Exploring the Origins of the Pandemic: Lab Theory vs. Market Theory

This week, Emily Bazelon, John Dickerson, and David Plotz discuss the fallout from Donald Trump’s felony conviction; the spin-up for Hunter Biden’s trial; and the upshot for college speech from campus protests with Charles Homans.

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

Nathaniel Rakich for 538: Trump’s conviction may be hurting him – but it’s early

Sarah Longwell in The Atlantic: The Two-Time Trump Voters Who Have Had Enough

Dafydd Townley for The Conversation: Trump guilty verdict: the fallout for US democracy

Politico Magazine: 22 Experts Predict What the Trump Conviction Will Mean for 2024 and Beyond

CBS News: Watch: Biden speaks at D-Day commemoration ceremony

Perry Stein for The Washington Post: Gun counts Hunter Biden faces are rarely stand-alone charges and Perry Stein, Devlin Barrett, and Matt Viser: How a fight over immunity unraveled Hunter Biden’s plea deal

Cris Barrish for WHYY: Lawyers spar in Wilmington court over whether Hunter Biden ‘knowingly’ lied on federal gun purchase form about drug use

Eugene Daniels for Politico: Biden issues a rare statement on his son’s criminal trial

Mini Racker for Time: How Hunter Biden’s Scandals Compare to Those of Trump’s Family Members

Matthew Yglesias for Vox: Nepotism and the 2020 election, explained

Emily Bazelon and Charles Homans for The New York Times: The Battle Over College Speech Will Outlive the Encampments

Here & Now on WBUR: Pro-Palestinian protesters at Brown reach deal with university

Emma H. Haidar and Cam E. Kettles for The Harvard Crimson: Harvard Will Refrain From Controversial Statements About Public Policy Issues

Paul Alivisatos in The Wall Street Journal: Why I Ended the University of Chicago Protest Encampment

Greta Reich and Caroline Chen for The Stanford Daily: Pro-Palestine protesters detained following occupation of president’s office, face immediate suspension

Here are this week’s chatters:

Emily: Liz Goodwin for The Washington Post: Senate Republicans vote against making contraception a federal right and Ellen Wexler for Smithsonian Magazine: The 150-Year-Old Comstock Act Could Transform the Abortion Debate

John: Marco Hernandez, Jeffrey Gettleman, Finbarr O’Reilly, and Tim Wallace for The New York Times: What Ukraine Has Lost and Helena Skinner and Emma Ogao for ABC News: Satellite images show devastation in Sudan 1 year since conflict began

David: Alina Chan in The New York Times: Why the Pandemic Probably Started in a Lab, in 5 Key Points

Listener chatter from Kevin Cassidy in Sawyer, Michigan: Dyartorin Crafts: How to make Leonardo Da Vinci Bridge using popsicle sticks and HeyDadHey: How To Make A Da Vinci Bridge

For this week’s Slate Plus bonus segment, Emily, John, and David talk about changes at the Washington Post and the state of journalism. See Oliver Darcy for CNN: Washington Post abruptly replaces executive editor Sally Buzbee in shakeup, David Folkenflik for NPR: New CEO of ‘The Washington Post’ puts former colleagues in power, and David Bauder for AP: With its top editor abruptly gone, The Washington Post grapples with a hastily announced restructure. See also Edward Helmore for The Guardian: ‘The final act’: fears US journalism crisis could destabilize 2024 election and Jack Shafer for Slate: The New Vanity Press Moguls. 

In the next Gabfest Reads, David talks with Sierra Greer about her new book, Annie Bot: A Novel.

Email your chatters, questions, and comments to gabfest@slate.com. (Messages may be referenced by name unless the writer stipulates otherwise.)

Podcast production by Cheyna Roth

Research by Julie Huygen

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