Congress Can’t Aid, Can’t Arm, Can’t Legislate, Can’t Impeach

This week, Emily Bazelon, John Dickerson, and David Plotz discuss the Republicans’ beginning and end of both the border bill and the impeachment of Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas; the criminal conviction of a mother for a school shooting by her son; and the D.C. Circuit Court decision on presidential immunity and the Supreme Court argument on the presidential ballot. 

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

Rachael Bade for Politico: Schumer presses forward with Ukraine Plan B as GOP leaders reel and Burgess Everett: Behind the border mess: Open GOP rebellion against McConnell

Cleve R. Wootson Jr. for The Washington Post: Biden vows to make GOP defeat of a conservative border bill a campaign issue and Jacqueline Alemany, Amy B Wang, Marianna Sotomayor, and Paul Kane: In stunning vote, House Republicans fail to impeach Secretary Mayorkas

Former Rep. Charlie Stenholm in The Hill in 2015: How Tip O’Neill and Ronald Reagan would make this Congress work

Tresa Baldas for the Detroit Free Press: Jennifer Crumbley guilty: Understanding involuntary manslaughter charge, possible sentenceand Paul Egan: Michigan’s gun laws change: Background checks, storage, temporary removal

Michael Barbaro and Lisa Miller for The New York Times The Daily podcast: A Guilty Verdict for a Mass Shooter’s Mother

Rachel Weiner for The Washington Post: Trump has no immunity from Jan. 6 prosecution, appeals court rules

Ian Millhiser for Vox: The Supreme Court is about to decide whether to sabotage Trump’s election theft trial

Amy Howe for SCOTUSblog: Supreme Court to decide whether insurrection provision keeps Trump off ballot

Here are this week’s chatters:

John: Ian Sample for The Guardian: AI helps scholars read scroll buried when Vesuvius erupted in AD79; Pierina Pighi Bel for the BBC: Bodegas: The small corner shops that run NYC; David Blank in the Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy: Philodemus; Moss and Fog; and Institute of Politics at Harvard Kennedy School: Theodore H. White Lecture with John Dickerson

Emily: Sofia Resnick for News From The States: Study cited by Texas judge in abortion pill case retracted and Sage Publishing: A note from Sage on retractions in Health Services Research and Managerial Epidemiology

David: Patrick Radden Keefe for The New Yorker: A Teen’s Fatal Plunge Into The London Underworld

Listener chatter from Patrick Johnson in Anchorage, Alaska: Rhonda McBride for KNBA - Anchorage: Anchorage’s white raven becomes a local legend as a tracked trickster

For this week’s Slate Plus bonus segment, David, John, and Emily discuss “Fast Car,” Tracy Chapman’s 1988 original, and Luke Combs’s 2023 cover.

In the latest Gabfest Reads, John talks with Brad Stulberg about his book, Master of Change: How to Excel When Everything Is Changing – Including You.

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

Podcast production by Cheyna Roth 

Research by Julie Huygen

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