Political Gabfest

Emily Bazelon, John Dickerson, and David Plotz wrap up 2021 considering life’s many conundrums—with special guest Dwayne Betts!Questions this year include: if you could eliminate one word from the English language what would it be? If you could transport the characters of one book into the time and place of another, which would you choose? If you were ONLY able to brush your teeth in the morning or the night- which would be optimal?Special thanks to everyone who sent in conundrums for consideration.For this week’s Slate Plus bonus segment David, Emily, John attempt a conundrum lightning round.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.)Give the gift of Slate Plus to a fellow Slate fan and they’ll receive all the benefits of membership: unlimited reading, ad-free listening, bonus content, and so much more.Podcast production by Jocelyn Frank.Research and show notes by Bridgette Dunlap. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Emily Bazelon, John Dickerson and David Plotz discuss the future of the Democratic party's agenda, Omicron's spread across the United States and they're joined by investigative journalist Azmat Khan to talk about the deaths of civilians overseas and the lack of accuracy from the U.S. military.Give the gift of Plus to a fellow Slate fan and they’ll receive all the benefits of membership: unlimited reading, ad-free listening, bonus content, and so much more.Here are some notes and references from this week’s show:Matthew Yglesias for Slow Boring: “$1.75 Trillion Is Plenty of Money to Write a Good Build Back Better Bill Here Are Some Solid Options”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”Jonathan Chait for New York Magazine: “Biden Should Take Manchin's Deal Right Now”David Wallace-Wells for New York Magazine: “Gauteng’s Omicron Wave Is Already Peaking. Why?”Derek Thompson for the Atlantic:”Is Omicron Milder?”Azmat Khan for The New York Times: “Hidden Pentagon Records Reveal Patterns of Failure in Deadly Airstrikes”Azmat Khan for The New York Times Magazine: “The Human Toll of America’s Air Wars”Azmat Khan for The New York Times Magazine: “The Uncounted”Heart of Darkness, by Joseph ConradHere’s this week’s chatter:Emily: Katie Benner, Zolan Kanno-Youngs and Charlie Savage for the New York Times: “Some Inmates Can Stay Confined at Home After Covid Emergency, Justice Dept. Says”John: The Power of Meaning, by Emily Esfahani Smith, Mozhan Marno, and On the Meaning of Life, by Will DurantDavid: Hard Knocks In Season: The Indianapolis ColtsListener chatter from Mo Trent: stuffin.spaceFor this week’s Slate Plus bonus segment Emily, John, and David discuss their most and least useful years of formal education. Special thanks to listener Sean McPherson for the suggestion.  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.

Emily, John and David discuss January 6th revelations, Build Back Better and voting rights and they are joined by Slow Burn host Joel Anderson to talk about Season 6: The L.A. Riots.Give the gift of Plus to a fellow Slate fan and they’ll receive all the benefits of membership: unlimited reading, ad-free listening, bonus content, and so much more.Here are some notes and references from this week’s show:David A. Graham for the Atlantic: “The Paperwork Coup”Barton Gellman for the Atlantic: “Trump’s Next Coup Has Already Begun”Charles Homans for the New York Times: “In Bid for Control of Elections, Trump Loyalists Face Few Obstacles”Slow Burn Season 6: The L.A. RiotsSlow Burn Season 3: Biggie and TupacEmily Bazelon for Slate: “The Nazi Anatomists”Here’s this week’s chatter:Emily: Ain't I a Woman: Black Women and Feminism, by bell hooks; We Real Cool: Black Men and Masculinity, by bell hooksJohn: Sharyn Alfonsi for 60 Minutes: “Negotiating With the Taliban to Save Lives Iin Afghanistan”; The Daily: “Economic Catastrophe in Afghanistan”; Christina Goldbaum for the New York Times: “Facing Economic Collapse, Afghanistan Is Gripped by Starvation”David: Julian Mark for the Washington Post: “Rapper Logic Wrote the Song ‘1-800-273-8255’ To Save Lives. He May Have Saved Hundreds, Study Finds.”Listener chatter from Adrian Monthony: Geraldine DeRuiter for The Everywhereist: “Bros., Lecce: We Eat at The Worst Michelin Starred Restaurant, Ever”For this week’s Slate Plus bonus segment Emily, John, and David share their best holiday gift ideas.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.

Emily and David are joined by guest host David Leonhardt to discuss the pandemic economy; a diplomatic boycott of the Olympics, and the Ghislaine Maxwell trial.Here are some notes and references from this week’s show:John J. Mearsheimer for Foreign Affairs: “The Inevitable Rivalry: America, China, and the Tragedy of Great-Power Politics”Corey Robin for The New York Times: “Why the Biden Presidency Feels Like Such a Disappointment”The Enigma of Clarence Thomas, by Corey RobinMike Baker for The New York Times: “The Sisters Who First Tried to Take Down Jeffrey Epstein”tAndrew Anthony for The Guardian: “Meet Julie K Brown, The Woman Who Brought Down Jeffrey Epstein”Jill Filipvoc’s newsletter Matthew Yglesias’ Slow Boring newsletterJoe Sheehan’s baseball newsletterMatt Levine’s Money Stuff newsletterHeather Cox Richardson’s Letters from an American newsletterHere’s this week’s chatter:Emily: Leah Litman for NBC News: “The Death Penalty Cases Before The Supreme Court That Could Keep Innocent People In Prison”: Amy Howe for SCOTUSblog: “Conservative Justices Scoff at Maine’s Exclusion of Religious Schools From Tuition-Assistance Program”David Leonhardt: Duke Ellington’s Nutcracker SuiteDavid Plotz:: Work at City Cast; Sex Lives of College GirlsListener chatter from Andrew Lacko: “Miracle and Wonder: Conversations with Paul Simon”For this week’s Slate Plus bonus segment Emily, David, and David talk about newsletters and what they do well.Give the gift of Slate Plus to a fellow Slate fan and they’ll receive all the benefits of membership: unlimited reading, ad-free listening, bonus content, and so much more. Here's how!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.

Emily, John and David discuss the Supreme Court's consideration of Dobbs v Jackson Women's Health Organization with guest Ross Douthat. The Political Gabfest hosts also talk about how best to approach the news of the Omicron variant, and why the Cuomo brothers’ scandals matter.Here are some notes and references from this week’s show:Diana Greene Foster for The New York Times: “What Happens When It’s Too Late to Get an Abortion”University of California, San Francisco, Advancing New Standards in Reproductive Health (ANSIRH), The Turnaway StudyRoss Douthat for The New York Times: “The Case Against Abortion”Will Saletan for Slate: “Republicans Will Be Sorry if the Supreme Court Overturns Roe”Here’s this week’s chatter:Emily: On The Media: “A Different Hanukkah Story”John: Garret Keizer for Harper's Magazine: “The Third Force”David: Hannah Towey for Insider: “Check Out Theranos Founder Elizabeth Holmes' Handwritten 4 A.M. Schedule That Was Submitted as She Testified That Her Ex-Boyfriend Was Abusive” Listener chatter from Chuck Piehl: Mankato Free Press: “Making Havoc Not the Point of Public Records”For this week’s Slate Plus bonus segment Emily, John, and David share their best holiday gift ideas. Give the gift of Slate Plus to a fellow Slate fan and they’ll receive all the benefits of membership: unlimited reading, ad-free listening, bonus content, and so much more. Here's how!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.

Emily, John and David talk about whether President Biden ought to run in 2024, the Rittenhouse verdict and former Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull joins the Gabfest to talk about international relations with China.Here are some notes and references from this week’s show:Edward-Isaac Dovere and Jasmine Wright for CNN: “Exasperation and Dysfunction: Inside Kamala Harris' Frustrating Start as Vice President.”Jonathan Chait for New York magazine: “Joe Biden’s Big Squeeze”High Conflict, by Amanda RipleyDavid French for the Atlantic: “Kyle Rittenhouse’s Acquittal Does Not Make Him a Hero”A Bigger Picture, by Malcolm TurnbullHere’s this week’s chatter:Emily: Cloud Cuckoo Land, by Anthony DoerrDavid: Conversation topic generator thanxiety.comJohn: Jonathan Edwards for the Washington Post: “A Michigan Woman Tried to Hire an Assassin Online at RentAHitman.com. Now, She’s Going to Prison.”Listener chatter from Keith Watabayashi @KeithWatabayash: Hieronymus Burps @hieronymus_burps about Long Boom Wired CoverFor this week’s Slate Plus bonus segment John, Emily, and David ask Malcolm Turnbull about the mundane details of life as the leader of a nation.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 Shayna Elliot. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

John, Emily and David discuss Biden’s approval numbers, authoritarianism on the rise, and they are joined by author Jay Caspian Kang to talk about his new book, The Loneliest Americans.Here are some notes and references from this week’s show:FiveThirtyEight, Latest Polls Isaac Chotiner for the New Yorker: “Can Biden’s Agenda Survive Inflation?”Jason Furman for the Wall Street Journal: “​​Biden Can Whip Inflation and Build Back Better”The Loneliest Americans, by Jay Caspian KangPew Research Center: “Where Do You Fit In The Political Typology?”Christopher Borrelli for the Chicago Tribune: “What We’re Reading: 4 Korean American Memoirs, From Personal Stories To An Unsettling Confrontation on Identity and Assimilation”Anne Appelbaum for the Atlantic: “The Bad Guys Are Winning”Freedom House: “Freedom in the World 2021: Democracy Under Siege”The Dictator's Learning Curve: Inside the Global Battle for Democracy, by William J. DobsonTwitter and Tear Gas: The Power and Fragility of Networked Protest, by Zeynep Tufekci Zeynep Tufekci for the Atlantic: “How the Coronavirus Revealed Authoritarianism’s Fatal Flaw”Here’s this week’s chatter:Emily: Ashley Southall and Jonah E. Bromwich for the New York Times: “2 Men Convicted of Killing Malcolm X Will Be Exonerated After Decades”John: The Faber Book of Reportage, by John Carey; The Way We Live Now, by Anthony Trollope audiobook David: Geoffrey Leavenworth for the New York Times: “One Chaste Marriage, Four Kids, and the Catholic Church”; Spencer Buell for Boston magazine: “New England Hidden Gems You’ll Find on the New Atlas Obscura App”; City Cast HoustonListener chatter from Melissa Ocepek: A fox listens to the banjoFor this week’s Slate Plus bonus segment Emily, John, and David discuss the most useful friend to have.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.

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

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.

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 DouthatEmily 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.