Political Gabfest

Latest Episodes:

Presidents Are Not Kings and Plaintiff Is Not President Nov 11, 2021

Show notes

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.

Gabfest Reads: Kirsten Powers, Saving Grace Nov 07, 2021

Show notes

John Dickerson talks with Kirsten Powers about her new book Saving Grace: speak your truth, stay centered and learn to coexist with people who drive you nuts.

Powers offers advice about on how to navigate the toxic divisions within our culture without compromising personal convictions and emotional well-being.

Kirsten Powers is a New York Times bestselling author, USA Today columnist, and senior political analyst for CNN, where she appears regularly on Anderson Cooper 360, CNN Tonight with Don Lemon, and The Lead with Jake Tapper. Her writing has been published in The Washington Post, Elle, The Daily Beast, The Wall Street Journal, The Dallas Morning News, The New York Observer, Salon, the New York Post, and The American Prospect online. Raised in Fairbanks, Alaska, Powers lives in Washington, D.C, with her fiancé, Robert Draper, and their two fur children, Lucy and Bill.

Gabfest Reads is an occasional author interview series with the hosts of Slate's Political Gabfest. Join John Dickerson, Emily Bazelon and David Plotz in one on one conversations with thought-provoking authors discussing books that range from the overtly political to the politically adjacent.

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

Red All Over Nov 04, 2021

Show notes

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.

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

Is Facebook Evil? Oct 28, 2021

Show notes

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.

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

Great Resignation Oct 21, 2021

Show notes

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 thread on 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.

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

Death of Democracy Oct 14, 2021

Show notes

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. Visit www.slate.com/gabfestplus to 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.

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

Profits Over People Oct 07, 2021

Show notes

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 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.

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

Get Those Huddled Masses Out of My Yard Sep 30, 2021

Show notes

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.

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.

True Crime Sep 23, 2021

Show notes

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.

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.

Our Patience is Wearing Thin Sep 16, 2021

Show notes

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.

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

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