Political Gabfest

John Dickerson talks with author David E. Sanger about his new book, New Cold Wars. They discuss how Russia and China came to reach their new levels of power, the role the Middle East and Obama Administration played in all of this, and more. 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. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This week, Emily Bazelon, John Dickerson, and David Plotz discuss Donald Trump’s first criminal trial and the Supreme Court argument on a criminal charge related to another Trump case and talk with The Atlantic’s Mark Leibovich about his profile of Governor Gavin Newsom.    Here are some notes and references from this week’s show: Norman Eisen for CNN: Don’t call it a ‘hush money’ case Brian Beutler for the Politix podcast: Alvin Bragg’s Liberal Critics Are Wrong Ben Protess, Jonah E. Bromwich, Maggie Haberman, and Wesley Parnell for The New York Times: Prosecutors and Defense Lawyers Begin to Seat Jurors for Trump Trial and Maggie Haberman: A Weary Trump Appears to Doze Off in Courtroom Ahead of Criminal Trial David Bauder for AP: Trump trial: Why can’t Americans see or hear what is going on inside the courtroom? Ann E. Marimow for The Washington Post: Supreme Court divided over key charge against Jan. 6 rioters and Trump Michael C. Dorf for Dorf On Law: The Ejusdem is Loose -- SCOTUS Insurrectionist Case Edition Mark Leibovich for The Atlantic: Gavin Newsom Can’t Help Himself HBO’s Real Time with Bill Maher: Gov. Gavin Newsom Here are this week’s chatters: Emily: Uri Berliner in The Free Press: I’ve Been at NPR for 25 Years. Here’s How We Lost America’s Trust.; David Folkenflik for NPR: NPR editor Uri Berliner resigns with blast at new CEO; Alicia Montgomery for Slate: The Real Story Behind NPR’s Current Problems; A24’s Civil War; and HBO’s The Last of Us John: The Annie E. Casey Foundation; diversitydatakids.org by Brandeis’s Heller School for Social Policy and Management: Child Opportunity Index (COI); Aliya Schneider for The Philadelphia Inquirer: ‘They’re cheating.’ President Biden floats higher tariffs on Chinese imports in Pittsburgh speech; John Dickerson for Slate’s Navel Gazing podcast; and CBS News Prime Time with John Dickerson David: Trevor Aaronson, Sam Eifling, and Michael Mooney for Audible’s Hold Fast podcast and Jacques Billeaud for AP: Backpage founder will face Arizona retrial on charges he participated in scheme to sell sex ads Listener chatter from Josh in Brisbane, Australia: Ross Scott’s website Stop Killing Games   For this week’s Slate Plus bonus segment, David, John, and Emily talk with Anna Sale about her podcast, Death, Sex & Money, which is now on Slate. See Death, Sex & Money podcast: A Sociopath’s Guide to Death, Sex, and Money and Patrick Page in All The Devils Are Here.    In the latest Gabfest Reads, Emily talks with Tana French about her book, The Hunter: A Novel.   Email your chatters, questions, and comments to gabfest@slate.com. (Messages may be referenced by name unless the writer stipulates otherwise.)   Podcast production by Cheyna Roth Research by Julie Huygen   Hosts Emily Bazelon, John Dickerson, and David Plotz Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In this week’s essay, John remembers dropping his son off at college, and trying to hold onto moments and feelings while you can.    Notebook Entries: Notebook 75, page 6. September 2021: They chose you.   Notebook 15, page 4. April 2004: Sitting with Brice by waterfall. Throwing rocks in stream. Loading sand from dump truck and loader and back again.   References: What Got You Here, Won’t Get You There by Marshall Goldsmith Songwriter Nick Cave Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow by Gabrielle Zevin   Podcast production by Cheyna Roth. Email us at navelgazingpodcast@gmail.com    Want to listen to Navel Gazing uninterrupted? Subscribe to Slate Plus to immediately unlock ad-free listening to Navel Gazing and all your other favorite Slate podcasts. Subscribe now on Apple Podcasts by clicking “Try Free” at the top of our show page. Or, visit slate.com/navelgazingplus to get access wherever you listen.   Host John Dickerson Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This week, Emily Bazelon, John Dickerson, and David Plotz discuss the revival of Arizona’s 1864 abortion ban; the end of No Labels; and the past and future of presidential debates.    Here are some notes and references from this week’s show: Mary Jo Pitzl and Reagan Priest for The Arizona Republic: Arizona House GOP halt Democrats’ effort to overturn Civil War era law in chaotic session Dan Balz for The Washington Post: The Arizona Supreme Court just upended Trump’s gambit on abortion Jamelle Bouie for The New York Times: The Man Who Snuffed Out Abortion Rights Is Here to Tell You He Is a Moderate Ramtin Arablouei and Rund Abdelfatah for NPR’s All Things Considered: Abortion was once common practice in America. A small group of doctors changed that A.O. Sulzberger Jr. for The New York Times: Reagan Says Ban On Abortion May Not Be Needed David Faris for Slate: Why No Labels Didn’t Stick Slate’s Political Gabfest: The “No Mugshot” Edition Thomas B. Edsall for The New York Times: Has No Labels Become a Stalking Horse for Trump? Michael H. Brown for The Washington Post: Joseph Lieberman, senator and vice-presidential nominee, dies at 82 Here are this week’s chatters:  Emily: Dartmouth’s Leslie Center for the Humanities: People, Place, Podcasts: Emily Bazelon and Erica Heilman in Conversation and the Rumble Strip podcast  John: Slate’s Navel Gazing podcast and Rachel Wolfe for The Wall Street Journal: The Calls for Help Coming From Above the Poverty Line David: Hannah Seo for The New York Times: Is It Better to Brush Your Teeth Before Breakfast or After? Listener chatter from Mark Phillips in Baltimore, Maryland: Ben Crair for The New Yorker: The Magic of Bird Brains   For this week’s Slate Plus bonus segment, David, John, and Emily discuss AI communications with loved ones after they die. See Walter Marsh for The Guardian: Laurie Anderson on making an AI chatbot of Lou Reed: ‘I’m totally, 100%, sadly addicted’ and Ira Glass for This American Life: The Ghost in the Machine. See also Niamn Ancell for Cybernews: These apps could resurrect your relatives using artificial intelligence; Rebecca Carballo for The New York Times: Using A.I. to Talk to the Dead; and Tamara Kneese for Wired: Using Generative AI to Resurrect the Dead Will Create a Burden for the Living.   In the latest Gabfest Reads, Emily talks with Tana French about her book, The Hunter: A Novel.   Email your chatters, questions, and comments to gabfest@slate.com. (Messages may be referenced by name unless the writer stipulates otherwise.)   Podcast production by Cheyna Roth Research by Julie Huygen   Hosts Emily Bazelon, John Dickerson, and David Plotz Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In this week’s essay, John Dickerson looks back on a Sunday morning in 2021, and ruminates on the empty spaces left behind by the people that once filled our lives.    Notebook Entries: Notebook 75, page 6. September 5, 2021: “Oh my god. We dropped our son at college and our dog is dead.” – Anne.   References: “Sunday Morning Coming Down” by Johnny Cash “The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock” by T.S. Eliot “When Someone You Love is Upset, Ask This One Question” by Jancee Dunn for the New York Times “A Case of ‘Sunday Neurosis’” by Jena McGregor for the Washington Post “Waking Early Sunday Morning” by Robert Lowell Master of Change: How to Excel When Everything is Changing by Brad Stulberg Jason Isbell: Running With Our Eyes Closed “Alabama Pines” by Jason Isbell    Podcast production by Cheyna Roth.   Host John Dickerson Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Here are this week’s chatters: Emily: Scott Bauer for AP: Wisconsin voters approve ban on private money support for elections and Unfair Share: The Gerrymandered Chocolate Bar on Kickstarter John: Joey Roulette and Will Dunham for Reuters: Exclusive: White House directs NASA to create time standard for the moon and John Dickerson Introduces: Navel Gazing  David: Corvid Research: All in the (crow) family; 3 Body Problem on Netflix; The Three-Body Problem by Cixin Liu; and Foundation and For All Mankind on Apple TV+ Listener chatter from Kim in Spartanburg, S.C.: The fish doorbell and thunder_keck on TikTok: fish doorbell season is back  For this week’s Slate Plus bonus segment, David, John, and Emily discuss the April 8 total solar eclipse. See John Dickerson and David Parkinson for CBS News: Massive storm system threatening millions across U.S. See also Atlas Obscura’s Ecliptic Festival; Annie Dillard for The Atlantic: “Seeing a partial eclipse bears the same relation to seeing a total eclipse as kissing a man does to marrying him.”; The Guardian: Columbus and the night of the bloody moon; and John Uri for NASA: Eclipses Near and Far. In the latest Gabfest Reads, Emily talks with Tana French about her book, The Hunter: A Novel. Email your chatters, questions, and comments to gabfest@slate.com. (Messages may be referenced by name unless the writer stipulates otherwise.) Podcast production by Jared Downing Research by Julie Huygen Hosts Emily Bazelon, John Dickerson, and David Plotz Follow Slate Political Gabfest on Facebook / https://www.facebook.com/Gabfest/  @SlateGabfest on X / https://twitter.com/SlateGabfest Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Political Gabfest host John Dickerson has been a journalist for more than three decades, reporting about presidential campaigns, political scandals, the evolving state of our democracy. Along the way, he’s also been recording his observations in notebooks he has carried in his back pocket. On the Navel Gazing podcast, John Dickerson invites you to join him in figuring out what these thirty years of notebooks mean: sorting out what makes a life --or a day in a life— noteworthy. Listen to Navel Gazing every week, starting April 6th, wherever you get your podcasts. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This week, Emily Bazelon, John Dickerson, and David Plotz are live in Washington, D.C. to discuss the Supreme Court (again) and abortion (again); Donald Trump’s ups and downs in New York courtrooms and Ronna McDaniel’s rise and fall on NBC; and Gallup’s World Happiness Report 2024.   Here are some notes and references from this week’s show: Ann E. Marimow and Caroline Kitchener for The Washington Post: Supreme Court skeptical of efforts to restrict access to abortion pill Sierra Club v. Morton, 405 U.S. 727 (1972) 303 Creative LLC v. Elenis, et al., 600 US _ (2023) Juhi Doshi for ABC News: What is the Comstock Act? The 151-year-old law mentioned in SCOTUS abortion pill case SCOTUSblog: Idaho v. United States Pam Belluck for The New York Times: What to Know About the Federal Law at the Heart of the Latest Supreme Court Abortion Case Geoff Mulvihill and Kimberlee Kruesi for AP: Which states could have abortion on the ballot in 2024? The New York Times: Keeping Track of the Trump Criminal Cases and Michael M. Grynbaum and John Koblin: NBC News Cuts Ties With Ronna McDaniel After Network Firestorm Brian Beutler for Off Message: The Political Economy Of Normalization Gallup: World Happiness Report 2024 Clare Ansberry for The Wall Street Journal: U.S. No Longer Ranks Among World’s 20 Happiest Countries The Anxious Generation: How the Great Rewiring of Childhood Is Causing an Epidemic of Mental Illness by Jonathan Haidt Here are this week’s chatters: Emily: The Wall Street Journal: Evan Gershkovich: Updates on the WSJ Reporter Detained in Russia David: Tim Newcomb for Popular Mechanics: A Controversial Pyramid Isn’t Actually 27,000 Years Old—and Now, the Mystery Deepens and Paul M.M. Cooper for Fall of Civilizations Podcast: Episode 18 Is Out Now! John: National Archives: From Alexander Hamilton to Jeremiah Wadsworth, [20 August 1787]; John Dickerson for Slate’s Navel Gazing podcast (coming soon); John Dickerson on Court TV (not available); Emily Bazelon on C-SPAN; and David Plotz on C-SPAN: Washington Journal Newspaper Roundtable.  Listener chatter from Phil Goldstein in Washington, D.C.: The New York Times: Flesh Descending In A Shower.; An Astounding Phenomenon In Kentucky--Fresh Meat Like Mutton Or Venison Falling From A Clear Sky. For this week’s Slate Plus bonus segment, David, John, and Emily answer audience questions. See Gina M. Raimondo, Secretary of Commerce. In the latest Gabfest Reads, Emily talks with Tana French about her book, The Hunter: A Novel.   Email your chatters, questions, and comments to gabfest@slate.com. (Messages may be referenced by name unless the writer stipulates otherwise.) Podcast production by Cheyna Roth with special thanks to Patrick Fort for on-site production and Katie Rayford for logistics support  Research by Julie Huygen   Hosts Emily Bazelon, John Dickerson, and David Plotz Follow Slate Political Gabfest on Facebook / https://www.facebook.com/Gabfest/ @SlateGabfest on X / https://twitter.com/SlateGabfest Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This week, Emily Bazelon, John Dickerson, and David Plotz discuss the Supreme Court’s busy week on government speech and immigration authority; Donald Trump’s bond issue and words problem; and COVID learning loss. Join us for Political Gabfest Live in Washington, D.C. on March 27! Tickets are on sale now; get ‘em before they’re gone.    Here are some notes and references from this week’s show: Amy Howe for SCOTUSblog: Court sympathetic to NRA’s free speech claim and Supreme Court skeptical of restricting government communications with social media companies Lindsay Whitehurst for AP: Supreme Court appears receptive to NRA free-speech lawsuit against a former New York state officia Hogan Gore for the Austin American-Statesman: 5th Circuit Court of Appeals leaves SB 4 on hold after dueling orders on Texas immigration law Ben Protess, Maggie Haberman, and Kate Christobek for The New York Times: Trump Spurned by 30 Companies as He Seeks Bond in $454 Million Judgment Ruth Marcus for The Washington Post: Fair’s fair: Trump should be able to appeal the judgment against him and Catherine Rampell:Trump can’t find anyone to spot him $424 million. Would you? Sarah Mervosh, Claire Cain Miller, and Francesca Paris for The New York Times: What the Data Says About Pandemic School Closures, Four Years Later Slate Political Gabfest: The “Stop Counting Now” Edition Weakley County, TN Here are this week’s chatters: Emily: Small Game: A Novel by Blair Braverman and Small Game: A Novel at the DC Public Library John: Ramishah Maruf for CNN: MacKenzie Scott donates $640 million after open call for nonprofits and Ahjané Forbes for USA Today: Ticketless passenger found in Delta flight’s lavatory, forcing plane to turn around David: Sarah Zhang for The Atlantic: DNA Tests Are Uncovering The True Prevalence Of Incest and City Cast: Work with us.   Listener chatter from Joshua Weaver in Austin, Texas: Matthew Brown for AP: Montana man used animal tissue and testicles to breed ‘giant’ sheep for sale to hunting preserves   For this week’s Slate Plus bonus segment, David, John, and Emily talk about The Mysterious Case of The Reappearing Princess. See Karla Adam for The Washington Post: Will Princess Kate video put an end to royal communications mess? and Mark Landler for The New York Times: The Royals Tried to Control Their Image Online. The Internet Had Other Ideas.   In the latest Gabfest Reads, Emily talks with Tana French about her book, The Hunter: A Novel.   Email your chatters, questions, and comments to gabfest@slate.com. (Messages may be referenced by name unless the writer stipulates otherwise.)   Podcast production by Cheyna Roth  Research by Julie Huygen Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Emily Bazelon talks with author Tana French about her new book, The Hunter. They discuss the different perspectives French uses throughout her books, how French happened into writing mysteries, writing as an outsider to Ireland, and more. 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. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This week, Emily Bazelon, John Dickerson, and David Plotz discuss President Joe Biden’s State of the Union address and Special Counsel Robert Hur’s congressional testimony; crime and punishment with the Wren Collective’s Jessica Brand; and Congress’s move to ban the Chinese government from TikTok. Join us for Political Gabfest Live in Washington, D.C. on March 27! Tickets are on sale now. Planning to attend? Submit a Listener Chatter to gabfest@slate.com and you might be picked to chatter live.    Here are some notes and references from this week’s show: C-SPAN: 2024 State of the Union Address and Former Special Counsel Hur Testifies on Biden Classified Documents Report, Part 1and Part 2   House Committee on the Judiciary: Recorded Interview: Robert Hur, President Biden Transcript, Date of Interview: October 8, and Date of Interview: October 9 Kaitlan Collins for CNN: Fmr. Mar-a-Lago employee who helped move classified docs speaks with CNN   Adam Serwer for The Atlantic: How Hur Misled the Country on Biden’s Memory Jack Goldsmith in The New York Times: Jack Smith and Robert Hur Are the Latest Examples of a Failed Institution Erica Pandey and Russell Contreras for Axios: Blue cities go red with conservative policies on crime Michael Barbaro and Mike Baker for The New York Times’s The Daily podcast: Oregon Decriminalized Drugs. Voters Now Regret It. Madaleine Rubin for The Texas Tribune: Sean Teare unseats Harris County District Attorney Kim Ogg in primary   Stefanie Dazio for AP: Progressive Los Angeles County District Attorney George Gascón advances to runoff Jeffrey M. Jones for Gallup: More Americans See U.S. Crime Problem as Serious Stephanie Sy and Shoshana Dubnow for the PBS News Hour: As concerns grown around surging violent crime, the numbers tell a different story   David Leonhardt for The New York Times: Should China Own TikTok? CBS News: FBI Director Wray says China targeting U.S. civilian infrastructure, economic security Laura He for CNN: If the US bans TikTok, China will be getting a taste of its own medicine CBS Mornings: Jon Stewart on why he’s going back to “The Daily Show” anchor desk Mike Pence on Fox News: TikTok is digital fentanyl and Congress, Biden must act before it’s too late Josh Dawsey and Jeff Stein for The Washington Post: How Donald Trump switched to defending TikTok Here are this week’s chatters: Emily: Josh Gerstein for Politico: Federal courts move against ‘judge-shopping’ and John Dickerson and Jessica Levinson for CBS News Prime Time: New rules aim to prevent “judge shopping” in major court cases John: Emily Goulet for Philadelphia: Fight Like a Girl: The New Wave of High-School Wrestling and Alex Bellos for The Guardian: He ate all the pi: Japanese man memorises π to 111,700 digits David: Lend A Box Listener chatter from Steven in Queens, New York: New York Times: Soon Finds Mother For His 5 Children; Widower Discovers Six Women Eager to Marry Him and Care for His Brood.   For this week’s Slate Plus bonus segment, David, John, and Emily talk about marriage proposals. See Caroline Kitchener for The Atlantic: Marriage Proposals Are Stupid; Sadiba Hasan for The New York Times: 10 Great Ways to Pop the Question; and Parija Kavilanz for CNN: After 2023 wraps up, get ready for a spike in marriage proposals.   In the latest Gabfest Reads, David talks with Kiley Reid about her book, Come and Get It.   Email your chatters, questions, and comments to gabfest@slate.com. (Messages may be referenced by name unless the writer stipulates otherwise.)   Podcast production by Cheyna Roth  Research by Julie Huygen Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This week, Emily Bazelon, John Dickerson, and David Plotz discuss the Biden v. Trump polls and Super Tuesday, the Supreme Court’s decision to leave Donald Trump on the ballot, and whether The Golden Age of American Jews Is Ending with The Atlantic’s Franklin Foer. Join us for Political Gabfest Live in Washington, D.C. on March 27! Tickets are on sale now. Planning to attend? Submit a Listener Chatter to gabfest@slate.com and you might be picked to chatter live.    Here are some notes and references from this week’s show: 538: Latest Polls Shane Goldmacher for The New York Times: Voters Doubt Biden’s Leadership and Favor Trump, Times/Siena Poll Finds Mark Joseph Stern for Slate: The Supreme Court’s “Unanimous” Trump Ballot Ruling Is Actually a 5-4 Disaster Michael C. Dorf for Dorf on Law: Nine Justices in Search of an Excuse to Nullify Section 3 of the 14th Amendment Kate Shaw, Melissa Murray, and Leah Litman for Crooked Media’s Strict Scrutiny podcast: SCOTUS Restores Trump to the Colorado Ballot, Unanimously (Kind Of) Franklin Foer for The Atlantic: The Golden Age of American Jews Is Ending Elena Schneider and Melanie Mason for Politico: AIPAC uncorks $100 million war chest to sink progressive candidates Center for Antisemitism Research: 24% of Americans Harbor Extensive Antisemitic Prejudice, Up From 20% in 2022, Survey Finds Romain Chauvet for The Times of Israel: ‘I’m afraid every day for my children’: As antisemitism soars, French Jews flee to Israel Here are this week’s chatters: Emily: Madaleine Rubin for The Texas Tribune: Sean Teare unseats Harris County District Attorney Kim Ogg in primary; Serena Lin for the Austin American-Statesman: Incumbent José Garza wins Democratic primary for Travis County district attorney; Stefanie Dazio for AP: Progressive Los Angeles County District Attorney George Gascón advances to runoff; Mensah M. Dean for The Trace: In Philadelphia, a Program Offers Some People Arrested for Unlicensed Guns a Second Chance; and Jenice Armstrong for The Philadelphia Inquirer: Philly program keeps gun offenders out of prison. I’m all for it. John: Bozi Tatarevic for Road & Track: Here’s Why NASCAR Driver Joey Logano Was Penalized For Cheating Gloves and Victoria Beaver: Caught Webbed-Handed: Here’s the Cheated-Up Glove NASCAR Fined Joey Logano Over David: One Day on Netflix and One Day by David Nicholls; Normal People on Hulu and Normal People: A Novel by Sally Rooney; Shōgun on Hulu and Shōgun, Part One by James Clavell; Atlas Obscura’s Ecliptic Festival; and Danielle Dowling for The New York Times: 31 Things to Do for the Big Eclipse This April Listener chatter from Jason Dewees in San Francisco, California: Julie Zigoris for The San Francisco Standard: He died in a Jewish ghetto. How did his long-lost art end up on a bench in San Francisco?   For this week’s Slate Plus bonus segment, David, John, and Emily talk with Researcher Julie about working as an election judge. See Arapahoe County (Colorado) Elections; Election Judges; Election Transparency; and Arapahoe County Life of the Ballot.    In the latest Gabfest Reads, David talks with Kiley Reid about her book, Come and Get It.   Email your chatters, questions, and comments to gabfest@slate.com. (Messages may be referenced by name unless the writer stipulates otherwise.)   Podcast production by Cheyna Roth  Research by Julie Huygen Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This week, Emily Bazelon, John Dickerson, and David Plotz discuss President Joe Biden’s re-election campaign; the Supreme Court’s boost for Donald Trump and review of social media’s content moderation; and Senator Mitch McConnell’s decision to time out as minority leader. Join us for our next Political Gabfest Live show in Washington, D.C. on March 27! Tickets are on sale now. Planning to attend? Submit a Listener Chatter to gabfest@slate.com and you might be picked to chatter live.    Here are some notes and references from this week’s show: Ezra Klein for The New York Times Ezra Klein Show podcast: Democrats Have a Better Option Than Biden Jamelle Bouie for The New York Times: It’s Not as Easy as Just Getting Biden to Drop Out Yasmeen Abutaleb and Marianne LeVine for The Washington Post: Biden wins Michigan primary but faces notable showing by ‘uncommitted’ Thomas L. Friedman for The New York Times: Israel Is Losing Its Greatest Asset: Acceptance Karl Rove for The Wall Street Journal: Trump Goes on Fox and Shows His Weakness Amy Howe for SCOTUSblog: Supreme Court skeptical of Texas, Florida regulation of social media moderation G.S. Hans for Balls and Strikes: How the Supreme Court’s Latest Big Tech Case Pits Cancel Culture Hysteria Against Corporate Power Michael C. Dorf for Dorf on Law: The Partial Facial Challenge Option in the Netchoice Cases Alan Feuer for The New York Times: In Taking Up Trump’s Immunity Claim, Supreme Court Bolstered His Delay Strategy John Dickerson for CBS News: Examining Mitch McConnell’s legacy as Senate Republican leader The Long Game: A Memoir by Mitch McConnell Mariana Alfaro for The Washington Post: Here’s who could replace Mitch McConnell as Senate’s top Republican Mark Sumner for the Daily Kos: Watch Tim Scott utterly humiliate himself for Trump Katelyn Caralle and Sarah Ewall-Wice for the Daily Mail: Lindsey Graham is mercilessly BOOED at Trump’s South Carolina victory party: Ex-president brings Senator on stage after introducing him as a ‘little further to the left’ Saturday Night Live: Trump Victory Party Cold Open Here are this week’s chatters: Emily: Molly Ryan for WRKF 89.3 Baton Rouge Public Radio: House lawmakers advance bills targeting early release from prison – and more John: Aliza Chasan for CBS News: Cardboard box filled with unopened hockey cards sells for more than $3.7 million at auction and Joshua Rapp Learn for Discover: Schrődinger’s Cat Experiment and the Conundrum That Rules Modern Physics David: Plainsong by Kent Haruf and City Cast: Work with us. Listener chatter from Jacob in Chicago, Illinois: citiesbydiana on TikTok: Top 6 Best Stroads in America   For this week’s Slate Plus bonus segment, David, John, and Emily discuss the Republican obsession with Hunter Biden and the possibility of impeaching President Joe Biden. See Matthew Yglesias for Slow Boring: Republicans can’t stop swallowing Russian propaganda. See also Ken Tran for USA Today: Hunter Biden denies Joe Biden involved in family business: ‘Destructive political charade’; Amy Taxin and Alanna Durkin Richer for AP: Ex-FBI informant charged with lying about Bidens to remain jailed while he awaits trial, judge rules; and Philip Bump for The Washington Post: Evaluating the anti-Biden case House Republicans offered on social media.    In the latest Gabfest Reads, David talks with Kiley Reid about her book, Come and Get It.   Email your chatters, questions, and comments to gabfest@slate.com. (Messages may be referenced by name unless the writer stipulates otherwise.)   Podcast production by Cheyna Roth  Research by Julie Huygen Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This week, Emily Bazelon, John Dickerson, and David Plotz discuss the tragic death of Alexei Navalny and the fallout in the US; Donald Trump’s civil fraud case and consequences; and Alabama’s new stance on frozen embryos.      Here are some notes and references from this week’s show: Pam Belluck for the New York Times on A New Abortion Access Strategy Adam Liptak for the New York Times on Supreme Court Seems Ready to Block a Biden Plan on Air Pollution  Jeffrey Blehar for National Review on We Need to Talk about Tucker Brett Stephens for the New York Times on How Biden Can Avenge Navalny’s Death David Ignatius, for the Washington Post on Ukraine faces a valley of death. There’s a way Biden can help it get across. Neil MacFarquhar for the New York Times on Wife, Protector and Now Political Heir: Yulia Navalnaya Rallies Russians Jonah E. Bromwich and Ben Protess for the New York Times on What the Civil Fraud Ruling Means for Trump’s Finances and His Empire Jonathan O'Connell for the Washington Post on Hefty fines, penalties will rock Trump family's business and fortune Ruth Marcus for the Washington Post on Alabama’s frozen embryo ruling is misguided Jan Hoffman for the New York times on Alabama Says Embryos in a Lab Are Children. What Are the Implications? Here are this week’s chatters: Emily: The fight against the EPA’s “good neighbor” air pollution rule heats up at the Supreme Court.  John: Allison Russel’s Grammy Award win for Eve Was Black, which some members of the Tennessee legislature sought to reject a congratulatory resolution for the singer.   David: Closet beds in the Netherlands.  Listener chatter from Lee Underwood in Atlanta, Georgia: Caley Fretz for Escape Collective: Meet the man who rode more new roads than anyone else   For this week’s Slate Plus bonus segment, David, John, and Emily are joined by Gongwer News Service Executive Editor and Publisher Zach Gorchow. Zach also co-hosts the Michigan politics podcast MichMash. They discuss the dustup among Democratic votes who may vote “uncommitted” in the primary because of Biden’s stance on Israel.     In the latest Gabfest Reads, John talks with Brad Stulberg about his book, Master of Change: How to Excel When Everything Is Changing – Including You.   Email your chatters, questions, and comments to gabfest@slate.com. (Messages may be referenced by name unless the writer stipulates otherwise.)   Podcast production by Cheyna Roth  Research by Keya Bajaj Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

David Plotz talks with author Kiley Reid about her new book, Come & Get It. They discuss how money can work in the same way as language, writing realistic dialogue, and the things we can’t let go of.  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. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This week, Emily Bazelon, John Dickerson, and David Plotz discuss Special Counsel Robert Hur’s description of President Joe Biden; House Republicans’ impeachment of DHS Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas and refusal on Ukraine aid; and Democrat Tom Suozzi’s win in the New York congressional special election. And in Slate Plus, Emily, John, and David talk local news with reporter Ellie Wolfe.    Here are some notes and references from this week’s show: Matt Viser and Tyler Pager for The Washington Post: Biden responds angrily to special counsel report questioning his memory and Marianne LeVine: Trump says he’d disregard NATO treaty, urge Russian attacks on U.S. allies Politico Magazine: What Biden Needs to Do to Reassure the Public Elena Moore for NPR: Biden’s campaign gives in and joins TikTok. Blame the youngs Mike Lillis and Mychael Schnell for The Hill: Lawmakers scramble for Plan B on Ukraine Jake Tapper for CNN: Marco Rubio reacts to Trump threatening NATO country to ‘pay up’ Zack Beauchamp for Vox: The moral and strategic case for arming Ukraine Joshua Matz, Michael J. Gerhardt, Amit Jain, and Laurence H. Tribe for Just Security: Why and How the Senate Should Swiftly Dismiss the Impeachment Charges Against Mayorkas Nate Cohn for The New York Times: Not an Ordinary Special Election, and Yet a Typical Result and Carl Hulse: How Senate Democrats Flipped the Border Issue on Republicans Here are this week’s chatters: Emily: American Fiction; Sam Sanders, Nadira Goffe, and Stephen Metcalf for the Slate Culture Gabfest podcast: American Fiction, Oscar Contender?; and Sam Sanders, Saeed Jones, and Zach Stafford for the Stitcher Vibe Check podcast: A Special Conversation with Cord Jefferson  John: Timeguessr and Matt Levine for Matt Levin’s Money Stuff: Lyft Had an Earnings Typo David: The Greatest Night in Pop on Netflix and USA for Africa: We Are the World  Listener chatter from J.T. Horn in Strafford, Vermont: Peter Frick Wright for the Outside Podcast: A Wild Conversation with E. Jean Carroll   For this week’s Slate Plus bonus segment, David, John, and Emily discuss with Ellie Wolfe her local-news reporting as Education Reporter for the Arizona Daily Star. See Proposed law would limit shared governance at Arizona’s universities; U of A to ‘permanently eliminate’ $27 million worth of jobs in academic units; U of A’s Robbins talks about his pay, layoffs, athletics debt, more; and CFO: U of A must cut $200M in spending, rethink mission, accept layoffs. Thanks to listeners Alison, Anna, and David for the recommendation!    In the latest Gabfest Reads, John talks with Brad Stulberg about his book, Master of Change: How to Excel When Everything Is Changing – Including You.   Email your chatters, questions, and comments to gabfest@slate.com. (Messages may be referenced by name unless the writer stipulates otherwise.)   Podcast production by Cheyna Roth  Research by Julie Huygen Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This week, Emily Bazelon, John Dickerson, and David Plotz discuss the Republicans’ beginning and end of both the border bill and the impeachment of Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas; the criminal conviction of a mother for a school shooting by her son; and the D.C. Circuit Court decision on presidential immunity and the Supreme Court argument on the presidential ballot.    Here are some notes and references from this week’s show: Rachael Bade for Politico: Schumer presses forward with Ukraine Plan B as GOP leaders reel and Burgess Everett: Behind the border mess: Open GOP rebellion against McConnell Cleve R. Wootson Jr. for The Washington Post: Biden vows to make GOP defeat of a conservative border bill a campaign issue and Jacqueline Alemany, Amy B Wang, Marianna Sotomayor, and Paul Kane: In stunning vote, House Republicans fail to impeach Secretary Mayorkas Former Rep. Charlie Stenholm in The Hill in 2015: How Tip O’Neill and Ronald Reagan would make this Congress work Tresa Baldas for the Detroit Free Press: Jennifer Crumbley guilty: Understanding involuntary manslaughter charge, possible sentenceand Paul Egan: Michigan’s gun laws change: Background checks, storage, temporary removal Michael Barbaro and Lisa Miller for The New York Times The Daily podcast: A Guilty Verdict for a Mass Shooter’s Mother Rachel Weiner for The Washington Post: Trump has no immunity from Jan. 6 prosecution, appeals court rules Ian Millhiser for Vox: The Supreme Court is about to decide whether to sabotage Trump’s election theft trial Amy Howe for SCOTUSblog: Supreme Court to decide whether insurrection provision keeps Trump off ballot   Here are this week’s chatters: John: Ian Sample for The Guardian: AI helps scholars read scroll buried when Vesuvius erupted in AD79; Pierina Pighi Bel for the BBC: Bodegas: The small corner shops that run NYC; David Blank in the Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy: Philodemus; Moss and Fog; and Institute of Politics at Harvard Kennedy School: Theodore H. White Lecture with John Dickerson Emily: Sofia Resnick for News From The States: Study cited by Texas judge in abortion pill case retracted and Sage Publishing: A note from Sage on retractions in Health Services Research and Managerial Epidemiology David: Patrick Radden Keefe for The New Yorker: A Teen’s Fatal Plunge Into The London Underworld Listener chatter from Patrick Johnson in Anchorage, Alaska: Rhonda McBride for KNBA - Anchorage: Anchorage’s white raven becomes a local legend as a tracked trickster   For this week’s Slate Plus bonus segment, David, John, and Emily discuss “Fast Car,” Tracy Chapman’s 1988 original, and Luke Combs’s 2023 cover.   In the latest Gabfest Reads, John talks with Brad Stulberg about his book, Master of Change: How to Excel When Everything Is Changing – Including You.   Email your chatters, questions, and comments to gabfest@slate.com. (Messages may be referenced by name unless the writer stipulates otherwise.) Podcast production by Cheyna Roth  Research by Julie Huygen Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This week, Emily Bazelon, John Dickerson, and David Plotz discuss E. Jean Carroll’s $83.3 million win against Donald J. Trump; the events of 1920-1948 that shaped the current relationship of Israel and Palestine; and the tech-bro billionaires of techno-authoritarianism with Adrienne LaFrance of The Atlantic.    Here are some notes and references from this week’s show: Eric Lach for The New Yorker: Nine Regular People Tell Donald Trump to Shut Up and Pay Up Monica Hesse for The Washington Post: Is it really sexism that Trump is showing? Or is it something worse? Maggie Haberman and Shane Goldmacher for The New York Times: Trump’s PACs Spent Roughly $50 Million on Legal Expenses in 2023 Erik Larson for Fortune and Bloomberg: Most of Trump’s cash stockpile is at risk from possible $450m dual verdicts in E. Jean Carroll and New York business fraud cases CBS News: Face The Nation and Emily Tillett: Nikki Haley on Trump accusers: Women who accuse anyone “should be heard” and “dealt with” Gabriella Abdul-Hakim for ABC News: Tim Scott insists voters don’t care about Trump’s defamation loss, plays down ‘provocative’ Haley attacks Dietrich Knauth for Insurance Journal: Sandy Hook Denier Alex Jones Eyes Settlement With Families, Bankruptcy Exit Emily Bazelon for The New York Times: The Road to 1948 and Was Peace Ever Possible? Adrienne LaFrance for The Atlantic: The Rise of Techno-Authoritarianism Ezra Klein for The New York Times: The Chief Ideologist of the Silicon Valley Elite Has Some Strange Ideas Steven Levy for Wired: What the Techno-Billionaire Missed About Techno-Optimism Jonathan Taplin for Vanity Fair: How Musk, Thiel, Zuckerberg, and Andreessen—Four Billionaire Techno-Oligarchs—Are Creating an Alternate, Autocratic Reality Lisa Desjardins and Jonah Anderson for PBS Newshour: Lawmakers grill Big Tech executives, accusing them of failing to protect children The Dictator’s Learning Curve: Inside the Global Battle for Democracy by William J. Dobson   Here are this week’s chatters:  Emily: The Fight to Save the Town: Reimagining Discarded America by Michelle Wilde Anderson John: PenTips; Toluse Olorunnipa and Liz Goodwin for The Washington Post: Biden vows to ‘shut down’ an overwhelmed border if Senate deal passes and Jacob Bogage and Jeff Stein: House votes to expand child tax credit, beef up corporate tax breaks David: Visual Arts, St. Albans School; John Buzbee for The Advocate: LSU students bare it all as nude art models: ‘It’s a very brave thing to be able to do.’; and Kim McGill for The Union: The naked truth: Art models at El Camino inspire students to portray humanity in all its forms Listener chatter from Jay Lloyd in Louisville, Kentucky: Eric Berger for Ars Technica: What happens when an astronaut in orbit says he’s not coming back?   For this week’s Slate Plus bonus segment, David, John, and Emily discuss the Love Story of Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce and the message for MAGA madness: You Need To Calm Down. See Mariana Alfaro for The Washington Post: Why Trump’s MAGA Republican movement dislikes Taylor Swift and Ross Douthat for The New York Times: Taylor Swift, Donald Trump and the Right’s Abnormality Problem.   In the latest Gabfest Reads, John talks with Brad Stulberg about his book, Master of Change: How to Excel When Everything Is Changing – Including You.   Email your chatters, questions, and comments to gabfest@slate.com. (Messages may be referenced by name unless the writer stipulates otherwise.)   Podcast production by Cheyna Roth  Research by Julie Huygen   Hosts Emily Bazelon, John Dickerson, and David Plotz Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This week, Emily Bazelon, John Dickerson, and David Plotz discuss the Trump v. Biden presidential rematch, the end of the “vibecession,” and the political fights over immigration.    Here are some notes and references from this week’s show: Michael Scherer and Toluse Olorunnipa for The Washington Post: Trump, Biden pivot quickly to a 2024 campaign that many voters dread Lauren Irwin for The Hill: Trump says Tim Scott ‘must really hate’ Haley Allison Pecorin and Caleigh Bartash for ABC News: Trump picks up endorsements from holdouts after New Hampshire win John E. Moser for Teaching American History: “Fireside Chat” on “Purging” the Democratic Party Ben Casselman for The New York Times: U.S. Economy Grew at 3.3% Rate in Latest Quarter and German Lopez: The End of Economic Pessimism? Jeff Stein for The Washington Post: As doomsday predictions dissipate, Biden aides savor booming economy and Trump promises to stop inflation. But would his plans actually help? Kyla Scanlon for Kyla’s Newsletter: The Vibecession: The Self-Fulfilling Prophecy Ben Harris and Aaron Sojourner for The Brookings Institution: Why are Americans so displeased with the economy? David Montgomery for YouGov: How’s the economy doing? For many Americans, the answer is how their party’s doing Punchbowl News AM: McConnell bows to Trump on border Karoun Demirjian for The New York Times: With Border Deal Near, Parole and Money Take Center Stage in Senate Talks Maria Sacchetti for The Washington Post: Explaining immigration parole, one sticking point in Ukraine aid-border deal Rafael Bernal and Al Weaver for The Hill: Parole: What to know about the GOP’s latest border sticking point  David J. Bier for the Cato Institute: New Data Show Migrants Were More Likely to Be Released by Trump Than Biden Colleen Long for AP: Title 42 has ended. Here’s what it did, and how US immigration policy is changing Here are this week’s chatters:  Emily: Yair Rosenberg for The Atlantic: What Did Top Israeli War Officials Really Say About Gaza? and Comics Kingdom: Sally Forth John: Tori Apodaca for CBS Sacramento: California writes cursive back into elementary school curriculum and Carmen Mayer, Stefanie Wallner, Nora Budde-Spengler, Sabrina Braunert, Petra A. Arndt, and Markus Kiefer in Frontiers in Psychology: Literacy Training of Kindergarten Children With Pencil, Keyboard or Tablet Stylus: The Influence of the Writing Tool on Reading and Writing Performance at the Letter and Word Level  David: Erik Wemple for The Washington Post: At Gallery Place, it’s Ted Leonsis vs. one very loud street music act Listener chatter from Annie O’Connor in St. Paul, Minnesota: LockPickingLawyer on YouTube   For this week’s Slate Plus bonus segment, David, John, and Emily discuss Ezra Klein’s piece in The New York Times: I Am Going to Miss Pitchfork, but That’s Only Half the Problem. See Judy Woodruff, Sarah Clune Hartman, and Frank Carlson for PBS: The connections between decline of local news and growing political division; Steven Waldman for The Atlantic: The Local-News Crisis Is Weirdly Easy to Solve; and Penelope Muse Abernathy for the Hussman School of Journalism and Media, University of North Carolina: The Expanding News Desert: Finding Solutions. See also Press Forward; Sara Fischer and Cuneyt Dil for Axios: Scoop: D.C. lawmakers to introduce new bill funding local news via vouchers; and the Law & Justice Journalism Project.  In the latest Gabfest Reads, John talks with Brad Stulberg about his book, Master of Change: How to Excel When Everything Is Changing – Including You.   Email your chatters, questions, and comments to gabfest@slate.com. (Messages may be referenced by name unless the writer stipulates otherwise.)   Podcast production by Cheyna Roth  Research by Julie Huygen Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

On this month’s edition of Gabfest Reads, John Dickerson talks with author Brad Stulberg about his new book, Master of Change: How to Excel When Everything is Changing – Including You. They discuss how to make change itself a mindset, John’s notebooks, what we can learn from athletes, and more. 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. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This week, John Dickerson re-joins Emily Bazelon and David Plotz to discuss the Republican presidential race, the Iowa caucuses, and the New Hampshire primary; the Loper Bright and Relentless cases at the Supreme Court and the possible end of Chevrondeference; and The Misguided War on the SAT with David Leonhardt of The New York Times.    Here are some notes and references from this week’s show: Nate Cohn for The New York Times: Even the Battle for Second Turned Out Well for Trump in Iowa Ross Douthat for The New York Times: How Trump’s Opponents Made Iowa Easy for Him Amy Howe for SCOTUSblog: Supreme Court likely to discard Chevron; Supreme Court to hear major case on power of federal agencies; and Supreme Court curtails EPA’s authority to fight climate change Cornell Law School’s Legal information Institute: Administrative Procedure Act Jess Bravin for The Wall Street Journal: Conservatives Once Hailed This Case. Now They’re at the Supreme Court to Gut It. Ian Millhiser for Vox: The Supreme Court cases asking the justices to put themselves in charge of everything, explained and A new Supreme Court case seeks to make the nine justices even more powerful David Leonhardt for The New York Times: The Misguided War on the SAT Ileana Najarro for EdWeek: The SAT Is Making a Comeback. Here’s a Look at the Numbers and What They Tell Us Raj Chetty, David J. Deming, and John Friedman for Opportunity Insights: Diversifying Society’s Leaders? The Determinants and Causal Effects of Admission to Highly Selective Private Colleges Here are this week’s chatters: Emily: The Ringer’s podcast “Stick the Landing” and Andy Greenwald and Mallory Rubin: Did ‘Friday Night Lights’ Stick the Landing? John: Richard Baldwin for VoxEU: China is the world’s sole manufacturing superpower: A line sketch of the rise; Moss and Fog: Tree.fm is Your Aural Escape Into Nature; and tree.fm David: Steve Lopez for the Los Angeles Times: They take care of aging adults, live in cramped quarters and make less than minimum wage and ZipRecruiter: assisted living jobs in Washington, DC Listener chatter from Kevin Collins in San Antonio, Texas: Historic Vids on X   For this week’s Slate Plus bonus segment, David talks about his father, Dr. Paul Plotz. See Rachel Weller for The NIH Catalyst: Symposium Honors NIAM’s Paul Plotz and The New York Times: Judith A. Abrams Engaged to Wed Dr. Paul H. Plotz; Candidate for Ph.D. at Harvard Is Fiancee of Boston Interne. See also John G. Zinn for the Society for American Baseball Research: Ebbets Field (Brooklyn, NY); National Institutes of Health; Union of Concerned Scientists; and The Two Cultures and The Scientific Revolution by C. P. Snow. In the latest Gabfest Reads, John talks with Christine Coulson about her book, One Woman Show: A Novel.   Email your chatters, questions, and comments to gabfest@slate.com. (Messages may be referenced by name unless the writer stipulates otherwise.)   Podcast production by Cheyna Roth  Research by Julie Huygen   Hosts Emily Bazelon, John Dickerson, and David Plotz Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This week, Emily Bazelon and David Plotz are joined by Jamelle Bouie of The New York Times to discuss the absence and silence of Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin, school absenteeism with Alec MacGillis of ProPublica, and Donald Trump’s claim of absolute presidential immunity.    Here are some notes and references from this week’s show: Politico: Austin’s hospital debacle: A timeline of events Fred Kaplan for Slate: Why the Secretary of Defense’s Mysterious Disappearance Means He Needs to Go Max Boot for The Washington Post: Lloyd Austin doesn’t deserve to be the piñata of the day in Washington Major General Patrick S. Ryder, Department of Defense Press Secretary Alec MacGillis for ProPublica and The New Yorker: Skipping School: America’s Hidden Education Crisis Jay Greene, Ph.D. and Jonathan Butcher for The Heritage Foundation: The Alarming Rise in Teacher Absenteeism Natalie Kitroeff and Adam Liptak for The New York Times Daily podcast: Trump’s Case for Total Immunity Bill Rankin and Katherine Landergan for The Atlanta Journal-Constitution: Could Willis allegations sink Trump case? Legal experts weigh in Mariana Alfaro and Amy B Wang for The Washington Post: Chris Christie caught on hot mic, says Nikki Haley will ‘get smoked’ Here are this week’s chatters: Emily: Past Lives and Anatomy of a Fall Jamelle: Fist of the Condor David: Amsterdam; EnglishLearning on reddit: Is there any English word that has three or more same and consecutive letters?   Listener chatter from Erin Bumgarner in Arlington, Massachusetts: The Art of Noticing by Rob Walker   For this week’s Slate Plus bonus segment, David, Emily, and Jamelle talk about which presidents should be on a new Mount Rushmore. See The White House Historical Association: The Presidents; John Quincy Adams; Ulysses S. Grant; Franklin D. Roosevelt; Dwight D. Eisenhower; and Lyndon B. Johnson. See also National Park Service: Why These Four Presidents?; Mario Canseco for Research Co.: Americans Pick Four Presidents for “New Mount Rushmore”; Politico Magazine: Who Should Be on the Next Mount Rushmore?; and Chauncey Alcorn for Capital B: What to Do About Stone Mountain? Black Residents Talk Park’s Racist Past. In the latest Gabfest Reads, John talks with Christine Coulson about her book, One Woman Show: A Novel.   Email your chatters, questions, and comments to gabfest@slate.com. (Messages may be referenced by name unless the writer stipulates otherwise.)  Podcast production by Cheyna Roth  Research by Julie Huygen   Hosts Jamelle Bouie, Emily Bazelon, and David Plotz Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This week, Emily Bazelon, John Dickerson, and David Plotz begin the year discussing the 2024 presidential election; Harvard President Claudine Gay’s resignation; and the 2023 decrease in homicides.    Here are some notes and references from this week’s show: Steve Peoples for AP: Biden and Trump are posed for a potential rematch that could shake American politics Rob Crilly for the Daily Mail: Voters describe their 2024 choice between a Trump second term and a Biden second term as a choice between REVENGE or NOTHING in Daily Mail poll Brianne Pfannenstiel for the Des Moines Register: Iowa Poll: Donald Trump holds overwhelming lead; Ron DeSantis edges ahead of Nikki Haley Claudine Gay in The New York Times: What Just Happened at Harvard Is Bigger Than Me The Crimson Editorial Board for The Harvard Crimson: President Gay Plagiarized, but She Should Stay. For Now. Ian Ward for Politico: We Sat Down With the Conservative Mastermind Behind Claudine Gay’s Ouster Jeremy Duda for Axios: ASU continues streak as U.S. News’ most innovative school David Goldman for CNN: The 4 key events that led to UPenn President Liz Magill’s resignation Jeff Asher for Jeff-alytics: Crime in 2023: Murder Plummeted, Violent and Property Crime Likely Fell Nationally Bill Hutchinson for ABC News: ‘It is historic’: US poised to see record drop in yearly homicides despite public concern over crime Ken Dilanian for NBC News: Most people think the U.S. crime rate is rising. They’re wrong. Here are this week’s chatters: John: Library of Congress: Robert Cornelius, self-portrait; believed to be the earliest extant American portrait photo; National Gallery of Art: The Art of the American Snapshot, 1888-1978: From the Collection of Robert E. Jackson Emily: Ari Rabinovitch for Reuters: Israel’s Supreme Court strikes down disputed law that limited court oversight David: Brian Murphy for The Washington Post: Maureen Sweeney, weather watcher who influenced D-Day plans, dies at 100   Listener chatter from Eric in Tuckahoe, New York: Christophe Haubursin for Vox: What’s inside this crater in Madagascar?   For this week’s Slate Plus bonus segment, David, John, and Emily talk about New Year’s resolutions and self-help. See also Matthew Solan for Harvard Health Publishing: Thinking of trying Dry January? Steps for success; James Clear: Atomic Habits Summary; Renée Onque for CNBC: This is a tried-and-true way to break a bad habit, says wellbeing coach—so we’re putting it to the test in 2024; and Chandra Steele for PCMag: Annoyed With Instagram? Take Control of Your Feed With These Tips and Tricks. In the latest Gabfest Reads, John talks with Christine Coulson about her book, One Woman Show: A Novel. Email your chatters, questions, and comments to gabfest@slate.com. (Messages may be referenced by name unless the writer stipulates otherwise.)   Podcast production by Cheyna Roth  Research by Julie Huygen   Hosts Emily Bazelon, John Dickerson, and David Plotz Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This week, Emily Bazelon and David Plotz are joined by Wesley Morris, critic at large for The New York Times and co-host of the Still Processing podcast, to cogitate on Conundrums 2023.    Here are some notes and references from this week’s show: Thanks to everyone who submitted Conundrums, especially Alex, Brian, Mitchell Kosht, Patricia Gonzalez, Kali Rocha, Becca Nagorsky, Kevin Maginnis, Kevin Collins, Beth Kirsch, Brian Cechnicki, Chuck Terhark, Howard W, Brian, Mike Daugherty, Alan Dybner, Tim Falzone, Matthew Gill, Cynthia Weiner, and the incomparable Phil Goldstein.    Benjamin Wittes for Dog Shit Daily: My encounter with a shit-throwing neighborhood Karen Jon Mendelsohn for American Songwriter: The Real Reason Why Van Halen Asked Venues For Bowls of M&Ms Containing ‘No Brown Ones’  The Sellout: A Novel by Paul Beatty Working: People Talk About What They Do All Day and How They Feel About What They Do by Studs Terkel Richard Scarry’s What Do People Do All Day? by Richard Scarry In Love: A Memoir of Love and Loss by Amy Bloom Amy Bloom for This American Life: Exit Strategy Gabfest Reads: He Wanted to Die Holding Hands   For this week’s Slate Plus bonus segment, David, Emily, and Wesley tackle three more Conundrums.  In the latest Gabfest Reads, John talks with Brad Stulberg about Master of Change: How to Excel When Everything Is Changing – Including You.   Email your chatters, questions, and comments to gabfest@slate.com. (Messages may be referenced by name unless the writer stipulates otherwise.)   Podcast production by Jared Downing and Cheyna Roth with live show support from Katie Rayford Research by Julie Huygen Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

John Dickerson talks with author Christine Coulson about her new book, “One Woman Show.” They discuss the moment that inspired Coulson to tell a story in museum wall labels, her 25-years working at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York, and why restraint can be an artist’s best friend.  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. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This week, Emily Bazelon, John Dickerson, and David Plotz discuss the Colorado Supreme Court’s decision to block Donald Trump from the ballot, the new Texas law to allow state and local authorities to arrest immigrants, and guest Amanda Ripley’s suggestions to survive 2024.    Here are some notes and references from this week’s show: Colorado Supreme Court’s opinion in Anderson, et al. v. Griswold, et al. Fourteenth Amendment to the Constitution of the United States John Dickerson for CBS News Prime Time: John Dickerson on Trump, Colorado and the 14th Amendment Adam Unikowsky for Adam’s Legal Newsletter: Is the Supreme Court seriously going to disqualify Trump? Mark A. Graber in The New York Times: Donald Trump and the Jefferson Davis Problem Lawfare: Tracking Section 3 Trump Disqualification Challenges Karoun Demirjian for The New York Times: Congress Abandons Ukraine Aid Until Next Year as Border Talks Continue Ashley Wu for The New York Times: Why Illegal Border Crossings Are at Sustained Highs Elizabeth Findell for The Wall Street Journal: Texas Spent Billions on Border Security. It’s Not Working Tom Cohen and Bill Mears for CNN: Supreme Court mostly rejects Arizona immigration law; gov says ‘heart’ remains Edgar Sandoval for The New York Times: Appellate Court Says U.S. Can’t Cut Through Texas Border Wire Along Rio Grande Gabriela Baczynska for Reuters: What’s in the new EU migration and asylum deal? Karen Musalo for Just Security: Biden’s Embrace of Trump’s Transit Ban Violates US Legal and Moral Refugee Obligations Amanda Ripley for Unraveled: How to Survive 2024 Adam Mastroianni in The New York Times: Your Brain Has Tricked You Into Thinking Everything Is Worse and for Experimental History: Things could be better The Economist: What psychology experiments tell you about why people deny facts Here are this week’s chatters: John: Jason Bittel for National Geographic: A bonobo was separated from her sister for 26 years. She still remembers her. Emily: May December on Netflix David: Hiroaki Nakagawa and Yasushi Miyata in Internal Medicine: An Underdiagnosed Cause of an Itchy Back   Listener chatter from Michael in Queens, New York: Irin Carmon for New York Magazine: A $45 Million Effort to Make Pregnancy Less Deadly in Brooklyn   For this week’s Slate Plus bonus segment, Amanda joins David, John, and Emily to talk about their holiday plans, which include To Asia, With Love: Everyday Asian Recipes and Stories From the Heart by Hetty McKinnon, the DC Public Library, Purlie Victorious, the National Zoo, and Sara Lee’s Butter Streusel Coffee Cake.  In the next Gabfest Reads, John talks with Christine Coulson about her new book, One Woman Show.   Email your chatters, questions, and comments to gabfest@slate.com. (Messages may be referenced by name unless the writer stipulates otherwise.)   Podcast production by Cheyna Roth  Research by Julie Huygen Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This week, Emily Bazelon, John Dickerson, and David Plotz discuss the free-speech controversies that are roiling college campuses since the war in Gaza began; the questions related to Trump cases that the U.S. Supreme Court will answer; and the latest high-profile abortion case coming out of Texas that has real-life and political consequences.    Here are some notes and references from this week’s show: Hannah Natanson and Susan Svrluga for The Washington Post: Harvard President Claudine Gay to remain after antisemitism testimony Michelle Goldberg for The New York Times: At a Hearing on Israel, University Presidents Walked Into a Trap Elad Simchayoff @Elad_Si on X  Danielle Allen for The Washington Post: We’ve lost our way on campus. Here’s how we can find our way back. David French for The New York Times: What the University Presidents Got Right and Wrong About Antisemitic Speech Santul Nerkar and Jonah E. Bromwich for The New York Times: How the Israel-Hamas War Tore Apart Public Defenders in the Bronx Michael Barbaro and Nicholas Confessore for The Daily: Antisemitism and Free Speech Collide on Campuses Zah Montague and Tracey Tully for The New York Times: Education Dept. Is Investigating Six More Colleges Over Campus Discrimination Mark Sherman and Eric Tucker for AP: Special counsel Jack Smith asks the Supreme Court to rule quickly on whether Trump can be prosecuted and Mark Sherman: Supreme Court will hear a case that could undo Capitol riot charge against hundreds, including Trump Bob Dylan on YouTube: Bob Dylan – Idiot Wind (Official Audio) Robert Legare and Robert Costa for CBS News: Investigators accessed Trump White House cellphone records and plan to use them at trial, special counsel says Sabrina Tavernise for The Daily: The Woman Who Fought the Texas Abortion Ban Carter Sherman for The Guardian: US abortion rates rise post-Roe amid deep divide in state-by-state access Kate Zernike for The New York Times: Texas Judge Says Doctors Can Use ‘Good Faith Judgment’ in Providing Abortions Here are this week’s chatters:  John: One Line A Day: A Five-Year Memory Book and James Barron for The New York Times: Bob Dylan Sings, and Talks, on These Tapes From 62 Years Ago  Emily: Sydney Lupkin and Danielle Kurtzleben on All Things Considered: The Supreme Court will decide the fate of abortion pill mifepristone David: Paul Schwartzman for The Washington Post: With sports teams primed for move to Va., downtown D.C. frets its future and City Cast: Work with us. Listener chatter from Margaret in Jersey City: Chair Watch on Facebook   For this week’s Slate Plus bonus segment, David, John, and Emily talk about Why Are So Many American Pedestrians Dying at Night?by Emily Badger, Ben Blatt, and Josh Katz for The New York Times and Why pedestrian deaths in the US are at a 40-year high by Marin Cogan for Vox. See also Political Gabfest: “The World Is Burning” Edition and Vision and night driving abilities of elderly driversby Nicole Gruber, Urs P Mosimann, René M Müri, and Tobias Nef. In the next Gabfest Reads, John talks with Brad Stulberg about Master of Change: How to Excel When Everything Is Changing – Including You.   Email your chatters, questions, and comments to gabfest@slate.com. (Messages may be referenced by name unless the writer stipulates otherwise.)   Podcast production by Cheyna Roth  Research by Julie Huygen Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This week, Emily Bazelon, John Dickerson, and David Plotz gather around John’s dining room table to discuss Liz Cheney, her book, and how far she’ll go to stop Donald Trump; Chris Christie, his presidential campaign, and whether he’ll stay in the race; and Purdue Pharma, the Sacklers, and if the Supreme Court will let the company go bankrupt to save the family fortune.    Here are some notes and references from this week’s show:  Oath and Honor: A Memoir and a Warning by Liz Cheney John Dickerson for CBS News Sunday Morning: “Liz Cheney on why she believes Trump’s reelection would mean the end of our republic” Terry Gross for NPR Fresh Air: “Liz Cheney, focused on stopping Trump, hasn’t ruled out 3rd-party presidential run”  Kevin Liptak, David Wright, and Samantha Waldenberg for CNN: Biden tells donors he’s ‘not sure I’d be running’ in 2024 if Trump wasn’t in the race Ben Mathis-Lilley for Slate: When Chris Christie Is the Voice of Honesty and Reason, You’re in Trouble Lisa Lerer and Chris Cameron for The New York Times: “Some Republicans Have a Blunt Message for Chris Christie: Drop Out”  Ed Kilgore for the Intelligencer: “Christie Vows to Continue Doomed Campaign to the Bitter End” Amy Howe for SCOTUSblog: “Court conflicted over Purdue Pharma bankruptcy plan that shields Sacklers from liability” Abbie VanSickle and Jan Hoffman for The New York Times: “What to Know About the Purdue Pharma Case Before the Supreme Court” Jocelyn Mackie for Forbes Advisor: Prescription Opioid Lawsuit Guide (2023) Alexander Gladstone for The Wall Street Journal: Georgia-Pacific Wins Appeal to Maintain Chapter 11 Protection From Lawsuits   Here are this week’s chatters: Emily: First: Sandra Day O’Connor by Evan Thomas  John: Master of Change: How to Excel When Everything Is Changing – Including You by Brad Stulberg; Monty Python – Silly Job Interview; and John Cleese on Creativity In Management David: Going Zero: A Novel by Anthony McCarten and Such a Fun Age: A Novel by Kiley Reid Listener chatter from Ryan White: Zaria Gorvett for the BBC: Tyrian purple: The lost ancient pigment that was more valuable than gold   For this week’s Slate Plus bonus segment, David, John, and Emily talk through a constitutional Conundrum. See also Wikipedia: Gouverneur Morris. In the next Gabfest Reads, John talks with Brad Stulberg about Master of Change: How to Excel When Everything Is Changing – Including You.   Email your chatters, questions, and comments to gabfest@slate.com. (Messages may be referenced by name unless the writer stipulates otherwise.)   Podcast production by Cheyna Roth  Research by Julie Huygen   Hosts Emily Bazelon, John Dickerson, and David Plotz Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This week, Emily Bazelon, John Dickerson, and David Plotz discuss the good U.S. economy and Americans’ bad feelings about it; the Supreme Court case of SEC v. Jarkesy and its threat to the system of U.S. government; and white evangelicals and Christian nationalists with The Atlantic’s Tim Alberta. Send us your Conundrums: submit them at slate.com/conundrum. And join us in-person or online for Gabfest Live: The Conundrums Edition! December 7 at The 92nd Street Y, New York City. Tickets on sale now!   Here are some notes and references from this week’s show: Sam Sutton for Politico: Why a ‘soft landing’ may not solve Biden’s polling problem Lydia DePillis for The New York Times: Even Most Biden Voters Don’t See a Thriving Economy; Paul Krugman: Bidenomics and the Guys in the Bar; Jim Tankersley: ‘Morning in America’ Eludes Biden, Despite Economic Gains; and Bryce Covert: Don’t Let Inflation Bury the Memory of a Government Triumph Dylan Matthews for Vox: Why the news is so negative – and what we can do about it  David Winston for Roll Call: Why Voters Are Still Wary 10 Years After the Economic Collapse  Robert Barnes for The Washington Post: Supreme Court conservatives seem dubious about SEC’s in-house tribunals Ronald Mann for SCOTUSblog: Supreme Court to consider multi-pronged constitutional attack on SEC Noah Rosenblum for The Atlantic: The Case That Could Destroy the Government Ian Millhiser for Vox: A Supreme Court case about stocks could help make Trump’s authoritarian dreams reality Public Citizens: The Attack on Big Government and the Remaking of American Liberalism by Paul Sabin  Tim Alberta for The Atlantic: My Father, My Faith, and Donald Trump and How Politics Poisoned The Evangelical Church The Kingdom, the Power, and the Glory: American Evangelicals in an Age of Extremism by Tim Alberta Thomas B. Edsall for The New York Times: ‘The Embodiment of White Christian Nationalism in a Tailored Suit’ PRRI and Brookings: A Christian Nation? Understanding the Threat of Christian Nationalism to American Democracy and Culture   Here are this week’s chatters: Emily: Brian Murphy for The Washington Post: Larry Fink, photographer who explored class divides, dies at 82 and Emily Bazelon and Larry Fink for The New York Times Magazine: Shadow of a Doubt John: The New Yorker: “Bob and Don: A Love Story” a short documentary by Judd Apatow; CBS News Sunday Morning; and Oath and Honor: A Memoir and a Warning by Liz Cheney David: Matt Phillips for The New York Times: Shane MacGowan, Songwriter Who Fused Punk and Irish Rebellion, Is Dead at 65 and peyoteshaman on YouTube: Pogues 930 club mid 1980’s Listener chatter from Nicola in Dublin, Ireland: Irish Archaeology: Pangur Bán and Tread Softy: Classic Irish Poems for Children edited by Nicola Reddy   For this week’s Slate Plus bonus segment, David, John, and Emily talk about the book lover’s dilemma: borrow or buy. See also A Wizard of Earthsea by Ursula K. Le Guin; Little Free Library; Adam Sockel for Perspectives on Reading: Library users are book buyers; and Pew Research Center: Libraries, patrons, and e-books. In the latest Gabfest Reads, Emily talks with James Sturm about Watership Down: The Graphic Novel. See also James Sturm and Joe Sutphin in The New York Times: In Times of Danger, There’s Strength in Numbers. Email your chatters, questions, and comments to gabfest@slate.com. (Messages may be referenced by name unless the writer stipulates otherwise.)   Podcast production by Cheyna Roth  Research by Julie Huygen   Hosts Emily Bazelon, John Dickerson, and David Plotz Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This week, Emily Bazelon, John Dickerson, and David Plotz discuss the problems with issue polling and issues with political journalism; the chaos and conflict of Sam Altman and OpenAI; and the failure of the Oslo Accords and perpetual struggle between Israel and Palestine. Send us your Conundrums: submit them at slate.com/conundrum. And join us in-person or online with our special guest – The Late Show’s Steven Colbert – for Gabfest Live: The Conundrums Edition! December 7 at The 92nd Street Y, New York City. Tickets on sale now!   Here are some notes and references from this week’s show: Nate Cohn for The New York Times: The Crisis in Issue Polling, and What We’re Doing About It and We Did an Experiment to See How Much Democracy and Abortion Matter to Voters Claire Cain Miller and Francesca Paris for The New York Times: The Great Disconnect: Why Voters Feel One Way About the Economy but Act Differently The Image: A Guide to Pseudo-Events in America by Daniel J. Boorstin What’s the Matter with Kansas?: How Conservatives Won the Heart of America by Thomas Frank Eli Saslow for The New York Times: A Jan. 6 Defendant Pleads His Case to the Son Who Turned Him In Brian Beutler for the Off Message newsletter: The 2024 Election Is About Real Things Charlie Warzel for The Atlantic: The Money Always Wins and Karen Hao and Charlie Warzel: Inside the Chaos at OpenAI John Dickerson and Jo Ling Kent for CBS News Prime Time: What Sam Altman’s ouster from OpenAI could mean for the tech world Pranshu Verman, Nitasha Tiku, and Gerrit De Vynck for The Washington Post: Sam Altman reinstated as OpenAI CEO with new board members  Louise Matsakis and Reed Albergotti for Semafor: The AI industry turns against its favorite philosophy Emily Bazelon for The New York Times Magazine: Was Peace Ever Possible?  Ezra Klein for The New York Times’s The Ezra Klein Show podcast: The Best Primer I’ve Heard on Israeli-Palestinian Peace Efforts Oslo on HBO John Dickerson for CBS Mornings: Former President Jimmy Carter: “America will learn from its mistakes” The Lady Bird Diaries on Hulu Eleanor Roosevelt in a Coal by Bettman and The George Washington University’s Case Study: Eleanor Roosevelt’s Visit to Coal Mine (1935)   Here are this week’s chatters: John: Julia Simon for NPR: ‘It feels like I’m not crazy.’ Gardeners aren’t surprised as USDA updates key map and U.S. Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service: USDA Unveils Updated Plant Hardiness Zone Map Emily: Liran Samuni and Martin Surbeck in Science: Cooperation across social borders in bonobos and The Bonobo Sisterhood: Revolution Through Female Alliance by Diane Rosenfeld  David: City Cast Executive Producer, Nashville, Executive Producer, Austin, and Events Director, remote and The National WWII Museum: WWII Veteran Statistics  Listener chatter from Dimitri in Boulder, Colorado: University of Evansville: Library of Congress Recognizes Plagiarized University of Evansville Archaeologist After 90 Years and Jessica Blake for Inside Higher Ed: Female Archaeologist’s Work Receives Overdue Recognition—90 Years Later   For this week’s Slate Plus bonus segment, David, John, and Emily talk about the death of former First Lady Rosalynn Carter and her 77-year marriage with Jimmy Carter. See also Rick Rojas for The New York Times: The Carters’ Hometown Mourns for the Love of a Lifetime and Peter Baker: Rosalynn Carter Helped Shape the Role of the Modern First Lady. In the latest Gabfest Reads, Emily talks with James Sturm about Watership Down: The Graphic Novel. See also James Sturm and Joe Sutphin in The New York Times: In Times of Danger, There’s Strength in Numbers.   Email your chatters, questions, and comments to gabfest@slate.com. (Messages may be referenced by name unless the writer stipulates otherwise.)   Podcast production by Cheyna Roth  Research by Julie Huygen Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Emily Bazelon talks with cartoonist James Sturm, about his new graphic novel adaptation of Watership Down. They discuss what makes the animal characters so compelling, going tharn[MOU1] , where Watership Down fits in the literary tradition, and so much more. 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.  [MOU1]A word I haven’t thought of in years—stopped me in my tracks! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This week, Emily Bazelon, John Dickerson, and David Plotz discuss Joe Manchin’s departure from the U.S. Senate and what it means for the Democratic majority, No Labels, and the 2024 presidential race; the Supreme Court’s new code of conduct and whether it’s worthless; and the Israel-Hamas war and how it’s affecting Democratic politics. You can be a part of the show: submit your Conundrum at slate.com/conundrum. And join us for Conundrums Live! December 7 at The 92nd Street Y, New York City.    Here are some notes and references from this week’s show: Zeeshan Aleem for MSNBC: “Joe Manchin’s triple blow to the Democrats”  Brittany Gibson and Shia Kapos for Politico: “Pelosi launches an all-out attack against No Labels” Wikipedia: “Assume a can opener” The Supreme Court of the United States: “Code of Conduct for Justices of the Supreme Court of the United States” Adam Liptak for The New York Times: “Supreme Court’s New Ethics Code Is Toothless, Experts Say” Maria Abi-Habib, Michael Crowley, and Edward Wong for The New York Times: “More Than 500 U.S. Officials Sign Letter Protesting Biden’s Israel Policy” Sam Fossum, Morgan Rimmer, and Manu Raju for CNN: “Top House Democrats evacuated from DNC headquarters as police clash with protesters calling for Gaza ceasefire”  Liz Goodwin for The Washington Post: “Bernie Sanders faces blowback as progressives urge cease-fire in Gaza” George Packer for The Atlantic: “Israel Must Not React Stupidly” Thomas L Friedman for The New York Times: “I Have Never Been to This Israel Before” Declan Walsh and Abdi Latif Dahir for The New York Times: “Seizing Darfur Region, Paramilitary Forces Are Accused of Atrocities”  Jennifer Jacobs for Fortune and Bloomberg: “Why a group of ‘everyday people’ in Iowa have been invited to dinner by Chinese president Xi Jinping: ‘We’re eager to meet with him’” Iowa PBS: “Citizen Diplomacy” The Economist’s The Prince podcast: “7: Wolf warriors”  Muscatine County, Iowa: “History”   Here are this week’s chatters: Emily: HBO’s movie Oslo John: John Dickerson on Instagram and Covenant House Sleep Out; Alex Wilkins for New Scientist: “Robotic chemist discovers how to make oxygen from Martian minerals” David: Michael Balsamo for AP: “Secret Service agents protecting Biden’s granddaughter open fire when 3 people try to break into SUV”; Washington, D.C. Metropolitan Police: Carjacking; Exploring a Secret Fort with David through airbnb Listener chatter from David, Alameda, California: Chloe Olewitz for Morsel: “Over 100 Years Ago, the US Government Commissioned 7,500 Watercolor Paintings of Every Kind of Fruit in the Country” and U.S. Department of Agriculture, National Agricultural Library: “USDA Pomological Watercolors” In the next Gabfest Reads, Emily talks with James Sturm about Watership Down: The Graphic Novel. See also James Sturm and Joe Sutphin in The New York Times: “In Times of Danger, There’s Strength in Numbers.”   Email your chatters, questions, and comments to gabfest@slate.com. (Messages may be referenced by name unless the writer stipulates otherwise.)   Podcast production by Cheyna Roth  Research by Julie Huygen   Hosts Emily Bazelon, John Dickerson, and David Plotz Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This week, Emily Bazelon, John Dickerson, and David Plotz discuss the 2023 election results and Democratic wins in Ohio, Virginia, and Kentucky; President Joe Biden’s numbers in recent polls and the youth vote; and U.S. v. Rahimi at the Supreme Court, the 2nd Amendment and gun control, and the history and tradition test. And you can be a part of the show: submit your Conundrum atslate.com/conundrum.    Here are some notes and references from this week’s show: Lisa Lerer and Shane Goldmacher for The New York Times: “Abortion Rights Fuel Big Democratic Wins, and Hopes for 2024” Molly Olmstead for Slate: “Sean Hannity Had Quite the Takeaway About Abortion After Tuesday’s Elections"  Kate Zernike for The New York Times: “Ohio Vote Continues a Winning Streak for Abortion Rights” Laura Vozzella for The Washington Post: “Democratic wins in Virginia could deflate Youngkin’s White House buzz” Hannah Knowles and Dylan Wells for The Washington Post: “Democrat Andy Beshear wins reelection for governor in Kentucky”  Matthew Yglesias for Slow Boring: “23 thoughts on the 2023 midterms” John Dickerson for The Atlantic Festival 2023: “Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro on Leading a Key Swing State” Shane Goldmacher for The New York Times: “Trump Leads in 5 Critical States as Voters Blast Biden, Times/Siena Poll Finds“ Jonathan Swan, Ruth Igielnik, and Maggie Haberman for The New York Times: “Trump Indictments Haven’t Sunk His Campaign, but a Conviction Might” Nate Cohn for The New York Times: “Why Biden Is Behind, and How He Could Come Back” Philip Bump for The Washington Post: “Are young voters actually split between Trump and Biden?” Daniel A. Cox for the AEI Survey Center on American Life: “Why are Young Voters So Down on Joe Biden?” Pew Research Center’s Beyond Red Vs. Blue: The Political Typology: “Outsider Left” Sudiksha Kochi for USA Today: “Former Obama adviser Axelrod says Biden should consider dropping out of 2024” Robert Barnes for The Washington Post: “Court seems likely to allow gun bans for those under protective orders” Jordan Smith for The Intercept: “In Overturning Roe, Radical Supreme Court Declares War on the 14th Amendment” Thomas Jefferson: “To James Madison From Thomas Jefferson, 6 September 1789” Ulysses S. Grant Revealed: “President Ulysses S. Grant On The U.S. Constitution” Michael Barbaro and Jonah E. Bromwich for The New York Times’s The Daily podcast: “The Trumps Take the Stand”   Here are this week’s chatters: John: Reuters: “Napoleon’s hat heading to auction in France”; Marielle Brie: “Napoleon Bonaparte’s Bicorne Hat”; and Kai McNamee for NPR: “Lost French love letters from the 1750s reveal what life was like during wartime” Emily: Liberty Puzzles David: Jessica Sidman for Washingtonian: “Why Is Dallas on the Cover of This DC Guidebook?” Listener chatter from Sheila McIntyre: Sophie Mann-Shafir for The Provincetown Independent: “TPRTA Misled Members on Voter Registration; Town Meeting Postponed”   For this week’s Slate Plus bonus segment, Emily, John, and David talk about the trial testimony by the Trump family – Donald, Donald, Jr., Eric, and Ivanka – in the civil case of New York v. Trump.  In the latest 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 Cheyna Roth  Research by Julie Huygen Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This week, Emily Bazelon, John Dickerson, and David Plotz discuss Nikki Haley’s progress and Ron DeSantis’s stagnation in Iowa, Donald Trump’s testimony in New York, and Dean Phillips’s campaign in New Hampshire; the first social-media cases of the term at the Supreme Court; and Ours Was the Shining Future: The Story of the American Dream with author David Leonhardt. And you can be a part of the show: submit your Conundrum at slate.com/conundrum.    Here are some notes and references from this week’s show: Brianne Pfannenstiel for the Des Moines Register: “Donald Trump builds on big lead as Nikki Haley pulls even with Ron DeSantis in Iowa Poll”  Jennifer Rubin for The Washington Post: “Nikki Haley has a shot. But a really, really long one.” Jonah E. Bromwich and Ben Protess for The New York Times: “Trump Civil Fraud Trial: Donald Trump Jr. Resumes Testifying in Fraud Case Aimed at His Father” Geoffrey Skelley for 538: The curious case of Dean Phillips’s last-minute primary challenge 538: “How popular is Joe Biden?” Jeff Neal for Harvard Law Today: “The Supreme Court takes on (anti)social media” Adam Liptak for The New York Times: “Supreme Court Lifts Limits for Now on Biden Officials’ Contacts With Tech Platforms” Amy Howe for SCOTUSblog: “Justices take major Florida and Texas social media cases” Ours Was the Shining Future: The Story of the American Dream by David Leonhardt Emily Bazelon for The New York Times’s The Morning newsletter, November 2, 2023 David Leonhardt for The Atlantic: “The Hard Truth About Immigration” Peter Dizikes for MIT News: “Q&A: David Autor on the long afterlife of the “China shock”” History.com: “A. Philip Randolph” Natasha Singer for The New York Times: “This Florida School District Banned Cellphones. Here’s What Happened.” and “New Laws on Kids and Social Media Are Stymied by Industry Lawsuits” Cristiano Lima and Naomi Nix for The Washington Post: “41 states sue Meta, claiming Instagram, Facebook are addictive, harm kids”   Here are this week’s chatters: Emily: The New Yorker’s Poetry Podcast with Kevin Young: “Toi Derricotte Reads Tracy K. Smith” John: The Graham Norton Show: “Dame Judi Dench Masterfully Does A Shakespeare Sonnet”; BBC Radio 4’s Cabin Pressure; Endeavour on PBS Masterpiece; John Dickerson for CBS News Prime Time: “Grammy-winning artist Jason Isbell talks about the craft of songwriting and his latest music”; and Ray Bradbury in the Los Angeles Times: “’Ice Cream Suit’--Touchstone for the Past and Present” David: Sarah Zhang for The Atlantic: “Everything I Thought I Knew About Nasal Congestion Is Wrong” Listener chatter from Albert Fox Cahn: N’dea Yancey-Bragg for USA Today: “Advocates say excited delirium provides cover for police violence. They want it banned” and John Dickerson for CBS News 60 Minutes: “How a questionable syndrome, “Excited Delirium,” could be protecting police officers from misconduct charges”   For this week’s Slate Plus bonus segment, Emily, John, and David talk about classroom cellphone bans. In the latest 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 Cheyna Roth  Research by Julie Huygen Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This week, Emily Bazelon, John Dickerson, and David Plotz take the show on the road and gab live with Wisconsin Governor Tony Evers; discuss the new Speaker of the House Mike Johnson; and review the former lawyers and Chief of Staff who will testify against Donald Trump.    Here are some notes and references from this week’s show: City Cast Madison podcast and Madison Minutes newsletter Jennifer Rubin for The Washington Post: “Wisconsin Dems’ big wins for the rule of law might be an inflection point” Scott Bauer for AP: “Wisconsin Supreme Court asked to draw new legislative boundaries over Republican objections” James Hohmann for The Washington Post: “In Wisconsin, Tony Evers made a virtue of being dull” Amy Gardner and Michael Kranish for The Washington Post: “New speaker Mike Johnson’s 2020 election denial could have 2024 implications” Carl Hulse for The New York Times: “The Far Right Gets Its Man of the House” Ours Was the Shining Future: The Story of the American Dream by David Leonhardt  Katherine Faulders, Mike Levine, and Alexander Mallin for ABC News: “Ex-Chief of Staff Mark Meadows granted immunity, tells special counsel he warned Trump about 2020 claims: Sources” Paul Blumenthal for HuffPost: “The Guilty Pleas In Trump’s Georgia Indictment Are Starting To Roll Uphill” David French for The New York Times: “Trump’s Lawyers Are Going Down. Is He?”   Here are this week’s chatters: John: Mark Shanahan for The Boston Globe: “The Great Molasses Flood of 1919 was Boston’s strangest disaster“ and Dark Tide: The Great Molasses Flood of 1919 by Stephen Puleo   Emily: Hesket Oslo podcast by Arnon Degani; This Is Palestine podcast by the Institute for Middle East Understanding; and The Ezra Klein Show podcast: “The Jewish Left Is Trying to Hold Two Thoughts at Once” David: Vocal coach Karen Harris and “Jersey Girl” by Tom Waits Listener chatter from Jake Sinderbrand: University of Wisconsin-Madison: “Wisconsin Idea” and Babcock Dairy Store Listener chatter from Mike Duncan: The Storm Before the Storm: The Beginning of the End of the Roman Republic; Hero of Two Worlds: The Marquis de Lafayette in the Age of Revolution; The History of Rome podcast; and Revolutions podcast For this week’s Slate Plus bonus segment, Emily, John, and David answer questions from the Madison audience. In the latest 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 Cheyna Roth and Tim Peterson. Special thanks to Katie Rayford. Research by Julie Huygen. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This week, Emily Bazelon and David Plotz are joined by Juliette Kayyem to discuss the Israel-Hamas war in Gaza and Steve Scalise’s fight for the gavel of the House Speaker. Here are some notes and references from this week’s show: Juliette Kayyem for The Atlantic: “A Devastating Attack by Hamas” Tom Dannenbaum for Just Security: “The Siege of Gaza and the Starvation War Crime” Zack Beauchamp for Vox: “Benjamin Netanyahu failed Israel” Aamer Madhani and Ellen Knickmeyer for AP: “Biden’s hopes for establishing Israel-Saudi relations could become a casualty of the new Mideast war” Kevin Liptak, MJ Lee, Kayla Tausche, and Jeff Zeleny for CNN: “Biden’s dilemma in Israel response: Outrage without escalation” Emily Ngo and Nick Reisman for Politico: “’Unacceptably devoid of empathy’: DSA is facing an internal reckoning on Israel” Jack Stripling and Laura Meckler for The Washington Post: “At colleges, violence in Israel and Gaza ignites a war of words” Bertha Gonzalez for The Stanford Daily: “Saller, Martinez condemn Hamas attack in University statement” Carl Hulse for The New York Times: “Republicans Choose a New Speaker Nominee, Then Quickly Undercut Him” Jason Lange for Reuters: “RFK Jr could draw one in seven US voters in 2024 presidential election, Reuters/Ipsos poll shows” Steve Peoples for AP: “How third-party and independent candidates could threaten Democrats and Republicans in 2024” Here are this week’s chatters: Emily: Rabbi Erez Sherman in the Jewish Journal: “Mourning and Joy – At The Same Time” Juliette: “The True-Blue American” by Delmore Schwartz in Selected Poems: Summer Knowledge David: Matthew Yglesias for Slow Boring: “The “Deaths of Despair” narrative is wrong” and the movie “BlackBerry” Listener chatter from Deb Knox: Little Amal and Sean Beauford for Pittsburgh City Paper: “A giant puppet comes to Pittsburgh, and, with it, recognition of child refugees”  For this week’s Slate Plus bonus segment, Emily, David, and Juliette discuss Robert F. Kennedy Jr., Cornel West, No Labels, and their possible effects on the presidential race between Joe Biden and Donald Trump.  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 Jared Downing Research by Julie Huygen Hosts Juliette Kayyem, Emily Bazelon, and David Plotz Follow @SlateGabfest on X / https://twitter.com/SlateGabfest Slate Gabfest on Facebook / https://www.facebook.com/Gabfest/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This week, Emily Bazelon, John Dickerson, and David Plotz discuss the now-former Speaker of the House Kevin McCarthy and the for-now Republican Matt Gaetz; the Supreme Court’s new term; and crime in America.   Here are some notes and references from this week’s show: Marianna Sotomayor, Leigh Ann Caldwell, and Colby Itkowitz for The Washington Post: “Fight for speakership begins as House reels from McCarthy ouster” David Leonhardt for The New York Times: “America’s Political Turmoil” Matt Ford for The New Republic: “The Supreme Court Eyes Its Next Big Power Grab” Gerhard Peters and John T. Woolley for The American Presidency Project: “Summary of the Report of the Committee on Administrative Management [the Brownlow Report].” Ian Millhiser for Vox: “The Supreme Court will decide if abusive spouses have a right to own guns” Mark Sherman for AP: “Supreme Court is asked to reject limits on a drug used in the most common method of abortion” Andrew Chung for Reuters: “Supreme Court ethics concerns aren’t going away” Ernesto Lopez, Richard Rosenfeld, and Bobby Boxerman for the Council on Criminal Justice: “Crime Trends in U.S. Cities: Mid-Year 2023 Update"  Rebecca Crosby, Judd Legum, and Tesnim Zekeria for Popular Information: “Target says it’s closing 9 stores due to theft. The crime data tells a different story.” Trisha Ahmed and Jim Salter for AP: “Some small towns in America are disbanding police forces, citing hiring woes” Gabe Cohen for CNN: “Doubling up on classrooms, using online teachers and turning to support staff: How schools are dealing with the ongoing teacher shortage”  John Dickerson for CBS News: “Chronic school absences on the rise in 40 states, study finds” Michael D. Shear for The New York Times: “Bidens’ Dog Is No Longer at White House After Latest Biting Incident” Molly Olmstead for Slate: “The Bidens’ Dog Keeps Biting People. Why?” Judicial Watch: “Judicial Watch Sues Secret Service for Records of Attacks by Biden German Shepherd ‘Commander’”   Here are this week’s chatters:  Emily: North Woods: A Novel by Daniel Mason and “Tiny Beautiful Things” on Hulu John: “Endeavour” on PBS; Daniel Garisto for Scientific American: “This Year’s Physics Nobel Awards Scientists for Slicing Reality into Attoseconds”; John Uri for NASA: “65 Years Ago: Sputnik Ushers in the Space Age”; and Charles Fishman for Fast Company: “The birth of the electronic beep, the most ubiquitous sound design in the world” David: Paul M.M. Cooper’s Fall of Civilizations Podcast and Dan Carlin’s Hardcore History podcast Listener chatter from Danny O’Malley: “Canary”  For this week’s Slate Plus bonus segment, Emily, John, and David discuss President Joe Biden’s dog, Commander, his biting of Secret Service personnel, and his recent banishment from the White House.  In the next Gabfest Reads in October, 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 Cheyna Roth Research by Julie Huygen Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This week, Emily Bazelon, John Dickerson, and David Plotz discuss the second Republican presidential primary debate; the next federal case against Senator Bob Menendez, and the latest lawsuit of United States v. Big Tech. Join us for Political Gabfest Live in Madison, Wisconsin on October 25! Here are some notes and references from this week’s show: Dan Balz for The Washington Post: “Republican debate brings chaos, attacks and a slog for second place” G. Elliott Morris for 538: “How outlier polls happen – and what to do with them” Nicole Hong for The New York Times: “Gold Bullion and Halal Meat: Inside the Menendez Investigation” John Dickerson for CBS News Prime Time: “FTC chair Lina Khan discusses need for regulations on big business” Lina M. Khan in The Yale Law Journal: “Amazon’s Antitrust Paradox” Lisa Mascaro and Stephen Groves for AP: “House Speaker McCarthy is back to square one as the Senate pushes ahead to avert a federal shutdown” John Dickerson and Kris Van Cleave for CBS News: “How a government shutdown could cause chaos at airports” Here are this week’s chatters: Emily: Mary Harris for This American Life: Act One of The Call; Slate’s podcast What Next hosted by Mary Harris; Never Use Alone Inc. National Overdose Prevention Lifeline; Dr. Alison Block for the Post-Roe America series of The Nocturnists podcast; and Slate’s podcast Amicus hosted by Dahlia Lithwick: “SCOTUS Is Not Done With Guns and Abortion” John: Michael Schneider for Variety: “CNN and Now-Canceled ‘Vice News Tonight’ Lead News & Documentary Night 1 Winners List” and John Dickerson for CBS News Prime Time: “How to stay safe online, according to CISA” David: Jonathan O’Callaghan for Nature: “This is what Earth’s continents will look like in 250 million years” Listener chatter from Kevin McEvilly: Adam Frank and Marcelo Gleiser in The New York Times: “The Story of Our Universe May Be Starting to Unravel” For this week’s Slate Plus bonus segment, Emily, John, and David discuss the possible shutdown of the U.S. government. In the latest Gabfest Reads, Emily talks with Zadie Smith about her book, The Fraud: A Novel. 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 or X us @SlateGabfest. (Messages may be quoted by name unless the writer stipulates otherwise.) Podcast production by Jared Downing and Cheyna Roth Research by Julie Huygen Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Emily Bazelon talks with author Zadie Smith about her new book, The Fraud. They discuss what happens when justice comes through an unjust symbol, how much Zadie does and doesn’t know about her characters, and more.  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. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This week, Emily Bazelon, John Dickerson, and David Plotz discuss the UAW autoworkers’ strike against the Big Three automakers, talk with Yoel Roth about social media trust and safety, and weigh teachers’ burden to engage in parent diplomacy. Join us for Political Gabfest Live in Madison, Wisconsin on October 25!   Here are some notes and references from this week’s show: Danielle Kaye for NPR: “Why the UAW is fighting so hard for these 4 key demands in the auto strike” Yoel Roth in The New York Times: “Trump Attacked Me. Then Musk Did. It Wasn’t an Accident.”  Yoel Roth on Lawfare: “Content Moderation’s Legalism Problem” Sarah Chaves in The Atlantic: “Parent Diplomacy Is Overwhelming Teachers” 9News: “Surveillance video: “Boebert seen vaping, arguing with patrons before removal from Denver theater”    Here are this week’s chatters:  Emily: Susan Haigh and Eric Tucker for AP: “Former federal prosecutor who resigned from Trump-Russia probe says she left over concerns with Barr”  John: Ashley Strickland for CNN: “How NASA has prepared to scoop up an asteroid sample landing in the desert” and The Art of Explanation: How to Communicate with Clarity and Confidence by Ros Atkins  David: NOAA National Marine Sanctuaries: “Mallows Bay-Potomac River National Marine Sanctuary” and National Trust for Historic Preservation: “Ghost Fleet of the Potomac, Mallows Bay” Listener chatter from Kevin Collins: Thomas Kole’s a portrait of Tenochtitlan: a 3D reconstruction of the capital of the Aztec Empire For this week’s Slate Plus bonus segment, Emily, John, and David discuss the surveillance camera video of Representative Lauren Boebert behaving badly in a Denver theater.  In the next Gabfest Reads, Emily talks with Zadie Smith about her book, The Fraud: A Novel.    Email your chatters, questions, and comments to gabfest@slate.com or X us @SlateGabfest. (Messages may be quoted by name unless the writer stipulates otherwise.)   Podcast production by Cheyna Roth  Research by Julie Huygen   Hosts Emily Bazelon, John Dickerson, and David Plotz   Follow @SlateGabfest on X / https://twitter.com/SlateGabfest Slate Gabfest on Facebook / https://www.facebook.com/Gabfest/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This week, Emily Bazelon and David Plotz are reunited with John Dickerson to discuss the Wisconsin Republicans’ effort to impeach Justice Janet Protasiewicz and protect their gerrymander; Speaker Kevin McCarthy’s decision to start an impeachment inquiry of President Joe Biden and prevent a government shutdown; and Biden’s age problem and Donald Trump’s battleground-state difficulties. Join us for Political Gabfest Live in Madison, Wisconsin on October 25! Here are some notes and references from this week’s show: Scott Bauer for AP: “Why Wisconsin Republicans are talking about impeaching a new state Supreme Court justice” City Cast Madison podcast: “How We Know Wisconsin’s Maps are Gerrymandered” Republican Party of Minnesota v. White, 536 U.S. 765 (2002) Luke Broadwater for The New York Times: “What We Know About the Impeachment Case Against Biden” and Carl Hulse and Luke Broadwater: “McCarthy Tries to Leverage Biden Impeachment to Avoid a Shutdown” Nate Cohn for The New York Times: “Trump’s Electoral College Edge Seems to Be Fading” and “How to Interpret Polling Showing Biden’s Loss of Nonwhite Support” FiveThirtyEight Politics Podcast: “Why Biden Is Losing Support Among Voters Of Color” Paul Waldman for MSNBC: “You can talk about Biden’s age. Just not like this.” The Hardest Job in the World: The American Presidency by John Dickerson The Last Politician: Inside Joe Biden’s White House and the Struggle for America’s Future by Franklin Foer Dan Balz for The Washington Post: “Mitt Romney says he will not seek a second term in the Senate” McKay Coppins for The Atlantic: “What Mitt Romney Saw In The Senate” “Mitt” on Netflix  Laura Vozzella for The Washington Post: “Va. Dem. House candidate performed sex online with husband for tips” Here are this week’s chatters: Emily: The Knockout Queen: A Novel by Rufi Thorpe and The Vaster Wilds: A Novel by Lauren Groff John: The Journals of John Cheever edited by Robert Gottlieb; CBS News Sunday Morning; Ted Gioia in The Honest Broker: “Why Is Music Getting Sadder?”; and Chris Dalla Riva: “Tears Are Falling And I Feel The Pain” David: Zhong sauce by Fly By Jing Listener chatter from Ben: Tyler Vigen’s “The Mystery of the Bloomfield Bridge” For this week’s Slate Plus bonus segment, Emily, John, and David discuss Susanna Gibson, the Virginia Democratic House candidate who “performed sex online with husband for tips.”  In the latest Gabfest Reads, Emily, David, and John talk with Barbara Kingsolver about her best-selling book, Demon Copperhead.  Email your chatters, questions, and comments to gabfest@slate.com or X us @SlateGabfest. (Messages may be quoted by name unless the writer stipulates otherwise.) Podcast production by Jared Downing and Cheyna Roth Research by Julie Huygen Hosts Emily Bazelon, John Dickerson, and David Plotz Follow @SlateGabfest on X / https://twitter.com/SlateGabfest Slate Gabfest on Facebook / https://www.facebook.com/Gabfest/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This week, Emily Bazelon and David Plotz are joined by The Atlantic’s Franklin Foer to discuss Joe Biden’s White House and The Last Politician; the war in Ukraine and the possible meeting of Kim Jong Un and Vladimir Putin; and Americans’ views on the value of higher education. Join us for Political Gabfest Live in Madison, Wisconsin on October 25!   Here are some notes and references from this week’s show: The Last Politician: Inside Joe Biden’s White House and the Struggle for America’s Future by Franklin Foer Seung Min Kim, Stephen Groves, and Farnoush Amiri for AP: “How Biden and McCarthy struck a debt limit deal and staved off a catastrophe” Matthew Yglesias @mattyglesias: “This was Biden’s core promise …” Jasmine Wright for CNN: “Kamala Harris found her voice on abortion rights in the year after Dobbs. Now she’s making it central to her 2024 message” Imtiaz Tyab for CBS News: “Ukraine counteroffensive makes “notable” progress near Zaporizhzhia, but it’s a grinding stalemate elsewhere” Paul Tough for The New York Times Magazine: “Americans Are Losing Faith in the Value of College. Whose Fault Is That?” Ramesh Ponnuru in The Washington Post: “How to restore intellectual diversity on college campuses  Mitchell E. Daniels Jr. in The Washington Post: “Could income-share agreements help solve the student debt crisis?” Bullshit Jobs: A Theory by David Graeber  Sarah Wood for U.S. News & World Report: “Paying for Meals at College: What to Know About Costs” Nine Black Robes: Inside the Supreme Court’s Drive to the Right and Its Historic Consequences by Joan Biskupic  Here are this week’s chatters:  Emily: Richard Fausset and Danny Hakim for The New York Times: “Georgia Judge Says Two Defendants in Trump Case Will Get Early Trial Together” and Sam Gringlas for NPR: “In the Trump Georgia case, conflicting legal strategies complicate the path to trial” Frank: The Dan Patrick Show: “Does Messi Make MLS Appear Inferior?”; How Soccer Explains the World: An Unlikely Theory of Globalization by Franklin Foer; Essays on Music by Theodor Adorno; and On Late Style: Music and Literature Against the Grain by Edward W. Said  David: One Life: Frederick Douglass at the National Portrait Gallery, Smithsonian, Washington, D.C.; Michel Martin for NPR’s All Things Considered: “Picture This: Frederick Douglass Was The Most Photographed Man Of His Time”; and NPR: “’What To The Slave Is The Fourth Of July?’: Descendants Read Frederick Douglass’ Speech” Listener chatter from Nicole Dorn: Jennifer Senior for The Atlantic: “The Ones We Sent Away”  For this week’s Slate Plus bonus segment, Frank, Emily, and David discuss the writing of The Last Politician: Inside Joe Biden’s White House and the Struggle for America’s Future.  In the latest Gabfest Reads, Emily, David, and John talk with Barbara Kingsolver about her best-selling book, Demon Copperhead.    Email your chatters, questions, and comments to gabfest@slate.com or X us @SlateGabfest. (Messages may be quoted by name unless the writer stipulates otherwise.)   Podcast production by Cheyna Roth  Research by Julie Huygen Hosts Franklin Foer, Emily Bazelon, and David Plotz   Follow @SlateGabfest on X / https://twitter.com/SlateGabfest Slate Gabfest on Facebook / https://www.facebook.com/Gabfest/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This week, Emily Bazelon, John Dickerson, and David Plotz discuss Donald Trump’s trials schedule and the 2024 election calendar; Vivek Ramaswamy; and “What the Best Places in America Have in Common.”    Here are some notes and references from this week’s show: Devlin Barrett, Rachel Weiner, and Perry Stein for The Washington Post: “Trump’s D.C. election-obstruction trial scheduled for March 2024” Josh Barro in Very Serious: “Section Guy Runs For President”  Kathryn J. Edin, H. Luke Shaefer, and Timothy J. Nelson in The Atlantic: “What the Best Places in America Have in Common” and The Injustice of Place: Uncovering the Legacy of Poverty in America MGM’s “Red Dawn” official trailer John Dickerson for CBS News’ Prime Time: “Russia accuses Ukraine of large-scale drone attack” Hamlet by Shakespeare: “To die, to sleep– To sleep–perchance to dream.”    Here are this week’s chatters: John: Strike Force Five podcast on Spotify; Caroline Anders for The Washington Post: “France has too much wine. It’s paying millions to destroy the leftovers.”; Giri Viswanathan for CNN: “Marijuana and hallucinogen use, binge drinking reached records highs in middle-aged adults, survey finds”; and James Martinez for AP: “’Like Snoop Dogg’s living room’: Smell of pot wafts over notorious U.S. Open court” Emily: Tennis.com: “Azarenka, Svitolina, Wozniacki among 10 moms in the US Open main draw this year” David: Tree of the Year 2023 by the Woodland Trust; European Tree of the Year; Asian Tree of the Year; and Josh Levin for Slate’s One Year: 1955 podcast: “The Team Nobody Would Play”  Listener chatter from Brian Jackson: Jordan Pascale for DCist: “At DCA, Crews Race Each Night To Repave A Bit Of Runway Before The Next Day’s Flights” For this week’s Slate Plus bonus segment, John, Emily, and David discuss militias.  In this month’s Gabfest Reads, Emily, David, and John talk with Barbara Kingsolver about her best-selling book, Demon Copperhead.    Email your chatters, questions, and comments to gabfest@slate.com or X us @SlateGabfest. (Messages may be quoted by name unless the writer stipulates otherwise.)   Podcast production by Cheyna Roth  Research by Julie Huygen Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This week, John Dickerson is back and joins Emily Bazelon and David Plotz to discuss the first Republican primary debate and the simulcast Tucker Carlson interview of Donald Trump; the Republican law professors’ debate about whether the U.S. Constitution prohibits another Trump presidency; and the United Diners of America.  Here are some notes and references from this week’s show: Colectivo Coffee in Madison, Wisconsin Josh Dawsey, Michael Scherer, and Marianne LeVine for The Washington Post: “Republican rivals clash sharply in combative debate with no Trump” Sam Levine for The Guardian: “Could Trump be barred under the constitution’s ‘engaged in insurrection’ clause?” William Baude and Michael Stokes Paulsen in the University of Pennsylvania Law Review: “The Sweep and Force of Section Three” J. Michael Luttig and Laurence H. Tribe in The Atlantic: “The Constitution Prohibits Trump From Ever Being President Again” Eric Segall in Dorf on Law: “Of Insurrections, Presidents, and the Utter Failure of Constitutional Law to Address the Real Issues” Catherine Rampell for The Washington Post: “Where do socioeconomic classes mix? Not church, but Chili’s.” Maxim Massenkoff and Nathan Wilmers: “Rubbing Shoulders: Class Segregation in Daily Activities” Freevee original “Jury Duty” on Amazon Julie V. Iovine for The New York Times: “Dog Parks Are Great for People. Too Bad They’re Terrible for Dogs.” Applebee’s America: How Successful Political, Business, and Religious Leaders Connect with the New American Community by Ron Fournier, Douglas B. Sosnik, and Matthew J. Dowd “Fancy Like (feat. Kesha)” by Walker Hayes Here are this week’s chatters: John: “Weathervanes” by Jason Isbell and the 400 Unit; “Jason Isbell: Running With Our Eyes Closed“ on Max; “Volunteer” and “Cast Iron Skillet” by Jason Isbell and the 400 Unit Emily: Jeff Amy for AP: “Georgia prosecutors are suing to strike down a new state law that undermines their authority” David: Emily Heil for The Washington Post: “Eggo’s ‘Brunch in a Jar’ sippin’ cream is a boozy, diabolical disaster”; Cheez-It Snap’d; City Cast DC 1 Year Anniversary Live Taping  Listener chatter from Leonie: Ronan Casey for Classic Rock: “Meat Loaf, a flying wheelchair, and the greatest story ever told” For this week’s Slate Plus bonus segment, John, Emily, and David debate calendar invitations.  In this month’s edition of Gabfest Reads, Emily, David, and John talk with Barbara Kingsolver about her best-selling book, Demon Copperhead.  Email your chatters, questions, and comments to gabfest@slate.com or X us @SlateGabfest. (Messages may be quoted by name unless the writer stipulates otherwise.) Podcast production by Jared Downing and Cheyna Roth  Research by Julie Huygen Hosts Emily Bazelon, John Dickerson, and David Plotz Follow @SlateGabfest on X / https://twitter.com/SlateGabfest Slate Gabfest on Facebook / https://www.facebook.com/Gabfest/  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Emily Bazelon, David Plotz, and John Dickerson talk with author Barbara Kingsolver about her new book, Demon Copperhead. They discuss her inspiration for the novel, what we keep getting wrong about Appalachia, and more.    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. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This week, Emily Bazelon and David Plotz are joined by Lulu Garcia-Navarro of The New York Times to discuss the indictment in Georgia of Donald Trump and 18 co-defendants for trying to overturn the state’s 2020 election results; the court win by Montana youth for “a clean and healthful environment” and the devastating losses of Maui residents to wildfire; and the lawsuit of Michael Oher against his supposed “Blind Side” parents.    Here are some notes and references from this week’s show: C-SPAN: “Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis on the Indictment of Former President Trump” David Gelles, Brad Plumer, Jim Tankersley, and Jack Ewing for The New York Times: “The Clean Energy Future Is Arriving Faster Than You Think” Christopher Flavelle and Manuela Andreoni for The New York Times: “How Climate Change Turned Lush Hawaii Into a Tinderbox” Josh Levin for Slate: “The Other Blind Sides” and Hang Up and Listen podcast Robyn Autry for MSNBC: “’The Blind Side’ isn’t the only film that gets things wrong. All white savior movies do.” Kristine Parks for Fox News: “Liberal columnists seize on ‘Blind Side’ controversy: ‘White savior’ story looks ‘even more fake’ than before” Emily Laurence and Jeff Temple for Forbes: “The Psychology Behind The Fear of Missing Out (FOMO)”   Here are this week’s chatters: Emily: The Fear of Too Much Justice: Race, Poverty, and the Persistence of Inequality in the Criminal Courts by Stephen Bright and James Kwak and The Women of NOW: How Feminists Built an Organization That Transformed America by Katherine Turk  Lulu: Only Murders In The Building on Hulu David: Hijack on Apple TV+ and hiring for Host, City Cast Las Vegas Listener chatter from Julian: Liz Lindqwister for The San Francisco Standard: “San Franciscans Are Having Sex in Robotaxis, and Nobody Is Talking About It” For this week’s Slate Plus bonus segment, Lulu, Emily, and David discuss the return of FOMO.  In the most recent edition of Gabfest Reads, David talks with David Grann about his book, The Wager: A Tale of Shipwreck, Mutiny and Murder.    Email your chatters, questions, and comments to gabfest@slate.com or X us @SlateGabfest. (Messages may be quoted by name unless the writer stipulates otherwise.)   Podcast production by Cheyna Roth  Research by Julie Huygen Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This week, Emily Bazelon and David Plotz are joined by Juliette Kayyem to discuss the Ohio vote not to make it harder to change the state constitution; Republican views on Donald Trump’s offenses; and emergency preparedness or the lack thereof.    Here are some notes and references from this week’s show: Jack Goldsmith for The New York Times: “The Prosecution of Trump May Have Terrible Consequences” The Devil Never Sleeps: Learning to Live in an Age of Disasters by Juliette Kayyem Charles M. Blow for The New York Times: “The Montgomery Brawl Was, for Some, a Clarifying Moment”   Here are this week’s chatters: Emily: WESH 2: “Gov. DeSantis suspends State Attorney Monique H. Worrell, citing neglect of duty” Juliette: Clay Risen for The New York Times: “Charles J. Ogletree Jr., 70, Dies; at Harvard Law, a Voice for Equal Justice” and Emily Bazelon for The New York Times: “Why Is Affirmative Action in Peril? One Man’s Decision.” David: City Cast DC 1 Year Anniversary Live Taping, August 28, 2023, and Rachel Pannett for The Washington Post: “She invited four people over for lunch. A week later, three were dead.” Listener chatter from Rob Parsons: Richard Nelson for Encounters North: “Classic Audio Encounters” For this week’s Slate Plus bonus segment, Juliette, Emily, and David discuss the Montgomery, Alabama riverfront brawl.  In the most recent edition of Gabfest Reads, David talks with David Grann about his book, The Wager: A Tale of Shipwreck, Mutiny and Murder.    Email your chatters, questions, and comments to gabfest@slate.com or X us @SlateGabfest. (Messages may be quoted by name unless the writer stipulates otherwise.)   Podcast production by Cheyna Roth  Research by Julie Huygen Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This week, Emily Bazelon, John Dickerson, and David Plotz discuss Donald Trump’s third indictment, this one for January 6th and the 2020 election; Trump v. President Joe Biden poll results; and, joined by David French of The New York Times, the country song “Try That In A Small Town.”  Here are some notes and references from this week’s show: Devlin Barrett and Josh Dawsey for The Washington Post: “Heart of the Trump Jan. 6 indictment: What’s in Trump’s head” Judd Legum for Popular Information: “The biggest misconception about Trump’s third criminal indictment” Reid J. Epstein for The New York Times: “Quick to Mock MAGA, Biden Stays Silent on Trump Indictments” Reid J. Epstein, Ruth Igielnik, and Camille Baker for The New York Times: “Biden Shores Up Democratic Support, but Faces Tight Race Against Trump” and Nate Cohn: “Can the Race Really Be That Close? Yes, Biden and Trump Are Tied.” David French for The New York Times: “Try Tolerance in a Small Town” and “The Trial America Needs” 18 U.S. Code § 241 – Conspiracy against rights Jill Filipovic for The Guardian: “Musicians like Jason Aldean love to glorify ‘small-town’ America. It’s embarrassing” Aaron Zitner for The Wall Street Journal: “They’re the Happiest People in America. We Called Them to Ask Why.” Here are this week’s chatters: Emily: Deborah Treisman for The Writer’s Voice: New Fiction from The New Yorker: “Camille Bordas Reads ‘Colorín Colorado’” and How to Behave in a Crowd by Camille Bordas John: Meghan Bartels for Scientific American: “NASA Detects ‘Heartbeat’ from Voyager 2 Spacecraft after Losing Contact” and John Dickerson for The Prime Time Interview, CBS News: “Author Dan Pink on the meaning of regret, how he captures his ideas, more with John Dickerson” David: “Exploring a Secret Fort” with David through airbnb and Emma Marris for Nature: “Could this ancient whale be the heaviest animal ever?” Listener chatter from Alex Callahan: Peter Braul for Maisonneuve: “We’ll Never Be That Drunk Again”  For this week’s Slate Plus bonus segment, David, John, and Emily discuss “The Socio Political Demography of Happiness” by Sam Peltzman.  In the most recent edition of Gabfest Reads, David talks with David Grann about his book, The Wager: A Tale of Shipwreck, Mutiny and Murder.  Email your chatters, questions, and comments to gabfest@slate.com or X us @SlateGabfest. (Messages may be quoted by name unless the writer stipulates otherwise.) Podcast production by Cheyna Roth and Jared Downing Research by Julie Huygen Hosts Emily Bazelon, John Dickerson, and David Plotz Follow @SlateGabfest on X / https://twitter.com/SlateGabfest Slate Gabfest on Facebook / https://www.facebook.com/Gabfest/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This week, Emily Bazelon, John Dickerson, and David Plotz discuss Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s legislative win limiting judicial powers while hundreds of thousands of Israelis protest; Harvard University and other elite colleges’ reconsideration of legacy admissions; and the revise-or-bust status of Hunter Biden’s plea deal.    Here are some notes and references from this week’s show: Emily Bazelon for The New York Times: “How Israel’s Supreme Court Might React to the Challenge to Its Power” Maayan Lubell for Reuters: “Israel’s Netanyahu down in polls over judicial reform” John Dickerson for CBS News Prime Time: “Harvard professor discusses admission at elite colleges”  Claire Cain Miller and Aatish Bhatia for The New York Times: “How Big Is the Legacy Boost at Elite Colleges?” and Aatish Bhatia, Claire Cain Miller, and Josh Katz: “Study of Elite College Admissions Data Suggests Being Very Rich Is Its Own Qualification” Annie Lowrey for The Atlantic: “Why You Have to Care About These 12 Colleges” John Dickerson and Catherine Herridge for CBS News Prime Time: “What’s next for Hunter Biden after plea deal unraveling”   Here are this week’s chatters:  Emily: “Barbie” starring Margot Robbie and Ryan Gosling  John: Wall Street Journal: “Yemen Oil Tanker at Risk: An Operation to Avert a Massive Spill” David: “Jury Duty” on Amazon Prime  Listener chatter from Susan Bates: The Ride of Her Life: The True Story of a Woman, Her Horse, and Their Last-Chance Journey Across America by Elizabeth Letts For this week’s Slate Plus bonus segment, David and Emily discuss their personal thoughts on Israel and reference Exodus by Leon Uris and “Exodus” starring Paul Newman and Eva Marie Saint.  In the July edition of Gabfest Reads, David talks with David Grann about his book, The Wager: A Tale of Shipwreck, Mutiny and Murder.    Email your chatters, questions, and comments to gabfest@slate.com or X us @SlateGabfest. (Messages may be quoted by name unless the writer stipulates otherwise.)   Podcast production by Cheyna Roth Research by Julie Huygen Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

David Plotz talks with author David Grann about his new book, The Wager. The non-fiction book tells the harrowing story of a shipwreck off the coast of Patagonia in 1742. They discuss how the British Empire twisted fact and fiction, the process of digging through 280-year-old documents, and why you should always have citrus at sea. 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. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This week, Emily Bazelon, John Dickerson, and David Plotz are together again and talking about Donald Trump’s next indictment and the charges against his “false electors” in Michigan; the struggles of candidates Ron DeSantis, Tim Scott, et al.; and Congressional Republicans’ culture war against the U.S. military.    Here are some notes and references from this week’s show: James Madison: “Impeachment of the Executive, [20 July] 1787” FiveThirtyEight: “Who’s Ahead In Republican Primary Polls?”  Fox News Digital: “Republican presidential candidate Sen. Tim Scott says Donald Trump is ‘overqualified to be my vice president’”  Manu Raju, Rashard Rose, and Lauren Fox for CNN: “Tommy Tuberville now says ‘White nationalists are racists’ after refusing to denounce them” Zoë Richards for NBC News: “Arizona Republican refers to Black Americans as ‘colored people’ in House floor debate”   Here are this week’s chatters:  Emily: Elise White, Basaime Spate, Javonte Alexander, and Rachel Swaner for the Center for Justice Innovation: “’Two Battlefields’: Opps, Cops, and NYC Youth Gun Culture” and Charged: The New Movement to Transform American Prosecution and End Mass Incarceration by Emily Bazelon   John: Mona El-Naggar, Johan M. Kessel, and Alexander Stockton for The New York Times: “What Is War to a Grieving Child?”; Jeanna Smialek and Ben Casselman for The New York Times: “The Pandemic’s Labor Market Myths”; and Chris Cameron for The New York Times: “Over 700 Civil War-Era Gold Coins Found Buried on a Kentucky Farm” David: “Exploring a Secret Fort” with David through airbnb; Steve Bohnel for The Frederick News-Post: “$200,000, or the city burns: The story of the Confederacy’s ransom on Frederick”; and Caity Weaver for The New York Times Magazine: “My Impossible Mission to Find Tom Cruise”  Listener chatter from Dianne Denton: Harriet McBryde Johnson for The New York Times Magazine: “Unspeakable Conversations” and Disability Visibility: First-Person Stories from the Twenty-First Century by Alice Wong For this week’s Slate Plus bonus segment, David, John, and Emily discuss the Hollywood actors’ and writers’ strikes, artificial intelligence, and the future of work.  In the next edition of Gabfest Reads, David talks with David Grann about his book, The Wager: A Tale of Shipwreck, Mutiny and Murder.    Email your chatters, questions, and comments to gabfest@slate.com or Tweet us @SlateGabfest. (Messages may be quoted by name unless the writer stipulates otherwise.)   Podcast production by Cheyna Roth Research by Julie Huygen Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This week, John Dickerson and David Plotz are joined by Vox’s Marin Cogan @marincogan to discuss the extreme weather, heat, and floods that are wreaking havoc across the United States and around the world; the social media phenomenon of Threads; and the American love-hate relationship with cars.    Here are some notes and references from this week’s show: Cara Buckley for The New York Times: “To Help Cool a Hot Planet, the Whitest of White Coats” Jonathan Erdman for The Weather Channel: “America’s Top Weather Killer Is Not Tornadoes, Flooding, Lightning Or Hurricanes – It’s Heat” Paved Paradise: How Parking Explains the World by Henry Grabar  Antonio Pequeño IV for Forbes: “Zuckerberg Vs. Musk: Everything We Know About The Possible Cage Fight”  These Truths: A History of the United States by Jill Lepore  Insider Intelligence: “US Social Network Ad Revenue Growth, 2021-2023”  Marin Cogan for Vox: “The impossible paradox of car ownership”; “The deadliest road in America”; and “Cars transformed America. They also made people more vulnerable to the police.”  Tracy Chapman: “Fast Car”; Luke Combs: “Fast Car”; and Emily Yahr for The Washington Post: “Tracy Chapman, Luke Combs and the complicated response to ‘Fast Car’”  Henry Grabar for Slate: “Why More Americans Are Using Fake License Plates and Getting Away With It” Gersh Kuntzman for Streetsblog NYC: “Paris Mayor Enters Fray Between E-Bikes and Pedestrians – By Fighting Drivers”   Here are this week’s chatters: John: Hannah Hartig, Andrew Daniller, Scott Keeter, and Ted Van Green for Pew Research Center: “Republican Gains in 2022 Midterms Driven Mostly by Turnout Advantage”  Marin and David: Tour de France on NBC Sports; Tour de France: Unchained on Netflix  Listener chatter from Dan Kirkwood: Claire Stremple for The Alaska Beacon: “Angoon students name, launch first dugout canoe since 1882 Bombardment”  For this week’s Slate Plus bonus segment, David, John, and Marin discuss traffic enforcement, the need for it, and the harms it causes.  In the latest edition of Gabfest Reads, Emily talks with Monica Potts @MonicaBPotts about her book, The Forgotten Girls: A Memoir of Friendship and Lost Promise in Rural America.    Email your chatters, questions, and comments to gabfest@slate.com or Tweet us @SlateGabfest. (Messages may be quoted by name unless the writer stipulates otherwise.)   Podcast production by Cheyna Roth Research by Julie Huygen Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This week, Emily Bazelon, John Dickerson, and David Plotz are on vacation, but Emily taped an extra episode of Gabfest Reads for everyone. She sits down with author Monica Potts to talk about her new memoir The Forgotten Girls. They discuss growing up in rural Arkansas, Monica’s childhood best friend Darci, and more. For this week’s Slate Plus bonus segment, David, Emily, and John chatter about what’s making them happy this summer, an article about how bad things really are, and more. In the June edition of Gabfest Reads, Emily talks with Peter Singer @PeterSinger about his book, Animal Liberation Now: The Definitive Classic Renewed.    Email your chatters, questions, and comments to gabfest@slate.com or Tweet us @SlateGabfest. (Messages may be quoted by name unless the writer stipulates otherwise.)   Podcast production by Cheyna Roth Research by Julie Huygen Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This week, Emily Bazelon, John Dickerson, and David Plotz are live and on stage with Maryland Governor Wes Moore and also discuss the Supreme Court’s legitimacy problem and the not-Trump Republican candidates’ struggle.    Here are some notes and references from this week’s show: C-SPAN: “Maryland State of the State Address” Jeffrey M. Jones for Gallup: “Trust in Federal Government Branches Continues to Falter” and “Confidence in U.S. Supreme Court Sinks to Historic Low  John Dickerson and Anthony Salvanto for Face The Nation: “CBS News poll: GOP primary voters are more concerned Trump’s indictment is political” Rich Lowry for Politico: “The Trump Divide that Should Have Republicans Terrified”   Here are this week’s chatters: John: Donald H. Kent for Pennsylvania History: “The Erie War of the Gauges" Emily: Adam Liptak for The New York Times: “Supreme Court Puts First Amendment Limits on Laws Banning Online Threats” David: Elliot C. Williams for WAMU’s The DCist: “Fans Revel In The Atlantis As Foo Fighters Open Venue With ‘Long, Hot, Loud’ Performance”; Matt Richtel for The New York Times: “The Refries That Bind: A Cavernous Cantina Returns, Cliff Divers and All”; and Amazon Prime’s movie “Air: A Story of Greatness”  For this week’s Slate Plus bonus segment, David, Emily, and John answer audience questions and talk about “Gabfest Reads: The Case for Treating Animals With Dignity”.  In the next edition of Gabfest Reads, Emily talks with Monica Potts @MonicaBPotts about her book, The Forgotten Girls: A Memoir of Friendship and Lost Promise in Rural America.    Email your chatters, questions, and comments to gabfest@slate.com or Tweet us @SlateGabfest. (Messages may be quoted by name unless the writer stipulates otherwise.)   Podcast production by Cheyna Roth and Patrick Fort Research by Julie Huygen Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Here are some notes and references from this week’s show: Keziah Weir for Vanity Fair: “How Robert F. Kennedy Jr. Became the Anti-vaxxer Icon of America’s Nightmares” Matt Viser for The Washington Post: “The complicated relationship between a presidential father and a struggling son” Pam Belluck and Emily Bazelon for The New York Times: “New York Passes Bill to Shield Abortion Providers Sending Pills Into States With Bans” Emily Bazelon for The New York Times: “A Medical Frontier” Here are this week’s chatters: Emily: Samuel A. Alito Jr. for The Wall Street Journal: “Justice Samuel Alito: ProPublica Misleads Its Readers”; Justin Elliott, Joshua Kaplan, and Alex Mierjeski for ProPublica: “Justice Samuel Alito Took Luxury Fishing Vacation With GOP Billionaire Who Later Had Cases Before the Court” John: Todd Estes for Teaching American History: “New Hampshire’s Ratification of the Constitution” David: U.S. Department of Agriculture: “Nuts”; Taryn Varricchio and Clancy Morgan for Business Insider: “Cashews don’t come cheap – one pound at retail can cost you $15. Here’s why they’re so expensive.”; Doritos Nacho Cheese Flavored Tortilla Chips   Listener chatter from Ruthy Kohorn Rosenberg: Reshma Saujani at Smith College’s 2023 Commencement: Imposter Syndrome is Modern-Day Bicycle Face For this week’s Slate Plus bonus segment, David, Emily, and John discuss with James Surowiecki of The Atlantic @JamesSurowiecki his article, “The Bitter Truth About the Bud Light Boycott.”  In the June edition of Gabfest Reads, Emily talks with Peter Singer @PeterSinger about his book, Animal Liberation Now: The Definitive Classic Renewed.  Email your chatters, questions, and comments to gabfest@slate.com or Tweet us @SlateGabfest. (Messages may be quoted by name unless the writer stipulates otherwise.) Podcast production by Jared Downing and Cheyna Roth Research by Julie Huygen Hosts Emily Bazelon, John Dickerson, and David Plotz Follow @SlateGabfest on Twitter / https://twitter.com/SlateGabfest Slate Gabfest on Facebook / https://www.facebook.com/Gabfest/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Emily Bazelon talks with author Peter Singer about his updated and re-released book, Animal Liberation Now. The classic text has been an integral part of the animal rights movement since its publication in 1975. They discuss what we’ve learned about animals in the last several decades, including the intelligence of animals, why people should become vegan to help with climate change, and what we've learned about animals over the last four decades. 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. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This week, Emily Bazelon, John Dickerson, and David Plotz discuss the federal case against Donald Trump involving national-security documents, Atlanta’s Cop City training facility, and Elizabeth Gilbert’s decision to delay her next book situated in Soviet-era Russia.    Join us for a live taping! Political Gabfest Live in Washington, D.C., Wednesday June 28, 7:30 p.m., Sixth & I. In-person and virtual tickets on sale now.   Here are some notes and references from this week’s show:  Confidence Man: The Making of Donald Trump and the Breaking of America by Maggie Haberman Jonathan Swan, Charlie Savage, and Maggie Haberman for The New York Times: “The Radical Strategy Behind Trump’s Promise to ‘Go After’ Biden” Esteban L. Hernandez for Axios: “Denver’s STAR set to expand amid tension over its future”  Patrick Quinn for Atlanta News First: “’Stop Cop City’ Sen. Warnock interrupted during commencement address” Eat Pray Love: One Woman’s Search for Everything Across Italy, India and Indonesia by Elizabeth Gilbert Mark Healy for GQ: “Women’s Favorite Author to Women: Don’t Get Married!” Elizabeth Gilbert on Twitter: “Important announcement about THE SNOW FOREST.” Mike Dash for Smithsonian Magazine: “For 40 Years, This Russian Family Was Cut Off From All Human Contact, Unaware of World War II” Philip Kennicott for The Washington Post: “Ukraine wants a boycott of Russian culture. It’s already happening.” Franklin Foer for The Atlantic: “Eat, Pray, Pander” Peter Beaumont for The Guardian: “Author resigns from PEN America board amid row over Russian writers panel” Imogen West-Knights for Slate: “The Saga Over Elizabeth Gilbert’s “Russian Novel” Has an Uncomfortable Lesson—and It’s Not for Her” The Enigma of Clarence Thomas by Corey Robin    Here are this week’s chatters: John: Simrin Singh for CBS News: “Phosphorus, essential element needed for life, detected in ocean on Saturn’s moon”; William Harwood for CBS News: “New evidence of water plumes on Jupiter’s moon Europa; could it support life?” Emily: The Forgotten Girls: A Memoir of Friendship and Lost Promise in Rural America by Monica Potts; When Crack Was King: A People’s History of a Misunderstood Era by Donovan X. Ramsey David: Muster Dogs on The ABC: “Five graziers from across Australia are given five Kelpie puppies from the same litter and set with the challenge of transforming these uniquely Australian dogs into champion muster dogs.” Listener chatter from Phil: Jay Caspian Kang for The New Yorker: “Notes on Losing”; Winning Ugly: Mental Warfare in Tennis—Lessons from a Master by Brad Gilbert and Steve Jamison; John Dickerson for Slate: “Risk”   For this week’s Slate Plus bonus segment, David, Emily, and John discuss with Joel Anderson @byjoelanderson his podcast, Slow Burn: Becoming Justice Thomas.   In the next edition of Gabfest Reads, Emily talks with Peter Singer @PeterSinger about his book, Animal Liberation Now: The Definitive Classic Renewed.    Email your chatters, questions, and comments to gabfest@slate.com or Tweet us @SlateGabfest. (Messages may be quoted by name unless the writer stipulates otherwise.)   Podcast production by Cheyna Roth Research by Julie Huygen Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In a Gabfest Special Edition, David Plotz, John Dickerson, and Emily Bazelon discuss Donald Trump’s indictment on charges relating to classified documents and the Supreme Court’s 5-4 decision on Alabama racial gerrymandering.   Here are some notes and references from today’s show: The Washington Post: “Live Updates: Trump criminal indictment is unsealed, shows he faces 37 charges” Robert Barnes for The Washington Post: “Supreme Court: Alabama’s voting maps unfair to Black residents” Join us for a live taping! Political Gabfest Live in Washington, D.C., Wednesday June 28, 7:30 p.m., Sixth & I, 600 I St. NW. Tickets are on sale now.    Email your questions and chatters to gabfest@slate.com or Tweet us @SlateGabfest. (Messages may be quoted by name unless the writer stipulates otherwise.)   Podcast production by Cheyna Roth Research by Julie Huygen Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This week, Emily Bazelon, John Dickerson, and David Plotz discuss the latest three Republicans battling for the presidential nomination; Oklahoma’s approval of a Catholic public-charter school; and Saudi sportswashing in golf and soccer.    Here are some notes and references from this week’s show: Andrew Prokop for Vox: “Trump’s next indictment is looming – and the evidence against him is trickling out”  Sean Murphy for AP: “Oklahoma school board approves what would be the 1st taxpayer-funded religious school in US”  The Guardian: “Changing their tune: what golf’s powerbrokers said then and now”  Lauren Chooljian for New Hampshire Public Radio: “He built New Hampshire’s largest addiction treatment network. Now, he faces accusations of sexual misconduct.” David Enrich for The New York Times: “A Reporter Investigated Sexual Misconduct. Then the Attacks Began.”  John Dickerson for Slate: “Where’s My Subpoena?”   Here are this week’s chatters:  Emily: Kate Brumback for AP: “Bond granted for 3 activists whose fund bailed out people protesting Atlanta ‘Cop City’ project”  John: David Lerman, Laura Weiss, and Avery Roe for Roll Call: “Still steaming over debt deal, conservatives derail House action” David: Washington and Old Dominion Railroad Regional Park; Dan Chabanov for Bicycling: “What Is a Randonnée—and Why Should You Sign Up for One?”; Paris-Brest-Paris Randonneur Listener chatter from Greg Hoffman: Genghis Blues   For this week’s Slate Plus bonus segment, David, Emily, and John discuss the attacks and libel suit against a journalist for her reporting.    In the next edition of Gabfest Reads, Emily talks with Peter Singer @PeterSinger about his book, Animal Liberation Now: The Definitive Classic Renewed.    Join us for a live taping! Political Gabfest Live in Washington, D.C., Wednesday June 28, 7:30 p.m., Sixth & I, 600 I St. NW. Tickets are on sale now.    Email your chatters, questions, and comments to gabfest@slate.com or Tweet us @SlateGabfest. (Messages may be quoted by name unless the writer stipulates otherwise.)   Podcast production by Cheyna Roth Research by Julie Huygen This Pride Month, make an impact by helping Macy’s and The Trevor Project on their mission to fund life-saving suicide prevention services for LGBTQ youth. Go to macys.com/purpose to learn more.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This week, Emily Bazelon, John Dickerson, and David Plotz discuss the debt-ceiling deal; the Russia-Ukraine war with the Atlantic’s Kori Schake @KoriSchake; and the impeachment of Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton.  Here are some notes and references from this week’s show: John Wagner for The Washington Post: “Senate racing to pass debt ceiling bill ahead of Monday default deadline” The Last Politician: Inside Joe Biden’s White House and the Struggle for America’s Future by Franklin Foer Kori Schake for The Atlantic: “Biden Is More Fearful Than the Ukrainians Are” Anatoly Kurmanaev, Ivan Nechepurenko, and Eric Nagourney for The New York Times: “Drone Strike in Moscow Brings Ukraine War Home to Russians” Erin Douglas and Robert Downen for The Texas Tribune: “God, money and Dairy Queen: How Texas House investigators secured the impeachment of Attorney General Ken Paxton” Succession theme song by Nicholas Britell Here are this week’s chatters: John: New York Post: “Woman wins bizarre ‘cheese-rolling race’ – despite being knocked unconscious”; Cheese Rolling in Gloucester Emily: I’ve Just Seen a Face: A Practical and Emotional Guide for Parents of Children Born with Cleft Lip and Palate by Amy Mendillo, MPP David: Nat Hentoff for The New Yorker: “What Bob Dylan Wanted at Twenty-Three”; join David at a live taping of City Cast DC on Saturday June 3 at 1 p.m., Right Proper Brewing's Brookland production house and tasting room. Tickets are free. RSVP here.  Listener chatter from James Carey: Recipe of Dwight D. Eisenhower for Vegetable Soup For this week’s Slate Plus bonus segment, David, Emily, and John discuss HBO’s “Succession”. In the latest edition of Gabfest Reads, Emily talks with Curtis Sittenfeld @csittenfeld about her book, Romantic Comedy. Join us for a live taping! Political Gabfest Live in Washington, D.C., Wednesday June 28, 7:30 p.m., Sixth & I, 600 I St. NW. Tickets are on sale now.  Email your chatters, questions, and comments to gabfest@slate.com or Tweet us @SlateGabfest. (Messages may be quoted by name unless the writer stipulates otherwise.) Podcast production by Jared Downing and Cheyna Roth Research by Julie Huygen Hosts Emily Bazelon, John Dickerson, and David Plotz This Pride Month, make an impact by helping Macy’s and The Trevor Project on their mission to fund life-saving suicide prevention services for LGBTQ youth. Go to macys.com/purpose to learn more. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This week, Emily Bazelon, John Dickerson, and David Plotz discuss the imminent X Date when the United States hits the debt ceiling and could default; the presidential campaign announcements of Ron DeSantis and Tim Scott; and the possibilities of regulating artificial intelligence.    Here are some notes and references from this week’s show: Ezra Klein for The New York Times: “Liberals Are Persuading Themselves of a Debt Ceiling Plan That Won’t Work” J. Baxter Oliphant for Pew Research Center: “Top tax frustrations for Americans: The feeling that some corporations, wealthy people don’t pay fair share” John Dickerson for CBS News Prime Time: “Former Google executive speaks out against AI”  Emily Conover for Science News Explores: “A new supercomputer just set a world record for speed”   Here are this week’s chatters: John: Oliver Whang for The New York Times: “A Paralyzed Man Can Walk Naturally Again With Brain and Spine Implants”; Henri Lorach, et al., for Nature: “Walking naturally after spinal cord injury using a brain-spine interface” Emily: Charlotte Lytton for The Washington Post: “Long-hidden ruins of vast network of Maya cities could recast history” David: NatureSweet Twilights tomato; join David at a live taping of City Cast DC on Saturday June 3 at 1 p.m., Right Proper Brewing's Brookland production house and tasting room. Tickets are free. RSVP here.    Listener chatter from Bob Rosner: Inti Pacheco for The Wall Street Journal: “The Monks Who Make Chartreuse Don’t Care About Your Fancy Cocktails”   For this week’s Slate Plus bonus segment, David, Emily, and John discuss Harlan Crow’s collections and Graeme Wood’s article in The Atlantic: “Inside the Garden of Evil.”    In the latest edition of Gabfest Reads, Emily talks with Curtis Sittenfeld @csittenfeld about her book, Romantic Comedy.   Join us for a live taping! Political Gabfest Live in Washington, D.C., Wednesday June 28, 7:30 p.m., Sixth & I, 600 I St. NW. Tickets are on sale now.    Email your chatters, questions, and comments to gabfest@slate.com or Tweet us @SlateGabfest. (Messages may be quoted by name unless the writer stipulates otherwise.)   Podcast production by Cheyna Roth  Research by Julie Huygen Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This week, Emily Bazelon, John Dickerson, and David Plotz discuss the John Durham report on the FBI investigation of the 2016 Trump campaign; the mifepristone case heard by the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals and the 12-week abortion ban in North Carolina; and the legal showdown between Florida Governor Ron DeSantis and Disney.    Here are some notes and references from this week’s show: David Frum for The Atlantic: “A Sinister Flop: Special Counsel John Durham served up not an investigation, but an excuse for future partisan abuses.” Emily Bazelon for The New York Times: “How a 150-Year-Old Law Against Lewdness Became a Key to the Abortion Fight” Debra Michals for the National Women’s History Museum: “Margaret Sanger  Stephen Neukam for The Hill: “Rick Scott on Disney-DeSantis feud: ‘Cooler heads have to prevail’” Will Saletan for The Bulwark: “The Corruption of Lindsey Graham: A case study in the rise of authoritarianism.”   Here are this week’s chatters: John: Rebecca Morelle and Alison Francis for BBC News: “Titanic: First ever full-sized scans reveal wreck as never seen before”; Lilit Marcus and Sania Farooqui for CNN: “Sherpa breaks record with 27th Mount Everest summit” Emily: Divide Me By Zero by Lara Vapnyar  David: The Wager: A Tale of Shipwreck, Mutiny and Murder by David Grann; join David at a live taping of City Cast DC on Saturday June 3 at 1 p.m., Right Proper Brewing's Brookland production house and tasting room. Tickets are free. RSVP here.    Listener chatter from Jon: “Trappisten verlassen Abtei Engelszell” [Trappists leave Engelszell Abbey]   For this week’s Slate Plus bonus segment, David, Emily, and John discuss with The Bulwark’s Will Saletan @saletan his book, “The Corruption of Lindsey Graham: A case study in the rise of authoritarianism.”   In the latest edition of Gabfest Reads, Emily talks with Curtis Sittenfeld @csittenfeld about her book, Romantic Comedy.   Join us for a live taping! Political Gabfest Live in Washington, D.C., Wednesday June 28, 7:30 p.m., Sixth & I, 600 I St. NW. Tickets are on sale now.    Email your chatters, questions, and comments to gabfest@slate.com or Tweet us @SlateGabfest. (Messages may be quoted by name unless the writer stipulates otherwise.)   Podcast production by Cheyna Roth   Research by Julie Huygen Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This week, Emily Bazelon, John Dickerson, and David Plotz, discuss the $5 million jury verdict for E. Jean Carroll and against Donald Trump; joined by New York Times Mexico bureau chief Natalie Kitroeff @Nataliekitro, the end of Title 42 and the flow of migrants at the border; and the looming crisis of raise the debt ceiling or default.  Here are some notes and references from this week’s show: Kara Scannell, Dan Berman, and Nicki Brown for CNN: “Key moments from the video of Trump’s deposition in E. Jean Carroll trial released to the public” Isaac Arnsdorf, Josh Dawsey, and Marianne LeVine for The Washington Post: “Sexual abuse verdict renews Republican doubts about Trump’s electability” Natalie Kitroeff and Julie Turkewitz for The New York Times: “What’s Driving Record Levels of Migration to the U.S. Border?” Natalie Kitroeff, Christine Zhang, Miriam Jordan, and Eileen Sullivan for The New York Times: “Who Gets In? A Guide to America’s Chaotic Border Rules.” John Dickerson and Jeff Stein for CBS News Prime Time: “14th Amendment and debt ceiling connection explained” Here are this week’s chatters: Emily: Pam Belluck for The New York Times: “F.D.A. Advisers Say Benefits of Over-the-Counter Birth Control Pill” John: Ray A. Smith for The Wall Street Journal: “Workers Now Spend Two Full Days a Week on Email and in Meetings” David: “Exploring a Secret Fort” with David through airbnb; Museo Nacional de Antropología, Mexico City, Mexico Listener chatter from Eric: Ironic Sans on YouTube: “The Most Remade Movie in History” For this week’s Slate Plus bonus segment, David, Emily, and John discuss a listener’s moral dilemma: continue to teach in the LGBTQ-supportive learning environment of an arts high school or change jobs and teach in a parochial school.  In Gabfest Reads, Emily talks with Curtis Sittenfeld @csittenfeld about her latest book, Romantic Comedy. Mark your calendars for the return of Political Gabfest Live! Wednesday, June 28 in Washington, D.C. Further information coming soon…  Email your questions and chatters to gabfest@slate.com or Tweet us @SlateGabfest. (Messages may be quoted by name unless the writer stipulates otherwise.) Podcast production by Jared Downing and Cheyna Roth  Research by Julie Huygen Hosts Emily Bazelon, John Dickerson, and David Plotz Make an impact this Asian American & Pacific Islander Heritage Month by helping Macy’s on their mission to fund APIA Scholars. Go to macys.com/purpose to learn more. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Emily Bazelon talks with author author Curtis Sittenfeld about her new book Romantic Comedy.    They discuss why ordinary guys get to be with famous women, but usually not the other way around, the fun of writing a fictional version of Saturday Night Live, and how to write witty email exchanges.   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. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This week, Emily Bazelon, John Dickerson, and the New York Times’s Jamelle Bouie @jbouie discuss the battle between President Joe Biden and Speaker Kevin McCarthy on raising the debt ceiling; the courtroom drama of E. Jean Carroll v. Donald J. Trump; and the power of Republican supermajorities in state legislatures.    Here are some notes and references from this week’s show: Nick Mourtoupalas and Derek Hawkins for The Washington Post: “Washington is running out of workdays to strike a debt ceiling deal”  Jacob Bogage for The Washington Post: “Debt ceiling showdown: 5 possible outcomes” Fourteenth Amendment to the Constitution of the United States Lola Fadulu for The New York Times: “In Trump Trial, a Lawyer Pushes, and E. Jean Carroll Pushes Right Back” Jamelle Bouie for The New York Times: “A Sinister New Page in the Republican Playbook” and “Republicans Did Something Most People Don’t Like, So They’re Changing the Rules” Article IV, Section 4 of the Constitution of the United States Movement Advancement Project: “Snapshot: Democracy Ratings By State” Michael Waldman for the Brennan Center for Justice: “The Great Resignation … Of Election Officials” James Madison: “Federalist No. 10”    Here are this week’s chatters: Jamelle: the films of Seijun Suzuki, including Tokyo Drifter and Branded to Kill John: using ChatGPT to simplify text, such as statements by the Federal Reserve and George Washington’s farewell address Emily: Eleanor Klibanoff for The Texas Tribune: “Three Texas women are sued for wrongful death after allegedly helping friend obtain abortion medication” and “Women accused of facilitating abortion in Galveston wrongful-death lawsuit file countersuit”   Listener chatter from Ted Hogeman: Community Media Center, Institute for Contemporary Art, Virginia Commonwealth University   For this week’s Slate Plus bonus segment, Jamelle, John, and Emily discuss cooking, including roast chicken with bread, Jubilee: Recipes from Two Centuries of African American Cooking by Toni Tipton-Martin, broccoli and cauliflower salad with curried dressing, broccoli salad with peanuts and tahini-lime dressing, and Soom tahini.   In the next Gabfest Reads, Emily talks with Curtis Sittenfeld @csittenfeld about her latest book, Romantic Comedy.   Email your questions and chatters to gabfest@slate.com or Tweet us @SlateGabfest. (Messages may be quoted by name unless the writer stipulates otherwise.)   Podcast production by Cheyna Roth  Research by Julie Huygen Make an impact this Asian American & Pacific Islander Heritage Month by helping Macy’s on their mission to fund APIA Scholars. Go to macys.com/purpose to learn more. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This week, David Plotz, John Dickerson, and Emily Bazelon discuss the kick-off of President Joe Biden’s re-election campaign; the firings of Tucker Carlson from Fox News and Don Lemon from CNN; and the Bud Light marketing misstep with Insta influencer Dylan Mulvaney.  Here are some notes and references from this week’s show: Joe Biden Campaign: “Let’s Finish the Job”  Aaron Zitner for the Wall Street Journal: “They’re the Happiest People in America. We Called Them to Ask Why.” Brian Stelter for the New York Times: “I Worked at CNN and Reported on Tucker Carlson. He Was Never Invincible.” Dylan Mulvaney on Instagram: “Happy March Madness!!” Emily Bazelon for the New York Times Magazine: “The Battle Over Gender Therapy” John Dickerson for CBS News Prime Time: “Montana State Rep. Zooey Zephyr on being blocked from debating an anti-trans bill” Here are this week’s chatters: Emily: Matthew Hendrickson, Fran Spielman, and Andy Grimm for the Chicago Sun-Times: “Cook County State’s Attorney Kim Foxx won’t seek reelection” David: Jeff Maysh for The Atlantic: “The Wedding Sting”  John: Bob Weir’s song “Only a River” Listener chatter from Elizabeth Trovall: Jen Rice and Alexandra Kanik for the Houston Chronicle: “Harris County 2022 election: Investigation reveals new details” For this week’s Slate Plus bonus segment, Emily, John, and David discuss the new Utah laws intended to restrict children’s access to social media. In Gabfest Reads, David talks with Washington Post columnist Alexandra Petri about her latest book, Alexandra Petri’s US History: Important American Documents (I Made Up).  Email your questions and chatters to gabfest@slate.com or tweet us @SlateGabfest. (Messages may be quoted by name unless the writer stipulates otherwise.) Podcast production by Cheyna Roth and Jared Downing Research by Julie Huygen Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

David Plotz talks with author Alexandra Petri about her new book, Alexandra Petri’s US History: Important American Documents. They discuss how to transform staid history documents into rollicking parodies, how Petri found her “voice” multiple times, and her grander ambitions for the book. Plus, Petri reads some choice selections. 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. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This week, David Plotz, John Dickerson, and Emily Bazelon discuss the $787.5 million settlement of the Dominion Voting v. Fox News defamation lawsuit; the political game being played with raising the U.S. debt ceiling; and the Russian detention of American journalist Evan Gershkovich.  Here are some notes and references from this week’s show: Jim Rutenberg and Katie Robertson for the New York Times: “A $787.5 Million Settlement and Embarrassing Disclosures: The Costs of Airing a Lie” Matthew Iglesias for Slow Boring: “Medicaid work requirements are cruel and pointless” Paul Krugman for the New York Times: “A Few Ways Out of the Debt Ceiling Mess” Freedom House Report: “Freedom in the World 2023: Marking 50 Years in the Struggle for Democracy” John Dickerson for CBS News Prime Time: “U.S. ambassador says she visited detained Wall Street Journal reporter” Drew Hinshaw, Joe Parkinson, and Brett Forrest for the Wall Street Journal: “’You Are Completely Alone’: Inside the Infamous Russian Prison Holding Evan Gershkovich” Centers for Disease Control and Prevention: “What Everyone Should Know about the Shingles Vaccine (Shingrix)” “Pelosi in the House” HBO documentary  Carrie Blazina and Drew Desilver for the Pew Research Center: “House gets younger, Senate gets older: A look at the age and generation of lawmakers in the 118th Congress”  Here are this week’s chatters: Emily: Julie Bosman, Mitch Smith, Jesse McKinley, and Jay Root for the New York Times: “Hundreds of Miles Apart, Separate Shootings Follow Wrong Turns” and Timothy Bella for the Washington Post: “Cheerleaders leaving practice were shot after one got in wrong car, teen says” John: Ellie Zolfagharifard for the Daily Mail: “’Here there be robots’: Artist draws stunning medieval map of Mars showing off its huge craters and vast canyons”; Mars and its Canals by Percival Lowell; and Kaushik Patowary for Amusing Planet: “How Astronomer Percival Lowell Mistook His Own Eye For Spokes on Venus” David: City Cast DC podcast: “D.C.’s Rat-Hunting Dogs And Other Rat Solutions” (Host Bridget Todd, Producer Julia Karron)  Listener chatter from Nancy Hall: Joe Mahr and Megan Crepeau for the Chicago Tribune: “Stalled Justice: Delays in the Cook County courts” For this week’s Slate Plus bonus segment, Emily, John, and David discuss the dilemma posed by the months-long absence of Dianne Feinstein from the U.S. Senate. In the next Gabfest Reads, David talks with Washington Post columnist Alexandra Petri about her latest book, Alexandra Petri’s US History: Important American Documents (I Made Up).  Email your questions and chatters to gabfest@slate.com or tweet us @SlateGabfest. (Messages may be quoted by name unless the writer stipulates otherwise.) Podcast production by Cheyna Roth and Jared Downing. Research by Julie Huygen. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This week, David Plotz and Emily Bazelon discuss the federal court rulings on the F.D.A.-approved abortion medication mifepristone, the expulsion of two Democratic representatives by the Republican-supermajority state legislature in Tennessee, and Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas’ latest ethics problem.    Here are some notes and references from this week’s show: Adam Unikowsky for Adam’s Legal Newsletter: “Mifepristone and the rule of law, part II” Allison McCann for the New York Times: “Inside the Online Market for Overseas Abortion Pills” Joshua Kaplan, Justin Elliott, and Alex Mierjeski for ProPublica: “Clarence Thomas and the Billionaire” Sylvie McNamara for the Washingtonian: “Clarence Thomas’s Billionaire Benefactor Collects Hitler Artifacts” Chenjerai Kumanyika for This American Life: “Ghost Industrial Complex”   Here are this week’s chatters: Emily: Vladimir: A Novel by Julia May Jonas David: The D.C. Sing-Along; The Dropout on Hulu; Air (Amazon Original Motion Picture Soundtrack) Listener chatter from David Foreman: Rosemary Mosco for Audubon: “Meet the Little Brown Bird That Holds a Mirror Up to Humanity”   For this week’s Slate Plus bonus segment, David and Emily discuss the Hitler memorabilia collected by Harlan Crow, Texas billionaire and friend of Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas.   Email your questions and chatters to gabfest@slate.com or tweet us @SlateGabfest. (Messages may be quoted by name unless the writer stipulates otherwise.)   Podcast production by Cheyna Roth Research by Julie Huygen Make an impact this Earth Month by helping Macy’s on their mission to bring more parks to more people across the country. Go to macys.com/purpose to learn more. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This week, David Plotz, John Dickerson, and Washington Post’s Ruth Marcus discuss Donald Trump’s arraignment; the elections of Janet Protasiewicz to the Wisconsin Supreme Court and Brandon Johnson for Chicago mayor; and the possibility of No Labels playing spoiler in 2024 presidential politics.   Here are some notes and references from this week’s show: Manhattan District Attorney’s Office: “District Attorney Bragg Announces 34-Count Felony Indictment of Former President Donald J. Trump”  Ruth Marcus for The Washington Post: “The Trump indictment is a dangerous leap on the highest of wires” Jim Robbins for The New York Times: “Mass Yellowstone Hunt Kills 1,150 Bison”   Here are this week’s chatters: Ruth: Dublin Murder Squad 6-book series by Tana French ; Dún Aonghasa John: Carrie Hagen for Smithsonian Magazine: “The Media Learned Nothing After Misreporting the Reagan Assassination Attempt: As the shooter John Hinckley returns to life outside of imprisonment, it’s worth looking back at every thing the media got wrong that day”  David: Adam Taylor, Júlia Ledur, Francesca Ebel, and Mary Ilyushina for The Washington Post: “A web of trenches shows Russia fears losing Crimea“; the Putrid Sea   Listener chatter from Zach Marks @zmarks215: The arrest of President Ulysses S. Grant   For this week’s Slate Plus bonus segment, David, John, and Ruth discuss the sanctioned killing of Yellowstone bison that leave the boundaries of the national park.   Email your questions and chatters to gabfest@slate.com or Tweet us @SlateGabfest. (Messages may be quoted by name unless the writer stipulates otherwise.)   Podcast production by Cheyna Roth Research by Julie Huygen Make an impact this Earth Month by helping Macy’s on their mission to bring more parks to more people across the country. Go to macys.com/purpose to learn more. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In a Gabfest Special edition, David Plotz, John Dickerson, and Emily Bazelon discuss Donald Trump’s indictment. Here are some notes and references from today’s show: The New York Times: “Live Updates: Trump Likely to Be Arraigned on Tuesday” Slate Political Gabfest: The “Trump Will Be Indicted Next Tuesday” Edition Email your questions and chatters to gabfest@slate.com or Tweet us @SlateGabfest. (Messages may be quoted by name unless the writer stipulates otherwise.) Podcast production by Cheyna Roth Follow @SlateGabfest on Twitter / https://twitter.com/SlateGabfest Slate Gabfest on Facebook / https://www.facebook.com/Gabfest/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This week, David Plotz, John Dickerson, and Emily Bazelon discuss Prime Minister Netanyahu’s decision to pause the legislation that will weaken Israel’s judiciary; the Congressional testimony of TikTok’s CEO Shou Chew; and the possibility of Chris Christie for President in 2024.   Here are some notes and references from this week’s show: Emily Bazelon for The New York Times: “Behind Protests’ Fury in Israel, Fear of a Quiet Slide From Democracy” Peter Baker for The New York Times: “A Four-Decade Secret: One Man’s Story of Sabotaging Carter’s Re-election”   Here are this week’s chatters: Emily: WBUR and The Marshall Project’s podcast Violation (Host Beth Schwartzapfel, Producer Quincy Walters)  John: Tweet from @george_mack: What is ignored by the media but will be studied by historians?; response from Matthew Yglesias, Slow Boring: The biggest problem in media is the audience: Not everything is a conspiracy David: Greg Miller for The Washington Post: “He came to D.C. as a Brazilian student. The U.S. says he was a Russian spy.“   Listener chatter from Judy: Tablet Studio’s podcast Gatecrashers (Host Mark Oppenheimer, Executive Producers Josh Kross, Stephanie Butnick, and Liel Leibovitz)   For this week’s Slate Plus bonus segment, David, John, and Emily discuss the new evidence of the “October Surprise” that delayed the release of the American hostages from Iran in 1980.   Email your questions and chatters to gabfest@slate.com or Tweet us @SlateGabfest. (Messages may be quoted by name unless the writer stipulates otherwise.)   Podcast production by Cheyna Roth Research by Julie Huygen Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This week, David Plotz, John Dickerson, and Emily Bazelon discuss Trump’s announcement he expects to be arrested; what ChatGPT means for the world; and interview Rachel Donadio, contributing writer for The Atlantic, about the unrest in France. Here are some notes and references from this week’s show: Rachel Donadio for The New York Times: “Macron May Keep the Presidency, But Le Pen Has Already Won” Annie Gowen for The Washington Post: “Iowa’s Sharp Right Turn: From Centrist State To ‘Florida Of The North’” Here are this week’s chatters: John: Imprint app Emily: Madame Restell: The Life, Death, and Resurrection of Old New York’s Most Fabulous, Fearless, and Infamous Abortionist, by Jennifer Wright; The Atlantic’s podcast Holy Week: The Story of A Revolution Undone (Host Vann R. Newkirk II, Senior Producer Jocelyn Frank) David: Blue Collar Cats; Andrea Sachs for The Washington Post: “‘These Are Working Cats’: Meet The Feral D.C. Felines Tasked With Hunting Rodents” Listener chatter from Alexandra Phelps: Kavitha Surana for ProPublica: “Doctors Warned Her Pregnancy Could Kill Her. Then Tennessee Outlawed Abortion.” For this week’s Slate Plus bonus segment David, John, and Emily discuss how Iowa became so conservative.   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 and Julia Huygen Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

John Dickerson talks with author Chris Miller about his new book, Chip War: The Fight for The World’s Most Critical Technology. They discuss how semiconductor chips became so important, why everyone is so dependent on Taiwan for chips, and what lessons China can glean from what’s happening in Ukraine. 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. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

David Plotz, John Dickerson, and Emily Bazelon discuss the Silicon Valley Bank bailout with David Leonhardt; Ron DeSantis coming out against aid to Ukraine; and free speech fights at elite law schools. Here are some notes and references from this week’s show: William Saletan for The Bulwark: “The Ukraine Untruths of Disingenuous DeSantis” Ken White for The Popehat Report: “Hating Everyone Everywhere All At Once At Stanford” David Lat for Original Jurisdiction: “Yale Law Is No Longer #1—For Free-Speech Debacles” Jordan Metzl for The New York Times: “Working From Home Is Less Healthy Than You Think” Here are this week’s chatters: Emily: Maurice Chammah for The Marshall Project: “The Mercy Workers” John: OpenAI example recipe generator David: Robyn Dixon for The Washington Post: “A Railroad Fan Photographed Putin’s Armored Train. Now He Lives In Exile.” Listener chatter: Alex Traub for The New York Times: “Judy Heumann, Who Led the Fight for Disability Rights, Dies at 75”; Being Heumann: An Unrepentant Memoir of a Disability Rights Activist, by Judith Heumann;  Crip Camp; The Power of 504, Judy's Heumann’s Ted Talk For this week’s Slate Plus bonus segment Emily, David, and John discuss the health benefits and drawbacks of working from home.   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. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

David Plotz, John Dickerson, and Emily Bazelon discuss Ron DeSantis’ presidential campaign, the end of pandemic-era medicaid & food security protections, and the many legal fights over medication abortion. Here are some notes and references from this week’s show Hannah Dreier and Kirsten Luce for The New York Times: “Alone and Exploited, Migrant Children Work Brutal Jobs Across the U.S.” Jeff Stein and Tony Romm for The Washington Post: “Biden Calls For Trillions In Tax Hikes And New Domestic Spending” Emily Bazelon for The New York Times: “The Abortion Pill Fight” Redaction, by Reginald Dwayne Betts and Titus Kaphar Information on the New York reading and book signing for Redaction Here are this week’s chatters: Emily: The Declassification Engine: What History Reveals About America's Top Secrets, by Matthew Connelly John: Chip War: The Fight for the World's Most Critical Technology, by Chris Miller David: Defending Democracy with Malcolm Turnbull;  Listener chatter from Rebecca Carr: Pat Sangimino for The Lincoln Journal Star: “Leading Off: In The Heat Of The Sexual Revolution, A Woman And Her Invention Made A Difference”; Pagan Kennedy for The New York Times: “Could Women Be Trusted With Their Own Pregnancy Tests?” For this week’s Slate Plus bonus segment Emily talks to Reginald Dwayne Betts and Titus Kaphar about their book, Redaction.   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. Make an impact this Women’s History Month by helping Macy’s on their mission to fund girls in STEM. Go to macys.com/purpose to learn more. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This week, David Plotz, John Dickerson, and Emily Bazelon discuss the Supreme Court challenge to loan forgiveness; lab leak v. wet market Covid politics; and the future of humanities education–with John Plotz. Here are some notes and references from this week’s show: Nathan Heller for The New Yorker: “The End of The English Major” Recall This Book podcast with John Plotz Ursula Le Guin's Earthsea, by John Plotz “The Eden of the Author of Sleep,” by Brian Teare Sarah Fullerton for UC Berkeley: “Defying Negative Stereotypes, Humanities Majors Are Booming At UC Berkeley” Culture: The Story of Us, From Cave Art to K-Pop, by Martin Puchner The Golden Compass; The Subtle Knife; and The Amber Spyglass, by Philip Pullman  Here are this week’s chatters: John: Drew Harwell for The Washington Post: “Tech’s Hottest New Job: AI Whisperer. No Coding Required.” Emily: Michelle Goldberg for The New York Times: “Don’t Let Politics Cloud Your View of What’s Going On With Teens and Depression”; Matthew Yglesias for Slow Boring: “Why Are Young Liberals So Depressed?”; Ross Douthat for The New York Times: “American Teens Are Really Miserable. Why?” David: Ben Taub for The New Yorker: “How the Biggest Fraud in German History Unravelled” Listener chatter from Arthur Baraf: The National High School Ethics Bowl  For this week’s Slate Plus bonus segment David, John, and Emily discuss the Bidens ordering the same entree at a restaurant.   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. Make an impact this Women’s History Month by helping Macy’s on their mission to fund girls in STEM. Go to macys.com/purpose to learn more. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

* Due to an audio issue, the original episode has been replaced. This week, David Plotz, John Dickerson, and Emily Bazelon discuss the year of war on Ukraine with Anne Applebaum; the smoking gun Fox News text messages; and Google’s defense of Section 230 at the Supreme Court. Here are some notes and references from this week’s show: Anne Applebaum and Nataliya Gumenyuk for The Atlantic: “‘They Didn’t Understand Anything, But Just Spoiled People’s Lives’” Anne Applebaum for The Atlantic: “Biden’s Hope vs. Putin’s Lies” Anne Applebaum for The Atlantic: “Biden Went to Kyiv Because There’s No Going Back” Emily Bazelon for The New York Times Magazine: “Billionaires vs. The Press in the Era of Trump” Jenna Russell for The New York Times: “In Vermont, a School and Artist Fight Over Murals of Slavery” Here are this week’s chatters: John: The Kid Should See This: “How It’s Made” videos Emily: Jill Filipovic: “Fear of a Female Body” David: Morgan Wade; City Cast DC live Listener chatter from Dylan O’Leary: Miles Ellingham for The Financial Times: “After Hours With 10 Foot, London’s Most Notorious Graffiti Writer” For this week’s Slate Plus bonus segment, David, John, and Emily discuss the artist suing to keep his mural depicting slavery on display at a school that doesn’t want it.  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. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Emily Bazelon talks with author Rebecca Makkai about her new book, I Have Some Questions For You. They discuss why it’s so easy to suspend disbelief with this type of story, the “cancelled” subplot, and whether we’d be better off without Twitter. 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. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This week, David Plotz, John Dickerson, and Emily Bazelon discuss Nikki Haley’s presidential campaign; the legal history likely to lead to the end of affirmative action; and Slate How To! podcast host Amanda Ripley’s reporting on the congressional committee that got things done. Here are some notes and references from this week’s show: Emily Bazelon for The New York Times Magazine: “Why Is Affirmative Action in Peril? One Man’s Decision.” Amanda Ripley for The Washington Post: “These Radically Simple Changes Helped Lawmakers Actually Get Things Done” Julia Ioffe for The New Yorker: “Russia on Fire” Becky Sullivan for NPR: “What To Know About The Train Derailment in East Palestine, Ohio” Here are this week’s chatters: John: CBS Sunday Morning: “Almanac: Abraham Lincoln's Beard” Emily: John J. Lennon for The New York Review of Books: “Peddling Darkness” David: David French for The New York Times: “Men Need Purpose More Than ‘Respect’”; City Cast DC live Listener chatter from Tim Anderson: CNN: “Johannes Vermeer Exhibition Stuns With Scientific Revelations” For this week’s Slate Plus bonus segment David, John, and Emily discuss the derailment of a train carrying hazardous materials in Ohio.  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.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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 Ocean podcast 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. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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 Again podcast; 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. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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 Materials on 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 Monster podcast 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. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This week, David Plotz, Emily Bazelon, and John Dickerson discuss Krysten Sinema leaving the Democratic party; Republicans’ good turnout, poor performance midterms; and the new documentary, Pelosi in The House.   Here are some notes and references from this week’s show:  Pelosi in the House Here are this week’s chatters: John: Watch Richard Nixon’s Watergate speeches at the Miller Center’s website. Emily: Jessica Blatt Press for The Philadelphia Citizen: “Hey, Phillly! Let’s Hire A Mayor!” David: Courtney Kan, Nick Miroff, Scott Higham, Steven Rich and Tyler Remmel for The Washington Post: “Cartel Rx: Fentanyl’s Deadly Surge: From Mexican Labs To U.S. Streets, A Lethal Pipeline”; The EverCrisp apple For this week’s Slate Plus bonus segment Emily, David, and John get philosophical in preparation for the annual Political Gabfest Conundrum episode.   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. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This week, David Plotz, Emily Bazelon, and John Dickerson discuss Raphael Warnock beating Herschel Walker, and oral arguments at the Supreme Court in the anti-gay marriage website designer case and the “independent state legislature” election case.   Here are some notes and references from this week’s show: Fr. James Martin, S.J. for Outreach: “When Is Religious Liberty A Fig Leaf For Homophobia?” Ian MacDougall for ProPublica: “What’s Really at Stake in a Politically Charged Supreme Court Case on Elections” Jed Sugarmen’s thread on oral arguments in Moore v. Harper. Kevin Roose for The New York Times: “The Brilliance and Weirdness of ChatGPT” Here are this week’s chatters: John: Associated Press: “HBO To Air Nancy Pelosi Doc Shot By Daughter Alexandra”; Pelosi in the House November 28, 2022 Emily: The Janes David: Tour Fort DeRussy with David; City Cast Portland has launched; Caitlin Doughty for The New York Times: “If You Want to Give Something Back to Nature, Give Your Body”  Listener chatter from Adam Barhamand: Karen Bakker for Noema: “How To Speak Honeybee” For this week’s Slate Plus bonus segment Emily, David, and John discuss ChatGPT. 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 by Bridgette Dunlap. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This week, David Plotz, Emily Bazelon, and John Dickerson discuss Trump hosting prominent antisemites Ye (f/k/a Kanye West) and Nick Fuentes; Chinese protestors challenging their authoritarian government–with Sheena Chestnut Greitens; and Congress legislating to protect marriage equality through the Respect For Marriage Act.   Here are some notes and references from this week’s show: Sheena Chestnut Greitens for Foreign Affairs: “Xi Jinping’s Quest for Order” Sheena Chestnut Greitens and Julian Gewirt for Foreign Affairs: “China's Troubling Vision For The Future Of Public Health” Here are this week’s chatters: John: Darby Saxbe and Magdalena Martínez García for The Conversation: “Fatherhood Changes Men’s Brains, According To Before-And-After MRI Scans” Emily: A compilation of Gabfest listeners favorite salad dressing recipes.  David: City Cast is expanding to new cities; Nicole Eustace for The New York Times: “300 Years Ago, There Was a Brutal Murder. We Could Learn From the Treaty That Followed.” Listener chatter from Richard Medlicott: The Economist:”Shyam Saran Negi Never Failed In His Democratic Duty”; Alex Binley for the BBC: “Shyam Saran Negi: Man Dubbed 'india's First Voter' Dies Aged 105” For this week’s Slate Plus bonus segment Emily, David, and John discuss the Supreme Court challenge to the Biden administration’s immigration policy in United States v. Texas.    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. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This week, David Plotz, Emily Bazelon, and John Dickerson discuss the future of Twitter, the ghoulish World Cup, and a minister’s allegation that Justice Alito leaked the outcome of the Hobby Lobby case. Here are some notes and references from this week’s show: Jodi Kantor and Jo Becker for The New York Times: “Former Anti-Abortion Leader Alleges Another Supreme Court Breach” Jodi Kantor for The New York Times: “Allegation of Supreme Court Breach Prompts Calls for Inquiry and Ethics Code” Rob Schenck for The New York Times: “I Was an Anti-Abortion Crusader. Now I Support Roe v. Wade” Kara Voght and Tim Dickinson for Rolling Stone: “SCOTUS Justices ‘Prayed With’ Her — Then Cited Her Bosses to End Roe” Here are this week’s chatters: John: Variety: “Bob Dylan Fans Who Bought $600 ‘Hand-Signed’ Books With Replica Autographs Will Receive Refunds From Publisher” Emily: Rozina Ali for The New York Times Magazine: “‘How Did This Man Think He Had the Right to Adopt This Baby?’”  David: Politics and Prose: City Cast DC Live Taping with Michael Schaffer, David Plotz, and Anton Bogomazov - at Union Market; Slate’s One Year, Season 4: 1942 Listener chatter from Laurent Dugois: In Broad Daylight: A Murder in Skidmore, Missouri, by Harry N MacLean; All That's Interesting: “The Story Of Ken McElroy — The Vicious Bully Killed By His Town” For this week’s Slate Plus bonus segment Emily, David, and John contemplate the conundrum of what they would like to tell their younger selves but wouldn’t be able to convince them of. Submit your conundrums for the 2022 conundrum episode at slate.com/conundrum.    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. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Emily Bazelon talks with author Beverly Gage about her new book, G-Man: J. Edgar Hoover and the Making of the American Century, a detailed account of the life of the first FBI Director, J. Edgar Hoover. They discuss Hoover’s hostile relationship with Martin Luther King Jr., why he should have quit at the end of the 1950s, and how Hoover’s childhood shaped his reign [MOU1] as director.  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  [MOU1]“tenure”? Maybe I’m overthinking this. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This week, David Plotz, Emily Bazelon, and John Dickerson discuss Trump’s campaign announcement, election denying candidates’ failures in the midterms, and guest Matthew Zeitlin on the impact the implosion of Sam Bankman-Fried’s crypto exchange FTX may have on the Effective Altruism movement. Here are some notes and references from this week’s show: Donie O'Sullivan for CNN: “Facebook Fact-Checkers Will Stop Checking Trump After Presidential Bid Announcement” Matthew Zeitlin for Grid: “Sam Bankman-Fried Gave Millions To Effective Altruism. What Happens Now That The Money Is Gone?” Kelsey Piper for Vox: “Sam Bankman-Fried Tries To Explain Himself” What We Owe the Future, by William MacAskill William MacAskill for Effective Altruism Forum: “EA And The Current Funding Situation” This American Life: “Watching the Watchers” Here are this week’s chatters: John: Jason P. Frank for Vulture: “Stephen Colbert, Emma Watson, and More Celebs to Relish in Pickleball Tournament”; Isabel Gonzalez for CBS News: “Mike Tyson, Evander Holyfield Partner To Create Ear-Shaped, Cannabis-Infused Edibles” Emily: William Melhado for The Texas Tribune: “Federal Judge In Texas Rules That Disarming Those Under Protective Orders Violates Their Second Amendment Rights” David: Politics and Prose: City Cast DC Live Taping with Michael Schaffer, David Plotz, and Anton Bogomazov - at Union Market; Justin Jouvenal for The Washington Post: “D.C.’s Bitcoin King: Yachts, Penthouses, A Python — And Tax Dodging?” Listener chatter from Kelly Mills: The Woman Who Smashed Codes: A True Story of Love, Spies, and the Unlikely Heroine Who Outwitted America's Enemies, by Jason Fagone For this week’s Slate Plus bonus segment Emily, David, and John contemplate the Thanksgiving traditions they would like to adopt or improve.   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. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This week, David Plotz, Emily Bazelon, and John Dickerson discuss the midterm results we have so far and the Supreme Court case that could upend family law and more for Native Americans. Here are some notes and references from this week’s show: Stefan Becket for CBS News: “The Unresolved 2022 House And Senate Races That Will Determine Control Of Congress” Rebecca Nagle for The Atlantic: “The Supreme Court Case That Could Break Native American Sovereignty” Leah Litman and Matthew L.M. Fletcher for The Atlantic: “​​The Necessity of the Indian Child Welfare Act” Here are this week’s chatters: Emily: Sarah McCammon for NPR: “Where Abortion Was On The Ballot, Midterm Voters Largely Signaled Support”  David: David chattered about how going on a “Twitter fast” is improving his well-being.  Listener chatter from Scott Grant: Sarah Linn for KCET: “The Dunites: Building a Utopia in the Oceano Dunes” For this week’s Slate Plus bonus segment Emily, David, and John take the under-the-radar state and local midterm results they find most interesting.   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. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices