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Political Gabfest - Gabfest Reads: How to Survive Working for Amazon Oct 21, 2023

Show notes

David Plotz talks with author and 12-year Amazon senior employee, Kristi Coulter about her new memoir, Exit Interview: The Life and Death of My Ambitious Career. They discuss the good, the bad, and the confusing parts of Coulter’s career at Amazon, starting in 2006. They talk about the culture of Amazon, the frustrating gender dynamics, and why she was constantly “a year away” from a promotion.

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.

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Amicus With Dahlia Lithwick | Law, justice, and the courts - Donald Trump's John Gotti Moment Oct 21, 2023

Show notes

As MAGA Republicans engage in extremist arm wrestling in the House Speaker race, and the sins of the 2020 election subversion scheme catch up with Donald Trump’s closest allies, Dahlia Lithwick is joined by brand new MacArthur “genius grant” recipient Ian Bassin of Protect Democracy to take a look at the stakes of this moment for American democracy. An attempt to walk and chew gum at the same time, Protect Democracy’s work focuses on the incremental ways the law can be applied to protect election workers and inhibit disinformation, while also looking to the big constitutional and cultural questions we have to answer if we’re going to reject authoritarianism.

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What Next: TBD | Tech, power, and the future - Inside Hamas' Social Media Strategy Oct 20, 2023

Show notes

Since war broke out, Hamas has been efficient in getting its message out on social media - both in providing crucial information to refugees fleeing the area, and in waging psychological warfare. How can platforms meet the need for open lines of communication without spreading propaganda?

Guest: Sheera Frenkel, covering tech for the New York Times

If you enjoy this 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 Dear Prudence—and you’ll be supporting the work we do here on What Next TBD. Sign up now at slate.com/whatnextplus to help support our work.

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Political Gabfest - Still No House Speaker Oct 19, 2023

Show notes

This week, Emily Bazelon, John Dickerson, and David Plotz discuss Jim Jordan’s efforts to become Speaker of the House; President Joe Biden’s visit to an Israel at war; and Donald Trump’s gag order.

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

Robert Jimison and Kayla Guo for The New York Times: “As Speaker Chaos Grows, so Does Talk of Empowering McHenry”

Josh Levin and Stefan Fatsis on the Hang Up and Listen podcast: “The What Jim Jordan Knew About Sexual Abuse at Ohio State Edition”

Philip Bump for The Washington Post: “Americans see the House speaker mess as hurting the country”

John Dickerson and Charlie D’Agata for CBS News Prime Time: “Rocket Attack Destroys Hospital in Gaza”

Charlie Savage and Alan Feuer for The New York Times: “Gag Order on Trump in Election Case Leaves More Hard Questions”

Here are this week’s chatters:

John: Mallika Marshall for CBS Boston: “Hitting snooze in the morning could be beneficial, new studies say” and Will Stone for NPR: “I usually wake up just ahead of my alarm. What’s up with that?”

Emily: Shaun Walker for The Guardian: “Poland election: Law and Justice party on course to be ousted from power” and Anne Applebaum for The Atlantic: “Poland Shows That Autocracy Is Not Inevitable”

David: “Beckham” on Netflix

Listener chatter from Phoebe Saltzstein: Brett Arends for MarketWatch: “Here’s the real cause of the Social Security funding shortfall, according to the program’s chief actuary”

For this week’s Slate Plus bonus segment, Emily, John, and David discuss Oprah Winfrey, Mitt Romney, and a presidential Dream Team and reference: Mike Allen for Axios: “Scoop: Oprah pitched a White House run with Mitt Romney, book reveals”; Romney: A Reckoning by McKay Coppins; Be Useful: Seven Tools for Life by Arnold Schwarzenegger; “Pumping Iron” documentary film; and The New York Times: “First Lady Tours Coal Mine in Ohio: Mrs. Roosevelt Wears Miner’s Lighted Cap and Spends Hour and Half Underground.”

In the next Gabfest Reads, David talks with Kristi Coulter about her book, Exit Interview: The Life and Death of My Ambitious Career.

Email your chatters, questions, and comments to gabfest@slate.com. (Messages may be referenced by name unless the writer stipulates otherwise.)

Podcast production by Kevin Bendis

Research by Julie Huygen

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What Next - Biden to Israel; Bombs to Gaza Oct 19, 2023

Show notes

With bombs falling in Gaza, President Biden traveled to Israel to make a show of support. But as meetings with allied government leadership around the region were canceled, is the president doing more harm than good?

Guest: Yousef Munayyer, Palestinian-American political analyst and writer and Senior Fellow at the Arab Center Washington DC.

If you enjoy this 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 Dear Prudence—and you’ll be supporting the work we do here on What Next. Sign up now at slate.com/whatnextplus to help support our work.

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What Next - Bob Menendez: Secret Foreign Agent? Oct 18, 2023

Show notes

New Jersey Senator Robert Menendez, who was the chair of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, was charged with conspiring to act as a foreign agent for the Egyptian government. This follows on the heels of an indictment for bribery and federal corruption. But Menendez says he isn’t stepping down.

Guest: Jessica Taylor, Senate-and-governors editor at The Cook Political Report.

If you enjoy this 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 Dear Prudence—and you’ll be supporting the work we do here on What Next. Sign up now at slate.com/whatnextplus to help support our work.

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What Next - Does Trump’s Violent Rhetoric Matter? Oct 17, 2023

Show notes

Donald Trump has been saying shocking—even violent—things for so long, it barely registers as news anymore. But after January 6, and with Trump again leading the field of Republican candidates for president, is there a real-world danger to what he’s saying?

Guest:Robert A. Pape, professor of political science and the director of the University of Chicago’s project on security and threats

If you enjoy this 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 Dear Prudence—and you’ll be supporting the work we do here on What Next. Sign up now at slate.com/whatnextplus to help support our work.

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What Next - Israel’s New Wartime Government Oct 16, 2023

Show notes

While mounting a military response to Hamas, the Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has been forced to unite his far-right wing with his political rival, centrist Benny Gantz, a former military Chief of Staff. The plans for retaliation that are emerging are unlike any of Israel’s past skirmishes with Hamas.

Guest: Dov Waxman, director of the UCLA Y&S Nazarian Center for Israel Studies.

If you enjoy this 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 Dear Prudence—and you’ll be supporting the work we do here on What Next. Sign up now at slate.com/whatnextplus to help support our work.

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What Next: TBD | Tech, power, and the future - The $30,000 Zelle Scam Oct 14, 2023

Show notes

Zelle has exploded in popularity as a fast, convenient way to send and receive money. But the story of a couple who was scammed out of a pool shows there are problems with safety on the platform.

Guest: Devin Friedman, journalist and senior correspondent for GQ magazine.

You can read Devin’s piece here.

Check out Compiler here: https://link.chtbl.com/compiler?sid=podcast.whatnext.2023

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Amicus With Dahlia Lithwick | Law, justice, and the courts - Justice Samuel Alito Got Out Of Bed on The Perry Mason Side Oct 14, 2023

Show notes

In this week’s big voting rights case, Alexander v. South Carolina State Conference of the NAACP, the Supreme Court heard arguments concerning whether to uphold a South Carolina congressional map that is avowedly partisan (everyone agrees it favors Republicans, but partisan gerrymanders are A-OK under SCOTUS precedent). What is disputed here is whether the mapmakers relied on race to reach their partisan aims. A three-judge panel in South Carolina found it to be a racial gerrymander, and threw out the map. In arguments on Wednesday, it became clear that the high court’s conservatives would rather toss out the evidence the lower court used to reach its decision, an unusual move for the highest court in the land, but perhaps the bed it’s made for itself after ruling partisan gerrymanders non justiciable in Rucho v. Common Cause in 2019. And so SCOTUS cos-played as a trial court for two hours on Wednesday.

On this week’s Amicus, Dahlia Lithwick is joined by Leah Aden, senior counsel at the NAACP Legal Defense Fund who argued the case on behalf of the South Carolina Conference of the NAACP, and Taiwan Scott - a South Carolina voter and individual plaintiff in the case, who says the electoral power of his Gullah Geechee community is suppressed by the gerrymander.

Dahlia’s book Lady Justice: Women, the Law and the Battle to Save America, is also available as an audiobook, and Amicus listeners can get a 25 percent discount by entering the code “AMICUS” at checkout.

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