distracted World,by Cal Newport

Here’s this week’s chatter:

Emily: This American Life: “There. I Fixed It.”

John: John Dickerson for CBS News: “Smithsonian Secretary Lonnie Bunch III: Full Face the Nation Interview”; Julian Mark for The Washington Post: “Rep. Andy Kim’s Suit in the Capitol Cleanup Photo Was From A J. Crew Sale. It Now Belongs to the Smithsonian.”; Emily Bazelon for The New York Times: “I Write About the Law. But Could I Really Help Free a Prisoner?”

David: Visiting the Bisti/De-Na-Zin Wilderness with Navajo Tours USA

Listener chatter from William Quill: Russell Goldenberg for The Pudding: “The World Through the Eyes of the US”

If you enjoy the show, please consider signing up for Slate Plus. Slate Plus members get benefits like zero ads on any Slate podcast, bonus episodes of shows like Slow Burn and Danny Lavery's show Big Mood, Little Mood and you’ll be supporting the Political Gabfest. Sign up now at slate.com/gabfestplus to help support our work.

For this week’s Slate Plus bonus segment, Emily, David, and John discuss whether it is a good idea to quit social media.

Tweet us your questions and chatters @SlateGabfest or email us at gabfest@slate.com. (Messages may be quoted by name unless the writer stipulates otherwise.)

Podcast production by Jocelyn Frank.

Research and show notes by Bridgette Dunlap.

Need to set up your Slate Plus feed? If you subscribed through Slate.com, check out our FAQ at slate.com/podcastfaqs for easy instructions. Members subscribed via Apple Podcasts get automatic access—no setup required.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Emily Bazelon is joined by Ruth Marcus and Jamelle Bouie to discuss the infrastructure negotiations, alarming Supreme Court decisions and Bill Cosby’s release.

Here are some notes and references from this week’s show:

Catherine Rampell for The Washington Post: “Three Things That Could Still Blow Up The Bipartisan Infrastructure Deal”

Give Us the Ballot: The Modern Struggle for Voting Rights in America, by Ari Berman

Ruth Marcus for The Washington Post: “I’ve Urged Supreme Court Justices to Stick Around — But Never to Retire. Until Now.”

The New Book of Middle Eastern Food: The Classic Cookbook, Expanded and Updated, with New Recipes and Contemporary Variations on Old Themes, by Claudia Roden

Here’s this week’s chatter:

Emily: Emily Bazelon for the New York Times: “I Write About the Law. But Could I Really Help Free a Prisoner?”; My Octopus Teacher

Ruth: Oklahoma City National Memorial & Museum

Jamelle: Croupier; Athletic Brewing Company 

If you enjoy the show, please consider signing up for Slate Plus. Slate Plus members get benefits like zero ads on any Slate podcast, bonus episodes of shows like Slow Burn and Danny Lavery's show Big Mood, Little Mood and you’ll be supporting the Political Gabfest. Sign up now at slate.com/gabfestplus to help support our work. For this week’s Slate Plus bonus segmentEmily, Jamelle, and Ruth talk about their favorite summer foods and recipes.

Tweet us your questions and chatters @SlateGabfest or email us at gabfest@slate.com. (Messages may be quoted by name unless the writer stipulates otherwise.)

Podcast production by Jocelyn Frank

Research and show notes by Bridgette Dunlap

Need to set up your Slate Plus feed? If you subscribed through Slate.com, check out our FAQ at slate.com/podcastfaqs for easy instructions. Members subscribed via Apple Podcasts get automatic access—no setup required.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Emily, John and David discuss the post-pandemic workforce, Tucker Carlson, and student wins at the Supreme Court.

Here are some notes and references from this week’s show:

Ben Smith for the New York Times: “Tucker Carlson Calls Journalists ‘Animals.’ He’s Also Their Best Source.”

Slate: “David Plotz and Tucker Carlson Debate Scott Brown, Health Care, and More”

Andrew Van Dam for the Washington Post: “The Seven Industries Most Desperate for Workers”

Deep Work: Rules for Focused Success in a Distracted World,by Cal Newport

John Dickerson for 60 Minutes: “Colleges and Universities Prepare for Fall Classes in the Middle of the Coronavirus Pandemic”

The Sound Scene Festival: an annual free and interactive audio arts festival organized by the D.C. Listening Lounge, an audio collective of Washington-based sound artists and enthusiasts.

Here’s this week’s chatter:

John: Steve Rathje, Jay J. Van Bavel, and Sander van der Linden for the Proceedings of The National Academy of Sciences: “Out-Group Animosity Drives Engagement On Social Media”

Emily: Associated Press: “Connecticut Is Firstst State to Make All Prison Phone Calls Free”

David: Mad Men

Listener chatter from Laura Forsythe: Stephanie Lai for the Washington Post: “26 Years After Being Convicted Of Murder, A D.C. Jail Inmate Is Elected To Public Office”; campaign videos at https://neighborsforjusticedc.org/takeaction/

If you enjoy the show, please consider signing up for Slate Plus. Slate Plus members get benefits like zero ads on any Slate podcast, bonus episodes of shows like Slow Burn and Danny Lavery's new show Big Mood, Little Mood" and you’ll be supporting the Political Gabfest. Sign up now at slate.com/gabfestplus to help support our work. For this week’s Slate Plus bonus segment, Emily, John, and David discuss things that have gotten better since their childhoods.

Tweet us your questions and chatters @SlateGabfest or email us at gabfest@slate.com. (Messages may be quoted by name unless the writer stipulates otherwise.)

Podcast production by Morgan Flannery.

Research and show notes by Bridgette Dunlap.

Need to set up your Slate Plus feed? If you subscribed through Slate.com, check out our FAQ at slate.com/podcastfaqs for easy instructions. Members subscribed via Apple Podcasts get automatic access—no setup required.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Emily, John and David discuss President Biden's G7 summit and the meeting with President Putin, McConnell’s plans to block a Biden Supreme Court nominee, and they are joined by guest Melissa Murray on what “critical race theory” is and is not.

Here are some notes and references from this week’s show:

Julia Ioffe for Tomorrow Will Be Worse: “‘Everyone Gets What They Deserve’: Biden Takes On the Putin Singularity”

Strict Scrutiny podcast 

Amicus podcast

The New York Times Magazine: “The 1619 Project”

Deep Work: Rules for Focused Success in a Distracted World,by Cal Newport

Here’s this week’s chatter:

John: Elizabeth Dilts Marshall for Reuters: “Morgan Stanley Ceo to Staff: Be Back at New York Headquarters by September”; Lauren Weber for The Wall Street Journal: “Forget Going Back to the Office—People Are Just Quitting Instead”

Emily: Adam Liptak for The New York Times: “Affordable Care Act Survives Latest Supreme Court Challenge”; Adam Liptak for the New York Times: “Supreme Court Backs Catholic Agency in Case on Gay Rights and Foster Care”

David: Six Months Later: Episode 22: David Plotz

Listener chatter from Leslie Camp: Doug Fraser for The Cape Cod Times: “‘I Was Completely Inside’: Lobster Diver Swallowed by Humpback Whale Off Provincetown”

If you enjoy the show, please consider signing up for Slate Plus. Slate Plus members get benefits like zero ads on any Slate podcast, bonus episodes of shows like Slow Burn and Danny Lavery's new show Big Mood, Little Mood" and you’ll be supporting the Political Gabfest. Sign up now at slate.com/gabfestplus to help support our work

For this week’s Slate Plus bonus segment, Emily, John, and David discuss the things they miss doing which modern technology has pushed out of circulation.

Tweet us your questions and chatters @SlateGabfest or email us at gabfest@slate.com. (Messages may be quoted by name unless the writer stipulates otherwise.)

Podcast production by Jocelyn Frank.

Research and show notes by Bridgette Dunlap.

Need to set up your Slate Plus feed? If you subscribed through Slate.com, check out our FAQ at slate.com/podcastfaqs for easy instructions. Members subscribed via Apple Podcasts get automatic access—no setup required.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Emily, John and David discuss Joe Manchin, how the Trump DOJ lives on, and George Packer’s four Americas.

Here are some notes and references from this week’s show:

John Dickerson for CBS News: “Sen. Joe Manchin on Face the Nation, June 6, 2021”

Ruth Marcus for the Washington Post: “Attorney General Garland, Please Stop Digging”

George Packer for the Atlantic: “How America Fractured Into Four Parts”

Last Best Hope: America in Crisis and Renewal, by George Packer

George Packer for the Atlantic: “Can Civics Save America?”

The Ezra Klein Show: “Obama Explains How America Went From ‘Yes We Can’ to ‘MAGA’ ”

Jane Mayer for the New Yorker: “Inside the Koch-Backed Effort to Block the Largest Election-Reform Bill in Half a Century”

Here’s this week’s chatter:

John: Elizabeth Weise for USA Today: “This Man Spent Last Year Flushing Hundreds of Toilets. The New Fear as the Pandemic Wanes: Legionnaires' Disease”

Emily: Michael Powell for the New York Times: “Once a Bastion of Free Speech, the A.C.L.U. Faces an Identity Crisis”

David: Rachel Gutman for the Atlantic: “A Crumpled, Dried-Out Relic of the Pandemic”

Listener chatter from Andrew Goetz: Mick West's YouTube videos explaining UFO footage. 

If you enjoy the show, please consider signing up for Slate Plus. Slate Plus members get benefits like zero ads on any Slate podcast, bonus episodes of shows like Slow Burn and Danny Lavery's new show Big Mood, Little Mood" and you’ll be supporting the Political Gabfest. Sign up now at slate.com/gabfestplus to help support our work. For this week’s Slate Plus bonus segment, Emily, John, and David consider how their names may have shaped their personalities.

Tweet us your questions and chatters @SlateGabfest or email us at gabfest@slate.com. (Messages may be quoted by name unless the writer stipulates otherwise.)

Podcast production by Jocelyn Frank.

Research and show notes by Bridgette Dunlap.

Need to set up your Slate Plus feed? If you subscribed through Slate.com, check out our FAQ at slate.com/podcastfaqs for easy instructions. Members subscribed via Apple Podcasts get automatic access—no setup required.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Here are some notes and references from this week’s show:

The Ezra Klein Show: “Obama Explains How America Went From ‘Yes We Can’ to ‘MAGA’”

Uneasy Peace: The Great Crime Decline, the Renewal of City Life, and the Next War on Violence, by Patrick Sharkey 

AmericanViolence.org

Monica C. Bell for the Yale Law Journal: “Police Reform and the Dismantling of Legal Estrangement”

Penn Wharton Budget Model: “COVID-19 School Closures: Long-Run Macroeconomic Effects”

Hang Up and Listen: “The Naomi Osaka Withdraws Edition”

Here’s this week’s chatter:

John: Kathryn Schulz for TED: “Don’t Regret Regret”; Cal Newport for The New Yorker: “What if Remote Work Didn’t Mean Working from Home?”

Emily: Mare of Easttown;Julie Miller for Vanity Fair: “Kate Winslet on Mare of Easttown and Creating a Real Heroine for Tired Times”

David: CityCast Denver: “Responding to 911 Calls With Sweatpants and Snacks, Not Guns”

Listener chatter from James Williams: Arnstein Aassve, Guido Alfani, Francesco Gandolfi, and Marco Le Moglie for Health Economics: “Epidemics and Trust: The Case of the Spanish Flu”

For this week’s Slate Plus bonus segment, Emily, John, and David talk about Naomi Osaka withdrawing from the French Open.

If you enjoy the show, please consider signing up for Slate Plus. Slate Plus members get benefits like zero ads on any Slate podcast, bonus episodes of shows like Slow Burn and Dear Prudence—and you’ll be supporting the Political Gabfest. Sign up now at slate.com/gabfestplus to help support our work.

Tweet us your questions and chatters @SlateGabfest or email us at gabfest@slate.com. (Messages may be quoted by name unless the writer stipulates otherwise.)

Podcast production by Margaret Kelley.

Research and show notes by Bridgette Dunlap.

Hosts

Emily Bazelon, John Dickerson, David Plotz

Follow

@SlateGabfest on Twitter / https://twitter.com/SlateGabfest

Slate Gabfest on Facebook / https://www.facebook.com/Gabfest/

Need to set up your Slate Plus feed? If you subscribed through Slate.com, check out our FAQ at slate.com/podcastfaqs for easy instructions. Members subscribed via Apple Podcasts get automatic access—no setup required.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Here are some notes and references from this week’s show:

David Leonhardt for The New York Times: “The Lab-Leak Theory”

Nicholson Baker for New York Magazine: “The Lab-Leak Hypothesis”

Nicholas Wade for The Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists: “The Origin of COVID: Did People or Nature Open Pandora’s Box at Wuhan?”

Anne Applebaum for The Atlantic: “Other Regimes Will Hijack Planes Too”

The Skies Belong to Us: Love and Terror in the Golden Age of Hijacking,by Brendan I. Koerner

Eric Levitz for New York Magazine: “David Shor on Why Trump Was Good for the GOP and How Dems Can Win in 2022”

Eric Levitz for New York Magazine: “David Shor’s Unified Theory of American Politics”

Here’s this week’s chatter:

John: Mark Mortensen and Heidi K. Gardner for Harvard Business Review: “WFH Is Corroding Our Trust in Each Other”

Emily: Patrick Smith for WBEZ: “Mayor Lori Lightfoot Blamed Gun Violence On Judges, But Emails Show Her Staff Knew It Wasn’t True”

David: Apple Photos “Memories” feature

Listener chatter from Jen Overbeck: Alan Burdick for The New York Times: “So You Want to End the Conversation?”

For this week’s Slate Plus bonus segment, Emily, John, and David talk about the difficulties of ending a conversation that has run its course.

If you enjoy the show, please consider signing up for Slate Plus. Slate Plus members get benefits like zero ads on any Slate podcast, bonus episodes of shows like Slow Burn and Dear Prudence—and you’ll be supporting the Political Gabfest. Sign up now at slate.com/gabfestplus to help support our work.

Tweet us your questions and chatters @SlateGabfest or email us at gabfest@slate.com. (Messages may be quoted by name unless the writer stipulates otherwise.)

Podcast production by Margaret Kelley.

Research and show notes by Bridgette Dunlap.

Hosts

Emily Bazelon, John Dickerson, David Plotz

Follow

@SlateGabfest on Twitter / https://twitter.com/SlateGabfest

Slate Gabfest on Facebook / https://www.facebook.com/Gabfest/

Need to set up your Slate Plus feed? If you subscribed through Slate.com, check out our FAQ at slate.com/podcastfaqs for easy instructions. Members subscribed via Apple Podcasts get automatic access—no setup required.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Emily, John and David discuss the violence between Israel and Gaza, abortion at the Supreme Court, and the book Nine Nasty Wordswith author John McWhorter.

Here are some notes and references from this week’s show:

John Dickerson for CBS: “Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on "Face the Nation," May 16, 2021”

Bernie Sanders for the New York Times: “Bernie Sanders: The U.S. Must Stop Being an Apologist for the Netanyahu Government”

Nine Nasty Words: English in the Gutter: Then, Now, and Forever, by John McWhorter 

John McWhorter for the Atlantic: “How ‘White Fragility’ Talks Down to Black People” 

Here’s this week’s chatter:

John: Tariro Mzezewa for the New York Times: “Hear a Harlem Choir Rejoice Again”

Emily: Adam Liptak for the New York Times: “Ban on Non-Unanimous Verdicts Is Not Retroactive, Supreme Court Rules”

David: Children of Timeby Adrian Tchaikovsky 

Listener chatter from Susan Bates: AMORALMAN: A True Story and Other Lies by Derek DelGaudio.

For this week’s Slate Plus bonus segment, Emily, John, and David talk about the objects that most define them.

If you enjoy the show, please consider signing up for Slate Plus. Slate Plus members get benefits like zero ads on any Slate podcast, bonus episodes of shows like Slow Burn and Dear Prudence—and you’ll be supporting the Political Gabfest. Sign up now at slate.com/gabfestplus to help support our work.

Tweet us your questions and chatters @SlateGabfest or email us at gabfest@slate.com. (Messages may be quoted by name unless the writer stipulates otherwise.)

Podcast production by Jocelyn Frank.

Research and show notes by Bridgette Dunlap.

Need to set up your Slate Plus feed? If you subscribed through Slate.com, check out our FAQ at slate.com/podcastfaqs for easy instructions. Members subscribed via Apple Podcasts get automatic access—no setup required.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Emily, John and David discuss the post-pandemic economy; vaccine hoarding; and they're joined by Alex Stamos to talk about infrastructure, cybersecurity and the Colonial Pipeline hack.

Here are some notes and references from this week’s show:

David Leonhardt for the New York Times: “A Misleading C.D.C. Number”

Dana Goldstein for the New York Times: “President of Key Teachers’ Union Shares Plea: ‘Schools Must Be Open’ in Fall”

Brian Krebs for Krebs on Security: “A Closer Look at the DarkSide Ransomware Gang”

Here’s this week’s chatter:

John: Craig Welch for National Geographic: “Groundbreaking Effort Launched to Decode Whale Language”

Emily: A Good Mother by Lara Bazelon; America on Fire: The Untold History of Police Violence and Black Rebellion Since the 1960s by Elizabeth Hinton 

David: B-Side Books: Essays on Forgotten Favorites by John Plotz “

Listener chatter from Adam Schear: Walker Caplan for LitHub: “The Key to Dodging Cyber Censorship Rules Might Be . . . A Minecraft Library?”

If you enjoy the show, please consider signing up for Slate Plus. Slate Plus members get benefits like zero ads on any Slate podcast, bonus episodes of shows like Slow Burn and Dear Prudence—and you’ll be supporting the Political Gabfest. Sign up now at slate.com/gabfestplus to help support our work.

For this week’s Slate Plus bonus segment, Emily, John, and David each recount a decision that changed the trajectory of their lives (not marriage related).

Tweet us your questions and chatters @SlateGabfest or email us at gabfest@slate.com. (Messages may be quoted by name unless the writer stipulates otherwise.)

Podcast production by Jocelyn Frank.

Research and show notes by Bridgette Dunlap.

Need to set up your Slate Plus feed? If you subscribed through Slate.com, check out our FAQ at slate.com/podcastfaqs for easy instructions. Members subscribed via Apple Podcasts get automatic access—no setup required.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

David, John and Emily discuss Liz Cheney's defiance of Trumpists; Trump’s Facebook suspension; and meatlessness getting (more) political.

Here are some notes and references from this week’s show:

Kimberly Robinson for Bloomberg Law: “Video: The Wild Hypotheticals Posed by Justice Stephen Breyer”

John Dickerson for CBS News: “Ron Klain on ‘Face the Nation,’ May 2, 2021”

Evelyn Douek for Lawfare: “It's Not Over. The Oversight Board's Trump Decision is Just the Start.”

These Truths: A History of the United States, by Jill Lepore

Ezra Klein for the New York Times: “Let’s Launch a Moonshot for Meatless Meat”

John Dickerson for Slate: “Go for the Throat!: Why if He Wants to Transform American Politics, Obama Must Declare War on the Republican Party.”

John Dickerson for JohnDickerson.com: “End of the Year Thoughts 2020 (Five Months Too Late).”

Never Let Me Go, by Kazuo Ishiguro

Hard Knocks,HBO

Here’s this week’s chatter:

John: Klara and the Sun, by Kazuo Ishiguro

Emily: Mom Genes: Inside the New Science of Our Ancient Maternal Instinct, by Abigail Tucker

David: Formula 1: Drive to Survive, Season 3, Episode 9: Man on Fire

Listener chatter from Michael Sagmeister: Mitchell Clark for The Verge: “Bad Software Sent Postal Workers to Jail, Because No One Wanted to Admit It Could Be Wrong.”

For this week’s Slate Plus bonus segment, Emily, John, and David discuss how the freedom they feel to share their opinions has changed with their jobs and the journalism environment.

If you enjoy the show, please consider signing up for Slate Plus. Slate Plus members get benefits like zero ads on any Slate podcast, bonus episodes of shows like Slow Burn and Dear Prudence—and you’ll be supporting the Political Gabfest. Sign up now at slate.com/gabfestplus to help support our work.

Tweet us your questions and chatters @SlateGabfest or email us at gabfest@slate.com. (Messages may be quoted by name unless the writer stipulates otherwise.)

Podcast production by Jocelyn Frank.

Research and show notes by Bridgette Dunlap.

Need to set up your Slate Plus feed? If you subscribed through Slate.com, check out our FAQ at slate.com/podcastfaqs for easy instructions. Members subscribed via Apple Podcasts get automatic access—no setup required.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

A live Gabfest with Emily, David and John on the policies and politics of Biden’s first 100 days— with special guest Jamelle Bouie!

A reference from this week’s show:

Thomas B. Edsall for The New York Times: “Should Biden Emphasize Race or Class or Both or None of the Above”

Here’s this week’s chatter:

John: The Premonition: A Pandemic Story by Michael Lewis; Gertrude Stein on punctuation from Lectures in America. 

Emily: Rosanna Xia for The Los Angeles Times: “DDT Waste Barrels Off L.A. Coast Shock California Scientists”

David: Steven Johnson for The New York Times Magazine: “How Humanity Gave Itself an Extra Life”

Listener chatter from David Friedlander-Holm: Cara Giaimo for The New York Times: “One of the World’s Oldest Science Experiments Comes Up From the Dirt”

Slate Plus members get great bonus content from Slate, a special segment on the Gabfest each week, and access to special bonus episodes throughout the year. Sign up now to listen and support our show.For this week’s Slate Plus bonus segment, Emily, John, and David take questions from the live audience.

Tweet us your questions and chatters @SlateGabfest or email us at gabfest@slate.com. (Messages may be quoted by name unless the writer stipulates otherwise.)

Podcast production by Jocelyn Frank.

Research and show notes by Bridgette Dunlap.

Need to set up your Slate Plus feed? If you subscribed through Slate.com, check out our FAQ at slate.com/podcastfaqs for easy instructions. Members subscribed via Apple Podcasts get automatic access—no setup required.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Emily, John and David discuss the verdict in the Derek Chauvin trial with guest Dwayne Betts; Andrew Yang’s campaign for Mayor of New York City; and why the U.S. invaded Iraq with guest Noreen Malone (host of the Slow Burn podcast).

Here are some notes and references from this week’s show:

Netflix Is A Joke: “Richard Pryor's 1979 Joke About Police Still Applies”

“When I Think of Tamir Rice While Driving” by Reginald Dwayne Betts

Jack Shafer for Politico: “How Substack Revealed the Real Value of Writers’ Unfiltered Thoughts”

The Million Book Project

Felon by Reginald Dwayne Betts

A Question of Freedom: A Memoir of Learning, Survival, and Coming of Age in Prisonby Reginald Dwayne Betts

Slow Burn Season 5: The Road to Iraq

Here’s this week’s chatter:

John: The Ezra Klein Show: “That Anxiety You’re Feeling? It’s a Habit You Can Break”; Bob Yirka for Phys.org: “Teaching Children to Play Chess Found to Decrease Risk Aversion”; Joe Trippi’s Twitter thread about Walter Mondale

Emily: PBS’s Philly D.A.

David: Michael E. Ruane for the Washington Post: “Harriet Tubman’s Lost Maryland Home Found, Archaeologists Say”; Peter Jamison for The Washington Post: “An ‘Insane’ Covid Lockdown Two Miles From the Capitol, With No End in Sight”

Listener chatter from Adam Siegel: The Economist: “How spooks are turning to superforecasting in the Cosmic Bazaar”

Slate Plus members get great bonus content from Slate, a special segment on the Gabfest each week, and access to special bonus episodes throughout the year. Sign up now to listen and support our show.For this week’s Slate Plus bonus segment, Dwayne Betts recites his poem, “When I Think of Tamir Rice While Driving.”

Tweet us your questions and chatters @SlateGabfest or email us at gabfest@slate.com. (Messages may be quoted by name unless the writer stipulates otherwise.)

Podcast production by Jocelyn Frank.

Research and show notes by Bridgette Dunlap.

Need to set up your Slate Plus feed? If you subscribed through Slate.com, check out our FAQ at slate.com/podcastfaqs for easy instructions. Members subscribed via Apple Podcasts get automatic access—no setup required.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Emily, John and David discuss the vaccine “pause,” the death of Daunte Wright, and Biden’s commission on the U.S. Supreme Court.

Here are some notes and references from this week’s show:

Ronald Brownstein for The Atlantic: “The Decision That Will Define Democrats for a Decade”

Ryan D. Doerfler and Samuel Moyn for The Atlantic: “Reform the Court, but Don’t Pack It”

Emily Bazelon for The New York Times: “How To Fix the Supreme Court: How We Got Here”

The Ministry for the Future by Kim Stanley Robinson 

Tom Whyman for The New York Times: “Why, Despite Everything, You Should Have Kids (if You Want Them)”

This week’s chatter:

John: Call My Agent; The Irregulars 

Emily: Daniele Selby for The Innocence Project “8 Things You Need to Know About Pervis Payne Who Is Facing Execution”

David: Janelle Bitker for The San Francisco Chronicle: “Boba Shortage: Bay Area and the Rest of the U.S. May Soon Have No Bubbles for Tea”

Listener chatter from Gabe Jacobs: 99% Invisible: “Freedom House Ambulance Service”

Slate Plus members get great bonus content from Slate, a special segment on the Gabfest each week, and access to special bonus episodes throughout the year. Sign up now to listen and support our show.For this week’s Slate Plus bonus segment, John, David, and Emily talk about the decision to have children in the face of climate change and other catastrophes which could make the future more painful than today. 

Tweet us your questions and chatters @SlateGabfest, or email us at gabfest@slate.com. (Messages may be quoted by name unless the writer stipulates otherwise.)

Podcast production by Jocelyn Frank.

Research and show notes by Bridgette Dunlap.

Need to set up your Slate Plus feed? If you subscribed through Slate.com, check out our FAQ at slate.com/podcastfaqs for easy instructions. Members subscribed via Apple Podcasts get automatic access—no setup required.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Emily, John and David discuss the corporate backlash to Georgia’s voting restrictions, Matt Gaetz and shamelessness in government, and they are joined by Amanda Ripley to talk about her new book High Conflict.

Here are some notes and references from this week’s show:

Jonathan Rauch for the Atlantic: “How American Politics Went Insane”

Insecure Majorities: Congress and the Perpetual Campaign by Frances E. Lee

High Conflict: Why We Get Trapped and How We Get Outby Amanda Ripley

The Gottman Institute’s “Love Lab”

Emotions in Conflict: Inhibitors and Facilitators of Peace Makingby Eran Halperin

L. M. Hartling, E. Lindner, U. Spalthoff and M. Britton for Psicología Política: “Humiliation: A Nuclear Bomb of Emotions?”

Stephen Hawkins, Daniel Yudkin, Míriam Juan-Torres, Tim Dixon for More In Common: “Hidden Tribes: A Study of America’s Polarized Landscape”

The Irregulars

Here’s this week’s chatter:

John: Dan Zak for the Washington Post: “Goodbye to Gate 35x, Cursed Portal to the Rest of America”

Emily: Crip Camp: A Disability Revolution

David: City Cast Denver

Listener chatter from Paul John Rudoi: Passing English of the Victorian era, a Dictionary of Heterodox English, Slang and Phrase available at The Public Domain Review; Karen Strike for Flashbak:“Not Up To Dick: 100 Wonderful Victorian Slang Words You Should Be Using”

Slate Plus members get great bonus content from Slate, a special segment on the Gabfest each week, and access to special bonus episodes throughout the year. Sign up now to listen and support our show.For this week’s Slate Plus bonus segment, John, David, and Emily contemplate whether vaccinated people have a moral obligation to go out and spend. 

Tweet us your questions and chatters @SlateGabfest, or email us at gabfest@slate.com. (Messages may be quoted by name unless the writer stipulates otherwise.)

Podcast production by Jocelyn Frank.

Research and show notes by Bridgette Dunlap.

Need to set up your Slate Plus feed? If you subscribed through Slate.com, check out our FAQ at slate.com/podcastfaqs for easy instructions. Members subscribed via Apple Podcasts get automatic access—no setup required.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Emily, David and guest host Andrea Valdez discuss the fourth wave of the virus, Derek Chauvin’s murder trial, and fixing the U.S.’s caregiving infrastructure.

Here are some notes and references from this week’s show:

How to Be a Texan: The Manual, by Andrea Valdez

Ko Bragg for the 19th: “Four Girls Testified in the Derek Chauvin Trial. Here’s What They Told the Jury.”

The University Will Require All Students to Be Vaccinated Before Arriving on Campus in the Fall, Rutgers University March 21, 2021

Bill Chappell for NPR, ”I Believe I Witnessed A Murder,' Witness Says Of 911 Call In Chauvin Case

Here’s this week’s chatter:

Andrea: Skip Hollandsworth for Texas Monthly: “The Larry McMurtry I Knew”; Paula Mejía for Texas Monthly: “Selena at 50: Celebrating the Life, Art, and Influence of a Tejano Legend”

Emily: Elie Mystal for the Nation: “The Supreme Court May Be About to Blast Another Hole in Gun Control”

David: City Cast Chicago podcast, hosted by Jacoby Cochran.

Listener chatter from Wally Vinovskis: Theresa Machemer for Smithsonian Magazine: “This High Schooler Invented Color-Changing Sutures to Detect Infection"

Slate Plus members get great bonus content from Slate, a special segment on the Gabfest each week, and access to special bonus episodes throughout the year. Sign up now to listen and support our show.For this week’s Slate Plus bonus segment, Andrea, David, and Emily discuss running a media startup. 

Tweet us your questions and chatters @SlateGabfest, or email us at gabfest@slate.com. (Messages may be quoted by name unless the writer stipulates otherwise.)

Podcast production by Jocelyn Frank.

Research and show notes by Bridgette Dunlap.

Need to set up your Slate Plus feed? If you subscribed through Slate.com, check out our FAQ at slate.com/podcastfaqs for easy instructions. Members subscribed via Apple Podcasts get automatic access—no setup required.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.