Political Gabfest

Latest Episodes:

Gabfest Reads: Race, Money and Fictional Life at the University of Arkansas Feb 17, 2024

Show notes

David Plotz talks with author Kiley Reid about her new book, Come & Get It. They discuss how money can work in the same way as language, writing realistic dialogue, and the things we can’t let go of.

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.

Well-Meaning, Elderly Man With A Poor Memory Feb 15, 2024

Show notes

This week, Emily Bazelon, John Dickerson, and David Plotz discuss Special Counsel Robert Hur’s description of President Joe Biden; House Republicans’ impeachment of DHS Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas and refusal on Ukraine aid; and Democrat Tom Suozzi’s win in the New York congressional special election. And in Slate Plus, Emily, John, and David talk local news with reporter Ellie Wolfe.

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

Matt Viser and Tyler Pager for The Washington Post: Biden responds angrily to special counsel report questioning his memory and Marianne LeVine: Trump says he’d disregard NATO treaty, urge Russian attacks on U.S. allies

Politico Magazine: What Biden Needs to Do to Reassure the Public

Elena Moore for NPR: Biden’s campaign gives in and joins TikTok. Blame the youngs

Mike Lillis and Mychael Schnell for The Hill: Lawmakers scramble for Plan B on Ukraine

Jake Tapper for CNN: Marco Rubio reacts to Trump threatening NATO country to ‘pay up’

Zack Beauchamp for Vox: The moral and strategic case for arming Ukraine

Joshua Matz, Michael J. Gerhardt, Amit Jain, and Laurence H. Tribe for Just Security: Why and How the Senate Should Swiftly Dismiss the Impeachment Charges Against Mayorkas

Nate Cohn for The New York Times: Not an Ordinary Special Election, and Yet a Typical Result and Carl Hulse: How Senate Democrats Flipped the Border Issue on Republicans

Here are this week’s chatters:

Emily: American Fiction; Sam Sanders, Nadira Goffe, and Stephen Metcalf for the Slate Culture Gabfest podcast: American Fiction, Oscar Contender?; and Sam Sanders, Saeed Jones, and Zach Stafford for the Stitcher Vibe Check podcast: A Special Conversation with Cord Jefferson

John: Timeguessr and Matt Levine for Matt Levin’s Money Stuff: Lyft Had an Earnings Typo

David: The Greatest Night in Pop on Netflix and USA for Africa: We Are the World

Listener chatter from J.T. Horn in Strafford, Vermont: Peter Frick Wright for the Outside Podcast: A Wild Conversation with E. Jean Carroll

For this week’s Slate Plus bonus segment, David, John, and Emily discuss with Ellie Wolfe her local-news reporting as Education Reporter for the Arizona Daily Star. See Proposed law would limit shared governance at Arizona’s universities; U of A to ‘permanently eliminate’ $27 million worth of jobs in academic units; U of A’s Robbins talks about his pay, layoffs, athletics debt, more; and CFO: U of A must cut $200M in spending, rethink mission, accept layoffs. Thanks to listeners Alison, Anna, and David for the recommendation!

In the latest Gabfest Reads, John talks with Brad Stulberg about his book, Master of Change: How to Excel When Everything Is Changing – Including You.

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

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

Congress Can’t Aid, Can’t Arm, Can’t Legislate, Can’t Impeach Feb 08, 2024

Show notes

This week, Emily Bazelon, John Dickerson, and David Plotz discuss the Republicans’ beginning and end of both the border bill and the impeachment of Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas; the criminal conviction of a mother for a school shooting by her son; and the D.C. Circuit Court decision on presidential immunity and the Supreme Court argument on the presidential ballot.

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

Rachael Bade for Politico: Schumer presses forward with Ukraine Plan B as GOP leaders reel and Burgess Everett: Behind the border mess: Open GOP rebellion against McConnell

Cleve R. Wootson Jr. for The Washington Post: Biden vows to make GOP defeat of a conservative border bill a campaign issue and Jacqueline Alemany, Amy B Wang, Marianna Sotomayor, and Paul Kane: In stunning vote, House Republicans fail to impeach Secretary Mayorkas

Former Rep. Charlie Stenholm in The Hill in 2015: How Tip O’Neill and Ronald Reagan would make this Congress work

Tresa Baldas for the Detroit Free Press: Jennifer Crumbley guilty: Understanding involuntary manslaughter charge, possible sentenceand Paul Egan: Michigan’s gun laws change: Background checks, storage, temporary removal

Michael Barbaro and Lisa Miller for The New York Times The Daily podcast: A Guilty Verdict for a Mass Shooter’s Mother

Rachel Weiner for The Washington Post: Trump has no immunity from Jan. 6 prosecution, appeals court rules

Ian Millhiser for Vox: The Supreme Court is about to decide whether to sabotage Trump’s election theft trial

Amy Howe for SCOTUSblog: Supreme Court to decide whether insurrection provision keeps Trump off ballot

Here are this week’s chatters:

John: Ian Sample for The Guardian: AI helps scholars read scroll buried when Vesuvius erupted in AD79; Pierina Pighi Bel for the BBC: Bodegas: The small corner shops that run NYC; David Blank in the Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy: Philodemus; Moss and Fog; and Institute of Politics at Harvard Kennedy School: Theodore H. White Lecture with John Dickerson

Emily: Sofia Resnick for News From The States: Study cited by Texas judge in abortion pill case retracted and Sage Publishing: A note from Sage on retractions in Health Services Research and Managerial Epidemiology

David: Patrick Radden Keefe for The New Yorker: A Teen’s Fatal Plunge Into The London Underworld

Listener chatter from Patrick Johnson in Anchorage, Alaska: Rhonda McBride for KNBA - Anchorage: Anchorage’s white raven becomes a local legend as a tracked trickster

For this week’s Slate Plus bonus segment, David, John, and Emily discuss “Fast Car,” Tracy Chapman’s 1988 original, and Luke Combs’s 2023 cover.

In the latest Gabfest Reads, John talks with Brad Stulberg about his book, Master of Change: How to Excel When Everything Is Changing – Including You.

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

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

Will The Carroll Verdict Hurt Trump? Feb 01, 2024

Show notes

This week, Emily Bazelon, John Dickerson, and David Plotz discuss E. Jean Carroll’s $83.3 million win against Donald J. Trump; the events of 1920-1948 that shaped the current relationship of Israel and Palestine; and the tech-bro billionaires of techno-authoritarianism with Adrienne LaFrance of The Atlantic.

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

Eric Lach for The New Yorker: Nine Regular People Tell Donald Trump to Shut Up and Pay Up

Monica Hesse for The Washington Post: Is it really sexism that Trump is showing? Or is it something worse?

Maggie Haberman and Shane Goldmacher for The New York Times: Trump’s PACs Spent Roughly $50 Million on Legal Expenses in 2023

Erik Larson for Fortune and Bloomberg: Most of Trump’s cash stockpile is at risk from possible $450m dual verdicts in E. Jean Carroll and New York business fraud cases

CBS News: Face The Nation and Emily Tillett: Nikki Haley on Trump accusers: Women who accuse anyone “should be heard” and “dealt with”

Gabriella Abdul-Hakim for ABC News: Tim Scott insists voters don’t care about Trump’s defamation loss, plays down ‘provocative’ Haley attacks

Dietrich Knauth for Insurance Journal: Sandy Hook Denier Alex Jones Eyes Settlement With Families, Bankruptcy Exit

Emily Bazelon for The New York Times: The Road to 1948 and Was Peace Ever Possible?

Adrienne LaFrance for The Atlantic: The Rise of Techno-Authoritarianism

Ezra Klein for The New York Times: The Chief Ideologist of the Silicon Valley Elite Has Some Strange Ideas

Steven Levy for Wired: What the Techno-Billionaire Missed About Techno-Optimism

Jonathan Taplin for Vanity Fair: How Musk, Thiel, Zuckerberg, and Andreessen—Four Billionaire Techno-Oligarchs—Are Creating an Alternate, Autocratic Reality

Lisa Desjardins and Jonah Anderson for PBS Newshour: Lawmakers grill Big Tech executives, accusing them of failing to protect children

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

Here are this week’s chatters:

Emily: The Fight to Save the Town: Reimagining Discarded America by Michelle Wilde Anderson

John: PenTips; Toluse Olorunnipa and Liz Goodwin for The Washington Post: Biden vows to ‘shut down’ an overwhelmed border if Senate deal passes and Jacob Bogage and Jeff Stein: House votes to expand child tax credit, beef up corporate tax breaks

David: Visual Arts, St. Albans School; John Buzbee for The Advocate: LSU students bare it all as nude art models: ‘It’s a very brave thing to be able to do.’; and Kim McGill for The Union: The naked truth: Art models at El Camino inspire students to portray humanity in all its forms

Listener chatter from Jay Lloyd in Louisville, Kentucky: Eric Berger for Ars Technica: What happens when an astronaut in orbit says he’s not coming back?

For this week’s Slate Plus bonus segment, David, John, and Emily discuss the Love Story of Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce and the message for MAGA madness: You Need To Calm Down. See Mariana Alfaro for The Washington Post: Why Trump’s MAGA Republican movement dislikes Taylor Swift and Ross Douthat for The New York Times: Taylor Swift, Donald Trump and the Right’s Abnormality Problem.

In the latest Gabfest Reads, John talks with Brad Stulberg about his book, Master of Change: How to Excel When Everything Is Changing – Including You.

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

Hosts

Emily Bazelon, John Dickerson, and David Plotz

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

The Election No One Wants Jan 25, 2024

Show notes

This week, Emily Bazelon, John Dickerson, and David Plotz discuss the Trump v. Biden presidential rematch, the end of the “vibecession,” and the political fights over immigration.

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

Michael Scherer and Toluse Olorunnipa for The Washington Post: Trump, Biden pivot quickly to a 2024 campaign that many voters dread

Lauren Irwin for The Hill: Trump says Tim Scott ‘must really hate’ Haley

Allison Pecorin and Caleigh Bartash for ABC News: Trump picks up endorsements from holdouts after New Hampshire win

John E. Moser for Teaching American History: “Fireside Chat” on “Purging” the Democratic Party

Ben Casselman for The New York Times: U.S. Economy Grew at 3.3% Rate in Latest Quarter and German Lopez: The End of Economic Pessimism?

Jeff Stein for The Washington Post: As doomsday predictions dissipate, Biden aides savor booming economy and Trump promises to stop inflation. But would his plans actually help?

Kyla Scanlon for Kyla’s Newsletter: The Vibecession: The Self-Fulfilling Prophecy

Ben Harris and Aaron Sojourner for The Brookings Institution: Why are Americans so displeased with the economy?

David Montgomery for YouGov: How’s the economy doing? For many Americans, the answer is how their party’s doing

Punchbowl News AM: McConnell bows to Trump on border

Karoun Demirjian for The New York Times: With Border Deal Near, Parole and Money Take Center Stage in Senate Talks

Maria Sacchetti for The Washington Post: Explaining immigration parole, one sticking point in Ukraine aid-border deal

Rafael Bernal and Al Weaver for The Hill: Parole: What to know about the GOP’s latest border sticking point

David J. Bier for the Cato Institute: New Data Show Migrants Were More Likely to Be Released by Trump Than Biden

Colleen Long for AP: Title 42 has ended. Here’s what it did, and how US immigration policy is changing

Here are this week’s chatters:

Emily: Yair Rosenberg for The Atlantic: What Did Top Israeli War Officials Really Say About Gaza? and Comics Kingdom: Sally Forth

John: Tori Apodaca for CBS Sacramento: California writes cursive back into elementary school curriculum and Carmen Mayer, Stefanie Wallner, Nora Budde-Spengler, Sabrina Braunert, Petra A. Arndt, and Markus Kiefer in Frontiers in Psychology: Literacy Training of Kindergarten Children With Pencil, Keyboard or Tablet Stylus: The Influence of the Writing Tool on Reading and Writing Performance at the Letter and Word Level

David: Erik Wemple for The Washington Post: At Gallery Place, it’s Ted Leonsis vs. one very loud street music act

Listener chatter from Annie O’Connor in St. Paul, Minnesota: LockPickingLawyer on YouTube

For this week’s Slate Plus bonus segment, David, John, and Emily discuss Ezra Klein’s piece in The New York Times: I Am Going to Miss Pitchfork, but That’s Only Half the Problem. See Judy Woodruff, Sarah Clune Hartman, and Frank Carlson for PBS: The connections between decline of local news and growing political division; Steven Waldman for The Atlantic: The Local-News Crisis Is Weirdly Easy to Solve; and Penelope Muse Abernathy for the Hussman School of Journalism and Media, University of North Carolina: The Expanding News Desert: Finding Solutions. See also Press Forward; Sara Fischer and Cuneyt Dil for Axios: Scoop: D.C. lawmakers to introduce new bill funding local news via vouchers; and the Law & Justice Journalism Project.

In the latest Gabfest Reads, John talks with Brad Stulberg about his book, Master of Change: How to Excel When Everything Is Changing – Including You.

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

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

Gabfest Reads: How to Thrive in a World of Change Jan 20, 2024

Show notes

On this month’s edition of Gabfest Reads, John Dickerson talks with author Brad Stulberg about his new book, Master of Change: How to Excel When Everything is Changing – Including You. They discuss how to make change itself a mindset, John’s notebooks, what we can learn from athletes, 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.

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

Why Trump Won Iowa Jan 18, 2024

Show notes

This week, John Dickerson re-joins Emily Bazelon and David Plotz to discuss the Republican presidential race, the Iowa caucuses, and the New Hampshire primary; the Loper Bright and Relentless cases at the Supreme Court and the possible end of Chevrondeference; and The Misguided War on the SAT with David Leonhardt of The New York Times.

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

Nate Cohn for The New York Times: Even the Battle for Second Turned Out Well for Trump in Iowa

Ross Douthat for The New York Times: How Trump’s Opponents Made Iowa Easy for Him

Amy Howe for SCOTUSblog: Supreme Court likely to discard Chevron; Supreme Court to hear major case on power of federal agencies; and Supreme Court curtails EPA’s authority to fight climate change

Cornell Law School’s Legal information Institute: Administrative Procedure Act

Jess Bravin for The Wall Street Journal: Conservatives Once Hailed This Case. Now They’re at the Supreme Court to Gut It.

Ian Millhiser for Vox: The Supreme Court cases asking the justices to put themselves in charge of everything, explained and A new Supreme Court case seeks to make the nine justices even more powerful

David Leonhardt for The New York Times: The Misguided War on the SAT

Ileana Najarro for EdWeek: The SAT Is Making a Comeback. Here’s a Look at the Numbers and What They Tell Us

Raj Chetty, David J. Deming, and John Friedman for Opportunity Insights: Diversifying Society’s Leaders? The Determinants and Causal Effects of Admission to Highly Selective Private Colleges

Here are this week’s chatters:

Emily: The Ringer’s podcast “Stick the Landing” and Andy Greenwald and Mallory Rubin: Did ‘Friday Night Lights’ Stick the Landing?

John: Richard Baldwin for VoxEU: China is the world’s sole manufacturing superpower: A line sketch of the rise; Moss and Fog: Tree.fm is Your Aural Escape Into Nature; and tree.fm

David: Steve Lopez for the Los Angeles Times: They take care of aging adults, live in cramped quarters and make less than minimum wage and ZipRecruiter: assisted living jobs in Washington, DC

Listener chatter from Kevin Collins in San Antonio, Texas: Historic Vids on X

For this week’s Slate Plus bonus segment, David talks about his father, Dr. Paul Plotz. See Rachel Weller for The NIH Catalyst: Symposium Honors NIAM’s Paul Plotz and The New York Times: Judith A. Abrams Engaged to Wed Dr. Paul H. Plotz; Candidate for Ph.D. at Harvard Is Fiancee of Boston Interne. See also John G. Zinn for the Society for American Baseball Research: Ebbets Field (Brooklyn, NY); National Institutes of Health; Union of Concerned Scientists; and The Two Cultures and The Scientific Revolution by C. P. Snow.

In the latest Gabfest Reads, John talks with Christine Coulson about her book, One Woman Show: A Novel.

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

Hosts

Emily Bazelon, John Dickerson, and David Plotz

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

Should Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin Be Fired? Jan 11, 2024

Show notes

This week, Emily Bazelon and David Plotz are joined by Jamelle Bouie of The New York Times to discuss the absence and silence of Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin, school absenteeism with Alec MacGillis of ProPublica, and Donald Trump’s claim of absolute presidential immunity.

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

Politico: Austin’s hospital debacle: A timeline of events

Fred Kaplan for Slate: Why the Secretary of Defense’s Mysterious Disappearance Means He Needs to Go

Max Boot for The Washington Post: Lloyd Austin doesn’t deserve to be the piñata of the day in Washington

Major General Patrick S. Ryder, Department of Defense Press Secretary

Alec MacGillis for ProPublica and The New Yorker: Skipping School: America’s Hidden Education Crisis

Jay Greene, Ph.D. and Jonathan Butcher for The Heritage Foundation: The Alarming Rise in Teacher Absenteeism

Natalie Kitroeff and Adam Liptak for The New York Times Daily podcast: Trump’s Case for Total Immunity

Bill Rankin and Katherine Landergan for The Atlanta Journal-Constitution: Could Willis allegations sink Trump case? Legal experts weigh in

Mariana Alfaro and Amy B Wang for The Washington Post: Chris Christie caught on hot mic, says Nikki Haley will ‘get smoked’

Here are this week’s chatters:

Emily: Past Lives and Anatomy of a Fall

Jamelle: Fist of the Condor

David: Amsterdam; EnglishLearning on reddit: Is there any English word that has three or more same and consecutive letters?

Listener chatter from Erin Bumgarner in Arlington, Massachusetts: The Art of Noticing by Rob Walker

For this week’s Slate Plus bonus segment, David, Emily, and Jamelle talk about which presidents should be on a new Mount Rushmore. See The White House Historical Association: The Presidents; John Quincy Adams; Ulysses S. Grant; Franklin D. Roosevelt; Dwight D. Eisenhower; and Lyndon B. Johnson. See also National Park Service: Why These Four Presidents?; Mario Canseco for Research Co.: Americans Pick Four Presidents for “New Mount Rushmore”; Politico Magazine: Who Should Be on the Next Mount Rushmore?; and Chauncey Alcorn for Capital B: What to Do About Stone Mountain? Black Residents Talk Park’s Racist Past.

In the latest Gabfest Reads, John talks with Christine Coulson about her book, One Woman Show: A Novel.

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

Hosts

Jamelle Bouie, Emily Bazelon, and David Plotz

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

Who Wants to Be President of Harvard? Jan 04, 2024

Show notes

This week, Emily Bazelon, John Dickerson, and David Plotz begin the year discussing the 2024 presidential election; Harvard President Claudine Gay’s resignation; and the 2023 decrease in homicides.

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

Steve Peoples for AP: Biden and Trump are posed for a potential rematch that could shake American politics

Rob Crilly for the Daily Mail: Voters describe their 2024 choice between a Trump second term and a Biden second term as a choice between REVENGE or NOTHING in Daily Mail poll

Brianne Pfannenstiel for the Des Moines Register: Iowa Poll: Donald Trump holds overwhelming lead; Ron DeSantis edges ahead of Nikki Haley

Claudine Gay in The New York Times: What Just Happened at Harvard Is Bigger Than Me

The Crimson Editorial Board for The Harvard Crimson: President Gay Plagiarized, but She Should Stay. For Now.

Ian Ward for Politico: We Sat Down With the Conservative Mastermind Behind Claudine Gay’s Ouster

Jeremy Duda for Axios: ASU continues streak as U.S. News’ most innovative school

David Goldman for CNN: The 4 key events that led to UPenn President Liz Magill’s resignation

Jeff Asher for Jeff-alytics: Crime in 2023: Murder Plummeted, Violent and Property Crime Likely Fell Nationally

Bill Hutchinson for ABC News: ‘It is historic’: US poised to see record drop in yearly homicides despite public concern over crime

Ken Dilanian for NBC News: Most people think the U.S. crime rate is rising. They’re wrong.

Here are this week’s chatters:

John: Library of Congress: Robert Cornelius, self-portrait; believed to be the earliest extant American portrait photo; National Gallery of Art: The Art of the American Snapshot, 1888-1978: From the Collection of Robert E. Jackson

Emily: Ari Rabinovitch for Reuters: Israel’s Supreme Court strikes down disputed law that limited court oversight

David: Brian Murphy for The Washington Post: Maureen Sweeney, weather watcher who influenced D-Day plans, dies at 100

Listener chatter from Eric in Tuckahoe, New York: Christophe Haubursin for Vox: What’s inside this crater in Madagascar?

For this week’s Slate Plus bonus segment, David, John, and Emily talk about New Year’s resolutions and self-help. See also Matthew Solan for Harvard Health Publishing: Thinking of trying Dry January? Steps for success; James Clear: Atomic Habits Summary; Renée Onque for CNBC: This is a tried-and-true way to break a bad habit, says wellbeing coach—so we’re putting it to the test in 2024; and Chandra Steele for PCMag: Annoyed With Instagram? Take Control of Your Feed With These Tips and Tricks.

In the latest Gabfest Reads, John talks with Christine Coulson about her book, One Woman Show: A Novel.

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

Hosts

Emily Bazelon, John Dickerson, and David Plotz

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

Live From New York! It’s Conundrums 2023! Dec 28, 2023

Show notes

This week, Emily Bazelon and David Plotz are joined by Wesley Morris, critic at large for The New York Times and co-host of the Still Processing podcast, to cogitate on Conundrums 2023.

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

Thanks to everyone who submitted Conundrums, especially Alex, Brian, Mitchell Kosht, Patricia Gonzalez, Kali Rocha, Becca Nagorsky, Kevin Maginnis, Kevin Collins, Beth Kirsch, Brian Cechnicki, Chuck Terhark, Howard W, Brian, Mike Daugherty, Alan Dybner, Tim Falzone, Matthew Gill, Cynthia Weiner, and the incomparable Phil Goldstein.

Benjamin Wittes for Dog Shit Daily: My encounter with a shit-throwing neighborhood Karen

Jon Mendelsohn for American Songwriter: The Real Reason Why Van Halen Asked Venues For Bowls of M&Ms Containing ‘No Brown Ones’

The Sellout: A Novel by Paul Beatty

Working: People Talk About What They Do All Day and How They Feel About What They Do by Studs Terkel

Richard Scarry’s What Do People Do All Day? by Richard Scarry

In Love: A Memoir of Love and Loss by Amy Bloom

Amy Bloom for This American Life: Exit Strategy

Gabfest Reads: He Wanted to Die Holding Hands

For this week’s Slate Plus bonus segment, David, Emily, and Wesley tackle three more Conundrums.

In the latest Gabfest Reads, John talks with Brad Stulberg about Master of Change: How to Excel When Everything Is Changing – Including You.

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