Political Gabfest

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-GhiatHere 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. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This week, David Plotz, Emily Bazelon, and John Dickerson New York’s massive fraud case against the Trumps; Ron DeSantis’ treatments of asylum seekers; and Dahlia Lithwick’s Lady Justice.  Here are some notes and references from this week’s show:Trading Barriers: Immigration and the Remaking of Globalization, Margaret E. PetersLady Justice: Women, the Law, and the Battle to Save America, by Dahlia LithwickRuth Igielnik for The New York Times: “Trump Support Remains Unmoved by Investigations, Poll Finds”Here are this week’s chatters:John: It was supposed to be...The Philosophy of Modern Song, by Bob DylanEmily: Somebody Somewhere; Reservation DogsDavid: The Space Force AnthemListener chatter from Danny Edgel: Frank Vaisvilas and Sarah Volpenhein for The Green Bay Press-Gazette: “Oneida Nation Steps In To Defend Indian Child Welfare Act In Us Supreme Court Case”For this week’s Slate Plus bonus segment Emily, David, and John discuss the vacation of Adnan Syed’s murder conviction. 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. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

John Dickerson talks with author Ada Calhoun about her new memoir, Also a Poet: Frank O’Hara, My Father, and Me. What started as Calhoun’s attempt to finish the biography of Frank O’Hara that her father started, turned into a gripping story of Calhoun’s relationship with her father. Calhoun and Dickerson talk about not pulling punches when it comes to how nice family members are, why you can’t pre-plan a happy ending, and what her father thought of the book. 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 Cheyna Roth Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This week, David Plotz, Emily Bazelon, and John Dickerson discuss Ukraine’s advances with Anne Applebaum; Lindsey Graham’s national abortion ban bill; and the controversy over requiring religious schools in New York to meet minimum educational standards.Here are some notes and references from this week’s show:Anne Applebaum for The Atlantic: “It’s Time to Prepare for a Ukrainian Victory”Anne Applebaum for The Atlantic: “The Other Ukrainian Army”Red Famine: Stalin's War on Ukraine, by Anne ApplebaumShtiselFill The VoidHere are this week’s chatters:John: A Swim in a Pond in the Rain: In Which Four Russians Give a Master Class on Writing, Reading, and Life,by George Saunders Emily: Shaila Dewan for The New York Times: “Philadelphia Prosecutor Is Found in Contempt by State Representatives”David: Mosaic Magazine: “The Royal Mohel and the House of Windsor’s Relationship with the Jews”Listener chatter from Andrea: NPR’s Planet Money: “Best By, Sell By, Use By”For this week’s Slate Plus bonus segment Emily, David, and John discuss the Death of Queen Elizabeth II. 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. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This week, David Plotz, Emily Bazelon, and John Dickerson discuss the inexplicable success of Trump’s special master gambit in the Espionage Act investigation, Biden calling out anti-democratic elements of the electorate; and the roots of the Jackson, MS water crisis.Here are this week’s chatters:John: Professor Vejas Gabriel Liulevicius for The Great Courses: Turning Points in Modern HistoryEmily: Jerusalem Demsas for The Atlantic: “What’s Causing Black Flight?”David: Pepperidge Farm Farmhouse Hearty White BreadListener chatter from Cynthia Lerner: Ruth Marcus for The Washington Post: “I Usually Ignore The Sexism And Ageism Directed at Me. Now I’m Calling It Out.”For this week’s Slate Plus bonus segment Emily and David interview John about his new streaming nightly news show, CBS News Primetime. 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 Kevin Bendis.Research by Bridgette Dunlap. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This week, David Plotz, Emily Bazelon, and John Dickerson discuss Trump’s strange legal maneuvering in the obstruction investigation; what Trump’s second term would do to U.S. democracy; and what voters deserve to know about a candidate’s health.Here are some notes and references from this week’s show:Jonathan Rauch for The Atlantic “Trump’s Second Term Would Look Like This”Age of Innocence, by Edith WhartonPortrait of a Lady, by Henry JamesHeart of Darkness, by Joseph ConradLord Jim, by Joseph ConradWorking: People Talk About What They Do All Day and How They Feel About What They Do, by Studs Terkel This Is Chance!: The Shaking of an All-American City, a Voice That Held It Together, by Jon MooallemThe Way We Live Now, by Anthony TrollopeHere are this week’s chatters:John: Ella Koeze, Denise Lu and Charlie Smart for The New York Times: “Can You Gerrymander Your Party to Power?”Emily: Aaron Byrd, Weiyi Cai, Geoff Macdonald, Emily Rhyne, Noah Throop, Joe Ward and Jeremy White for The New York Times: “The Toss”David: CityCast DC; Bad SistersListener chatter from Michael Koehler: Christo Grozev for Bellingcat: “Socialite, Widow, Jeweller, Spy: How a GRU Agent Charmed Her Way Into NATO Circles in Italy”For this week’s Slate Plus bonus segment Emily, David, and John discuss the non-political books that most influenced their understanding of politics. 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 Kevin Bendis.Research by Bridgette Dunlap. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This week, David Plotz, Emily Bazelon, and John Dickerson discuss what the special election results suggest for the midterms, an unprecedented $1.6B donation to a secretive conservative organization; and Biden’s student loan forgiveness and repayment plans.Here are some notes and references from this week’s show:The Sum of Us: What Racism Costs Everyone and How We Can Prosper Together, by Heather McGheeThe Sum of Us podcastHere are this week’s chatters:John: The Bullshit Generator; The Age of Acrimony: How Americans Fought to Fix Their Democracy, 1865-1915 Hardcover, by Jon GrinspanEmily: Igor Derysh for Salon: “‘That’s Not What Our Report Said’: Ex-Mueller Prosecutor Says Barr's Trump Memo Is ‘legally Wrong’”; The Bazelon Center for Mental Health LawDavid: Courtney E. Smith for Ultimate Classic Rock: “35 Years Ago: Los Lobos’ ‘La Bamba’ Returns Ritchie Valens to Spotlight”Listener chatter from Rebecca Vernon: Sarina E. Miller for the Washington Post: “Thanks To Middle-Schoolers Like Me, There Are At Last No More Salem ‘Witches’”For this week’s Slate Plus bonus segment Emily, David, and John discuss Gavin Newsom’s veto of a bill allowing safe injection sites in California.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. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

David Plotz talks with author Mat Johnson about his new novel Invisible Things. Johnson’s novel tells the story of a group of astronauts that land in a bubble colony on Jupiter's biggest moon. They talk about the challenges of writing satire when reality feels fake, how mediocre people rise up by sucking up, and why we need to look at the invisible things in our daily lives.  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 Cheyna Roth Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This week, David Plotz, Emily Bazelon, and Benjamin Wittes discuss the Trump investigations; Liz Cheney’s defeat; and Dana Goldstein’s reporting on controversies over how to teach kids to read.Here are some notes and references from this week’s show:Jack Goldsmith for Lawfare: “Prosecuting Trump: A Reply to Josh Marshall”Dana Goldstein for The New York Times: “An Old and Contested Solution to Boost Reading Scores: Phonics”Dana Goldstein The New York Times: “In the Fight Over How to Teach Reading, This Guru Makes a Major Retreat”Dana Goldstein The New York Times: “New Reading Curriculum Is Mired in Debate Over Race and Gender”Belinda Luscombe for Time: “Inside the Massive Effort to Change the Way Kids Are Taught to Read”Ronald Brownstein for The Atlantic: “Liz Cheney’s Kamikaze Campaign”Invisible Things by Mat JohnsonHere are this week’s chatters:Emily: Sam Levine for The Guardian: “Memphis Prosecutor Who Charged Black Woman Over Voting Error Loses Re-Election Bid”; Kim Bellware and Lateshia Beachum for The Washington Post: “Desantis Sued By Prosecutor Suspended Over Stance On Abortion-Related Crime”Ben: The Lawfare Podcast: AlliesDavid: Dwight Garner for The New York Times: “Jared Kushner’s ‘Breaking History’ Is a Soulless and Very Selective Memoir”Listener chatter from Josh Forsythe: Elizabeth P. Derryberry, Jennifer N. Phillips, Graham E. Derryberry, Michael J. Blum, and David Luther for Science: “Singing In A Silent Spring: Birds Respond To A Half-Century Soundscape Reversion During The Covid-19 Shutdown”For this week’s Slate Plus bonus segment Emily, David, and Ben discuss Ben’s performance art protests at the Russian embassy in D.C. 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. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This week, David Plotz, Emily Bazelon, and Juliette Kayyem discuss the Mar-a-Lago search; the Inflation Reduction Act; and Caitlin Dickerson’s article investigating how separating families at the border became U.S. policy.Here are some notes and references from this week’s show:Caitlin Dickerson for The Atlantic: “An American Catastrophe: The Secret History of Family Separation”Juliette Kayyem for The Atlantic: “The Bad and Good News About Trump’s Violent Supporters”Curated Decay: Heritage Beyond Saving, by Caitlin DeSilvey Serena Williams and Rob Haskell for Vogue: “Serena Williams Says Farewell to Tennis On Her Own Terms—And In Her Own Words”Claudia Rankine for The New York Times Magazine: “The Meaning of Serena Williams”King RichardHere are this week’s chatters:Emily: “Downbad” by PJ Frantz Juliette: Jim Farber for The New York Times: “Olivia Newton-John, Pop Singer and ‘Grease’ Star, Dies at 73”David: Jack Fitzpatrick for Bloomberg Government: “Old Capitol Stones to Be Stored Away After Decades Piled in Park”Listener chatter from Sebastian Cray: The Bingham CupFor this week’s Slate Plus bonus segment Emily, Juliette, and David discuss Serena Williams’ retirement from tennis. 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. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices