Political Gabfest

Latest Episodes:

Biden Gets Frisky Feb 10, 2023

Show notes

This week, David Plotz, John Dickerson, and Emily Bazelon discuss the raucous State of the Union; the spy balloon and U.S.-China relations; and Susan Dominus’s reporting on missed opportunities in treating menopause.

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

Zolan Kanno-Youngs, Katie Rogers and Peter Baker for The New York Times: “Kamala Harris Is Trying to Define Her Vice Presidency. Even Her Allies Are Tired of Waiting.”

Susan Dominus for The New York Times Magazine: “Women Have Been Misled About Menopause”

Stephen I. Vladeck for The New York Times: “Don’t Let Republican ‘Judge Shoppers’ Thwart the Will of Voters”

Here are this week’s chatters:

John: Andor; Kialo.com

Emily: Sabawoon Samim for Afghanistan Analysts Network: “New Lives In The City: How Taleban Have Experienced Life In Kabul”

David: City Cast DC live; The Brothers Ashkenazi, by I. J Singer. Join David Plotz for a live taping of the City Cast DC podcast at the Politics & Prose Union Market location, Wednesday March 1 at 6:30 pm. You can register here for a free ticket.

Listener chatter from Ryan Clements: The Outlaw Ocean: Journeys Across the Last Untamed Frontier, by Ian Urbina; The Outlaw Oceanpodcast

For this week’s Slate Plus bonus segment David, John, and Emily discuss the use of “judge shopping”—picking a preferred judge by suing in a single-judge district—to invalidate legislation nationwide.

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 and Tori Dominguez.

Research by Bridgette Dunlap.

Make an impact this Black History Month by helping Macy’s on their mission to fund UNCF scholarships for HBCU students. Go to macys.com/purpose to learn more.

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

Is Police Reform Possible? Feb 02, 2023

Show notes

This week, David Plotz, John Dickerson, and Emily Bazelon discuss the killing of Tyre Nichols; violence interruption efforts–with guest Alec MacGillis; and the upcoming State of the Union.

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

Jamelle Bouie for The New York Times: “The Police Cannot Be a Law Unto Themselves”

Radley Balko for The New York Times: “Tyre Nichols’s Death Proves Yet Again That ‘Elite’ Police Units Are a Disaster”

Alec MacGillis for The New Yorker and ProPublica: “Can Community Programs Help Slow the Rise in Violence?”

Charged: The New Movement to Transform American Prosecution and End Mass Incarceration, by Emily Bazelon

Here are this week’s chatters:

John: The Fight of His Life: Inside Joe Biden's White House, by Chris Whipple; The Gatekeepers: How the White House Chiefs of Staff Define Every Presidency, by Chris Whipple

Emily: Deep Cover: Never Seen Againpodcast; Dan Charnas: Breaking Atoms: The Hip Hop Podcast

David: City Cast Madison; City Cast Portland; Demon Copperhead, by Barbara Kingsolver

Listener chatter from David Foreman: Artnet News: “See Scores of Unbuilt Frank Lloyd Wright Structures That Have Been Computer-Rendered With Incredible Realism”

For this week’s Slate Plus bonus segment David, John, and Emily discuss The Banshees of Inisherin.

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 and Tori Dominguez

Research by Bridgette Dunlap.

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

DeSantis University Jan 26, 2023

Show notes

This week, David Plotz, John Dickerson, and guest host Josie Duffy Rice discuss the rise of Marjorie Taylor Greene; Ron DeSantis’ attacks on educators; and the bipartisan bashing of monopolist Ticketmaster.

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

Jonathan Swan and Catie Edmondson for The New York Times: “How Kevin McCarthy Forged an Ironclad Bond With Marjorie Taylor Greene”

God's Harvard: A Christian College on a Mission to Save America, by Hanna Rosin

Josie Duffy Rice for iHeartPodcasts: Unreformed: the Story of the Alabama Industrial School for Negro Children

The Nickel Boys, by Colson Whitehead

Here are this week’s chatters:

John: The Good Life: Lessons from the World's Longest Scientific Study of Happiness, by Robert Waldinger and Marc Schulz

Josie: The Uninnocent: Notes on Violence and Mercy, by Katharine Blake

David: Vintage Contemporaries, by Dan Kois

Listener chatter from Pherabe Kolb: Fred Clasen-Kelly for The Greenville News: “Key Findings From The Cost Of Unity, A Series On The Displacement Of Black Greenville”

For this week’s Slate Plus bonus segment David, John, and Josie discuss Josie’s new podcast, Unreformed: the Story of the Alabama Industrial School for Negro Children.

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: Two Horrifying Days in D.C. Jan 21, 2023

Show notes

David Plotz talks with author Shahan Mufti about his new book, American Caliph: The True Story of a Muslim Mystic, a Hollywood Epic, and the 1977 Siege of Washington, DC. They discuss an Islamic group’s multi-location attack in D.C., the terror that hostages experienced while held captive for the two days, and the movie that started the whole thing.

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.

Does Alito Hate Sotomayor? Jan 19, 2023

Show notes

This week, David Plotz, Emily Bazelon, and John Dickerson discuss the discovery of classified documents at Biden’s home; the justices of the Supreme Court exhibiting open animosity toward one another; and fears of a “polycrisis” at Davos.

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

Matt Viser, Tyler Pager, Carol Leonnig and Yasmeen Abutaleb for The Washington Post: “Inside The White House Document Strategy And Its Pitfalls”

Steven Mazie for The Atlantic: “The Supreme Court Justices Do Not Seem to Be Getting Along”

Jess Bravin and Sadie Gurman for The Wall Street Journal: “Supreme Court Investigators Have Narrowed Leak Inquiry to Small Number of Suspects”

Andrew Van Dam for The Washington Post: “The Happiest, Least Stressful, Most Meaningful Jobs In America”

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

Here is the poem (by an unknown author) that listener Christina Roosen sent to David after his cat died:

Eyes bright,

claws sharp,

tail held high.

Go keenly into the mist, old warrior.

Valhalla waits for you

A compilation of poems about pet loss: Rome Thorstenson for In Valhalla: “Pet Loss Poems”

Here are this week’s chatters:

John: Joseph Berger for The New York Times: “Adolfo Kaminsky Dies at 97; His Forgeries Saved Thousands of Jews”

Emily: Joshua Vaughn for Penn Live: “Dauphin County Made Millions On Jail Phone Calls And Spent It On Staff Perks, Contractors”

David: His Dark Materialson BBC One; The Golden Compass, The Subtle Knife, and The Amber Spyglass, by Philip Pullman

Listener chatter from Muirinn O'Neill: Josh Baker’s I'm Not a Monsterpodcast

For this week’s Slate Plus bonus segment Emily, David, and John discuss the jobs people find most meaningful.

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.

Weaponization of Government Jan 12, 2023

Show notes

This week, David Plotz, Emily Bazelon, and John Dickerson discuss the House GOP’s “Weaponization of Government” subcommittee; the insurrection in Brazil–with Marcos Nobre; and what Prince Harry’s book, Spare, means for the British

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

Matthew Yglesias for Slow Boring: “A New Plan To Get Around The Debt Ceiling Hostage”

Matt Levine for Bloomberg: “Financial Engineering the Debt Ceiling”

Spare, by Prince Harry

Here are this week’s chatters:

John: David Wallace-Wells for The New York Times: “Electric Vehicles Keep Defying Almost Everyone’s Predictions”

Emily: Josie Duffy Rice for iHeartPodcasts: Unreformed: the Story of the Alabama Industrial School for Negro Children

David: Julia Moskin for The New York Times: “Noma, Rated the World’s Best Restaurant, Is Closing Its Doors”

Listener chatter from Erich Morgenbesser: AI illustrates countries as villains

For this week’s Slate Plus bonus segment Emily, David, and John discuss the status of “return to office.”

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.

Kevin McCarthy In Hell Jan 05, 2023

Show notes

This week, David Plotz, Emily Bazelon, and John Dickerson discuss GOP’s speakership debacle; George Santos; and improving access to medication abortion.

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

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

Emily Bazelon for The New York Times: “Risking Everything to Offer Abortions Across State Lines”

Mark Oppenheimer for The New York Times: “Why Did George Santos Lie About Being Jewish?”

Here are this week’s chatters:

John: Winesburg, Ohio, by Sherwood Anderson

Emily: The Furrows, by Namwali Serpell; Tár ; Zadie Smith for The New York Review of Books: “The Instrumentalist”; Amanda Hess for The New York Times: “Breaking Out of the #MeToo Movie Formula”; Dan Kois for Slate: “Tár Is the Most-Talked-About Movie of the Year. So Why Is Everyone Talking About It All Wrong?”

David: Gastrodiplomacy

Listener chatter from Nathan Kamps: Miles Klee for Rolling Stone: “‘A Celebrity in the Land of Celebrities’: Remembering P-22, L.A.’s Favorite Mountain Lion”

For this week’s Slate Plus bonus segment Emily, David, and John discuss the ethics of watching football in light of Damar Hamlin’s life threatening injury.

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.

Conundrum 2022 with Alison Bechdel Dec 29, 2022

Show notes

Special thanks to:

Andy Andrews

Sarah Chapin

Marc Colello

David Duesing

Alan Dybner

Phil Goldstein

Jason Howard

Andrew James Pierce

Eric Koleda

Carrie

Jerm

You can tweet suggestions, links, and questions to @SlateGabfest. Tweet us your cocktail chatter using #cocktailchatter. (Messages may be quoted by name unless the writer stipulates otherwise.)

The email address for the Political Gabfest is gabfest@slate.com. (Email 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.

Inciting Insurrection Dec 22, 2022

Show notes

This week, David Plotz, Emily Bazelon, and John Dickerson discuss the January 6th Committee’s findings and criminal referrals; the brewing water crisis in the West–with Washington Post reporter Josh Partlow; and the biggest stories of 2022.

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

Joshua Partlow for The Washington Post: “Officials Fear ‘Complete Doomsday Scenario’ For Drought-Stricken Colorado River”

Joshua Partlow for The Washington Post: “Disaster Scenarios Raise The Stakes For Colorado River Negotiations”

Joshua Partlow for The Washington Post: “‘Where There’s Bodies, There’s Treasure’: A Hunt As Lake Mead Shrinks”

Adam Liptak for The New York Times: “An ‘Imperial Supreme Court’ Asserts Its Power, Alarming Scholars”

Marin Cogan for Vox: “The Deadliest Road in America”

Here are this week’s chatters:

John: Gabfest Reads: How to Avoid Disastrous Presidents; Picking Presidents: How to Make the Most Consequential Decision in the World, by Gautam Mukunda

Emily: Mario Ariza and Miranda Green for Floodlight News, and David Folkenflik for NPR: “In The Southeast, Power Company Money Flows To News Sites That Attack Their Critics”

David: Li Cohen for CBS News: “Could Jack Have Fit On The Door With Rose In 'Titanic’? Director James Cameron Conducted A Study To Find Out ‘Once And For All.’”

Listener chatter from Sam Rutledge: Kaj Tallungs for Wikimedia Commons: data visualization showing the change in U.S. population demographics over time.

For this week’s Slate Plus bonus segment Emily, David, and John discuss Elon Musk’s tumultuous tenure at Twitter.

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: Everything You Need to Know About Choosing a President Dec 17, 2022

Show notes

John Dickerson talks with author Gautam Mukunda about his new book Picking Presidents: How to Make the Most Consequential Decision in the World. They talk about how Mukunda’s first book, Indispensable: When Leaders Really Matter laid the groundwork for Picking Presidents. Later, Dickerson and Mukunda dig into why ‘intellectual brilliance’ – which goes beyond IQ - is a strong predictor of presidential performance and how the human portion of the job of president is changing.

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.