Political Gabfest

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**Political Gabfest**

Voted “Favorite Political Podcast” by Apple Podcasts listeners. Stephen Colbert says “Everybody should listen to the Slate Political Gabfest.” The Gabfest, featuring Emily Bazelon, John Dickerson, and David Plotz, is the kind of informal and irreverent discussion Washington journalists have after hours over drinks.

Get more Political Gabfest with Slate Plus. Join to unlock weekly bonus episodes—plus ad-free listening across all your favorite Slate podcasts. Subscribe directly from the Political Gabfest show page on Apple Podcasts and Spotify. Or visit slate.com/gabfestplus to get access wherever you listen.

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

Latest Episodes:

Why Did White Evangelicals Get So Angry May 12, 2022

Show notes

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

Michael C. Dorf for Dorf on Law: “In a Post-Roe World, Can States Prevent Women From Seeking Abortions Out-of-State?”

Ruth Graham for The New York Times: “A Pastor and His Congregation Part Ways”

Ruth Graham and Elizabeth Dias for The New York Times: “The Growing Religious Fervor in the American Right: ‘This Is a Jesus Movement’”

The Great Evangelical Recession: 6 Factors That Will Crash the American Church...and How to Prepare by John Dickerson

Here are this week’s chatters:

Emily: Forbidden City, by Vanessa Hua;A River of Starsby Vanessa Hua; Nasty, Brutish, and Short: Adventures in Philosophy with My Kids, by Scott Hershovitz

John: Invisible Child: Poverty, Survival & Hope in an American City, by Andrea Elliott; Jon Ward for Christianity Today: “Being a Political Journalist Made Me a Better Christian”; The Bob Dylan Center; John Dickerson for CBS This Morning: “Bob Dylan Center: A Window Into the Voice of a Generation”

David: Mother Jones: “How Private Equity Looted America”; Our Earth: “Cool Airplane

Camera Views on Lufthansa”

Listener chatter from Nicholas Gaffney: Alex Hanson for The Valley News: “Croydon Reverses Slashing Of School Budget After Voters Turn Out For Special Meeting”

For this week’s Slate Plus bonus segment Emily, David, and John discuss the things they do today that would horrify their 25-year-old selves.

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.

The “End Of Roe Is Nigh!” Edition May 05, 2022

Show notes

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

Ruth Marcus for The Washington Post: “The Leaked Draft Roe Opinion Is A Disaster For The Supreme”

Edwin Meese III for The Washington Post: “Did The Conservative Legal Movement Succeed? That All Depends On Whether The Supreme Court Overrules Roe V. Wade.”

Reginald Dwayne Betts for The New York Times Magazine: “Could an Ex-Convict Become an Attorney? I Intended to Find Out”

Here are this week’s chatters:

Ruth: Julia Clancy for Eating Well: “What Is an Air Fryer and Should You Buy One?”

James: The Other Side of Prospect: A Story of Violence, Injustice, and the American City,

by Nicholas Dawidoff

Emily: She’s getting a puppy! Send your advice.

Listener chatter from Joe Stracci: Kevin Kelly for The Techium: “103 Bits of Advice I Wish I Had Known”

For this week’s Slate Plus bonus segment Emily and Ruth interview James about his innovative programs at Yale’s Center for Law and Racial Justice.

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.

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

So Much Free Speech! Apr 28, 2022

Show notes

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.

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

Farewell, Jocelyn! Apr 22, 2022

Show notes

Emily Bazelon, John Dickerson and David Plotz discuss the ways that the war in Ukraine may be influencing China's future plans with guest Malcolm Turnbull; the mask mandate ruling; whether it matters that the RNC has rejected presidential debates; and Gabfest producer Jocelyn Frank signs off after many years of producing the show.

Here are this week’s chatters:

David: Mark Emem for CCN: “Jeff Bezos Missed 20,000% Gains After $250K Google Stake in 1998”

John: Kathryn Olivarius: “Necropolis: Yellow Fever, Immunity, And Capitalism In The Deep South, 1800-1860”

Emily: Rachel M. Cohen for the Intercept: “At a Pivotal Moment, Democrats Failed to Modernize Elections”

Listener chatter from Randy Switt: Christopher P. Hammon and Victoria L. Vish for National Law Review:

“Eleventh Circuit: Service Charges Are Wages, Not Tips, Under FLSA”

For this week’s Slate Plus bonus segment long-time Gabfest producer Jocelyn Frank shares her experiences making the show with Emily, David, and John.

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.

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

Gabfest Reads: He Wanted to Die Holding Hands Apr 17, 2022

Show notes

David Plotz talks with author Amy Bloom about her journey to support the death, by suicide, of her husband, chronicled in her new book In Love: A Memoir of Love and Loss.

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 Jocelyn Frank.

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

Double Bazelon Apr 14, 2022

Show notes

Emily Bazelon, John Dickerson and David Plotz discuss the approaching midterms, inflation, and whether social media is imperiling U.S. democracy—with guest Simon Bazelon.

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

Simon Bazelon for Slow Boring: “Democrats Are Sleepwalking Into A Senate Disaster”

Thomas B. Edsall for The New York Times: “Trump Poses a Test Democracy Is Failing”

Matthew H. Graham and Milan W. Svolik for The American Political Science Review: “Democracy in America? Partisanship, Polarization, and the Robustness of Support for Democracy in the United States”

Jonathan Haidt for The Atlantic: “Why The Last Ten Years of American Life Have Been So Stupid”

Paul Krugman for The New York Times: “Inflation Is About to Come Down — but Don't Get Too Excited”

Stolen Focus: Why You Can't Pay Attention--and How to Think Deeply Again, by Johann Hari

The Happiness Hypothesis: Finding Modern Truth in Ancient Wisdom, by Jonathan Haidt

Here are this week’s chatters:

David: Little Dorrit, by Charles Dickens

John: Macbeth on Broadway

Emily: Christine Charnosky for Law.com: “A University of Arizona Law Grad on How the GRE Changed Her Life”; University of Arizona Law’s Innovation for Justice work

Listener chatter from Nick Gaffney: Alex Hanson for the Valley News: “Croydon School Budget Cut Sets Up High-Stakes Battle Over Future of Town's Education System”; Alex Hanson for the Valley News: “Budget Cut Looks Bleak For Schools After Croydon Meeting”

For this week’s Slate Plus bonus segment Emily, John, and David discuss what constitutes time well spent.

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.

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

Hey, Groomer Apr 07, 2022

Show notes

Emily, John and David discuss Russia’s war crimes; Disney’s reaction to “don’t say gay”; and Amazon’s first union.

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

Andrew Exum for The Atlantic: “The Russian Military Has Descended Into Inhumanity”

Noam Scheiber for The New York Times: “Amazon Workers Who Won a Union Their Way Open Labor Leaders’ Eyes”

Microsoft: “The Rise of the Triple Peak Day”

When: The Scientific Secrets of Perfect Timing, by Daniel H. Pink

Here are this week’s chatters:

David: Jessica Contrera for The Washington Post: “The Remarkable Brain of a Carpet Cleaner Who Speaks 24 Languages”; The Wedding Party; Smithsonian National Museum of African Art: “Iké Udé: Nollywood Portraits”

John: Jill Lawless for The Associated Press: “Darwin Notebooks Missing For 20 Years Returned to Cambridge”; Darwin Correspondence Project: “Fanny Owen”

Emily: Twitter thread by Manvir Singh @mnvrsngh on time spent “doing nothing” in small-scale, non-industrial societies.

Listener chatter from Kate Conquest: “The Avian Soap Opera Unfolding Atop This Berkeley Bell Tower Has Humans Riveted”

For this week’s Slate Plus bonus segment Emily, John, and David discuss the trend of working a “third shift.”

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.

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

Burner Phone Mar 31, 2022

Show notes

Emily Bazelon, John Dickerson and David Plotz discuss Biden's gaffe in speaking too honestly about Russia; Trump’s missing phone logs; and Ginni Thomas’s efforts to subvert the election.

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

Bob Woodward and Robert Costa for The Washington Post: “Jan. 6 White House Logs Given To House Show 7-Hour Gap In Trump Calls”

Hugo Lowell for The Guardian: “Trump Used White House Phone For Call On January 6 That Was Not On Official Log”

Bob Woodward and Robert Costa for The Washington Post: “Virginia Thomas Urged White House Chief to Pursue Unrelenting Efforts to Overturn the 2020 Election, Texts Show”

Benjamin Wittes for Lawfare: “Donald Trump, John Eastman and the Silence of the Justice Department”

Karl Rove for The Wall Street Journal: “Republicans’ Jan. 6 Responsibility”

Here are this week’s chatters:

David: Beforeigners; City Cast

John: Anna P. Kambhampaty for The New York Times: “Want to See the Weirdest of Wikipedia? Look No Further.”; Morning Brewnewsletter; Elden Ringvideo game

Emily: “The Betrayal of Anne Frank: A Refutation”; Anne Frank House

Listener chatter from Andre Walker: All The Sex I've Ever Hadat the Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago

For this week’s Slate Plus bonus segment Emily, John, and David discuss what they would do if they needed to disappear.

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.

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

Deep Sigh Mar 24, 2022

Show notes

David Plotz and John Dickerson are joined by Ruth Marcus to discuss Ketanji Brown Jackson’s confirmation hearing; Ukraine keeps fighting through atrocity; and more allegations of Republican candidates committing domestic abuse.

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

Dana Milbank for the Washington Post: “Cruz Attacks Jackson For ‘Critical Race Theory’—But Sends His Own Daughters to Learn It”

Henry Olsen for the Washington Post: “Republicans Are Right to Oppose Ketanji Brown Jackson”

Here’s this week’s chatter:

David: BioHacked: Family Secrets: “The Genius Experiment: Part 1”; The Genius Factory, by David Plotz; The Last Days of the Dinosaurs: An Asteroid, Extinction, and the Beginning of Our World, by Riley Black

John: Camera Man: Buster Keaton, the Dawn of Cinema, and the Invention of the Twentieth Century, by Dana Stevens

Ruth: Christine Emba for The Washington Post: “Consent Is Not Enough. We Need A New Sexual Ethic.”; Rethinking Sex: A Provocation, by Christine Emba

Listener chatter from Eric Jason Martin: Nick Paumgarten for the New Yorker: “Retirement the Margaritaville Way."

For this week’s Slate Plus bonus segment Ruth, John, and David discuss their strangest behaviors.

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.

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

Gabfest Reads: Invisible Kingdom: How Meghan 0'Rourke became a detective of her own illness. Mar 22, 2022

Show notes

Emily Bazelon talks with author Meghan O’Rourke about germ theory, biomarkers, medical mysteries, long COVID and the quest to return to health as chronicled in her new book The Invisible Kingdom: Reimagining Chronic Illness.

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 Jocelyn Frank.

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

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