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This week, Emily Bazelon, John Dickerson, and David Plotz discuss whether Trump’s State of the Union address effectively convinced voters to ignore the pain in their wallets because he says he’s “winning” the economy, how the Supreme Court finally stood up to the president on something he really cares about, and the Pentagon’s ominous ultimatum against AI company Anthropic.

For this week’s Slate Plus bonus episode, Emily, John, and David discuss James Talarico, Jasmine Crockett, and what might happen in next week’s consequential Texas Senate primary races.

In the latest Gabfest Reads, John Dickerson talks with Father James Martin about his new book, Work in Progress: Confessions of a Busboy, Dishwasher, Caddy, Usher, Factory Worker, Bank Teller, Corporate Tool, and Priest. They discuss the spiritual lessons learned through eight different jobs, Martin’s controversial LGBTQ ministry that made him a target of criticism within the Catholic Church, and what the Gospels demand about welcoming strangers and caring for the marginalized.

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

Podcast production by Nina Porzucki

Research by Emily Ditto

You can find the full Political Gabfest show pages here.

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Find out more about David Plotz's monthly tours of Ft. DeRussy, the secret Civil War fort hidden in Rock Creek Park.  

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The gay romance show Heated Rivalry brought an influx of attention to hockey, and gold-medal winning performances from both the women’s and men’s American teams seemed to be priming the NHL for a fresh, diverse group of fans. Then Kash Patel showed up in the men’s locker room.

Guest:  Frankie de la Cretaz, writer at the intersection of sports, gender, culture, and queerness, author of Hail Mary: the Rise and Fall of the National Women’s Football League and Out of Your League newsletter.

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Podcast production by Elena Schwartz, Paige Osburn, Anna Phillips, Madeline Ducharme, and Rob Gunther.

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With President Trump’s urging and support from CIA drones, Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum’s more confrontational approach to the drug cartels culminated in the death of “El Mencho,” the most wanted man in both Mexico and the United States. 

Guest: León Krauze, Mexican journalist and author covering politics and the cartels. 

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Podcast production by Elena Schwartz, Paige Osburn, Anna Phillips, Madeline Ducharme, and Rob Gunther.

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Why a number of Congressional Democrats are skipping tonight’s State of the Union address—and why some are still going.

Guest:  Congresswoman Veronica Escobar, representing Texas's 16th Congressional District in El Paso.

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Podcast production by Elena Schwartz, Paige Osburn, Anna Phillips, Madeline Ducharme, and Rob Gunther.

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Counter to claims that immigrants just need to come to America “the right way,” DHS has begun using the department that administers legal immigration to arrest, detain, and deport people—including those who are following the law.

Guest: Jonathan Blitzer, staff writer at the New Yorker and author of Everyone Who Is Gone Is Here: The United States, Central America, and the Making of a Crisis.

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Podcast production by Elena Schwartz, Paige Osburn, Anna Phillips, Madeline Ducharme, and Rob Gunther.

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You might not think you need artificial intelligence added to your shopping experience. Store employees might not see the point either. So why is it there anyway?

Guest: Mia Sato, reporter at The Verge who covers tech companies, platforms, and users.

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Podcast production by Evan Campbell, and Patrick Fort.

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The Supreme Court struck down Donald Trump’s sweeping tariffs on Friday, ruling 6–3 that they vastly exceed anything federal law allows a President to do. It was a massive loss for a signature component of Trump’s economic agenda, and a coalition of liberals and conservatives on the court agreed that the statute invoked to impose these tariffs was never intended to be wielded in this fashion. The 6 disagreed emphatically as to the reasoning. The dissenters were Big Mad. On this week’s Amicus, Dahlia Lithwick and Mark Joseph Stern unpack the rationale behind the decision, and the implications for those seeking a remedy. And they ask what to make of this massive loss from a court that has yet to truly tell this President “no.”  

Then, the press clause of the First Amendment, a once-cherished constitutional right, has fallen victim to neglect and sabotage in recent years, taking a back seat to the more vaunted love affair with individual “free speech.” But, as recent developments—including the arrest of journalist Don Lemon and the heavy-handed interview-spiking “guidance” of late night host Stephen Colbert—illustrate, the freedom of the press is no slam-dunk when it comes to saving democracy in Trump’s America. Dahlia speaks with First Amendment scholars Sonja West (University of Georgia) and RonNell Andersen Jones (University of Utah) about the health of the press clause and the themes in their book, The Future of Press Freedom: Democracy, Law, and the News in Changing Times. They trace the ways in which the framers viewed press freedom as a core, structural “bulwark of liberty,” and why the Supreme Court has increasingly treated it as a neglected companion to free speech rights; leaving weakened and fragile protections for news gathering. The conversation contrasts Trump’s first-term rhetorical delegitimization of the media with a second-term shift toward tangible actions: access restrictions, funding cuts, agency leverage, and selective regulatory pressure.

Want more Amicus? Join Slate Plus to unlock weekly bonus episodes with exclusive legal analysis. Plus, you’ll access ad-free listening across all your favorite Slate podcasts. You can subscribe directly from the Amicus show page on Apple Podcasts and Spotify. Or, visit slate.com/amicusplus to get access wherever you listen.

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This week: Beloved NPR podcast Planet Money is now a book too! Author and Planet Money contributor Alex Mayyasi joins Felix Salmon, Elizabeth Spiers, and Emily Peck to give us a peek into the upcoming Planet Money: A Guide to the Economic Forces That Shape Your Life. Pulling from their favorite chapters of the book, the hosts get into how Argentina’s attempt to foster manufacturing mirrors Trump’s recent efforts, why the Argentinian Blackberry just didn’t cut it, the hidden forces of market design, the reverse-robin hood effect of high credit card fees and more.

In the Slate Plus episode: Childcare and Baumol's Cost Disease

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Podcast production by Jessamine Molli and Cheyna Roth.

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John Dickerson talks with Father James Martin about his new book, Work in Progress: Confessions of a Busboy, Dishwasher, Caddy, Usher, Factory Worker, Bank Teller, Corporate Tool, and Priest. They discuss the spiritual lessons learned through eight different jobs, Martin's controversial LGBTQ ministry that made him a target of criticism within the Catholic Church, and what the Gospels demand about welcoming strangers and caring for the marginalized.

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 Nina Porzucki.

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Tech companies proudly touting that the imminent artificial intelligence revolution are pushing the stock market to ever higher heights, even as workers wonder what their role will be in this brave new world. But outside of the big A.I. players, the rest of the market seems to be wondering the same thing.

Guest: Emily Peck, co-host of Slate Money and national correspondent at Axios.

Want more What Next TBD? Subscribe to Slate Plus to access ad-free listening to the whole What Next family and all your favorite Slate podcasts. Subscribe today on Apple Podcasts by clicking “Try Free” at the top of our show page. Sign up now at slate.com/whatnextplus to get access wherever you listen.

Podcast production by Evan Campbell, and Patrick Fort.

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