Political Gabfest

Emily and David are joined by guest host Jane Coaston. The three discuss Putin's war with guest Julia Ioffe and also the GOP attacks on transgender children, and Democrats’ “hack gap.”Here are some notes and references from this week’s show:Julia Ioffe for Puck News: “Will Putin Get His World War III?”Anne Appelbaum for The Atlantic: “The Reason Putin Would Risk War”The Handmaid’s Tale, by Margaret AtwoodHere’s this week’s chatter:David: Work at City Cast; David’s “Exploring a Secret Fort” tour for Atlas Obscura; Florida’s Mount TrashmoreEmily: Danny Hakim and Jo Becker for The New York Times Magazine: “The Long Crusade of Clarence and Ginni Thomas”; Jane Mayer for The New Yorker: “Is Ginni Thomas a Threat to The Supreme Court?”Jane: Sports TwitterListener chatter from Charlie Hunt: Christopher Ingraham for the Washington Post “The Owl Pellet Economy: Meet The Entrepreneurs Who’ve Devoted Their Lives to Bird Vomit.”  For this week’s Slate Plus bonus segment, following the death of public health hero Paul Farmer, Emily and David discuss the concept of heroes and the roles they can play in contemporary life. 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 Jocelyn Frank.Research and show notes by Bridgette Dunlap. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Gabfest reads is a new monthly series from the hosts of the Political Gabfest. This month David Plotz talks with author Florence Williams about divorce, affection, good friendships, and her new book Heartbreak: A Personal and Scientific Journey. 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 Jocelyn Frank. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Josie Duffy Rice, David Plotz and John Dickerson discuss America's radicalized parents; what the midterms may bring; and the Sandy Hook families’ victory.Here are some notes and references from this week’s show:Clara Jeffrey for Mother Jones: “What Pundits Don’t Understand About the San Francisco Recall”Jasper Scherer and Benjamin Wermund for The Houston Chronicle: “We Asked All 143 Texas GOP Congressional Candidates About Biden's Win. Only 13 Call it Legitimate.”John Dickerson for the Atlantic: “The GOP Has No Standards Now”Here’s this week’s chatter:John: Rosalind S. Helderman for the Washington Post: “All The Ways Trump Tried to Overturn The Election — And How it Could Happen Again.” Josie: The School for Good Mothers, by Jessamine ChanDavid: Watch some Olympic curling.Listener chatter from Paul Hiebing: Annie Rauwerda for Input Magazine: “The Adorable Love Story Behind Wikipedia’s ‘High Five’ Photos” For this week’s Slate Plus bonus segment Josie, John, and David discuss their hiding places as children and adults. 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 Jocelyn Frank.Research and show notes by Bridgette Dunlap. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Emily, John and David dig into SCOTUS's failure to enforce the Voting Rights Act, the GOP's embrace of January 6th rioters, and protests in Canada.Here are some notes and references from this week’s show:John Dickerson for The Atlantic: “The GOP Has No Standards Now”Adela Suliman for The Washington Post: “Marjorie Taylor Greene says Nancy Pelosi leads ‘gazpacho police,’ causing collective spit take”Brett Samuels for The Hill: “Pence breaks with Trump: 'I had no right to overturn the election'”Here’s this week’s chatter:Emily: Sam Levine for The Guardian: “The Black Woman Sentenced To Six Years In Prison Over A Voting Error”John: “John Grisham Reads Soggy Sweat's Whiskey Speech”David: Oliver Holmes for The Guardian: “Putin’s Massive Table: Powerplay or Paranoia?”Listener chatter from Cason Reily: BBC: “Who Is Sue Gray?”  For this week’s Slate Plus bonus segment Emily, John, and David ponder what makes something qualify as a sport or a game. 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 Jocelyn Frank.Research and show notes by Bridgette Dunlap. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Emily, John and David discuss Donald Trump’s attempts to seize voting machines, the racist attacks on the yet-to-be-named SCOTUS nominee, and they are joined by Joseph Allen, director of the Healthy Buildings program at Harvard University's T. H. Chan School of Public Health, to discuss ways we might update U.S. COVID norms.Here are some notes and references from this week’s show:Joseph G. Allen for The Washington Post: “Our Playbook to Fight Covid-19 Is Outdated. Here Are 10 Updates for 2022.”Joseph G. Allen and Celine R. Gounder for The Hill: “We Have a Once-in-a-Generation Opportunity to Fix Our Crumbling Schools”Healthy Buildings: How Indoor Spaces Drive Performance and Productivity, by Joseph G. Allen and John D. MacomberAdam Serwer for The Atlantic: “Republicans Seem to Think Putting a Black Woman on the Supreme Court Is the Real Racism”Meltdown: What Plane Crashes, Oil Spills, and Dumb Business Decisions Can Teach Us About How to Succeed at Work and at Home, by Chris Clearfield and András Tilcsik Here’s this week’s chatter:Emily: Kristin Toussaint for Fast Company: “How Do Workers Take on a National Chain Like Starbucks? One Store at a Time”; Noam Scheiber for The New York Times: “Taking On Starbucks, Inspired by Bernie Sanders”John: Adam Gopnik for The New Yorker: “Molière to the Panthéon!”; History, Art and Archives: United States House of Representatives: Representative Clement Vallandigham of OhioDavid: Neil Vigdor for the New York Times: “A Teenager Tracked Elon Musk’s Jet on Twitter. Then Came the Direct Message.” Listener chatter from Erin Arizzi-Shores: The Double Shift: “The Check's Not In The Mail”More listener chatter from Larry Williams: Barbara J. King for NPR: “Watch The Moment A Dying Chimpanzee Recognizes An Old Friend”; Mama's Last Hug: Animal Emotions and What They Tell Us about Ourselves, by Frans De Waal. For this week’s Slate Plus bonus segment Emily, John, and David offer advice about how to establish a work/life balance. 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 Jocelyn Frank.Research and show notes by Bridgette Dunlap. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

John, Emily and David discuss Justice Breyer’s retirement. They are joined by Anne Applebaum to talk about what global moves may be coming to address threats to Ukraine, and The Gist’s Mike Pesca covers a round robin of the week's news.Here are some notes and references from this week’s show:The Authority of the Court and the Peril of Politics, by Stephen Breyer Anne Applebaum for The Atlantic: “The Bad Guys Are Winning”The GistSlow Burn: WatergateStation Eleven, by Emily St. John Mandel Station Eleven series on HBO MaxThe Way We Live Now, by Anthony TrollopeHere’s this week’s chatter:Emily: Vauhini Vara for Believer Magazine: “Ghosts”; This American Life: “The Ghost in The Machine”John: Dylan Matthews for Vox: “Can Giving Parents Cash Help With Babies’ Brain Development?”David: Tiffany Lukk for Mpls.St.Paul Magazine: “Where to Go Dog Sledding in Minnesota”; Nicole Wetsman for The Verge: “CDC Emails Show That Vaccine Cards Are Supposed To Fit In Your Wallet: The Covid-19 Cards Do Not Fit In Wallets”Listener chatter from Tom McIlroy: Michael Zhang for PetaPixel: “Photographer Finds Polar Bears That Took Over Abandoned Buildings”For this week’s Slate Plus bonus segment Emily, John, and David discuss the screen adaptation of Station Eleven. 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 Jocelyn Frank.Research and show notes by Bridgette Dunlap. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Emily Bazelon, John Dickerson and David Plotz discuss Biden’s first year, SCOTUS's block of OSHA’s vax-or-test rule, and Virginia Governor Glenn Youngkin’s busy start.Here are some notes and references from this week’s show:John Dickerson for CBS Sunday Morning: “President Joe Biden: The First Year”Station Eleven, by Emily St. John Mandel Station Eleven series on HBO MaxHere’s this week’s chatter:Emily: Deep Cover, Season 2: Mob LandJohn: Take Note Podcast; Adam Webb for Take Note: “How to Keep a Notebook”David: Paul Schwartzman for The Washington Post: “Missing Jewels And Art: A Lawsuit Against a Retired Professor Is Ruffling The Well-To-Do From Georgetown to Newport, R.I.”Listener chatter from Alissa Surges: Allison Robicelli for The Washington Post: “I Spent The Night in an Empty Airport. it Was a Dream Come True”; Work at City CastFor this week’s Slate Plus bonus segment Emily, John, and David talk about why to keep a journal. 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 Jocelyn Frank.Research and show notes by Bridgette Dunlap. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Emily Bazelon, John Dickerson and David Plotz discuss voting rights, Russia's recent moves, with guest Nina Jankowicz; and the increasing politicization of cable news.Here are some notes and references from this week’s show:Cornell Law School’s Legal Information Institute: Electoral Count Act of 1887David Becker on Face the Nation: “Elections Expert David Becker Denounces ‘Efforts to Sow Confusion and Chaos’ ”Emily Bazelon for the New York Times: “Democracy Worked This Year. but It Is Under Threat.”Christina A. Cassidy for AP News: “Far Too Little Vote Fraud to Tip Election to Trump, AP Finds”How to Lose the Information War: Russia, Fake News, and the Future of Conflict, by Nina JankowiczAnne Applebaum for the Atlantic: “The Science of Making Americans Hurt Their Own Country”Here’s this week’s chatter:Emily: Jan Ransom for the New York Times: “A Look Inside Rikers: ‘Fight Night’ and Gang Rule, Captured on Video”David: Nathanael Johnson thread on Twitter and We Are Lady Parts TV showJohn: The Mezzanine, by Nicholson Baker and “On Keeping a Notebook,” by Joan DidionListener chatter from Bea Scott: The History of Democracy Has Yet to Be Written by Thomas GeogheganFor this week’s Slate Plus bonus segment John, Emily, and David discuss rule-breaking and Novak Djokovic’s moves in Australia.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 Jocelyn Frank.Research and show notes by Shayna Elliot. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Emily Bazelon, John Dickerson and David Plotz discuss Jan. 6, with guest Jamelle Bouie and what to make of omicron's impact on schools, and the Theranos case.Here are some notes and references from this week’s show:Matt Levine for Bloomberg: “Slaying the Blood Unicorn”Wall Street Journal: Theranos and Elizabeth Holmes: History of the WSJ Investigation Emily Bazelon for the New York Times Magazine: “I Write About the Law. But Could I Really Help Free a Prisoner?”Ruddy Roye PhotographyWalker EvansAnastasia Taylor-LindSally MannLarry Fink PhotographyEdward Hopper: Night Shadows, 1921Alexander Calder: Finny FishWolfgang Laib: Wax RoomCaravaggio: The Conversion of Saint PaulHere’s this week’s chatter:Emily: Crossroads, by Jonathan Franzen; Parul Sehgal for the New Yorker: “The Case Against the Trauma Plot”John: Window-Swap.comDavid: Fight Club; Free Guy; City CastListener chatter from Cynthia Weiner: Corryn Wetzel for Smithsonian Magazine: “Ten Hilarious Winners of the Comedy Wildlife Photography Awards”For this week’s Slate Plus bonus segment Emily, John, David, and Jamelle discuss the famous works of art they would most like to possess. 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 Jocelyn Frank.Research and show notes by Bridgette Dunlap. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Emily Bazelon, John Dickerson, and David Plotz wrap up 2021 considering life’s many conundrums—with special guest Dwayne Betts!Questions this year include: if you could eliminate one word from the English language what would it be? If you could transport the characters of one book into the time and place of another, which would you choose? If you were ONLY able to brush your teeth in the morning or the night- which would be optimal?Special thanks to everyone who sent in conundrums for consideration.For this week’s Slate Plus bonus segment David, Emily, John attempt a conundrum lightning round.You can tweet suggestions, links, and questions to @SlateGabfest. Tweet us your cocktail chatter using #cocktailchatter. (Messages may be quoted by name unless the writer stipulates otherwise.) The email address for the Political Gabfest is gabfest@slate.com. (Email may be quoted by name unless the writer stipulates otherwise.)Give the gift of Slate Plus to a fellow Slate fan and they’ll receive all the benefits of membership: unlimited reading, ad-free listening, bonus content, and so much more.Podcast production by Jocelyn Frank.Research and show notes by Bridgette Dunlap. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices