Political Gabfest

Latest Episodes:

Is Antisemitism Back? Dec 01, 2022

Show notes

This week, David Plotz, Emily Bazelon, and John Dickerson discuss Trump hosting prominent antisemites Ye (f/k/a Kanye West) and Nick Fuentes; Chinese protestors challenging their authoritarian government–with Sheena Chestnut Greitens; and Congress legislating to protect marriage equality through the Respect For Marriage Act.

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

Sheena Chestnut Greitens for Foreign Affairs: “Xi Jinping’s Quest for Order”

Sheena Chestnut Greitens and Julian Gewirt for Foreign Affairs: “China's Troubling Vision For The Future Of Public Health”

Here are this week’s chatters:

John: Darby Saxbe and Magdalena Martínez García for The Conversation: “Fatherhood Changes Men’s Brains, According To Before-And-After MRI Scans”

Emily: A compilation of Gabfest listeners favorite salad dressing recipes.

David: City Cast is expanding to new cities; Nicole Eustace for The New York Times: “300 Years Ago, There Was a Brutal Murder. We Could Learn From the Treaty That Followed.”

Listener chatter from Richard Medlicott: The Economist:”Shyam Saran Negi Never Failed In His Democratic Duty”; Alex Binley for the BBC: “Shyam Saran Negi: Man Dubbed 'india's First Voter' Dies Aged 105”

For this week’s Slate Plus bonus segment Emily, David, and John discuss the Supreme Court challenge to the Biden administration’s immigration policy in United States v. Texas.

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.

What If Twitter Dies? Nov 24, 2022

Show notes

This week, David Plotz, Emily Bazelon, and John Dickerson discuss the future of Twitter, the ghoulish World Cup, and a minister’s allegation that Justice Alito leaked the outcome of the Hobby Lobby case.

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

Jodi Kantor and Jo Becker for The New York Times: “Former Anti-Abortion Leader Alleges Another Supreme Court Breach”

Jodi Kantor for The New York Times: “Allegation of Supreme Court Breach Prompts Calls for Inquiry and Ethics Code”

Rob Schenck for The New York Times: “I Was an Anti-Abortion Crusader. Now I Support Roe v. Wade”

Kara Voght and Tim Dickinson for Rolling Stone: “SCOTUS Justices ‘Prayed With’ Her — Then Cited Her Bosses to End Roe”

Here are this week’s chatters:

John: Variety: “Bob Dylan Fans Who Bought $600 ‘Hand-Signed’ Books With Replica Autographs Will Receive Refunds From Publisher”

Emily: Rozina Ali for The New York Times Magazine: “‘How Did This Man Think He Had the Right to Adopt This Baby?’”

David: Politics and Prose: City Cast DC Live Taping with Michael Schaffer, David Plotz, and Anton Bogomazov - at Union Market; Slate’s One Year, Season 4: 1942

Listener chatter from Laurent Dugois: In Broad Daylight: A Murder in Skidmore, Missouri, by Harry N MacLean; All That's Interesting: “The Story Of Ken McElroy — The Vicious Bully Killed By His Town”

For this week’s Slate Plus bonus segment Emily, David, and John contemplate the conundrum of what they would like to tell their younger selves but wouldn’t be able to convince them of. Submit your conundrums for the 2022 conundrum episode at slate.com/conundrum.

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.

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

Gabfest Reads: Rethinking J. Edgar Hoover Nov 19, 2022

Show notes

Emily Bazelon talks with author Beverly Gage about her new book, G-Man: J. Edgar Hoover and the Making of the American Century, a detailed account of the life of the first FBI Director, J. Edgar Hoover. They discuss Hoover’s hostile relationship with Martin Luther King Jr., why he should have quit at the end of the 1950s, and how Hoover’s childhood shaped his reign [MOU1] as director.

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

[MOU1]“tenure”? Maybe I’m overthinking this.

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

SBF FTX WTF? Nov 17, 2022

Show notes

This week, David Plotz, Emily Bazelon, and John Dickerson discuss Trump’s campaign announcement, election denying candidates’ failures in the midterms, and guest Matthew Zeitlin on the impact the implosion of Sam Bankman-Fried’s crypto exchange FTX may have on the Effective Altruism movement.

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

Donie O'Sullivan for CNN: “Facebook Fact-Checkers Will Stop Checking Trump After Presidential Bid Announcement”

Matthew Zeitlin for Grid: “Sam Bankman-Fried Gave Millions To Effective Altruism. What Happens Now That The Money Is Gone?”

Kelsey Piper for Vox: “Sam Bankman-Fried Tries To Explain Himself”

What We Owe the Future, by William MacAskill

William MacAskill for Effective Altruism Forum: “EA And The Current Funding Situation”

This American Life: “Watching the Watchers”

Here are this week’s chatters:

John: Jason P. Frank for Vulture: “Stephen Colbert, Emma Watson, and More Celebs to Relish in Pickleball Tournament”; Isabel Gonzalez for CBS News: “Mike Tyson, Evander Holyfield Partner To Create Ear-Shaped, Cannabis-Infused Edibles”

Emily: William Melhado for The Texas Tribune: “Federal Judge In Texas Rules That Disarming Those Under Protective Orders Violates Their Second Amendment Rights”

David: Politics and Prose: City Cast DC Live Taping with Michael Schaffer, David Plotz, and Anton Bogomazov - at Union Market; Justin Jouvenal for The Washington Post: “D.C.’s Bitcoin King: Yachts, Penthouses, A Python — And Tax Dodging?”

Listener chatter from Kelly Mills: The Woman Who Smashed Codes: A True Story of Love, Spies, and the Unlikely Heroine Who Outwitted America's Enemies, by Jason Fagone

For this week’s Slate Plus bonus segment Emily, David, and John contemplate the Thanksgiving traditions they would like to adopt or improve.

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.

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

Extremely Surprising Midterms Nov 10, 2022

Show notes

This week, David Plotz, Emily Bazelon, and John Dickerson discuss the midterm results we have so far and the Supreme Court case that could upend family law and more for Native Americans.

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

Stefan Becket for CBS News: “The Unresolved 2022 House And Senate Races That Will Determine Control Of Congress”

Rebecca Nagle for The Atlantic: “The Supreme Court Case That Could Break Native American Sovereignty”

Leah Litman and Matthew L.M. Fletcher for The Atlantic: “The Necessity of the Indian Child Welfare Act”

Here are this week’s chatters:

Emily: Sarah McCammon for NPR: “Where Abortion Was On The Ballot, Midterm Voters Largely Signaled Support”

David: David chattered about how going on a “Twitter fast” is improving his well-being.

Listener chatter from Scott Grant: Sarah Linn for KCET: “The Dunites: Building a Utopia in the Oceano Dunes”

For this week’s Slate Plus bonus segment Emily, David, and John take the under-the-radar state and local midterm results they find most interesting.

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.

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

Live From Atlanta! Nov 03, 2022

Show notes

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.

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

Bonus Episode: The PA Midterms Edition Oct 30, 2022

Show notes

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

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

Are British Politics More Or Less Crazy Than Ours? Oct 27, 2022

Show notes

This week, David Plotz, Emily Bazelon, and John Dickerson discuss the final midterm sprint; the latest British Prime Minister; and Trump’s legal troubles.

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

Adrian Wooldridge for Bloomberg: “Rishi Sunak Is a New and Old-Fashioned Tory”

Barton Gellman for The Atlantic: “The Impeachment of Joe Biden”

The Trump Tapes: Bob Woodward's Twenty Interviews with President Donald Trump

Nathaniel Rakich for FiveThirtyEight: “The Most Important Elections Of 2022 Could Be In State Legislatures”

Brittany Bernstein for The National Review: “Why Some Trump-Country Pennsylvanians Still Aren't Sold on Dr. Oz”

Anna Bower for Lawfare: “Everything You Ever Wanted to Know About Georgia Special Purpose Grand Juries But Were Afraid to Ask”

Emily Bazelon for The New York Times: “I Write About the Law. But Could I Really Help Free a Prisoner?”

The Prison Letters Project

Here are this week’s chatters:

John: States United Democracy Center; Third Way Paul Revere Project

Emily: Charlie Savage for the New York Times: “Garland Formally Bars Justice Dept. From Seizing Reporters’ Records”

David: Dhruv Mehrotra for Wired: “Hot on the Trail of a Mass-School-Shooting Hoaxer”; Ben Collins’ Twitter thread collecting favorite tweets.

Listener chatter from Brian DeGeer: Theresa Vargas for The Washington Post: “Fiona Apple Uses Her Voice To Call Out Prince George’s Justice System”

For this week’s Slate Plus bonus segment Emily discusses The Prison Letters Project with John J. Lennon and Reginald Dwayne Betts.

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.

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

Gabfest Reads: Tracy Flick Returns Oct 22, 2022

Show notes

David Plotz talks with with author Tom Perrotta about why Tracy Flick doesn’t have the life she dreamed of in his new novel, Tracy Flick Can’t Win. A sequel to Perrotta’s 1998 novel Election, Tracy Flick Can’t Win meets up with Tracy Flick decades later where she’s a single mother and assistant principal of a New Jersey high school.

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.

The Polls Do Not Look Amazing For Democrats Oct 20, 2022

Show notes

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.

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

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