Political Gabfest

David Plotz and John Dickerson are joined by Ruth Marcus to discuss Ketanji Brown Jackson’s confirmation hearing; Ukraine keeps fighting through atrocity; and more allegations of Republican candidates committing domestic abuse.

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

Dana Milbank for the Washington Post: “Cruz Attacks Jackson For ‘Critical Race Theory’—But Sends His Own Daughters to Learn It”

Henry Olsen for the Washington Post: “Republicans Are Right to Oppose Ketanji Brown Jackson”

Here’s this week’s chatter:

David: BioHacked: Family Secrets: “The Genius Experiment: Part 1”; The Genius Factory, by David Plotz; The Last Days of the Dinosaurs: An Asteroid, Extinction, and the Beginning of Our World, by Riley Black 

John: Camera Man: Buster Keaton, the Dawn of Cinema, and the Invention of the Twentieth Century, by Dana Stevens

Ruth: Christine Emba for The Washington Post: “Consent Is Not Enough. We Need A New Sexual Ethic.”; Rethinking Sex: A Provocation, by Christine Emba

Listener chatter from Eric Jason Martin: Nick Paumgarten for the New Yorker: “Retirement the Margaritaville Way."

For this week’s Slate Plus bonus segment Ruth, John, and David discuss their strangest behaviors.

Tweet us your questions and chatters @SlateGabfest or email us at gabfest@slate.com. (Messages may be quoted by name unless the writer stipulates otherwise.)

Podcast production by Jocelyn Frank.

Research and show notes by Bridgette Dunlap.

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Emily Bazelon talks with author Meghan O’Rourke about germ theory, biomarkers, medical mysteries, long COVID and the quest to return to health as chronicled in her new book The Invisible Kingdom: Reimagining Chronic Illness.

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 Jocelyn Frank.

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Emily and David are joined by guest host Juliette Kayyem to discuss the arming of Ukraine, how to prepare for the next pandemic or catastrophe, and daylight savings time debates.

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

Megan Garber for The Atlantic: “The Grim Stagecraft of Zelensky’s Selfie Videos”

Atul Gawande for The New Yorker: “Costa Ricans Live Longer Than We Do. What's the Secret?”

The Devil Never Sleeps: Learning to Live in an Age of Disasters, by Juliette Kayyem

Here’s this week’s chatter:

David: Nina Siegal for The New York Times: “She Discovered What Happened to 400 Dutch Jews Who Disappeared”

Emily: Paul Blest for Vice: “Josh Hawley Accused Biden’s SCOTUS Pick of Being Soft on Child Porn”; Emily Bazelon for The New York Times: “The Price of a Stolen Childhood”

Juliette: Maria Cramer for The New York Times: “A Year After Suez Blockage, Another Evergreen Ship Is Mired in the Chesapeake”

Listener chatter from Jonas Barciauskas: This Land podcast

For this week’s Slate Plus bonus segment Juliette, Emily and David talk about what they think about when they want to increase their happiness.  

Tweet us your questions and chatters @SlateGabfest or email us at gabfest@slate.com. (Messages may be quoted by name unless the writer stipulates otherwise.)

Podcast production by Jocelyn Frank.

Research and show notes by Bridgette Dunlap.

Need to set up your Slate Plus feed? If you subscribed through Slate.com, check out our FAQ at slate.com/podcastfaqs for easy instructions. Members subscribed via Apple Podcasts get automatic access—no setup required.

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

Emily Bazelon, John Dickerson, and David Plotz discuss Ukraine's fighting spirit, rising gas prices, and conformity on campus.

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

The Science of Politics podcast: “Does the Public Respond to Threats to Democracy?”

The Basic Writings of John Stuart Mill: On Liberty, the Subjection of Women and Utilitarianism

The Guns of August, by Barbara W. Tuchman

Emma Camp for the New York Times: “I Came to College Eager to Debate. I Found Self-Censorship Instead.”

David A. Plotz for the Harvard Crimson: “‘Politically Correct’ Thought Control”

Here’s this week’s chatter:

David: Kayla Stewart for The New York Times: “One Huge Hog, One Long Day and a Nourishing Southern Tradition”

Emily: Pam & Tommy

John: Henry Fountain for The New York Times: “At the Bottom of an Icy Sea, One of History’s Great Wrecks Is Found”

Listener chatter from Carol Walker: BBC podcast 1914: Day by Day

For this week’s Slate Plus bonus segment John, Emily and David discuss the people they carry with them.

Tweet us your questions and chatters @SlateGabfest or email us at gabfest@slate.com. (Messages may be quoted by name unless the writer stipulates otherwise.)

Podcast production by Jocelyn Frank.

Research and show notes by Bridgette Dunlap.

Need to set up your Slate Plus feed? If you subscribed through Slate.com, check out our FAQ at slate.com/podcastfaqs for easy instructions. Members subscribed via Apple Podcasts get automatic access—no setup required.

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

Emily Bazelon, John Dickerson and David Plotz discuss Ukraine's resistance, the State of the Union, and an increasing backlash against reformer prosecutors.

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

Thomas L. Friedman for The New York Times: “I See Three Scenarios for How This War Ends”

Anne Appelbaum for the Atlantic: “The Bad Guys Are Winning”

Gal Beckerman for The Atlantic: “How Zelensky Gave the World a Jewish Hero”

Rebecca Davis O’Brien for The New York Times: “How This ‘Progressive Prosecutor’ Balances Politics and Public Safety”

Heart of Darkness, by Joseph Conrad

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

Here’s this week’s chatter:

David: The Postman, by David Brin 

Emily: In Love: A Memoir of Love and Loss, by Amy Bloom; Away, by Amy Bloom

John: New York Times, Feb. 22, 1862: “The Execution of Nathaniel Gordon”

Listener chatter from Leslie Camp: Phil Davison for The Washington Post: “Monique Hanotte, Belgian resistance member who rescued 135 downed Allied airmen in World War II, dies at 101”

For this week’s Slate Plus bonus segment John, Emily and David discuss what they do to find and boost their courage.

Tweet us your questions and chatters @SlateGabfest or email us at gabfest@slate.com. (Messages may be quoted by name unless the writer stipulates otherwise.)

Podcast production by Jocelyn Frank.

Research and show notes by Bridgette Dunlap.

Need to set up your Slate Plus feed? If you subscribed through Slate.com, check out our FAQ at slate.com/podcastfaqs for easy instructions. Members subscribed via Apple Podcasts get automatic access—no setup required.

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

Stanford Law professor Nathaniel Persily joins David and Emily to discuss President Biden’s nomination for associate justice of the Supreme Court, Ketanji Brown Jackson.

You can tweet suggestions, links, and questions to @SlateGabfest. Tweet us your cocktail chatter using #cocktailchatter or post it to our Facebook page. (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 Jocelyn Frank.

Research and show notes by Bridgette Dunlap.

Need to set up your Slate Plus feed? If you subscribed through Slate.com, check out our FAQ at slate.com/podcastfaqs for easy instructions. Members subscribed via Apple Podcasts get automatic access—no setup required.

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

Emily and David are joined by guest host Jane Coaston. The three discuss Putin's war with guest Julia Ioffe and also the GOP attacks on transgender children, and Democrats’ “hack gap.”

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

Julia Ioffe for Puck News: “Will Putin Get His World War III?”

Anne Appelbaum for The Atlantic: “The Reason Putin Would Risk War”

The Handmaid’s Tale, by Margaret Atwood

Here’s this week’s chatter:

David: Work at City Cast; David’s “Exploring a Secret Fort” tour for Atlas Obscura; Florida’s Mount Trashmore

Emily: Danny Hakim and Jo Becker for The New York Times Magazine: “The Long Crusade of Clarence and Ginni Thomas”; Jane Mayer for The New Yorker: “Is Ginni Thomas a Threat to The Supreme Court?”

Jane: Sports Twitter

Listener chatter from Charlie Hunt: Christopher Ingraham for the Washington Post “The Owl Pellet Economy: Meet The Entrepreneurs Who’ve Devoted Their Lives to Bird Vomit.” 

For this week’s Slate Plus bonus segment, following the death of public health hero Paul Farmer, Emily and David discuss the concept of heroes and the roles they can play in contemporary life.

Tweet us your questions and chatters @SlateGabfest or email us at gabfest@slate.com. (Messages may be quoted by name unless the writer stipulates otherwise.)

Podcast production by Jocelyn Frank.

Research and show notes by Bridgette Dunlap.

Need to set up your Slate Plus feed? If you subscribed through Slate.com, check out our FAQ at slate.com/podcastfaqs for easy instructions. Members subscribed via Apple Podcasts get automatic access—no setup required.

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

Gabfest reads is a new monthly series from the hosts of the Political Gabfest. This month David Plotz talks with author Florence Williams about divorce, affection, good friendships, and her new book Heartbreak: A Personal and Scientific Journey.

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 Jocelyn Frank.

Need to set up your Slate Plus feed? If you subscribed through Slate.com, check out our FAQ at slate.com/podcastfaqs for easy instructions. Members subscribed via Apple Podcasts get automatic access—no setup required.

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Josie Duffy Rice, David Plotz and John Dickerson discuss America's radicalized parents; what the midterms may bring; and the Sandy Hook families’ victory.

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

Clara Jeffrey for Mother Jones: “What Pundits Don’t Understand About the San Francisco Recall”

Jasper Scherer and Benjamin Wermund for The Houston Chronicle: “We Asked All 143 Texas GOP Congressional Candidates About Biden's Win. Only 13 Call it Legitimate.”

John Dickerson for the Atlantic: “The GOP Has No Standards Now”

Here’s this week’s chatter:

John: Rosalind S. Helderman for the Washington Post: “All The Ways Trump Tried to Overturn The Election — And How it Could Happen Again.” 

Josie: The School for Good Mothers, by Jessamine Chan

David: Watch some Olympic curling.

Listener chatter from Paul Hiebing: Annie Rauwerda for Input Magazine: “The Adorable Love Story Behind Wikipedia’s ‘High Five’ Photos”

For this week’s Slate Plus bonus segment Josie, John, and David discuss their hiding places as children and adults.

Tweet us your questions and chatters @SlateGabfest or email us at gabfest@slate.com. (Messages may be quoted by name unless the writer stipulates otherwise.)

Podcast production by Jocelyn Frank.

Research and show notes by Bridgette Dunlap.

Need to set up your Slate Plus feed? If you subscribed through Slate.com, check out our FAQ at slate.com/podcastfaqs for easy instructions. Members subscribed via Apple Podcasts get automatic access—no setup required.

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

Emily, John and David dig into SCOTUS's failure to enforce the Voting Rights Act, the GOP's embrace of January 6th rioters, and protests in Canada.

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

John Dickerson for The Atlantic: “The GOP Has No Standards Now”

Adela Suliman for The Washington Post: “Marjorie Taylor Greene says Nancy Pelosi leads ‘gazpacho police,’ causing collective spit take”

Brett Samuels for The Hill: “Pence breaks with Trump: 'I had no right to overturn the election'”

Here’s this week’s chatter:

Emily: Sam Levine for The Guardian: “The Black Woman Sentenced To Six Years In Prison Over A Voting Error”

John: “John Grisham Reads Soggy Sweat's Whiskey Speech”

David: Oliver Holmes for The Guardian: “Putin’s Massive Table: Powerplay or Paranoia?”

Listener chatter from Cason Reily: BBC: “Who Is Sue Gray?”  

For this week’s Slate Plus bonus segment Emily, John, and David ponder what makes something qualify as a sport or a game.

Tweet us your questions and chatters @SlateGabfest or email us at gabfest@slate.com. (Messages may be quoted by name unless the writer stipulates otherwise.)

Podcast production by Jocelyn Frank.

Research and show notes by Bridgette Dunlap.

Need to set up your Slate Plus feed? If you subscribed through Slate.com, check out our FAQ at slate.com/podcastfaqs for easy instructions. Members subscribed via Apple Podcasts get automatic access—no setup required.

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Emily, John and David discuss Donald Trump’s attempts to seize voting machines, the racist attacks on the yet-to-be-named SCOTUS nominee, and they are joined by Joseph Allen, director of the Healthy Buildings program at Harvard University's T. H. Chan School of Public Health, to discuss ways we might update U.S. COVID norms.

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

Joseph G. Allen for The Washington Post: “Our Playbook to Fight Covid-19 Is Outdated. Here Are 10 Updates for 2022.”

Joseph G. Allen and Celine R. Gounder for The Hill: “We Have a Once-in-a-Generation Opportunity to Fix Our Crumbling Schools”

Healthy Buildings: How Indoor Spaces Drive Performance and Productivity, by Joseph G. Allen and John D. Macomber

Adam Serwer for The Atlantic: “Republicans Seem to Think Putting a Black Woman on the Supreme Court Is the Real Racism”

Meltdown: What Plane Crashes, Oil Spills, and Dumb Business Decisions Can Teach Us About How to Succeed at Work and at Home, by Chris Clearfield and András Tilcsik 

Here’s this week’s chatter:

Emily: Kristin Toussaint for Fast Company: “How Do Workers Take on a National Chain Like Starbucks? One Store at a Time”; Noam Scheiber for The New York Times: “Taking On Starbucks, Inspired by Bernie Sanders”

John: Adam Gopnik for The New Yorker: “Molière to the Panthéon!”; History, Art and Archives: United States House of Representatives: Representative Clement Vallandigham of Ohio

David: Neil Vigdor for the New York Times: “A Teenager Tracked Elon Musk’s Jet on Twitter. Then Came the Direct Message.” 

Listener chatter from Erin Arizzi-Shores: The Double Shift: “The Check's Not In The Mail”

More listener chatter from Larry Williams: Barbara J. King for NPR: “Watch The Moment A Dying Chimpanzee Recognizes An Old Friend”; Mama's Last Hug: Animal Emotions and What They Tell Us about Ourselves, by Frans De Waal. 

For this week’s Slate Plus bonus segment Emily, John, and David offer advice about how to establish a work/life balance.

Tweet us your questions and chatters @SlateGabfest or email us at gabfest@slate.com. (Messages may be quoted by name unless the writer stipulates otherwise.)

Podcast production by Jocelyn Frank.

Research and show notes by Bridgette Dunlap.

Need to set up your Slate Plus feed? If you subscribed through Slate.com, check out our FAQ at slate.com/podcastfaqs for easy instructions. Members subscribed via Apple Podcasts get automatic access—no setup required.

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John, Emily and David discuss Justice Breyer’s retirement. They are joined by Anne Applebaum to talk about what global moves may be coming to address threats to Ukraine, and The Gist’s Mike Pesca covers a round robin of the week's news.

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

The Authority of the Court and the Peril of Politics, by Stephen Breyer 

Anne Applebaum for The Atlantic: “The Bad Guys Are Winning”

The Gist

Slow Burn: Watergate

Station Eleven, by Emily St. John Mandel 

Station Eleven series on HBO Max

The Way We Live Now, by Anthony Trollope

Here’s this week’s chatter:

Emily: Vauhini Vara for Believer Magazine: “Ghosts”; This American Life: “The Ghost in The Machine”

John: Dylan Matthews for Vox: “Can Giving Parents Cash Help With Babies’ Brain Development?”

David: Tiffany Lukk for Mpls.St.Paul Magazine: “Where to Go Dog Sledding in Minnesota”; Nicole Wetsman for The Verge: “CDC Emails Show That Vaccine Cards Are Supposed To Fit In Your Wallet: The Covid-19 Cards Do Not Fit In Wallets”

Listener chatter from Tom McIlroy: Michael Zhang for PetaPixel: “Photographer Finds Polar Bears That Took Over Abandoned Buildings”

For this week’s Slate Plus bonus segment Emily, John, and David discuss the screen adaptation of Station Eleven.

Tweet us your questions and chatters @SlateGabfest or email us at gabfest@slate.com. (Messages may be quoted by name unless the writer stipulates otherwise.)

Podcast production by Jocelyn Frank.

Research and show notes by Bridgette Dunlap.

Need to set up your Slate Plus feed? If you subscribed through Slate.com, check out our FAQ at slate.com/podcastfaqs for easy instructions. Members subscribed via Apple Podcasts get automatic access—no setup required.

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

Emily Bazelon, John Dickerson and David Plotz discuss Biden’s first year, SCOTUS's block of OSHA’s vax-or-test rule, and Virginia Governor Glenn Youngkin’s busy start.

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

John Dickerson for CBS Sunday Morning: “President Joe Biden: The First Year”

Station Eleven, by Emily St. John Mandel 

Station Eleven series on HBO Max

Here’s this week’s chatter:

Emily: Deep Cover, Season 2: Mob Land

John: Take Note Podcast; Adam Webb for Take Note: “How to Keep a Notebook”

David: Paul Schwartzman for The Washington Post: “Missing Jewels And Art: A Lawsuit Against a Retired Professor Is Ruffling The Well-To-Do From Georgetown to Newport, R.I.”

Listener chatter from Alissa Surges: Allison Robicelli for The Washington Post: “I Spent The Night in an Empty Airport. it Was a Dream Come True”; Work at City Cast

For this week’s Slate Plus bonus segment Emily, John, and David talk about why to keep a journal.

Tweet us your questions and chatters @SlateGabfest or email us at gabfest@slate.com. (Messages may be quoted by name unless the writer stipulates otherwise.)

Podcast production by Jocelyn Frank.

Research and show notes by Bridgette Dunlap.

Need to set up your Slate Plus feed? If you subscribed through Slate.com, check out our FAQ at slate.com/podcastfaqs for easy instructions. Members subscribed via Apple Podcasts get automatic access—no setup required.

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Emily Bazelon, John Dickerson and David Plotz discuss voting rights, Russia's recent moves, with guest Nina Jankowicz; and the increasing politicization of cable news.

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

Cornell Law School’s Legal Information Institute: Electoral Count Act of 1887

David Becker on Face the Nation: “Elections Expert David Becker Denounces ‘Efforts to Sow Confusion and Chaos’ ”

Emily Bazelon for the New York Times: “Democracy Worked This Year. but It Is Under Threat.”

Christina A. Cassidy for AP News: “Far Too Little Vote Fraud to Tip Election to Trump, AP Finds”

How to Lose the Information War: Russia, Fake News, and the Future of Conflict, by Nina Jankowicz

Anne Applebaum for the Atlantic: “The Science of Making Americans Hurt Their Own Country”

Here’s this week’s chatter:

Emily: Jan Ransom for the New York Times: “A Look Inside Rikers: ‘Fight Night’ and Gang Rule, Captured on Video”

David: Nathanael Johnson thread on Twitter and We Are Lady Parts TV show

John: The Mezzanine, by Nicholson Baker and “On Keeping a Notebook,” by Joan Didion

Listener chatter from Bea Scott: The History of Democracy Has Yet to Be Written by Thomas Geoghegan

For this week’s Slate Plus bonus segment John, Emily, and David discuss rule-breaking and Novak Djokovic’s moves in Australia.

Tweet us your questions and chatters @SlateGabfest or email us at gabfest@slate.com. (Messages may be quoted by name unless the writer stipulates otherwise.)

Podcast production by Jocelyn Frank.

Research and show notes by Shayna Elliot.

Need to set up your Slate Plus feed? If you subscribed through Slate.com, check out our FAQ at slate.com/podcastfaqs for easy instructions. Members subscribed via Apple Podcasts get automatic access—no setup required.

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Emily Bazelon, John Dickerson and David Plotz discuss Jan. 6, with guest Jamelle Bouie and what to make of omicron's impact on schools, and the Theranos case.

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

Matt Levine for Bloomberg: “Slaying the Blood Unicorn”

Wall Street Journal: Theranos and Elizabeth Holmes: History of the WSJ Investigation 

Emily Bazelon for the New York Times Magazine: “I Write About the Law. But Could I Really Help Free a Prisoner?”

Ruddy Roye Photography

Walker Evans

Anastasia Taylor-Lind

Sally Mann

Larry Fink Photography

Edward Hopper: Night Shadows, 1921

Alexander Calder: Finny Fish

Wolfgang Laib: Wax Room

Caravaggio: The Conversion of Saint Paul

Here’s this week’s chatter:

Emily: Crossroads, by Jonathan Franzen; Parul Sehgal for the New Yorker: “The Case Against the Trauma Plot”

John: Window-Swap.com

David: Fight Club; Free Guy; City Cast

Listener chatter from Cynthia Weiner: Corryn Wetzel for Smithsonian Magazine: “Ten Hilarious Winners of the Comedy Wildlife Photography Awards”

For this week’s Slate Plus bonus segment Emily, John, David, and Jamelle discuss the famous works of art they would most like to possess. 

Tweet us your questions and chatters @SlateGabfest or email us at gabfest@slate.com. (Messages may be quoted by name unless the writer stipulates otherwise.)

Podcast production by Jocelyn Frank.

Research and show notes by Bridgette Dunlap.

Need to set up your Slate Plus feed? If you subscribed through Slate.com, check out our FAQ at slate.com/podcastfaqs for easy instructions. Members subscribed via Apple Podcasts get automatic access—no setup required.

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Emily Bazelon, John Dickerson, and David Plotz wrap up 2021 considering life’s many conundrums—with special guest Dwayne Betts!

Questions this year include: if you could eliminate one word from the English language what would it be? If you could transport the characters of one book into the time and place of another, which would you choose? If you were ONLY able to brush your teeth in the morning or the night- which would be optimal?

Special thanks to everyone who sent in conundrums for consideration.

For this week’s Slate Plus bonus segment David, Emily, John attempt a conundrum lightning round.

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

The email address for the Political Gabfest is gabfest@slate.com. (Email may be quoted by name unless the writer stipulates otherwise.)

Give the gift of Slate Plus to a fellow Slate fan and they’ll receive all the benefits of membership: unlimited reading, ad-free listening, bonus content, and so much more.

Podcast production by Jocelyn Frank.

Research and show notes by Bridgette Dunlap.

Need to set up your Slate Plus feed? If you subscribed through Slate.com, check out our FAQ at slate.com/podcastfaqs for easy instructions. Members subscribed via Apple Podcasts get automatic access—no setup required.

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Emily Bazelon, John Dickerson and David Plotz discuss the future of the Democratic party's agenda, Omicron's spread across the United States and they're joined by investigative journalist Azmat Khan to talk about the deaths of civilians overseas and the lack of accuracy from the U.S. military.

Give the gift of Plus to a fellow Slate fan and they’ll receive all the benefits of membership: unlimited reading, ad-free listening, bonus content, and so much more.

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

Matthew Yglesias for Slow Boring: “$1.75 Trillion Is Plenty of Money to Write a Good Build Back Better Bill Here Are Some Solid Options”

Simon Bazelon and David Shor for Slow Boring: “A Permanent CTC Expansion With a Sharper Means-Test Would Protect Poor Kids Better And Be More Popular”

Jonathan Chait for New York Magazine: “Biden Should Take Manchin's Deal Right Now”

David Wallace-Wells for New York Magazine: “Gauteng’s Omicron Wave Is Already Peaking. Why?”

Derek Thompson for the Atlantic:”Is Omicron Milder?”

Azmat Khan for The New York Times: “Hidden Pentagon Records Reveal Patterns of Failure in Deadly Airstrikes”

Azmat Khan for The New York Times Magazine: “The Human Toll of America’s Air Wars”

Azmat Khan for The New York Times Magazine: “The Uncounted”

Heart of Darkness, by Joseph Conrad

Here’s this week’s chatter:

Emily: Katie Benner, Zolan Kanno-Youngs and Charlie Savage for the New York Times: “Some Inmates Can Stay Confined at Home After Covid Emergency, Justice Dept. Says”

John: The Power of Meaning, by Emily Esfahani Smith, Mozhan Marno, and On the Meaning of Life, by Will Durant

David: Hard Knocks In Season: The Indianapolis Colts

Listener chatter from Mo Trent: stuffin.space

For this week’s Slate Plus bonus segment Emily, John, and David discuss their most and least useful years of formal education. Special thanks to listener Sean McPherson for the suggestion.  

Tweet us your questions and chatters @SlateGabfest or email us at gabfest@slate.com. (Messages may be quoted by name unless the writer stipulates otherwise.)

Podcast production by Jocelyn Frank.

Research and show notes by Bridgette Dunlap.

Need to set up your Slate Plus feed? If you subscribed through Slate.com, check out our FAQ at slate.com/podcastfaqs for easy instructions. Members subscribed via Apple Podcasts get automatic access—no setup required.

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Emily, John and David discuss January 6th revelations, Build Back Better and voting rights and they are joined by Slow Burn host Joel Anderson to talk about Season 6: The L.A. Riots.

Give the gift of Plus to a fellow Slate fan and they’ll receive all the benefits of membership: unlimited reading, ad-free listening, bonus content, and so much more.

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

David A. Graham for the Atlantic: “The Paperwork Coup”

Barton Gellman for the Atlantic: “Trump’s Next Coup Has Already Begun”

Charles Homans for the New York Times: “In Bid for Control of Elections, Trump Loyalists Face Few Obstacles”

Slow Burn Season 6: The L.A. Riots

Slow Burn Season 3: Biggie and Tupac

Emily Bazelon for Slate: “The Nazi Anatomists”

Here’s this week’s chatter:

Emily: Ain't I a Woman: Black Women and Feminism, by bell hooks; We Real Cool: Black Men and Masculinity, by bell hooks

John: Sharyn Alfonsi for 60 Minutes: “Negotiating With the Taliban to Save Lives Iin Afghanistan”; The Daily: “Economic Catastrophe in Afghanistan”; Christina Goldbaum for the New York Times: “Facing Economic Collapse, Afghanistan Is Gripped by Starvation”

David: Julian Mark for the Washington Post: “Rapper Logic Wrote the Song ‘1-800-273-8255’ To Save Lives. He May Have Saved Hundreds, Study Finds.”

Listener chatter from Adrian Monthony: Geraldine DeRuiter for The Everywhereist: “Bros., Lecce: We Eat at The Worst Michelin Starred Restaurant, Ever”

For this week’s Slate Plus bonus segment Emily, John, and David share their best holiday gift ideas.

Tweet us your questions and chatters @SlateGabfest or email us at gabfest@slate.com. (Messages may be quoted by name unless the writer stipulates otherwise.)

Podcast production by Jocelyn Frank.

Research and show notes by Bridgette Dunlap.

Need to set up your Slate Plus feed? If you subscribed through Slate.com, check out our FAQ at slate.com/podcastfaqs for easy instructions. Members subscribed via Apple Podcasts get automatic access—no setup required.

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

Emily and David are joined by guest host David Leonhardt to discuss the pandemic economy; a diplomatic boycott of the Olympics, and the Ghislaine Maxwell trial.

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

John J. Mearsheimer for Foreign Affairs: “The Inevitable Rivalry: America, China, and the Tragedy of Great-Power Politics”

Corey Robin for The New York Times: “Why the Biden Presidency Feels Like Such a Disappointment”

The Enigma of Clarence Thomas, by Corey Robin

Mike Baker for The New York Times: “The Sisters Who First Tried to Take Down Jeffrey Epstein”t

Andrew Anthony for The Guardian: “Meet Julie K Brown, The Woman Who Brought Down Jeffrey Epstein”

Jill Filipvoc’s newsletter 

Matthew Yglesias’ Slow Boring newsletter

Joe Sheehan’s baseball newsletter

Matt Levine’s Money Stuff newsletter

Heather Cox Richardson’s Letters from an American newsletter

Here’s this week’s chatter:

Emily: Leah Litman for NBC News: “The Death Penalty Cases Before The Supreme Court That Could Keep Innocent People In Prison”: Amy Howe for SCOTUSblog: “Conservative Justices Scoff at Maine’s Exclusion of Religious Schools From Tuition-Assistance Program”

David Leonhardt: Duke Ellington’s Nutcracker Suite

David Plotz:: Work at City Cast; Sex Lives of College Girls

Listener chatter from Andrew Lacko: “Miracle and Wonder: Conversations with Paul Simon”

For this week’s Slate Plus bonus segment Emily, David, and David talk about newsletters and what they do well.

Give the gift of Slate Plus to a fellow Slate fan and they’ll receive all the benefits of membership: unlimited reading, ad-free listening, bonus content, and so much more. Here's how!

Tweet us your questions and chatters @SlateGabfest or email us at gabfest@slate.com. (Messages may be quoted by name unless the writer stipulates otherwise.)

Podcast production by Jocelyn Frank.

Research and show notes by Bridgette Dunlap.

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Emily, John and David discuss the Supreme Court's consideration of Dobbs v Jackson Women's Health Organization with guest Ross Douthat. The Political Gabfest hosts also talk about how best to approach the news of the Omicron variant, and why the Cuomo brothers’ scandals matter.

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

Diana Greene Foster for The New York Times: “What Happens When It’s Too Late to Get an Abortion”

University of California, San Francisco, Advancing New Standards in Reproductive Health (ANSIRH), The Turnaway Study

Ross Douthat for The New York Times: “The Case Against Abortion”

Will Saletan for Slate: “Republicans Will Be Sorry if the Supreme Court Overturns Roe”

Here’s this week’s chatter:

Emily: On The Media: “A Different Hanukkah Story”

John: Garret Keizer for Harper's Magazine: “The Third Force”

David: Hannah Towey for Insider: “Check Out Theranos Founder Elizabeth Holmes' Handwritten 4 A.M. Schedule That Was Submitted as She Testified That Her Ex-Boyfriend Was Abusive” 

Listener chatter from Chuck Piehl: Mankato Free Press: “Making Havoc Not the Point of Public Records”

For this week’s Slate Plus bonus segment Emily, John, and David share their best holiday gift ideas. Give the gift of Slate Plus to a fellow Slate fan and they’ll receive all the benefits of membership: unlimited reading, ad-free listening, bonus content, and so much more. Here's how!

Tweet us your questions and chatters @SlateGabfest or email us at gabfest@slate.com. (Messages may be quoted by name unless the writer stipulates otherwise.)

Podcast production by Jocelyn Frank.

Research and show notes by Bridgette Dunlap.

Need to set up your Slate Plus feed? If you subscribed through Slate.com, check out our FAQ at slate.com/podcastfaqs for easy instructions. Members subscribed via Apple Podcasts get automatic access—no setup required.

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

Emily, John and David talk about whether President Biden ought to run in 2024, the Rittenhouse verdict and former Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull joins the Gabfest to talk about international relations with China.

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

Edward-Isaac Dovere and Jasmine Wright for CNN: “Exasperation and Dysfunction: Inside Kamala Harris' Frustrating Start as Vice President.”

Jonathan Chait for New York magazine: “Joe Biden’s Big Squeeze”

High Conflict, by Amanda Ripley

David French for the Atlantic: “Kyle Rittenhouse’s Acquittal Does Not Make Him a Hero”

A Bigger Picture, by Malcolm Turnbull

Here’s this week’s chatter:

Emily: Cloud Cuckoo Land, by Anthony Doerr

David: Conversation topic generator thanxiety.com

John: Jonathan Edwards for the Washington Post: “A Michigan Woman Tried to Hire an Assassin Online at RentAHitman.com. Now, She’s Going to Prison.”

Listener chatter from Keith Watabayashi @KeithWatabayash: Hieronymus Burps @hieronymus_burps about Long Boom Wired Cover

For this week’s Slate Plus bonus segment John, Emily, and David ask Malcolm Turnbull about the mundane details of life as the leader of a nation.

Tweet us your questions and chatters @SlateGabfest or email us at gabfest@slate.com. (Messages may be quoted by name unless the writer stipulates otherwise.)

Podcast production by Jocelyn Frank.

Research and show notes by Shayna Elliot.

Need to set up your Slate Plus feed? If you subscribed through Slate.com, check out our FAQ at slate.com/podcastfaqs for easy instructions. Members subscribed via Apple Podcasts get automatic access—no setup required.

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John, Emily and David discuss Biden’s approval numbers, authoritarianism on the rise, and they are joined by author Jay Caspian Kang to talk about his new book, The Loneliest Americans.

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

FiveThirtyEight, Latest Polls 

Isaac Chotiner for the New Yorker: “Can Biden’s Agenda Survive Inflation?”

Jason Furman for the Wall Street Journal: “​​Biden Can Whip Inflation and Build Back Better”

The Loneliest Americans, by Jay Caspian Kang

Pew Research Center: “Where Do You Fit In The Political Typology?”

Christopher Borrelli for the Chicago Tribune: “What We’re Reading: 4 Korean American Memoirs, From Personal Stories To An Unsettling Confrontation on Identity and Assimilation”

Anne Appelbaum for the Atlantic: “The Bad Guys Are Winning”

Freedom House: “Freedom in the World 2021: Democracy Under Siege”

The Dictator's Learning Curve: Inside the Global Battle for Democracy, by William J. Dobson

Twitter and Tear Gas: The Power and Fragility of Networked Protest, by Zeynep Tufekci 

Zeynep Tufekci for the Atlantic: “How the Coronavirus Revealed Authoritarianism’s Fatal Flaw”

Here’s this week’s chatter:

Emily: Ashley Southall and Jonah E. Bromwich for the New York Times: “2 Men Convicted of Killing Malcolm X Will Be Exonerated After Decades”

John: The Faber Book of Reportage, by John Carey; The Way We Live Now, by Anthony Trollope audiobook 

David: Geoffrey Leavenworth for the New York Times: “One Chaste Marriage, Four Kids, and the Catholic Church”; Spencer Buell for Boston magazine: “New England Hidden Gems You’ll Find on the New Atlas Obscura App”; City Cast Houston

Listener chatter from Melissa Ocepek: A fox listens to the banjo

For this week’s Slate Plus bonus segment Emily, John, and David discuss the most useful friend to have.

Tweet us your questions and chatters @SlateGabfest or email us at gabfest@slate.com. (Messages may be quoted by name unless the writer stipulates otherwise.)

Podcast production by Jocelyn Frank.

Research and show notes by Bridgette Dunlap.

Need to set up your Slate Plus feed? If you subscribed through Slate.com, check out our FAQ at slate.com/podcastfaqs for easy instructions. Members subscribed via Apple Podcasts get automatic access—no setup required.

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

John and David are joined by guest host Ruth Marcus to discuss Biden’s infrastructure win, Trump’s January 6 obstruction, and the Rittenhouse trial.

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

Adie Tomer, Joseph W. Kane, Caroline George, and Andrew Bourne, for The Brookings Institution: “America Has An Infrastructure Bill. What Happens Next?”

Ruth Marcus for the Washington Post: “At Yale Law School, a Party Invitation Ignites a Firestorm”

Josh Dawsey, Isaac Stanley-Becker, and Michael Scherer for The Washington Post: “Donors Threatened to Shun the Gop After Jan. 6. Now, Republicans Are Outraising Democrats.”

Sandy West for Kaiser Health News: “‘Drinking Through a Lead Straw’ — $15B Approved to Fix Dangerous Water Pipes”

The Constitution of Knowledge: A Defense of Truth, by Jonathan Rauch 

Here’s this week’s chatter:

Ruth: Julian Mark for The Washington Post: “A Fertility Center Mixed Up Two Couples’ Embryos, Lawsuit Says. When They Found Out, They Had To Trade Babies.”

David: David is leading an “Exploring a Secret Fort” tour of Fort DeRussy in Washington, D.C. for Atlas Obscura and Airbnb; Jonathan D. Karl for The Atlantic: “The Man Who Made January 6th Possible”

John: Pew Research Center: “Where Do You Fit In The Political Typology?”

Listener chatter from Tsur Somerville: Reuters: “Wandering Dog is Istanbul Commuters' Best Friend”

For this week’s Slate Plus bonus segment Ruth, John, and David discuss the controversy over the founding of the University of Austin.

Tweet us your questions and chatters @SlateGabfest or email us at gabfest@slate.com. (Messages may be quoted by name unless the writer stipulates otherwise.)

Podcast production by Jocelyn Frank.

Research and show notes by Bridgette Dunlap.

Need to set up your Slate Plus feed? If you subscribed through Slate.com, check out our FAQ at slate.com/podcastfaqs for easy instructions. Members subscribed via Apple Podcasts get automatic access—no setup required.

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

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

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

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

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

Need to set up your Slate Plus feed? If you subscribed through Slate.com, check out our FAQ at slate.com/podcastfaqs for easy instructions. Members subscribed via Apple Podcasts get automatic access—no setup required.

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NYTimes columnist Ross Douthat joins the show to help untangle the implications of the off-year elections and John, Emily and David discuss the Supreme Court arguments on abortion in Texas and guns in New York.

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

The Deep Places: A Memoir of Illness and Discovery, by Ross Douthat

Emily Bazelon for The New York Times: “It’s Amy Coney Barrett’s Supreme Court Now”

Here’s this week’s chatter:

Emily: Associated Press: “University Of Florida Faces Investigation After Blocking Professors From Voting Case”

David: Scott MacFarlane, Rick Yarborough, and Steve Jones for NBC 4 Washington: “DC Tunnel History Site Flagged Suspicious Activity Before Capitol Insurrection”

John: Jeff Stein for The Washington Post: “Financial Firms Announce $130 Trillion In Commitments For Climate Transition, But Practical Questions Loom”

Listener chatter from JD Cameron @J_D_Cameron: John Muller for FiveThirtyEight: “Soccer Looks Different When You Can’t See Who’s Playing”

For this week’s Slate Plus bonus segment John, Emily, and David talk to Ross about his new book, The Deep Places. 

Tweet us your questions and chatters @SlateGabfest or email us at gabfest@slate.com. (Messages may be quoted by name unless the writer stipulates otherwise.)

Podcast production by Jocelyn Frank.

Research and show notes by Bridgette Dunlap.

Need to set up your Slate Plus feed? If you subscribed through Slate.com, check out our FAQ at slate.com/podcastfaqs for easy instructions. Members subscribed via Apple Podcasts get automatic access—no setup required.

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Emily, John and David talk about the Facebook Papers; Building Back (somewhat) Better; and are joined by author Pamela Paul to talk about the trivial and serious sides of her new book: 100 Things We've Lost to the Internet.

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

Casey Newton for Platformer on Substack: “How The American Internet Is Turning European”

Farhad Manjoo for The New York Times: “Facebook Is Bad. Fixing It Rashly Could Make It Much Worse.”

Adrienne LaFrance for The Atlantic: “‘History Will Not Judge Us Kindly’”

Nitish Pahwa for Slate: “The Facebook Crisis in India Might Be the Worst Facebook Crisis of All”

Alan Rappeport and Jim Tankersley for The New York Times: “Hunting for Money, Democrats Rush to Rewrite Tax Code”

100 Things We've Lost to the Internet, by Pamela Paul 

Here’s this week’s chatter:

Emily: Alix Wall for Berkeleyside: “This Couple Loves Berkeley Bowl So Much, They Took Their Engagement Photos There” (hat tip: Cyrus Farivar @cfarivar)

David: Andrea Salcedo for The Washington Post: “A Hiker Got Lost In Colorado, Then Ignored Rescuers’ Calls Because They Came From An Unknown Number”

John: Bailey Vogt for Washington City Paper: “Iconic D.C. Barber Diego D’Ambrosio Died At 87”; The Lost Daughter

Listener chatter from Kerry Donovan @KerryDonovanCO: Bill Chappell for NPR: “A Mysterious 'A Team' Just Rescued Dogs From a Volcano's Lava Zone in La Palma”

For this week’s Slate Plus bonus segment John, Emily, and David discuss the best things the internet has given them.

Tweet us your questions and chatters @SlateGabfest or email us at gabfest@slate.com. (Messages may be quoted by name unless the writer stipulates otherwise.)

Podcast production by Jocelyn Frank.

Research and show notes by Bridgette Dunlap.

Need to set up your Slate Plus feed? If you subscribed through Slate.com, check out our FAQ at slate.com/podcastfaqs for easy instructions. Members subscribed via Apple Podcasts get automatic access—no setup required.

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

Emily, John and David discuss Steve Bannon’s contempt of Congress, supply chain woes, and Americans pro-actively leaving their jobs.

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

Jordan Weissmann for Slate: “The Absolute Simplest Explanation for America’s Supply Chain Woes”

David J. Lynch for The Washington Post: “Inside America’s Broken Supply Chain”

Derek Thompson for The Atlantic: “The Great Resignation Is Accelerating”

Matt Bruenig for The People’s Policy Project: “Democratic Child Care Plan Will Spike Prices for the Middle Class by $13,000”

The Unknowns, by Gabriel Roth

Tonja Jacobi and Dylan Schweers for The Harvard Business Review: “Female Supreme Court Justices Are Interrupted More by Male Justices and Advocates”

Kate Murphy for The New York Times: “You’re Not Listening. Here’s Why”

Deborah Tannen for The New York Times: “In Real Life, Not All Interruptions Are Rude”

Elan Morgan for Medium: “99% Invisible Podcast’s Brilliant Response to Criticism of Women’s Voices”

Here’s this week’s chatter:

Emily: Paul Shechtman for The New York Law Journal: “Understanding the Significance of Supreme Court Cert in ‘Shinn v. Jones’”

David: Hetty McKinnon for the New York Times: “Sook Mei Faan (Cantonese Creamed Corn With Tofu and Rice)”

John: “One Hour to Think,” in On Democracy, by E.B. White; Vera

Listener chatter from Adrian Monthony: Twitter thread on the strange story of an abandoned airplane by Chris Croy @ChrisCroy; Harish Pullanoor for Quartz: “The Crazy Story Behind a Rickety Boeing 720 Parked at an Indian Airport For 24 Years”

For this week’s Slate Plus bonus segment John, Emily, and David discuss the data provided by listener Lindsay Lee about which host does the most interrupting on the Political Gabfest. Check out Lee's blog post here.

Go to Slate.com/gabfestplus to become a slate plus member today!

Tweet us your questions and chatters @SlateGabfest or email us at gabfest@slate.com. (Messages may be quoted by name unless the writer stipulates otherwise.)

Podcast production by Jocelyn Frank.

Research and show notes by Bridgette Dunlap.

Need to set up your Slate Plus feed? If you subscribed through Slate.com, check out our FAQ at slate.com/podcastfaqs for easy instructions. Members subscribed via Apple Podcasts get automatic access—no setup required.

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

Emily, John and David discuss the ways that U.S. democracy is in peril, the Democrats‘ strategy woes, and they are joined by author Andrea Elliott to talk about her new book Invisible Child.

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

Ezra Klein for The New York Times: “David Shor Is Telling Democrats What They Don’t Want to Hear”

Jamelle Bouie for The New York Times: “Bill Clinton, Race and the Politics of the 1990s”

The Ezra Klein Show. “Transcript: Ezra Klein Interviews Heather McGhee About the Cost of Racism”

The Sum of Us: What Racism Costs Everyone and How We Can Prosper Together, by Heather McGhee 

Simon Bazelon and David Shor for Slow Boring: “A Permanent CTC Expansion With a Sharper Means-Test Would Protect Poor Kids Better and be More Popular”

Matt Yglesias for Slow Boring: “If You Want To Talk About Racism, Talk About Racism”

Invisible Child: Poverty, Survival & Hope in an American City, by Andrea Elliott

Andrea Elliot for The New York Times Magazine: “When Dasani Left Home”

Andrea Elliot for The New York Times: 2013 Invisible Child series

Here’s this week’s chatter:

David: Gastro Obscura: A Food Adventurer's Guide, by Cecily Wong and Dylan Thuras 

John: John’s donation page for the Covenant House Sleep Out; Gurwinder @G_S_Bhogal’s Twitter thread about the 40 powerful concepts for understanding the world. 

Emily: Jan Ransom, Jonah E. Bromwich and Rebecca Davis O’Brien for The New York Times: “Inside Rikers: Dysfunction, Lawlessness and Detainees in Control”

Listener chatter from Nettie Hendricks: The Fetler Family Band on YouTube

For this week’s Slate Plus bonus segment John, Emily, and David discuss what they’d do with their days if they didn’t need to work.  Visit www.slate.com/gabfestplus to become a member today!

Tweet us your questions and chatters @SlateGabfest or email us at gabfest@slate.com. (Messages may be quoted by name unless the writer stipulates otherwise.)

Podcast production by Jocelyn Frank.

Research and show notes by Bridgette Dunlap.

Need to set up your Slate Plus feed? If you subscribed through Slate.com, check out our FAQ at slate.com/podcastfaqs for easy instructions. Members subscribed via Apple Podcasts get automatic access—no setup required.

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

Emily and John are joined by guest host Mary Harris (host of What Next) to talk about the dangerous debt ceiling games; blowing the whistle on Facebook; and new revelations about January 6th and the plan to overturn the election.

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

Wall Street Journal: The Facebook Files

Wall Street Journal: The Facebook Files, A Podcast Series

Nathaniel Persily for the Washington Post: “Facebook Hides Data Showing It Harms Users. Outside Scholars Need Access.”

Charlie Warzel’s Substack, Galaxy Brain: “The Algorithm Tweaks Won't Save Us”

Katie Benner for The New York Times: “Report Cites New Details of Trump Pressure on Justice Dept. Over Election”

Mike Stobbe for The Associated Press: “More Than 120,000 Us Kids Had Caregivers Die During Pandemic”

YouTube video: “Richard Feynman Magnets”

Slate’s What Next With Mary Harris

Here’s this week’s chatter:

John: The President Is a Sick Man: Wherein the Supposedly Virtuous Grover Cleveland Survives a Secret Surgery at Sea and Vilifies the Courageous Newspaperman Who Dared Expose the Truth, by Matthew Algeo

Mary: Gary Shteyngart for The New Yorker: “A Botched Circumcision and Its Aftermath”; Robert Kolker for The New York Times Magazine: “Who Is the Bad Art Friend?”

Emily: Bazelon Center for Mental Health Law: Annual Awards Virtual Event–Championing Disability Rights for 49 Years; Sabrina Tavernise and Katie Benne for The New York Times: “Federal Judge Pauses Strict Texas Law Banning Most Abortions”

Listener chatter from Kyle Amann: Matthew Fox for Insider: “A Hamster Has Been Trading Cryptocurrencies In A Cage Rigged To Automatically Buy And Sell Tokens Since June - And It's Currently Outperforming The S&P 500”

For this week’s Slate Plus bonus segment John and Emily talk to Mary about work as a daily podcaster. Slate Plus members get benefits like zero ads on any Slate podcast, bonus episodes of shows like Slow Burn and Danny Lavery's show Big Mood, Little Mood and you’ll be supporting the Political Gabfest.

Sign up now at slate.com/gabfestplus to help support our work.

Tweet us your questions and chatters @SlateGabfest or email us at gabfest@slate.com. (Messages may be quoted by name unless the writer stipulates otherwise.)

Podcast production by Jocelyn Frank.

Research and show notes by Bridgette Dunlap.

Need to set up your Slate Plus feed? If you subscribed through Slate.com, check out our FAQ at slate.com/podcastfaqs for easy instructions. Members subscribed via Apple Podcasts get automatic access—no setup required.

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John, Emily and David discuss the fate of the Build Back Better agenda; vaccine mandates working; and journalist Caitlin Dickerson helps explain the recent U.S. immigration actions and to identify some fresh strategies for change.

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

Jamelle Bouie for The New York Times: “It’s All or Nothing for These Democrats, Even if That Means Biden Fails”

Josh Marshall for Talking Points Memo: “Kill the Bill”

Caitlin Dickerson for The Atlantic: “Democrats’ Free Pass on Immigration Is Over”

Caitlin Dickerson for The Atlantic: “America’s Immigration Amnesia”

Here’s this week’s chatter:

John: Glamourdaze YouTube video: “A Walk in the Park - c.1900 | Bois de Boulogne Paris - AI Enhanced; Peril, by Bob Woodward and Robert Costa

Emily: CNN: “Florida Man Fights Alligator With Trash Can”; Jonathan Mann’s folk song celebrating the Florida Man Who Caught An Alligator In A Trash Can

David: The Cult of We: WeWork, Adam Neumann, and the Great Startup Delusion, by Eliot Brown and Maureen Farrell 

Listener chatter from Matthew Ringel: Veritasium YouTube video, about the history of potash: “These Pools Help Support Half The People On Earth” 

For this week’s Slate Plus bonus segment John, David, and Emily talk about earlier times in history they would have liked to have been podcasting together. Slate Plus members get benefits like zero ads on any Slate podcast, bonus episodes of shows like Slow Burn and Danny Lavery's show Big Mood, Little Mood and you’ll be supporting the Political Gabfest.

Sign up now at slate.com/gabfestplus to help support our work.

Tweet us your questions and chatters @SlateGabfest or email us at gabfest@slate.com. (Messages may be quoted by name unless the writer stipulates otherwise.)

Podcast production by Jocelyn Frank.

Research and show notes by Bridgette Dunlap.

Need to set up your Slate Plus feed? If you subscribed through Slate.com, check out our FAQ at slate.com/podcastfaqs for easy instructions. Members subscribed via Apple Podcasts get automatic access—no setup required.

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

Emily, John and David discuss what it will take to save the Biden agenda, the abortion doctor's defiance of the Texas ban; and true crime mania.

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

Josh Marshall for Talking Points Memo: “Policy vs Positioning Has Dems in a Stalemate”

Michael Dorf for Dorf on Law: “Texas Could Not Get Away With This Absent SCOTUS-Created Limits On Constitutional Adjudication”

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

Impeachment: American Crime Story 

The Clinton Impeachment - Slow Burn: Season 2

Here’s this week’s chatter:

Emily: Susan Dominus for The New York Times Magazine: “He Was the ‘Perfect Villain’ for Voting Conspiracists”

John: Elizabeth Elkin for Bloomberg: “Food Prices Poised to Surge With Fertilizer at Highest in Years

By” 

David: CityCast: “City Cast Houston Launches Oct. 5”; “Evidence That A Cosmic Impact Destroyed Ancient City In The Jordan Valley”; Ted E. Bunch et al, for Scientific Reports: “A Tunguska Sized Airburst Destroyed Tall El-hammam A Middle Bronze Age City In The Jordan Valley Near The Dead Sea”

Listener chatter from Jeffrey Itell: You Tube: “15 Unfinished Buildings in Kunming Were Demolished by Blasting”

For this week’s Slate Plus bonus segment John, David, and Emily discuss the merits of revisiting the stories of Bill Clinton’s impeachment. Slate Plus members get benefits like zero ads on any Slate podcast, bonus episodes of shows like Slow Burn and Danny Lavery's show Big Mood, Little Mood and you’ll be supporting the Political Gabfest.

Sign up now at slate.com/gabfestplus to help support our work.

Tweet us your questions and chatters @SlateGabfest or email us at gabfest@slate.com. (Messages may be quoted by name unless the writer stipulates otherwise.)

Podcast production by Jocelyn Frank.

Research and show notes by Bridgette Dunlap.

Need to set up your Slate Plus feed? If you subscribed through Slate.com, check out our FAQ at slate.com/podcastfaqs for easy instructions. Members subscribed via Apple Podcasts get automatic access—no setup required.

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

Emily, John and David discuss the Biden’s administration’s vaccine rule, the legitimacy of the Supreme Court, and the new book from Bob Woodward and Robert Costa.

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

Isaac Stanley-Becker for The Washington Post: “Top General Was So Fearful Trump Might Spark War That He Made Secret Calls To His Chinese Counterpart, New Book Says”

Peril, by Bob Woodward and Robert Costa 

Susan B. Glasser for The New Yorker: “‘You’re Gonna Have a Fucking War’: Mark Milley’s Fight to Stop Trump from Striking Iran”

I Alone Can Fix It: Donald J. Trump's Catastrophic Final Year, by Carol Leonnig and Philip Rucker

Here’s this week’s chatter:

Emily: Georgia Wells, Jeff Horwitz and Deepa Seetharaman for The Wall Street Journal: “Facebook Knows Instagram Is Toxic for Teen Girls, Company Documents Show”

John: Harlem Shuffle, by Colson Whitehead

David: “College Students Reported Record-High Marijuana Use and Record-Low Drinking in 2020, Study Says”

Listener chatter from James Evans: Verity Stevenson for CBC News: “In Facing Death, Concordia Neuroscientist Nadia Chaudhri Has Built a Lasting Legacy and Inspired Thousands”; 

@DrNadiaChaudhri’s Twitter feed

For this week’s Slate Plus bonus segment John, David, and Emily discuss the contentiousness of daylight saving time. If you enjoy the show, please consider signing up for Slate Plus.

Slate Plus members get benefits like zero ads on any Slate podcast, bonus episodes of shows like Slow Burn and Danny Lavery's show Big Mood, Little Mood and you’ll be supporting the Political Gabfest. Sign up now at slate.com/gabfestplus to help support our work.

Tweet us your questions and chatters @SlateGabfest or email us at gabfest@slate.com. (Messages may be quoted by name unless the writer stipulates otherwise.)

Podcast production by Jocelyn Frank.

Research and show notes by Bridgette Dunlap.

Need to set up your Slate Plus feed? If you subscribed through Slate.com, check out our FAQ at slate.com/podcastfaqs for easy instructions. Members subscribed via Apple Podcasts get automatic access—no setup required.

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

Emily, John and David reflect on 9/11; the fight for the infrastructure agenda, and declining college enrollment among men.

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

Garrett M. Graff for the Atlantic: “After 9/11, the U.S. Got Almost Everything Wrong”

The Only Plane in the Sky: An Oral History of 9/11, by Garrett M. Graff

Ady Barkan for The New York Times: “Home Care Keeps Me Alive. It Should Be Fully Funded.”

Jamelle Bouie for The New York Times: “$1 Trillion Isn’t as Much as It Sounds”

Douglas Belkin for The Wall Street Journal: “A Generation of American Men Give Up on College: ‘I Just Feel Lost’”

Emily Bazelon for The New York Times: “How Will America Recover From a Broken School Year?”

Kevin Carey for The New York Times: “Men Fall Behind in College Enrollment. Women Still Play Catch-Up at Work.”

The Case Against Education: Why the Education System Is a Waste of Time and Money, by Bryan Caplan

Here’s this week’s chatter:

John: Lee Drutman for The New York Times: “Quiz: If America Had Six Parties, Which Would You Belong To?”; John Dickerson for The Atlantic: “Every Dog Is a Rescue Dog”

Emily: Ben Rothenberg for The New York Times: “At U.S. Open, Teen Spirit Rules and It’s Contagious”

David: Wilson Wong for NBC News: “Original 'Blue's Clues' Host Steve Tells Millennials He Never Forgot Them. He Just Went To College.”

Listener chatter from Michael Sagmeister: Philip Oltermann for The Guardian: “‘Scholz Will Sort It’ – The Catchphrase Winning the Hearts of German Voters”

For this week’s Slate Plus bonus segment John, David, and Emily discuss television’s most indelible characters in the wake of Michael K. Williams’ death.

If you enjoy the show, please consider signing up for Slate Plus. Slate Plus members get benefits like zero ads on any Slate podcast, bonus episodes of shows like Slow Burn and Danny Lavery's show Big Mood, Little Mood and you’ll be supporting the Political Gabfest. Sign up now at slate.com/gabfestplus to help support our work.

Tweet us your questions and chatters @SlateGabfest or email us at gabfest@slate.com. (Messages may be quoted by name unless the writer stipulates otherwise.)

Podcast production by Jocelyn Frank.

Research and show notes by Bridgette Dunlap.

Need to set up your Slate Plus feed? If you subscribed through Slate.com, check out our FAQ at slate.com/podcastfaqs for easy instructions. Members subscribed via Apple Podcasts get automatic access—no setup required.

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

John, Emily and David discuss SCOTUS letting the Texas abortion ban go into effect; the Afghanistan exit; and Dr. Atul Gawande joins the show to explain how Costa Rica has surpassed US life expectancy by getting serious about public health.



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

Atul Gawande for the New Yorker: “Costa Ricans Live Longer Than Us. What’s the Secret?”

Here’s this week’s chatter:

John: Erin Donaghue for CBS News: “Officers and Paramedics Charged in Death of Elijah McClain” 

Emily: Jed Kolko for The New York Times: “The Downtown Decade: U.S. Population Density Rose in the 2010s”

David: The Very Nice Box, by Eve Gleichman and Laura Blackett; Nile Cappello for The Atavist: “The Girl In The Picture”

Listener chatter from Karl Richter: A compilation of Nanci Griffith’s performances on Letterman

For this week’s Slate Plus bonus segment John, David, and Emily share their advice for people starting college.

If you enjoy the show, please consider signing up for Slate Plus. Slate Plus members get benefits like zero ads on any Slate podcast, bonus episodes of shows like Slow Burn and Danny Lavery's show Big Mood, Little Mood and you’ll be supporting the Political Gabfest. Sign up now at slate.com/gabfestplus to help support our work.

Tweet us your questions and chatters @SlateGabfest or email us at gabfest@slate.com. (Messages may be quoted by name unless the writer stipulates otherwise.)

Podcast production by Jocelyn Frank.

Research and show notes by Bridgette Dunlap.

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Jamelle, Emily and David discuss the Afghanistan evacuation, starting school during delta, and the path forward for infrastructure.

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

Jamelle Bouie for the New York Times: “$1 Trillion Isn’t as Much as It Sounds” 

Here’s this week’s chatter:

Jamelle: Godzilla: The Album

Emily: Jessica Stoya for Slate: “What We Can Really Learn From the OnlyFans Debacle”

David: Atul Gawande for the New Yorker: “Costa Ricans Live Longer Than Us. What’s the Secret?”

Listener chatter from Nilo Garza: The Daily: “Why Mexico is Suing U.S. Gun Manufacturers”; James Fredrick for NPR: “Mexico's Suit Against U.S. Gun Companies May Seek More Than A Court Win” 

If you enjoy the show, please consider signing up for Slate Plus. Slate Plus members get benefits like zero ads on any Slate podcast, bonus episodes of shows like Slow Burn and Danny Lavery's show Big Mood, Little Mood and you’ll be supporting the Political Gabfest. Sign up now at slate.com/gabfestplus to help support our work.

For this week’s Slate Plus bonus segment Jamelle, Emily, and David talk about electric bikes and scooters.

Tweet us your questions and chatters @SlateGabfest or email us at gabfest@slate.com. (Messages may be quoted by name unless the writer stipulates otherwise.)

Podcast production by Jocelyn Frank.

Research and show notes by Bridgette Dunlap.

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Emily, David and Alexandra Petri discuss the Afghanistan withdrawal, with guest Annie Pforzheimer; California’s recall election; and personal pandemic ethics.

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

Annie Pforzheimer for the Washington Post, “Leaving Afghanistan Will Lead to Yet Another Civil War There”

Annie Pforzheimer for the Washington Post, “In Afghanistan, a Summer of Pain Awaits”

Annie Pforzheimer for the New York Times, “The Long Road Out of Afghanistan”

Rachel Feintzeig for the Wall Street Journal: “These People Who Work From Home Have a Secret: They Have Two Jobs”

Daniel Lavery’s Substack newsletter: The Chatner 

Nothing Is Wrong and Here Is Why, by Alexandra Petri

A Field Guide to Awkward Silences, by Alexandra Petri

The Best of Wodehouse: An Anthology

Clouds, by Aristophanes 

Raymond Chandler: Collected Stories

Three Men In A Boat: (To Say Nothing of the Dog), by Jerome K. Jerome

Solutions and Other Problems, by Allie Brosh

Hyperbole and a Half: Unfortunate Situations, Flawed Coping Mechanisms, Mayhem, and Other Things That Happened, by Allie Brosh

New Teeth, by Simon Rich

Ant Farm: And Other Desperate Situations, by Simon Rich

Simon Rich for the New Yorker: “Sell Out”

Simon Rich for the New Yorker: “The Big Nap”

Simon Rich for the New Yorker: “Raised by Wolves”

Pride and Prejudice, by Jane Austen

My Life and Hard Times, by James Thurber

Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea, by Jules Verne

The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, by Douglas Adams

Here’s this week’s chatter:

Emily: Meira Levinson, Alan C. Geller, and Joseph G. Allen for The Lancet: “Health Equity, Schooling Hesitancy, and the Social Determinants of Learning”

Alexandra: Never a Dull Moment: The Memoirs of Countess Marguerite Cassini

David: Dahlia Lithwick for Slate: “The Fierce Legal Battle at the Heart of the Fight Over Reclining Airline Seats”

Listener chatter from Lesley Gild: Bored Panda: “People Are Sharing ‘Alternate Angles’ of Iconic Events and Places in History, Here Are 30 of the Best”

If you enjoy the show, please consider signing up for Slate Plus. Slate Plus members get benefits like zero ads on any Slate podcast, bonus episodes of shows like Slow Burn and Danny Lavery's show Big Mood, Little Mood and you’ll be supporting the Political Gabfest. Sign up now at slate.com/gabfestplus to help support our work.

For this week’s Slate Plus bonus segment, Alexandra, Emily, and David discuss their favorite funny books.

Tweet us your questions and chatters @SlateGabfest or email us at gabfest@slate.com. (Messages may be quoted by name unless the writer stipulates otherwise.)

Podcast production by Jocelyn Frank.

Research and show notes by Bridgette Dunlap and Shayna Elliot.

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

Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change Report 

Little Fires Everywhere, by Celeste Ng  

Public Citizens: The Attack on Big Government and the Remaking of American Liberalism, by Paul Sabin

Paul Sabin for the New York Times: “How Liberals Can Attack From the Left—and Win”

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

The Genius Factory: Unravelling the Mystery of the Nobel Prize Sperm Bank, by David Plotz

The Most Dangerous Writing App

Here’s this week’s chatter:

Josie: How the Word Is Passed: A Reckoning with the History of Slavery Across America, by Clint Smith; Maya and the Robot, by Eve L. Ewing

Emily: Ally Mutnick and Zach Montellaro for Politico: “Redistricting Sprint Begins With Major Census Data Drop”

David: Jen Senior for the Atlantic: “What Bobby McIlvaine Left Behind”

Listener chatter from Matt Gousman: “Starbase Tour With Elon Musk” 

For this week’s Slate Plus bonus segment, Josie, David, and Emily share their experiences and advice about trying to write a book.

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 Jess Miller.

Research and show notes by Bridgette Dunlap and Grace Woodruff.

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John and David are joined by Andrea Valdez of The Atlantic to discuss New York Mayor Andrew Cuomo refusing to resign, the survival of the eviction moratorium and the arrival of vaccine passports.

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

Annie Lowery for the Atlantic: “The Time Tax”

Here’s this week’s chatter:

Andrea: Planet Money: “Three Reasons for the Housing Shortage”; Jerusalem Demsa for Vox: “Homeownership Can Bring Out the Worst in You”

John: Jason Kottke for Kottke.org: “This App Identifies Birds by Their Songs”; Merlin Bird ID app

David: Right of Way: Race, Class, and the Silent Epidemic of Pedestrian Deaths in America, by Angie Schmitt; The @FrogandToadbot Twitter account 

Listener chatter from Noah Lieberman: David Gilbert for Vice: “‘I’m a Parkland Shooting Survivor. QAnon Convinced My Dad It Was All a Hoax.’”

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 and show notes by Bridgette Dunlap.

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Emily, John and David discuss the January 6th Commission, the return of masks and they are joined by guest Annie Lowrey to talk about the "time tax."

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

Annie Lowrey for The Atlantic: “The Time Tax: Why is so much American bureaucracy left to average citizens?”

Here’s this week’s chatter: 

John: Max Fisher for the New York Times: “Disinformation for Hire, a Shadow Industry, Is Quietly Booming”

Emily: The Vanishing Half and The Mothers by Brit Bennet

David: Louis Maurice Botet de Monvel’s Joan of Arc series on display at the National Gallery of Art

Listener chatter from Ryan Good, @RyanScGood: Gabriel Hoyle’s Twitter thread of modern presidential branding schemes

If you enjoy the show, please consider signing up for Slate Plus. Slate Plus members get benefits like zero ads on any Slate podcast, bonus episodes of shows like Slow Burn and Danny Lavery's show Big Mood, Little Mood and you’ll be supporting the Political Gabfest. Sign up now at slate.com/gabfestplus to help support our work.

For this week’s Slate Plus bonus segment, David, Emily, and John discuss: Have you really read a book if you’ve completely forgotten 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 Jocelyn Frank.

Research and show notes by Grace Woodruff.

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Emily, John and David discuss the Delta variant and the vaccination decline, the bipartisan infrastructure plan living another day, and the pandemic Olympics.

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

David Leonhardt for The New York Times: “Why Aren’t the Vaccines Approved?”

Matthew Yglesias for Slow Boring: “Let's Get More People Vaccinated”

Ross Douthat for The New York Times: “How to Reach the Unvaccinated”

John Dickerson for CBS News: “Governor Asa Hutchinson on ‘Face the Nation,’ June 27, 2021”

Here’s this week’s chatter:

John: Jack Thomas for The Boston Globe: “I Just Learned I Only Have Months to Live. This Is What I Want to Say”; Susan B. Glasser for The New Yorker: “‘You’re Gonna Have a Fucking War’: Mark Milley’s Fight to Stop Trump from Striking Iran”

Emily: Eliza Apperly for The Guardian: “‘Stumbling Stones’: A Different Vision of Holocaust Remembrance”; Atlas Obscura: “The Bebelplatz, Berlin, Germany: The Site of the Famous Nazi Book Burning Campaign of 1933 Remembers It’s ‘Night of Shame.’” 

David: The Quiet American, by Graham Greene; Catherine Bosley for Bloomberg: “Women Are Still Suffering More Than Men in Pandemic Job Hit”

Listener chatter from Ragav Venkatesan: “W Series: Off Track”; Giles Richards for The Guardian: “Hamilton Commission Report Aims to Improve Diversity in Motorsport”

If you enjoy the show, please consider signing up for Slate Plus. Slate Plus members get benefits like zero ads on any Slate podcast, bonus episodes of shows like Slow Burn and Danny Lavery's show Big Mood, Little Mood and you’ll be supporting the Political Gabfest. Sign up now at slate.com/gabfestplus to help support our work.

For this week’s Slate Plus bonus segment, Emily, David, and John discuss billionaires in space.

Tweet us your questions and chatters @SlateGabfest or email us at gabfest@slate.com. (Messages may be quoted by name unless the writer stipulates otherwise.)

Podcast production by Jocelyn Frank.

Research and show notes by Bridgette Dunlap.

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John, David and Josie discuss the escalating threats to democratic elections, minors’ rights to vaccination, and Josh Levin on the podcast One Year: 1977.

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

Slate’s One Year: 1977

The Queen: The Forgotten Life Behind an American Myth, by Josh Levin 

Citizen Kane

Ulysses, by James Joyce

Here’s this week’s chatter:

John: Gaia Pianigiani and Emma Bubola for The New York Times: “Italy’s Government to Ban Cruise Ships From Venice”; The New York Times: “How Much Hotter Is Your Hometown Than When You Were Born?”

Josie: Detransition, Baby, by Torrey Peters   

David: City Cast: “City Cast Expands to 8 New Cities”

Listener chatter from Chris Heuberger, @chrisbup: David Owen for The New Yorker: “How a Young Activist Is Helping Pope Francis Battle Climate Change”; Solvable podcast: “Mapping Catholic Lands Can Help Solve Biodiversity Loss and Climate Change.” 

If you enjoy the show, please consider signing up for Slate Plus. Slate Plus members get benefits like zero ads on any Slate podcast, bonus episodes of shows like Slow Burn and Danny Lavery's new show Big Mood, Little Mood" and you’ll be supporting the Political Gabfest. Sign up now at slate.com/gabfestplus to help support our work. For this week’s Slate Plus bonus segment, John, Josie and David give classical music another review. 

Tweet us your questions and chatters @SlateGabfest or email us at gabfest@slate.com. (Messages may be quoted by name unless the writer stipulates otherwise.)

Podcast production by Jocelyn Frank.

Research and show notes by Bridgette Dunlap.

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Emily, John and David discuss New York City’s primary election, J.D. Vance’s Senate run, and injustice illuminated by Britney Spears.

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

Hillbilly Elegy: A Memoir of a Family and Culture in Crisis, by J.D. Vance

Molly Ball for Time: “Breakfast with J.D. Vance, Anti-Trump Author Turned Pro-Trump Candidate”

Ronan Farrow and Jia Tolentino for The New Yorker: “Britney Spears’s Conservatorship Nightmare”

Caitlin Flanagan for The Atlantic: “You Really Need to Quit Twitter” 

Deep Work: Rules for Focused Success in a Distracted World, by Cal Newport

Here’s this week’s chatter:

Emily: This American Life: “There. I Fixed It.”

John: John Dickerson for CBS News: “Smithsonian Secretary Lonnie Bunch III: Full Face the Nation Interview”; Julian Mark for The Washington Post: “Rep. Andy Kim’s Suit in the Capitol Cleanup Photo Was From A J. Crew Sale. It Now Belongs to the Smithsonian.”; Emily Bazelon for The New York Times: “I Write About the Law. But Could I Really Help Free a Prisoner?”

David: Visiting the Bisti/De-Na-Zin Wilderness with Navajo Tours USA

Listener chatter from William Quill: Russell Goldenberg for The Pudding: “The World Through the Eyes of the US”

If you enjoy the show, please consider signing up for Slate Plus. Slate Plus members get benefits like zero ads on any Slate podcast, bonus episodes of shows like Slow Burn and Danny Lavery's show Big Mood, Little Mood and you’ll be supporting the Political Gabfest. Sign up now at slate.com/gabfestplus to help support our work.

For this week’s Slate Plus bonus segment, Emily, David, and John discuss whether it is a good idea to quit social media.

Tweet us your questions and chatters @SlateGabfest or email us at gabfest@slate.com. (Messages may be quoted by name unless the writer stipulates otherwise.)

Podcast production by Jocelyn Frank.

Research and show notes by Bridgette Dunlap.

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Emily Bazelon is joined by Ruth Marcus and Jamelle Bouie to discuss the infrastructure negotiations, alarming Supreme Court decisions and Bill Cosby’s release.

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

Catherine Rampell for The Washington Post: “Three Things That Could Still Blow Up The Bipartisan Infrastructure Deal”

Give Us the Ballot: The Modern Struggle for Voting Rights in America, by Ari Berman

Ruth Marcus for The Washington Post: “I’ve Urged Supreme Court Justices to Stick Around — But Never to Retire. Until Now.”

The New Book of Middle Eastern Food: The Classic Cookbook, Expanded and Updated, with New Recipes and Contemporary Variations on Old Themes, by Claudia Roden

Here’s this week’s chatter:

Emily: Emily Bazelon for the New York Times: “I Write About the Law. But Could I Really Help Free a Prisoner?”; My Octopus Teacher

Ruth: Oklahoma City National Memorial & Museum

Jamelle: Croupier; Athletic Brewing Company 

If you enjoy the show, please consider signing up for Slate Plus. Slate Plus members get benefits like zero ads on any Slate podcast, bonus episodes of shows like Slow Burn and Danny Lavery's show Big Mood, Little Mood and you’ll be supporting the Political Gabfest. Sign up now at slate.com/gabfestplus to help support our work. For this week’s Slate Plus bonus segment Emily, Jamelle, and Ruth talk about their favorite summer foods and recipes.

Tweet us your questions and chatters @SlateGabfest or email us at gabfest@slate.com. (Messages may be quoted by name unless the writer stipulates otherwise.)

Podcast production by Jocelyn Frank

Research and show notes by Bridgette Dunlap

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Emily, John and David discuss the post-pandemic workforce, Tucker Carlson, and student wins at the Supreme Court.

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

Ben Smith for the New York Times: “Tucker Carlson Calls Journalists ‘Animals.’ He’s Also Their Best Source.”

Slate: “David Plotz and Tucker Carlson Debate Scott Brown, Health Care, and More”

Andrew Van Dam for the Washington Post: “The Seven Industries Most Desperate for Workers”

Deep Work: Rules for Focused Success in a Distracted World, by Cal Newport

John Dickerson for 60 Minutes: “Colleges and Universities Prepare for Fall Classes in the Middle of the Coronavirus Pandemic”

The Sound Scene Festival: an annual free and interactive audio arts festival organized by the D.C. Listening Lounge, an audio collective of Washington-based sound artists and enthusiasts.

Here’s this week’s chatter:

John: Steve Rathje, Jay J. Van Bavel, and Sander van der Linden for the Proceedings of The National Academy of Sciences: “Out-Group Animosity Drives Engagement On Social Media”

Emily: Associated Press: “Connecticut Is Firstst State to Make All Prison Phone Calls Free”

David: Mad Men

Listener chatter from Laura Forsythe: Stephanie Lai for the Washington Post: “26 Years After Being Convicted Of Murder, A D.C. Jail Inmate Is Elected To Public Office”; campaign videos at https://neighborsforjusticedc.org/takeaction/

If you enjoy the show, please consider signing up for Slate Plus. Slate Plus members get benefits like zero ads on any Slate podcast, bonus episodes of shows like Slow Burn and Danny Lavery's new show Big Mood, Little Mood" and you’ll be supporting the Political Gabfest. Sign up now at slate.com/gabfestplus to help support our work. For this week’s Slate Plus bonus segment, Emily, John, and David discuss things that have gotten better since their childhoods.

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 Morgan Flannery.

Research and show notes by Bridgette Dunlap.

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Emily, John and David discuss President Biden's G7 summit and the meeting with President Putin, McConnell’s plans to block a Biden Supreme Court nominee, and they are joined by guest Melissa Murray on what “critical race theory” is and is not.

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

Julia Ioffe for Tomorrow Will Be Worse: “‘Everyone Gets What They Deserve’: Biden Takes On the Putin Singularity”

Strict Scrutiny podcast 

Amicus podcast

The New York Times Magazine: “The 1619 Project”

Deep Work: Rules for Focused Success in a Distracted World, by Cal Newport

Here’s this week’s chatter:

John: Elizabeth Dilts Marshall for Reuters: “Morgan Stanley Ceo to Staff: Be Back at New York Headquarters by September”; Lauren Weber for The Wall Street Journal: “Forget Going Back to the Office—People Are Just Quitting Instead”

Emily: Adam Liptak for The New York Times: “Affordable Care Act Survives Latest Supreme Court Challenge”; Adam Liptak for the New York Times: “Supreme Court Backs Catholic Agency in Case on Gay Rights and Foster Care”

David: Six Months Later: Episode 22: David Plotz

Listener chatter from Leslie Camp: Doug Fraser for The Cape Cod Times: “‘I Was Completely Inside’: Lobster Diver Swallowed by Humpback Whale Off Provincetown”

If you enjoy the show, please consider signing up for Slate Plus. Slate Plus members get benefits like zero ads on any Slate podcast, bonus episodes of shows like Slow Burn and Danny Lavery's new show Big Mood, Little Mood" and you’ll be supporting the Political Gabfest. Sign up now at slate.com/gabfestplus to help support our work

For this week’s Slate Plus bonus segment, Emily, John, and David discuss the things they miss doing which modern technology has pushed out of circulation.

Tweet us your questions and chatters @SlateGabfest or email us at gabfest@slate.com. (Messages may be quoted by name unless the writer stipulates otherwise.)

Podcast production by Jocelyn Frank.

Research and show notes by Bridgette Dunlap.

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Emily, John and David discuss Joe Manchin, how the Trump DOJ lives on, and George Packer’s four Americas.

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

John Dickerson for CBS News: “Sen. Joe Manchin on Face the Nation, June 6, 2021”

Ruth Marcus for the Washington Post: “Attorney General Garland, Please Stop Digging”

George Packer for the Atlantic: “How America Fractured Into Four Parts”

Last Best Hope: America in Crisis and Renewal, by George Packer

George Packer for the Atlantic: “Can Civics Save America?”

The Ezra Klein Show: “Obama Explains How America Went From ‘Yes We Can’ to ‘MAGA’ ”

Jane Mayer for the New Yorker: “Inside the Koch-Backed Effort to Block the Largest Election-Reform Bill in Half a Century”

Here’s this week’s chatter:

John: Elizabeth Weise for USA Today: “This Man Spent Last Year Flushing Hundreds of Toilets. The New Fear as the Pandemic Wanes: Legionnaires' Disease”

Emily: Michael Powell for the New York Times: “Once a Bastion of Free Speech, the A.C.L.U. Faces an Identity Crisis”

David: Rachel Gutman for the Atlantic: “A Crumpled, Dried-Out Relic of the Pandemic”

Listener chatter from Andrew Goetz: Mick West's YouTube videos explaining UFO footage. 

If you enjoy the show, please consider signing up for Slate Plus. Slate Plus members get benefits like zero ads on any Slate podcast, bonus episodes of shows like Slow Burn and Danny Lavery's new show Big Mood, Little Mood" and you’ll be supporting the Political Gabfest. Sign up now at slate.com/gabfestplus to help support our work. For this week’s Slate Plus bonus segment, Emily, John, and David consider how their names may have shaped their personalities.

Tweet us your questions and chatters @SlateGabfest or email us at gabfest@slate.com. (Messages may be quoted by name unless the writer stipulates otherwise.)

Podcast production by Jocelyn Frank.

Research and show notes by Bridgette Dunlap.

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

The Ezra Klein Show: “Obama Explains How America Went From ‘Yes We Can’ to ‘MAGA’”

Uneasy Peace: The Great Crime Decline, the Renewal of City Life, and the Next War on Violence, by Patrick Sharkey 

AmericanViolence.org

Monica C. Bell for the Yale Law Journal: “Police Reform and the Dismantling of Legal Estrangement”

Penn Wharton Budget Model: “COVID-19 School Closures: Long-Run Macroeconomic Effects”

Hang Up and Listen: “The Naomi Osaka Withdraws Edition”

Here’s this week’s chatter:

John: Kathryn Schulz for TED: “Don’t Regret Regret”; Cal Newport for The New Yorker: “What if Remote Work Didn’t Mean Working from Home?”

Emily: Mare of Easttown; Julie Miller for Vanity Fair: “Kate Winslet on Mare of Easttown and Creating a Real Heroine for Tired Times”

David: CityCast Denver: “Responding to 911 Calls With Sweatpants and Snacks, Not Guns”

Listener chatter from James Williams: Arnstein Aassve, Guido Alfani, Francesco Gandolfi, and Marco Le Moglie for Health Economics: “Epidemics and Trust: The Case of the Spanish Flu”

For this week’s Slate Plus bonus segment, Emily, John, and David talk about Naomi Osaka withdrawing from the French Open.

If you enjoy the show, please consider signing up for Slate Plus. Slate Plus members get benefits like zero ads on any Slate podcast, bonus episodes of shows like Slow Burn and Dear Prudence—and you’ll be supporting the Political Gabfest. Sign up now at slate.com/gabfestplus to help support our work.

Tweet us your questions and chatters @SlateGabfest or email us at gabfest@slate.com. (Messages may be quoted by name unless the writer stipulates otherwise.)

Podcast production by Margaret Kelley.

Research and show notes by Bridgette Dunlap.

Hosts

Emily Bazelon, John Dickerson, David Plotz

Follow

@SlateGabfest on Twitter / https://twitter.com/SlateGabfest

Slate Gabfest on Facebook / https://www.facebook.com/Gabfest/

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

David Leonhardt for The New York Times: “The Lab-Leak Theory”

Nicholson Baker for New York Magazine: “The Lab-Leak Hypothesis”

Nicholas Wade for The Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists: “The Origin of COVID: Did People or Nature Open Pandora’s Box at Wuhan?”

Anne Applebaum for The Atlantic: “Other Regimes Will Hijack Planes Too”

The Skies Belong to Us: Love and Terror in the Golden Age of Hijacking, by Brendan I. Koerner

Eric Levitz for New York Magazine: “David Shor on Why Trump Was Good for the GOP and How Dems Can Win in 2022”

Eric Levitz for New York Magazine: “David Shor’s Unified Theory of American Politics”

Here’s this week’s chatter:

John: Mark Mortensen and Heidi K. Gardner for Harvard Business Review: “WFH Is Corroding Our Trust in Each Other”

Emily: Patrick Smith for WBEZ: “Mayor Lori Lightfoot Blamed Gun Violence On Judges, But Emails Show Her Staff Knew It Wasn’t True”

David: Apple Photos “Memories” feature

Listener chatter from Jen Overbeck: Alan Burdick for The New York Times: “So You Want to End the Conversation?”

For this week’s Slate Plus bonus segment, Emily, John, and David talk about the difficulties of ending a conversation that has run its course.

If you enjoy the show, please consider signing up for Slate Plus. Slate Plus members get benefits like zero ads on any Slate podcast, bonus episodes of shows like Slow Burn and Dear Prudence—and you’ll be supporting the Political Gabfest. Sign up now at slate.com/gabfestplus to help support our work.

Tweet us your questions and chatters @SlateGabfest or email us at gabfest@slate.com. (Messages may be quoted by name unless the writer stipulates otherwise.)

Podcast production by Margaret Kelley.

Research and show notes by Bridgette Dunlap.

Hosts

Emily Bazelon, John Dickerson, David Plotz

Follow

@SlateGabfest on Twitter / https://twitter.com/SlateGabfest

Slate Gabfest on Facebook / https://www.facebook.com/Gabfest/

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Emily, John and David discuss the violence between Israel and Gaza, abortion at the Supreme Court, and the book Nine Nasty Words with author John McWhorter.

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

John Dickerson for CBS: “Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on "Face the Nation," May 16, 2021”

Bernie Sanders for the New York Times: “Bernie Sanders: The U.S. Must Stop Being an Apologist for the Netanyahu Government”

Nine Nasty Words: English in the Gutter: Then, Now, and Forever, by John McWhorter 

John McWhorter for the Atlantic: “How ‘White Fragility’ Talks Down to Black People” 

Here’s this week’s chatter:

John: Tariro Mzezewa for the New York Times: “Hear a Harlem Choir Rejoice Again”

Emily: Adam Liptak for the New York Times: “Ban on Non-Unanimous Verdicts Is Not Retroactive, Supreme Court Rules”

David: Children of Time by Adrian Tchaikovsky 

Listener chatter from Susan Bates: AMORALMAN: A True Story and Other Lies by Derek DelGaudio.

For this week’s Slate Plus bonus segment, Emily, John, and David talk about the objects that most define them.

If you enjoy the show, please consider signing up for Slate Plus. Slate Plus members get benefits like zero ads on any Slate podcast, bonus episodes of shows like Slow Burn and Dear Prudence—and you’ll be supporting the Political Gabfest. Sign up now at slate.com/gabfestplus to help support our work.

Tweet us your questions and chatters @SlateGabfest or email us at gabfest@slate.com. (Messages may be quoted by name unless the writer stipulates otherwise.)

Podcast production by Jocelyn Frank.

Research and show notes by Bridgette Dunlap.

Need to set up your Slate Plus feed? If you subscribed through Slate.com, check out our FAQ at slate.com/podcastfaqs for easy instructions. Members subscribed via Apple Podcasts get automatic access—no setup required.

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

Emily, John and David discuss the post-pandemic economy; vaccine hoarding; and they're joined by Alex Stamos to talk about infrastructure, cybersecurity and the Colonial Pipeline hack.

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

David Leonhardt for the New York Times: “A Misleading C.D.C. Number”

Dana Goldstein for the New York Times: “President of Key Teachers’ Union Shares Plea: ‘Schools Must Be Open’ in Fall”

Brian Krebs for Krebs on Security: “A Closer Look at the DarkSide Ransomware Gang”

Here’s this week’s chatter:

John: Craig Welch for National Geographic: “Groundbreaking Effort Launched to Decode Whale Language”

Emily: A Good Mother by Lara Bazelon; America on Fire: The Untold History of Police Violence and Black Rebellion Since the 1960s by Elizabeth Hinton 

David: B-Side Books: Essays on Forgotten Favorites by John Plotz “

Listener chatter from Adam Schear: Walker Caplan for LitHub: “The Key to Dodging Cyber Censorship Rules Might Be . . . A Minecraft Library?”

If you enjoy the show, please consider signing up for Slate Plus. Slate Plus members get benefits like zero ads on any Slate podcast, bonus episodes of shows like Slow Burn and Dear Prudence—and you’ll be supporting the Political Gabfest. Sign up now at slate.com/gabfestplus to help support our work.

For this week’s Slate Plus bonus segment, Emily, John, and David each recount a decision that changed the trajectory of their lives (not marriage related).

Tweet us your questions and chatters @SlateGabfest or email us at gabfest@slate.com. (Messages may be quoted by name unless the writer stipulates otherwise.)

Podcast production by Jocelyn Frank.

Research and show notes by Bridgette Dunlap.

Need to set up your Slate Plus feed? If you subscribed through Slate.com, check out our FAQ at slate.com/podcastfaqs for easy instructions. Members subscribed via Apple Podcasts get automatic access—no setup required.

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