Beautification vs. Governance Failures

This week, Emily Bazelon, John Dickerson, and David Plotz discuss Tuesday's NY congressional primaries won by three Mamdani-backed democratic socialists and what they could mean for the Democratic Party, two new Supreme Court immigration rulings siding with the Trump administration, and the ongoing Reflecting Pool debacle as the symbol of a presidency of obsessive ego and shiny objects.

For this week’s Slate Plus bonus episode, Emily, John, and David discuss a rare bipartisan win, the 21st Century ROAD to Housing Act, its numerous provisions which aim to help ease the nationwide housing crisis, and how this victory rapidly shifted into a different kind of crisis when Trump abruptly announced he wouldn't sign the bill unless the SAVE Act passes.

In the latest Gabfest Reads, Emily Bazelon talks with Senator Chris Murphy about his new book, Crisis of the Common Good: The Fight for Meaning and Connection in a Broken America. Murphy lays out a provocative agenda for Democrats to call Americans to national service, break up corporate power, rebuild local communities, and create a bigger tent that reaches disaffected conservatives hungry for change.

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Podcast production by Nina Porzucki

Research by Emily Ditto

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Find out more about David Plotz's monthly tours of Ft. DeRussy, the secret Civil War fort hidden in Rock Creek Park.  

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