This week, David Plotz, Emily Bazelon, and John Dickerson discuss potential polling inaccuracy, Brett Favre and the larger scandal of states misusing federal welfare funding, and Ruth Ben-Ghiat’s take on Italy’s neo-fascist future Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni.

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

Nate Cohen for The New York Times: “Yes, The Polling Warning Signs Are Flashing Again”

Anna Wolfe and Mississippi Today’s coverage of the Mississippi welfare scandal.

Annie Lowry for The Atlantic: “The Time Tax”

Strongmen: Mussolini to the Present, by Ruth Ben-Ghiat

Here are this week’s chatters:

John: Adrienne LaFrance for The Atlantic: “What It's Like to Fly Into the Eye of a Hurricane”

Emily: Roya Hakakian for The Atlantic: “The Bonfire of the Headscarves”

David: The Guardian, YouTube: “Michael Sheen Gives Rousing Speech for Wales Football Team on A League of Their Own”

Listener chatter from Meredith Francis: Paul Fairie’s Twitter thread of "A List of Things People Blamed on Jazz."

For this week’s Slate Plus bonus segment Emily, David, and John discuss NASA’s Double Asteroid Redirection Test.

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

Podcast production by Cheyna Roth.

Research by Bridgette Dunlap.

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