Political Gabfest

Emily, John and David discuss the stimulus bill, sexual harassment allegations against Andrew Cuomo, and escalating voter suppression efforts. Here are some notes and references from this week’s show: Dahlia Lithwick for Slate: “Maybe It’s a Good Thing Andrew Cuomo Is Still Governor” Charlotte Klein for Vanity Fair: “Pence Can’t Quit The Big Election Lie That Nearly Got Him Killed” The Brennan Center’s State Voting Bills Tracker 2021 Here’s this week’s chatter: Emily: Elizabeth Nolan Brown...

Emily, John and David discuss the Tanden take down, Merrick Garland‘s DOJ, and how to stop police killings of Black people with guest Jason Johnson. Here are some notes and references from this week’s show: Isaac Chotiner on Twitter @IChotiner Mitch Daniels for the Washington Post: “Senate Republicans Could Restore a Bit of Civility by Confirming Neera Tanden” Jacob Jarvis for Newsweek: “Neera Tanden Once Criticized Joe Manchin's Pharma CEO Daughter” Wesley Lowery for GQ: “The Most Ambitious...

Emily, John and David discuss Republican allegiance to Trump, schools during COVID-19, and they're joined by guest Jonathan Cohn to look back on Obamacare and to explore the current state of COVID-19 vaccinations. Here are some notes and references from this week’s show: Susan Dominus for the New York Times Magazine: “Rhode Island Kept Its Schools Open. This Is What Happened.” Shawn Hubler for The New York Times: “Vaccinating Oregon’s Teachers Might Not Be Enough to Reopen its Schools.” The...

David, Emily and John discuss Trump’s impeachment trial; lawsuits about election lies; and the execution of a possibly innocent man. Here are some notes and references from this week’s show: Talk Radio’s America: How an Industry Took Over a Political Party That Took Over the United States by Brian Rosenwald “New US Capitol Riot Video Shows Mob Rifling Through Senators' Desks” The Telegraph Emily Bazelon for the New York Times: “Did Tennessee Execute an Innocent Man?” Slate Culture Gabfest:...

Emily, John and David discuss the stimulus bill, racial inequities in vaccine distribution, the return to in-person learning, and Majorie Taylor Greene’s GOP. Here are some notes and references from this week’s show: Ezra Klein for the New York Times: “The Senate Has Become a Dadaist Nightmare” Uché Blackstock and Oni Blackstock for the Washington Post: “White Americans Are Being Vaccinated at Higher Rates Than Black Americans. Such Inequity Cannot Stand.” Shreya Kangovi and Uché Blackstock...

Emily, John and David discuss the Senate obstruction that may be ahead; delegating deplatforming; and GameStop. Here are some notes and references from this week’s show: Jamelle Bouie for the New York Times: “Democrats Should Act as if They Won the Election” Tom Wilson and Kate Starbird for The Harvard Kennedy School Misinformation Review: “Cross-Platform Disinformation Campaigns: Lessons Learned and Next Steps” Matt Levine for Bloomberg: “GameStop is Just a Game” David Leonhardt for the New...

Emily, John and David discuss the unusual but uplifting inauguration, Joe Biden’s priorities, and the Trump aftermath. Here are some notes and references from this week’s show: Joe Biden’s inauguration speech Inauguration video from former Presidents Obama, Bush, and Clinton Kevin Quealy for the New York Times: “The Complete List of Trump’s Twitter Insults (2015-2021) Here are this week’s cocktail chatters: John: The books of P.G. Wodehouse read by Jonathan Cecil Emily: Beth LeBlanc and...

Emily, David and John talk about impeachment, whether Americans can be deradicalized, and guest Juliette Kayyem joins in to discuss vaccine distribution. Here are some notes and references from this week’s show: Emily Bazelon for the New York Times Magazine: “People Are Dying. Whom Do We Save First With the Vaccine? Identity Crisis: The 2016 Presidential Campaign and the Battle for the Meaning of America by John Sides, Michael Tesler, and Lynn Vavrek Amarnath Amarasingam’s Twitter thread on...

Emily, John and David discuss the invasion of the U.S. Capitol and Democrats’ historic win in Georgia. Here are some notes and references from this week’s show: Yuval Levin for the National Review: “Failures of Leadership in a Populist Age” Anne Applebaum for the Atlantic: “History Will Judge the Complicit” Emily Bazelon for the New York Times Magazine: “The Pandemic Election” Emily Bazelon for Slate in 2013: “Voting Rights 2.0” Steven Lance for Atavist: “The Secret Formula: Could Shrunken...

Emily Bazelon, John Dickerson and David Plotz reminisce about 15 years of podcasting together. They look back on past mistakes and deliver fresh kindnesses. This live show was recorded on Dec 9, 2020. You can watch a special tribute video here and a video of the entire 15th Anniversary Show is here. Here are some references from this week’s show: Jonathan Rauch for the Atlantic: “How American Politics Went Insane” Conor Friedersdorf for the Atlantic: “Working Mom Arrested for Letting Her...

Emily, John, and David end 2020 considering listeners’ most perplexing conundrums—with special guest Alexandra Petri! Here are some notes and references from this week’s show: The Life of George Washington: With Curious Anecdotes, Equally Honourable to Himself, and Exemplary to His Young Countrymen by Mason Locke Weems Marching Bands Are Just Homeless Orchestras, Half-Empty Thoughts Vol. 1 by Tim Siedell Atlas Shrugged by Ayn Rand The Fountainhead by Ayn Rand War and Peace by Leo Tolstoy...

Emily, John and David discuss the massive Russian hack-- with guest Alex Stamos, Bill Barr’s resignation, and Joe Biden’s cabinet. Here are some notes and references from this week’s show: Alex Stamos for The Washington Post: “Enough Is Enough. Here’s What We Should Do to Defend Against the Next Russian Cyberattacks.” John Dickerson for 60 Minutes: “Excited Delirium: The Controversial Syndrome That Can Be Used to Protect Police From Misconduct Charges” Here are this week’s cocktail chatters:...

Emily, John and David talk about the coup attempt, Facebook’s legal troubles, and which presidential norms to restore or discard, with guest Tim Wu. It's conundrum season! Pass along your most pressing conundrums here: www.slate.com/conundrum. Our annual Conundrum show is coming soon. Here are some notes and references from this week’s show: Tim Wu for the New York Times: “What Really Saved the Republic From Trump?” Zeynep Tufekci for the Atlantic: “ ‘This Must Be Your First’ ” They Might Be...

It's conundrum season! Pass along your most pressing conundrums here: www.slate.com/conundrum. Our annual Conundrum holiday show is coming soon. Emily, John and Jamelle discuss presidential pardons; coronavirus exemptions for houses of worship; and David joins in for a conversation with Australia's former Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull about disinformation. Here are some notes and references from this week’s show: Jamelle Bouie for The New York Times: “It Started With ‘Birtherism’” Greg...

It's conundrum season! Pass along your most pressing conundrums here: www.slate.com/conundrum. Our annual Conundrum holiday show is coming soon. This week, Emily, David and John discuss the Trump Administration's efforts to hobble the Biden transition; ethical problems in vaccine distribution; and how to deal with the damage of the election fraud lie. Here are some notes and references from this week’s show: Alex Kalman for the Atlantic: “The Letters That Outgoing Presidents Wrote to Their...

As part of our 15th anniversary celebration please share an original political cocktail recipe with us. Visit www.slate.com/cocktail to submit your recipe! Here are some notes and references from this week’s show: Emily Bazelon for The New York Times Magazine: “The Pandemic Election” Isaac Chotiner for The New Yorker: “How We Can Contain the Second Wave of the Coronavirus” Mike Pence for The Wall Street Journal: “There Isn’t a Coronavirus ‘Second Wave’” Between the World and Me by Ta-Nehisi...

The Slate Political Gabfest is turning 15 years old! We will be celebrating with a special live show on Dec 9th-- with wine! Please join us (drinking is optional). Learn more here. Notes and references from this week’s show: Karl Rove for The Wall Street Journal: “This Election Result Won’t Be Overturned” Rich Lowry for Politico: “The Completely Insane Electoral College Strategy” The Gatekeepers: How the White House Chiefs of Staff Define Every Presidency by Chris Whipple Michael D. Shear...

Emily Bazelon, John Dickerson, and David Plotz reflect on the election results, the upcoming transition, how senior Republicans are dealing with Donald Trump's loss, and what comes next for Stacey Abrams and Pete Buttigieg. You can tweet suggestions, links, and questions to @SlateGabfest. The email address for the Political Gabfest is gabfest@slate.com. (Email may be quoted by name unless the writer stipulates otherwise.) Podcast production by June Thomas. Sign up for Slate Plus to support...

Professor Nate Persily of Stanford-MIT's HealthyElections.org joins the Gabfest to discuss vote counting and election lawsuits. Emily, John and David also discuss Democrats’ down-ballot disappointments, and the problems with polling. Here are this week’s cocktail chatters: Emily: Adam Liptak for the New York Times: “Supreme Court Weighs Legacy of Same-Sex Marriage Case” John: Margaret McAleer for the Library of Congress Blog: “The Taft Papers and a Titanic Tragedy” David: Katie Pickens for...

You can tweet suggestions, links, and questions to @SlateGabfest. The email address for the Political Gabfest is gabfest@slate.com. (Email 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