Political Gabfest

This week, hosts Emily Bazelon and John Dickerson are joined by Washington Post associate editor and columnist Ruth Marcus. They President Joe Biden’s big step down, how the race is evolving with Kamala Harris stepping in as the presumptive nominee, and the fallout of the Secret Service. 

Email your chatters, questions, and comments to [email protected]. (Messages may be referenced by name unless the writer stipulates otherwise.)

Podcast production by Ethan Oberman and Cheyna Roth

Research by Ethan Oberman 

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John Dickerson talks with author Roland Allen about his new book, The Notebook: A History of Thinking on Paper. They discuss the historical origins of notebooks, how to keep a notebook and their own personal journeys documenting their lives.

If you enjoyed this conversation, you’ll love an exploration into John Dickerson’s notebooks with his podcast Navel Gazing. Season one is out now.

Tweet us your questions @SlateGabfest or email us at [email protected]. (Messages could be quoted by name unless the writer stipulates otherwise.)

Podcast production by Cheyna Roth.

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This week, John Dickerson is joined by What Next host Mary Harris to discuss Donald Trump’s pick for vice president, the excitement at the Republican National Convention (and why they’re talking about a victory), and the aftermath of the Trump assassination attempt.

Here are this week’s chatters:

John: The television series, Shetland on BritBox

Mary: The New York Times: “100 Best Books of the 21st Century” 

Listener chatter: Matt from Holland, MI on a visual representation of wealth inequality in America. 

For this week’s Slate Plus bonus episode, John and Mary talk about what to expect at the Democratic National Convention. 

In the latest Gabfest Reads, David talks with Sierra Greer about her new book, Annie Bot: A Novel. And Gabfest Reads now has its own site!

Email your chatters, questions, and comments to [email protected]. (Messages may be referenced by name unless the writer stipulates otherwise.)

Podcast production by Ethan Oberman

Research by Kat Hong 

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This week, Emily Bazelon, John Dickerson, and David Plotz continue to debate if Joe Biden should stay in the presidential race and who might replace him if he goes; discuss Project 2025; and ponder if Supreme Court Justice Amy Coney Barrett deserves a strange, new respect.

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

 George Clooney in The New York Times: I Love Joe Biden. But We Need a New Nominee.

Franklin Foer for The Atlantic: Biden Has Fallen Into a Psychological Trap

Leigh Ann Caldwell, Marianna Sotomayor, Jacqueline Alemany, and Paul Kane for The Washington Post: Pelosi opens the door, subtly, to replacing Biden

Merriam-Webster Dictionary: coronate and ideate

Tim Alberta for The Atlantic: Trump Is Planning For A Landslide Win

Ryan Teague Beckwith for MSNBC: What is Project 2025? The plans for Trump’s second term, explained

Judd Legum for Popular Information: What Trump doesn’t want you to know about Project 2025 and The alarming new power Trump will claim in a second term

James Taranto for The Wall Street Journal: Strange New Respect

Ann E. Marimow for The Washington Post: Justice Amy Coney Barrett is charting her own path on the bench

Stephen I. Vladeck in The New York Times: The Most Interesting Justice on the Supreme Court Is Also the Loneliest

James LaRock and Jacob Hammond for Balls and Strikes: The Hollow Originalism of Amy Coney Barrett

Oyez: Amy Coney Barrett

Here are this week’s chatters: 

John: Joshua Hammer for Smithsonian Magazine: Pablo Escobar’s Abandoned Hippos Are Wreaking Havoc in the Columbia Jungle

Emily: Andrea Robin Skinner for the Toronto Star: My stepfather sexually abused me when I was a child. My mother, Alice Munro, chose to stay with him

David: Natasha Singer for The New York Times: Students Target Teachers in Group TikTok Attack, Shaking Their School and City Cast DC Live Podcast Taping on Saturday, July 13

Listener chatter from Researcher Julie: Alexandra Alter for The New York Times: Romance Bookstores Are Booming, Dishing ‘All the Hot Stuff You Can Imagine’ and Elisabeth Egan: Emily Henry on Writing Best-Sellers Without Tours and TikTok; Jeffrey A. Trachtenberg, Ellen Gamerman, and Isabella Simonetti for The Wall Street Journal: How Dragons, Magic and Steamy Sex Took Over the Book World; and Bridgerton on Netflix

For this week’s Slate Plus bonus episode, David, John, and Emily talk with Professor Emily Wilson about her translation of Homer’s Iliad. See The Iliad by Homer, translated by Emily Wilson. See also The Odyssey by Homer, translated by Emily Wilson.

In the latest Gabfest Reads, David talks with Sierra Greer about her new book, Annie Bot: A Novel. And Gabfest Reads now has its own site!

Email your chatters, questions, and comments to [email protected]. (Messages may be referenced by name unless the writer stipulates otherwise.)

Podcast production by Cheyna Roth and Ethan Oberman

Research by Julie Huygen

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This week, Emily Bazelon, John Dickerson, and David Plotz discuss the Supreme Court decisions on presidential immunity in Trump v. United States and the administrative state in Loper Bright Enterprises v. Raimondo as well as the future of Joe Biden’s nomination to be re-elected president.

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

Supreme Court of the United States: Opinions of the Court – 2023, including Trump v. United States, Loper Bright Enterprises v. Raimondo, Corner Post, Inc. v. Board of Governors, and SEC v. Jarkesy

Matt Gluck, Hyemin Han, and Katherine Pompilio for Lawfare: The Supreme Court’s Presidential Immunity Decision

Perry Stein for The Washington Post: Justice Sotomayor dissent: ‘The President is now a king above the law’

Gary J. Schmitt and Joseph M. Bessette for the American Enterprise Institute: The Hamilton-Madison Split over Executive Power

Dan Pfeiffer for The Message Box: Why the Dem Panic over the Debate is Getting Worse

‘Will Rogers Today’: Will Rogers on Politics

Tim Miller for The Bulwark: Dear Dems: The Gaslighting Isn’t Helping Matters

Amy Howe for SCOTUSblog: Supreme Court strikes down Chevron, curtailing power of federal agencies and Mark Walsh: Consider the wild gray squirrel, Kagan rebukes her colleagues as court overrules Chevron

Mark Sherman for AP: The Supreme Court rules for a North Dakota truck stop in a new blow to federal regulators

How to Save a Country from The New Republic: The Administrative State Is Under Attack

Congressional Research Service: The Major Questions Doctrine

Eric Berger for Dorf on Law: Is Loper Bright a Big Deal? and Michael C. Dorf: Could Congress Reinstate Chevron?

Tierney Sneed, Jeanne Sahadi, Tami Luhby, Brian Fung, Ella Nilsen, Jen Christensen, and Katie Lobosco for CNN: How the Supreme Court’s blockbuster ‘Chevron’ ruling puts countless regulations in jeopardy

Here are this week’s chatters:

Emily: Paul Sabin of Yale University and City of New Haven: East Rock park 

John: Dave McMenamin for ESPN: Lakers pick Bronny James in NBA draft; LeBron ‘emotional’

David: City Cast DC and Ross Andersen for The Atlantic: The Search for America’s Atlantis

Listener chatter from Jen in Denver, Colorado: Brandy Zadrozny and Jon Schuppe for NBC News: Who tried to steal Graceland?

For this week’s Slate Plus bonus segment, David, John, and Emily talk about the joys of summer. See Merry Maids: 15 Fun Things to Make the Most of Summer 2024; NBC: Olympics Paris 2024; and epicurious: Summer. See also Produce bluebook: Nectarine Market Summary and Lemonada Media: Julia Gets Wise with Patti Smith.

In the latest Gabfest Reads, David talks with Sierra Greer about her new book, Annie Bot: A Novel. And Gabfest Reads now has its own site!

Email your chatters, questions, and comments to [email protected]. (Messages may be referenced by name unless the writer stipulates otherwise.)

Podcast production by Cheyna Roth

Research by Julie Huygen

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

The morning after, Emily Bazelon, John Dickerson, and David Plotz discuss the first presidential debate of 2024 and President Joe Biden’s disastrous performance. 

Here are some notes and references from the show: 

CNN Presidential Debate: President Joe Biden and former President Donald Trump

Will Weissert for AP: Here’s why it would be tough for Democrats to replace Joe Biden on the presidential ticket

Email your chatters, questions, and comments to [email protected]. (Messages may be referenced by name unless the writer stipulates otherwise.)

Podcast production by Cheyna Roth

Research by Julie Huygen

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This week, Emily Bazelon and David Plotz discuss the recent Supreme Court rulings on emergency abortions and guns with Yale Law School’s Linda Greenhouse and Congressman Jamaal Bowman’s loss in a New York Democratic primary.

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

Supreme Court of the United States: Moyle v. United States; United States v. Rahimi; and Murthy v. Missouri

Greg Stohr, Kimberly Robinson, and Lydia Wheeler for Bloomberg: Supreme Court Poised to Allow Emergency Abortions in Idaho

Amy Howe for SCOTUSblog: Supreme Court appears to allow emergency abortions in Idaho and Supreme Court upholds bar on guns under domestic-violence restraining orders

Jazmin Orozco Rodriguez for The Idaho Capital Sun: Idaho’s OB-GYN exodus throws women in rural towns into a care void

Eleanor Klibanoff for The Texas Tribune: Emergency rooms not required to perform life-saving abortions, federal appeals court rules

Ariane de Vogue, Tierney Sneed, and Devan Cole for CNN: Supreme Court issues report on Dobbs leak but says it hasn’t identified the leaker

Mark Joseph Stern for Slate: Supreme Court Inadvertently Reveals Confounding Late Change in Trump Ballot Ruling and Dahlia Lithwick and Mark Joseph Stern: John Roberts Tried to Clean Up Clarence Thomas’ Mess. He May Have Invited More Chaos.

Linda Greenhouse in The New York Times: The Supreme Court Steps Back From the Edge and How John Roberts Lost His Court

Michael C. Dorf for Dorf on Law: Justice Kavanaugh’s Concurrence in Rahimi Contains a Whopper of an Error (or Worse) and The Hidden Merits Ruling in Murthy v. Missouri

Gregory Krieg for CNN: George Latimer defeats House ‘squad’ member Jamaal Bowman in historic New York Democratic primary

Michelle Goldberg for The New York Times: The War in Gaza Is Splintering the Democratic Party

Ben Davis for The Guardian: The Aipac-funded candidate defeated Jamaal Bowman. But at what cost?

Peter Beinart for The Beinart Notebook: Jamaal Bowman’s Courage

Jon Murray, Seth Klamann, and Nick Coltrain for The Denver Post: Five takeaways from Colorado’s primaries as voters give Lauren Boebert new life, pick a Denver DA and more

Anthony Adragna and Nicholas Wu for Politico: AIPAC offshoot spending heavily to beat Cori Bush in her primary

Colby Itkowitz, Emily Guskin, and Scott Clement for The Washington Post: Trump trusted more than Biden on democracy among key swing-state voters

Here are this week’s chatters:

Emily: Dismantling Mass Incarceration: A Handbook for Change by Premal Dharia, James Forman, Jr., and Maria Hawilo and Karin Brulliard for The Washington Post: For millionaire and four hunters, a wild Western lawsuit over public land

Linda: Thelma from Magnolia Pictures & Magnet Releasing and Aisha Harris, Bob Mondello, Bedatri D. Choudhury, Liz Metzger, Mike Katzif, and Jessica Reedy for NPR’s Pop Culture Happy Hour: June Squibb’s ‘Thelma’ is the wrong grandma to mess with

David: Hark and David Plotz for Hark’s The Conversation: Campaign Trail 2024

Listener chatter from William Wagner in Green Bay, Wisconsin: Sam Anderson with illustrations by Gaia Alari for The New York Times: Walnut and Me and Sam Anderson: Animal podcast

For this week’s Slate Plus bonus segment, David and Emily talk with Linda Greenhouse about Murthy v. Missouri.

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 [email protected]. (Messages may be referenced by name unless the writer stipulates otherwise.)

Podcast production by Cheyna Roth

Research by Julie Huygen

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

This week, Emily Bazelon, John Dickerson, and David Plotz discuss the 2024 presidential debates; a possible warning on social media and another ban of smartphones in schools; and the future and failures of one-party rule.

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

Ashley Lopez for NPR: Biden vs. Trump remains close, so next week’s debate offers them an opportunity

James Oliphant for Reuters: The Biden-Trump presidential debate: what to watch for

Shane Goldmacher and Reid J. Epstein for The New York Times: Trump, Biden and CNN Prepare for a Hostile Debate (With Muted Mics)

Josh Barro for Very Serious: Of Course Biden Should Attack Trump for Being a Convicted Felon

Dr. Vivek H. Murthy in The New York Times: Surgeon General: Why I’m Calling for a Warning Label on Social Media Platforms and Sherry Turkle: Stop Googling. Let’s Talk.

Consider This on NPR: ‘An unfair fight’: The U.S. surgeon general declares war on social media

Howard Blume and Defne Karabatur for The Los Angeles Times: LAUSD approves cellphone ban as Newsom calls for statewide action

Tatum Hunter for The Washington Post: What research actually says about social media and kids’ health

Candice L. Odgers in Nature: The great rewiring: is social media really behind an epidemic of teenage mental illness?

Mitch Daniels in The Washington Post: Indiana is revealing the real consequences of one-party rule

Ballotpedia: State government trifectas

Scott S. Greenberger in NC Newsline: Shared power used to be the norm in state government. Now it’s nearly extinct.

Nicholas Kristof for The New York Times: What Have We Liberals Done to the West Coast?

Here are this week’s chatters:

John: Liquor.com: Vesper; The New York Times: John Hurt in ‘Krapp’s Last Tape’; and John Hurt in The Guardian: Krapp’s Last Tape: John Hurt on Samuel Beckett’s loner hero

Emily: The Innocence Project: Texas Seeks Execution Date for Robert Roberson, An Innocent Man Wrongly Convicted Under Debunked Shaken Baby Hypothesis

David: Initiative on Catholic Social Thought and Public Life, Georgetown University: The Vocation of Journalists in a Time of Testing; Washington City Paper: Paper, Cut; and Bruce Weber and Ashley Southall for The New York Times: David Carr, Times Critic and Champion of Media, Dies at 58

Listener chatter from Tristan Hinderliter in Long Island City, New York: Samantha Pearson for The Wall Street Journal: Even Hardened Convicts Are No Match for These Guard Geese

For this week’s Slate Plus bonus segment, David, Emily, and John talk about the Brat Pack: then and now. See Hulu: Brats and David Blum for New York Magazine: Hollywood’s Brat Pack. See also RHINO: John Parr – St. Elmo’s Fire (Man In Motion) (Official Music Video) and Comedy Bites Vintage: Don’t You Forget About Me (Final Scene) The Breakfast Club.

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 [email protected]. (Messages may be referenced by name unless the writer stipulates otherwise.)

Podcast production by Cheyna Roth

Research by Julie Huygen

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

David Plotz talks with author Sierra Greer about her new book, Annie Bot. They discuss how much discomfort Annie (a “Cuddle Bunny” type of robot) can feel, how the story of a robot is really about the right to control a body, and more.  

Tweet us your questions @SlateGabfest or email us at [email protected]. (Messages could be quoted by name unless the writer stipulates otherwise.)

Podcast production by Cheyna Roth.

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This week, Emily Bazelon, John Dickerson, and David Plotz discuss President Biden’s new asylum policy; the recent European Parliament elections with The Atlantic’s Anne Applebaum; and the jammed congestion pricing in New York City.

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

Corvid Research: Help, I’ve found a baby crow!

Zolan Kanno-Youngs and Hamed Aleaziz for The New York Times: In Shift, Biden Issues Order Allowing Temporary Border Closure to Migrants and Miriam Jordan: Biden Opens a New Back Door on Immigration

Matthew Yglesias for Slow Boring: Biden is doing the right thing on asylum

Matt Collette for Vox: Our identity crisis on immigration

Alex Nowrasteh for the Cato Institute: The Most Common Arguments Against Immigration and Why They’re Wrong

Statista: U.S. immigration/migration – statistics & facts

Andres Triay, Robert Legare, Nicole Sganga, Pat Milton, and Camilo Montoya-Galvez for CBS News: ICE arrests 8 with suspected ISIS ties

BBC: What is the UK’s plan to send asylum seekers to Rwanda? and Nick Beake and Kostas Kallergis: Greece boat disaster: BBC investigation casts doubt on coastguard’s claims

Anthony Faiola, Imogen Piper, Joyce Sohyun Lee, Klaas van Dijken, Maud Jullien, and May Bulman for The Washington Post: With Europe’s support, North African nations push migrants to the desert

Anne Applebaum for The Atlantic: Trump Is Not America’s Le Pen

Sam Jones for The Guardian: EU elections 2024: how did key countries vote and what does it mean?

CBS News: NYC Comptroller Brad Lander announces legal challenge to congestion pricing pause

Michelle Kaske, Laura Nahmias, and Zach Williams for Bloomberg: New York Governor Shocks Manhattan With Halt to Congestion Pricing

Lauren Sforza for The Hill: Murphy says ‘the biggest policy mistake of the past 50 years in New Jersey’ was Christie’s decision to cancel Gateway tunnel project

The Affluent Society by John Kenneth Galbraith

Here are this week’s chatters:

Emily: Curt Anderson for WJHG: Florida jury finds Chiquita Brands liable for Colombia deaths, must pay $38.3M to family members 

John: Well, This Is Me: A Cartoon Collection from the New Yorker’s Asher Perlman by Asher Perlman and Taylor Orth for YouGov: In-flight drama: Where Americans sit on airline etiquette

David: City Cast Nashville and Hey Nashville; City Cast Austin and Hey Austin; Open: An Autobiography by Andre Agassi; Dartmouth: 2024 Commencement Address by Roger Federer at Dartmouth; Maxi 4 NBA: Michael Jordan I’ve missed more than 9000 shots in my career.; and Winning Ugly: Mental Warfare in Tennis—Lessons from a Master by Brad Gilbert and Steve Jamison 

Listener chatter from Jason Anderson in Chicago, Illinois: Neil Steinberg for the Chicago Sun-Times: Sorry, Ken Griffin – Chicagoans will call the Museum of Science and Industry what they please

For this week’s Slate Plus bonus segment, Emily, John, and David talk about Hunter Biden’s conviction. See Jonathan Lemire for Politico: Biden’s team was waiting for a Hunter verdict. That didn’t make it easier when it arrived. and Abby Phillip for CNN: Hear how conservatives reacted to Hunter Biden’s conviction. See also Perry Stein for The Washington Post: Gun counts Hunter Biden faces are rarely stand-alone charges and John Miller for CNN: Meanwhile, Trump said during pre-sentencing interview he had a gun in Florida, weeks after his conviction.

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 [email protected]. (Messages may be referenced by name unless the writer stipulates otherwise.)

Podcast production by Cheyna Roth

Research by Julie Huygen

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