Political Gabfest

This week, Emily Bazelon, John Dickerson, and David Plotz discuss Special Counsel Robert Hur’s description of President Joe Biden; House Republicans’ impeachment of DHS Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas and refusal on Ukraine aid; and Democrat Tom Suozzi’s win in the New York congressional special election. And in Slate Plus, Emily, John, and David talk local news with reporterEllie Wolfe. Here are some notes and references from this week’s show: Matt Viser and Tyler Pager for The Washington Post:Biden responds angrily to special counsel report questioning his memoryand Marianne LeVine:Trump says he’d disregard NATO treaty, urge Russian attacks on U.S. allies Politico Magazine:What Biden Needs to Do to Reassure the Public Elena Moore for NPR:Biden’s campaign gives in and joins TikTok. Blame the youngs Mike Lillis and Mychael Schnell for The Hill:Lawmakers scramble for Plan B on Ukraine Jake Tapper for CNN:Marco Rubio reacts to Trump threatening NATO country to ‘pay up’ Zack Beauchamp for Vox:The moral and strategic case for arming Ukraine Joshua Matz, Michael J. Gerhardt, Amit Jain, and Laurence H. Tribe for Just Security:Why and How the Senate Should Swiftly Dismiss the Impeachment Charges Against Mayorkas Nate Cohn for The New York Times:Not an Ordinary Special Election, and Yet a Typical Resultand Carl Hulse:How Senate Democrats Flipped the Border Issue on Republicans Here are this week’s chatters: Emily:American Fiction; Sam Sanders, Nadira Goffe, and Stephen Metcalf for the Slate Culture Gabfest podcast:American Fiction, Oscar Contender?; and Sam Sanders, Saeed Jones, and Zach Stafford for the Stitcher Vibe Check podcast:A Special Conversation with Cord Jefferson John:Timeguessrand Matt Levine for Matt Levin’s Money Stuff:Lyft Had an Earnings Typo David:The Greatest Night in Popon Netflix and USA for Africa:We Are the World Listener chatter fromJ.T. Horn in Strafford, Vermont: Peter Frick Wright for the Outside Podcast:A Wild Conversation with E. Jean Carroll For this week’s Slate Plus bonus segment, David, John, and Emily discuss withEllie Wolfeher local-news reporting as Education Reporter for the Arizona Daily Star.SeeProposed law would limit shared governance at Arizona’s universities;U of A to ‘permanently eliminate’ $27 million worth of jobs in academic units;U of A’s Robbins talks about his pay, layoffs, athletics debt, more; andCFO: U of A must cut $200M in spending, rethink mission, accept layoffs. Thanks to listeners Alison, Anna, and David for the recommendation! In the latestGabfest Reads, John talks with Brad Stulberg about his book,Master of Change: How to Excel When Everything Is Changing – Including You. Email your chatters, questions, and comments [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 Republicans’ beginning and end of both the border bill and the impeachment of Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas; the criminal conviction of a mother for a school shooting by her son; and the D.C. Circuit Court decision on presidential immunity and the Supreme Court argument on the presidential ballot. Here are some notes and references from this week’s show: Rachael Bade for Politico:Schumer presses forward with Ukraine Plan B as GOP leaders reeland Burgess Everett:Behind the border mess: Open GOP rebellion against McConnell Cleve R. Wootson Jr. for The Washington Post:Biden vows to make GOP defeat of a conservative border bill a campaign issueandJacqueline Alemany, Amy B Wang, Marianna Sotomayor, and Paul Kane:In stunning vote, House Republicans fail to impeach Secretary Mayorkas Former Rep. Charlie Stenholm in The Hill in 2015:How Tip O’Neill and Ronald Reagan would make this Congress work Tresa Baldas for the Detroit Free Press:Jennifer Crumbley guilty: Understanding involuntary manslaughter charge, possible sentenceandPaul Egan:Michigan’s gun laws change: Background checks, storage, temporary removal Michael Barbaro and Lisa Miller for The New York Times The Daily podcast:A Guilty Verdict for a Mass Shooter’s Mother Rachel Weiner for The Washington Post:Trump has no immunity from Jan. 6 prosecution, appeals court rules Ian Millhiser for Vox:The Supreme Court is about to decide whether to sabotage Trump’s election theft trial Amy Howe for SCOTUSblog:Supreme Court to decide whether insurrection provision keeps Trump off ballot Here are this week’s chatters: John: Ian Sample for The Guardian:AI helps scholars read scroll buried when Vesuvius erupted in AD79; Pierina Pighi Bel for the BBC:Bodegas: The small corner shops that run NYC; David Blank in the Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy:Philodemus;Moss and Fog; and Institute of Politics at Harvard Kennedy School:Theodore H. White Lecture with John Dickerson Emily: Sofia Resnick for News From The States:Study cited by Texas judge in abortion pill case retractedand Sage Publishing:A note from Sage on retractions in Health Services Research and Managerial Epidemiology David: Patrick Radden Keefe for The New Yorker:A Teen’s Fatal Plunge Into The London Underworld Listener chatter fromPatrick Johnson in Anchorage, Alaska: Rhonda McBride for KNBA - Anchorage:Anchorage’s white raven becomes a local legend as a tracked trickster For this week’s Slate Plus bonus segment, David, John, and Emily discuss “Fast Car,”Tracy Chapman’s 1988 original, andLuke Combs’s 2023 cover. In the latestGabfest Reads, John talks with Brad Stulberg about his book,Master of Change: How to Excel When Everything Is Changing – Including You. Email your chatters, questions, and comments [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 E. Jean Carroll’s $83.3 million win against Donald J. Trump; the events of 1920-1948 that shaped the current relationship of Israel and Palestine; and the tech-bro billionaires of techno-authoritarianism withAdrienne LaFranceof The Atlantic. Here are some notes and references from this week’s show: Eric Lach for The New Yorker:Nine Regular People Tell Donald Trump to Shut Up and Pay Up Monica Hesse for The Washington Post:Is it really sexism that Trump is showing? Or is it something worse? Maggie Haberman and Shane Goldmacher for The New York Times:Trump’s PACs Spent Roughly $50 Million on Legal Expenses in 2023 Erik Larson for Fortune and Bloomberg:Most of Trump’s cash stockpile is at risk from possible $450m dual verdicts in E. Jean Carroll and New York business fraud cases CBS News:Face The Nationand Emily Tillett:Nikki Haley on Trump accusers: Women who accuse anyone “should be heard” and “dealt with” Gabriella Abdul-Hakim for ABC News:Tim Scott insists voters don’t care about Trump’s defamation loss, plays down ‘provocative’ Haley attacks Dietrich Knauth for Insurance Journal:Sandy Hook Denier Alex Jones Eyes Settlement With Families, Bankruptcy Exit Emily Bazelon for The New York Times:The Road to 1948andWas Peace Ever Possible? Adrienne LaFrance for The Atlantic:The Rise of Techno-Authoritarianism Ezra Klein for The New York Times:The Chief Ideologist of the Silicon Valley Elite Has Some Strange Ideas Steven Levy for Wired:What the Techno-Billionaire Missed About Techno-Optimism Jonathan Taplin for Vanity Fair:How Musk, Thiel, Zuckerberg, and Andreessen—Four Billionaire Techno-Oligarchs—Are Creating an Alternate, Autocratic Reality Lisa Desjardins and Jonah Anderson for PBS Newshour:Lawmakers grill Big Tech executives, accusing them of failing to protect children The Dictator’s Learning Curve: Inside the Global Battle for Democracyby William J. Dobson Here are this week’s chatters: Emily:The Fight to Save the Town: Reimagining Discarded Americaby Michelle Wilde Anderson John:PenTips; Toluse Olorunnipa and Liz Goodwin for The Washington Post:Biden vows to ‘shut down’ an overwhelmed border if Senate deal passesand Jacob Bogage and Jeff Stein:House votes to expand child tax credit, beef up corporate tax breaks David:Visual Arts, St. Albans School; John Buzbee for The Advocate:LSU students bare it all as nude art models: ‘It’s a very brave thing to be able to do.’; and Kim McGill for The Union:The naked truth: Art models at El Camino inspire students to portray humanity in all its forms Listener chatter fromJay Lloyd in Louisville, Kentucky: Eric Berger for Ars Technica:What happens when an astronaut in orbit says he’s not coming back? For this week’s Slate Plus bonus segment, David, John, and Emily discuss theLove Storyof Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce and the message for MAGA madness:You Need To Calm Down. See Mariana Alfaro for The Washington Post:Why Trump’s MAGA Republican movement dislikes Taylor Swiftand Ross Douthat for The New York Times:Taylor Swift, Donald Trump and the Right’s Abnormality Problem. In the latestGabfest Reads, John talks with Brad Stulberg about his book,Master of Change: How to Excel When Everything Is Changing – Including You. Email your chatters, questions, and comments [email protected]. (Messages may be referenced by name unless the writer stipulates otherwise.) Podcast production by Cheyna Roth Research by Julie Huygen Hosts Emily Bazelon, John Dickerson, and David Plotz Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This week, Emily Bazelon, John Dickerson, and David Plotz discuss the Trump v. Biden presidential rematch, the end of the “vibecession,” and the political fights over immigration. Here are some notes and references from this week’s show: Michael Scherer and Toluse Olorunnipa for The Washington Post:Trump, Biden pivot quickly to a 2024 campaign that many voters dread Lauren Irwin for The Hill:Trump says Tim Scott ‘must really hate’ Haley Allison Pecorin and Caleigh Bartash for ABC News:Trump picks up endorsements from holdouts after New Hampshire win John E. Moser for Teaching American History:“Fireside Chat” on “Purging” the Democratic Party Ben Casselman for The New York Times:U.S. Economy Grew at 3.3% Rate in Latest Quarterand German Lopez:The End of Economic Pessimism? Jeff Stein for The Washington Post:As doomsday predictions dissipate, Biden aides savor booming economyandTrump promises to stop inflation. But would his plans actually help? Kyla Scanlon for Kyla’s Newsletter:The Vibecession: The Self-Fulfilling Prophecy Ben Harris and Aaron Sojourner for The Brookings Institution:Why are Americans so displeased with the economy? David Montgomery for YouGov:How’s the economy doing? For many Americans, the answer is how their party’s doing Punchbowl News AM:McConnell bows to Trump on border Karoun Demirjian for The New York Times:With Border Deal Near, Parole and Money Take Center Stage in Senate Talks Maria Sacchetti for The Washington Post:Explaining immigration parole, one sticking point in Ukraine aid-border deal Rafael Bernal and Al Weaver for The Hill:Parole: What to know about the GOP’s latest border sticking point David J. Bier for the Cato Institute:New Data Show Migrants Were More Likely to Be Released by Trump Than Biden Colleen Long for AP:Title 42 has ended. Here’s what it did, and how US immigration policy is changing Here are this week’s chatters: Emily: Yair Rosenberg for The Atlantic:What Did Top Israeli War Officials Really Say About Gaza?and Comics Kingdom:Sally Forth John: Tori Apodaca for CBS Sacramento:California writes cursive back into elementary school curriculumand Carmen Mayer, Stefanie Wallner, Nora Budde-Spengler, Sabrina Braunert, Petra A. Arndt, and Markus Kiefer in Frontiers in Psychology:Literacy Training of Kindergarten Children With Pencil, Keyboard or Tablet Stylus: The Influence of the Writing Tool on Reading and Writing Performance at the Letter and Word Level David: Erik Wemple for The Washington Post:At Gallery Place, it’s Ted Leonsis vs. one very loud street music act Listener chatter fromAnnie O’Connor in St. Paul, Minnesota:LockPickingLawyeron YouTube For this week’s Slate Plus bonus segment, David, John, and Emily discussEzra Klein’s piece in The New York Times:I Am Going to Miss Pitchfork, but That’s Only Half the Problem. SeeJudy Woodruff, Sarah Clune Hartman, and Frank Carlson for PBS:The connections between decline of local news and growing political division;Steven Waldman for The Atlantic:The Local-News Crisis Is Weirdly Easy to Solve; andPenelope Muse Abernathy for the Hussman School of Journalism and Media, University of North Carolina:The Expanding News Desert: Finding Solutions. See alsoPress Forward; Sara Fischer and Cuneyt Dil for Axios:Scoop: D.C. lawmakers to introduce new bill funding local news via vouchers; and theLaw & Justice Journalism Project. In the latestGabfest Reads, John talks with Brad Stulberg about his book,Master of Change: How to Excel When Everything Is Changing – Including You. Email your chatters, questions, and comments [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

On this month’s edition of Gabfest Reads, John Dickerson talks with author Brad Stulberg about his new book,Master of Change: How to Excel When Everything is Changing – Including You.They discuss how to make change itself a mindset, John’s notebooks, what we can learn from athletes, and more. Tweet us your questions@SlateGabfestor email us [email protected]. (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, John Dickerson re-joins Emily Bazelon and David Plotz to discuss the Republican presidential race, the Iowa caucuses, and the New Hampshire primary; theLoper BrightandRelentlesscases at the Supreme Court and the possible end ofChevrondeference; andThe Misguided War on the SATwithDavid Leonhardtof The New York Times. Here are some notes and references from this week’s show: Nate Cohn for The New York Times:Even the Battle for Second Turned Out Well for Trump in Iowa Ross Douthat for The New York Times:How Trump’s Opponents Made Iowa Easy for Him Amy Howe for SCOTUSblog:Supreme Court likely to discard Chevron;Supreme Court to hear major case on power of federal agencies; andSupreme Court curtails EPA’s authority to fight climate change Cornell Law School’s Legal information Institute:Administrative Procedure Act Jess Bravin for The Wall Street Journal:Conservatives Once Hailed This Case. Now They’re at the Supreme Court to Gut It. Ian Millhiser for Vox:The Supreme Court cases asking the justices to put themselves in charge of everything, explainedandA new Supreme Court case seeks to make the nine justices even more powerful David Leonhardt for The New York Times:The Misguided War on the SAT Ileana Najarro for EdWeek:The SAT Is Making a Comeback. Here’s a Look at the Numbers and What They Tell Us Raj Chetty, David J. Deming, and John Friedman for Opportunity Insights:Diversifying Society’s Leaders? The Determinants and Causal Effects of Admission to Highly Selective Private Colleges Here are this week’s chatters: Emily: The Ringer’s podcast “Stick the Landing” and Andy Greenwald and Mallory Rubin:Did ‘Friday Night Lights’ Stick the Landing? John: Richard Baldwin for VoxEU:China is the world’s sole manufacturing superpower: A line sketch of the rise;Moss and Fog:Tree.fm is Your Aural Escape Into Nature; andtree.fm David: Steve Lopez for the Los Angeles Times:They take care of aging adults, live in cramped quarters and make less than minimum wageand ZipRecruiter:assisted living jobs in Washington, DC Listener chatter fromKevin Collins in San Antonio, Texas:Historic Vidson X For this week’s Slate Plus bonus segment, David talks about his father, Dr. Paul Plotz. See Rachel Weller for The NIH Catalyst:Symposium Honors NIAM’s Paul Plotzand The New York Times:Judith A. Abrams Engaged to Wed Dr. Paul H. Plotz; Candidate for Ph.D. at Harvard Is Fiancee of Boston Interne. See also John G. Zinn for the Society for American Baseball Research:Ebbets Field (Brooklyn, NY);National Institutes of Health;Union of Concerned Scientists; andThe Two Cultures and The Scientific Revolutionby C. P. Snow. In the latestGabfest Reads, John talks with Christine Coulson about her book,One Woman Show: A Novel. Email your chatters, questions, and comments [email protected]. (Messages may be referenced by name unless the writer stipulates otherwise.) Podcast production by Cheyna Roth Research by Julie Huygen Hosts Emily Bazelon, John Dickerson, and David Plotz Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This week, Emily Bazelon and David Plotz are joined byJamelle Bouieof The New York Times to discuss the absence and silence of Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin, school absenteeism withAlec MacGillisof ProPublica, and Donald Trump’s claim of absolute presidential immunity. Here are some notes and references from this week’s show: Politico:Austin’s hospital debacle: A timeline of events Fred Kaplan for Slate:Why the Secretary of Defense’s Mysterious Disappearance Means He Needs to Go Max Boot for The Washington Post:Lloyd Austin doesn’t deserve to be the piñata of the day in Washington Major General Patrick S. Ryder, Department of Defense Press Secretary Alec MacGillis for ProPublica andThe New Yorker:Skipping School: America’s Hidden Education Crisis Jay Greene, Ph.D. and Jonathan Butcher for The Heritage Foundation:The Alarming Rise in Teacher Absenteeism Natalie Kitroeff and Adam Liptak for The New York Times Daily podcast:Trump’s Case for Total Immunity Bill Rankin and Katherine Landergan for The Atlanta Journal-Constitution:Could Willis allegations sink Trump case? Legal experts weigh in Mariana Alfaro and Amy B Wang for The Washington Post:Chris Christie caught on hot mic, says Nikki Haley will ‘get smoked’ Here are this week’s chatters: Emily:Past LivesandAnatomy of a Fall Jamelle:Fist of the Condor David:Amsterdam; EnglishLearning on reddit:Is there any English word that has three or more same and consecutive letters? Listener chatter fromErin Bumgarner in Arlington, Massachusetts:The Art of Noticingby Rob Walker For this week’s Slate Plus bonus segment, David, Emily, and Jamelle talk about which presidents should be on a new Mount Rushmore. See The White House Historical Association:The Presidents;John Quincy Adams;Ulysses S. Grant;Franklin D. Roosevelt;Dwight D. Eisenhower; andLyndon B. Johnson.See also National Park Service:Why These Four Presidents?; Mario Canseco for Research Co.:Americans Pick Four Presidents for “New Mount Rushmore”; Politico Magazine:Who Should Be on the Next Mount Rushmore?; and Chauncey Alcorn for Capital B:What to Do About Stone Mountain? Black Residents Talk Park’s Racist Past. In the latestGabfest Reads, John talks with Christine Coulson about her book,One Woman Show: A Novel. Email your chatters, questions, and comments [email protected]. (Messages may be referenced by name unless the writer stipulates otherwise.) Podcast production by Cheyna Roth Research by Julie Huygen Hosts Jamelle Bouie, Emily Bazelon, and David Plotz Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This week, Emily Bazelon, John Dickerson, and David Plotz begin the year discussing the 2024 presidential election; Harvard President Claudine Gay’s resignation; and the 2023 decrease in homicides. Here are some notes and references from this week’s show: Steve Peoples for AP:Biden and Trump are posed for a potential rematch that could shake American politics Rob Crilly for the Daily Mail:Voters describe their 2024 choice between a Trump second term and a Biden second term as a choice between REVENGE or NOTHING in Daily Mail poll Brianne Pfannenstiel for the Des Moines Register:Iowa Poll: Donald Trump holds overwhelming lead; Ron DeSantis edges ahead of Nikki Haley Claudine Gay in The New York Times:What Just Happened at Harvard Is Bigger Than Me The Crimson Editorial Board for The Harvard Crimson:President Gay Plagiarized, but She Should Stay. For Now. Ian Ward for Politico:We Sat Down With the Conservative Mastermind Behind Claudine Gay’s Ouster Jeremy Duda for Axios:ASU continues streak as U.S. News’ most innovative school David Goldman for CNN:The 4 key events that led to UPenn President Liz Magill’s resignation Jeff Asher for Jeff-alytics:Crime in 2023: Murder Plummeted, Violent and Property Crime Likely Fell Nationally Bill Hutchinson for ABC News:‘It is historic’: US poised to see record drop in yearly homicides despite public concern over crime Ken Dilanian for NBC News:Most people think the U.S. crime rate is rising. They’re wrong. Here are this week’s chatters: John: Library of Congress:Robert Cornelius, self-portrait; believed to be the earliest extant American portrait photo; National Gallery of Art:The Art of the American Snapshot, 1888-1978: From the Collection of Robert E. Jackson Emily: Ari Rabinovitch for Reuters:Israel’s Supreme Court strikes down disputed law that limited court oversight David: Brian Murphy for The Washington Post:Maureen Sweeney, weather watcher who influenced D-Day plans, dies at 100 Listener chatter fromEric in Tuckahoe, New York: Christophe Haubursin for Vox:What’s inside this crater in Madagascar? For this week’s Slate Plus bonus segment, David, John, and Emily talk about New Year’s resolutions and self-help.See also Matthew Solan for Harvard Health Publishing:Thinking of trying Dry January? Steps for success;James Clear:Atomic Habits Summary; Renée Onque for CNBC:This is a tried-and-true way to break a bad habit, says wellbeing coach—so we’re putting it to the test in 2024; and Chandra Steele for PCMag:Annoyed With Instagram? Take Control of Your Feed With These Tips and Tricks. In the latestGabfest Reads, John talks with Christine Coulson about her book,One Woman Show: A Novel. Email your chatters, questions, and comments [email protected]. (Messages may be referenced by name unless the writer stipulates otherwise.) Podcast production by Cheyna Roth Research by Julie Huygen Hosts Emily Bazelon, John Dickerson, and David Plotz Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This week, Emily Bazelon and David Plotz are joined byWesley Morris, critic at large for The New York Times and co-host of theStill Processingpodcast, to cogitate on Conundrums 2023. Here are some notes and references from this week’s show: Thanks to everyone who submitted Conundrums, especially Alex, Brian, Mitchell Kosht, Patricia Gonzalez, Kali Rocha, Becca Nagorsky, Kevin Maginnis, Kevin Collins, Beth Kirsch, Brian Cechnicki, Chuck Terhark, Howard W, Brian, Mike Daugherty, Alan Dybner, Tim Falzone, Matthew Gill, Cynthia Weiner, and the incomparable Phil Goldstein. Benjamin Wittes for Dog Shit Daily:My encounter with a shit-throwing neighborhood Karen Jon Mendelsohn for American Songwriter:The Real Reason Why Van Halen Asked Venues For Bowls of M&Ms Containing ‘No Brown Ones’ The Sellout: A Novelby Paul Beatty Working: People Talk About What They Do All Day and How They Feel About What They Doby Studs Terkel Richard Scarry’s What Do People Do All Day?by Richard Scarry In Love: A Memoir of Love and Lossby Amy Bloom Amy Bloom for This American Life:Exit Strategy Gabfest Reads:He Wanted to Die Holding Hands For this week’s Slate Plus bonus segment, David, Emily, and Wesley tackle three more Conundrums. In the latestGabfest Reads, John talks with Brad Stulberg aboutMaster of Change: How to Excel When Everything Is Changing – Including You. Email your chatters, questions, and comments [email protected]. (Messages may be referenced by name unless the writer stipulates otherwise.) Podcast production by Jared Downing and Cheyna Roth with live show support from Katie Rayford Research by Julie Huygen Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

John Dickersontalks with author Christine Coulson about her new book, “One Woman Show.” They discuss the moment that inspired Coulson to tell a story in museum wall labels, her 25-years working at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York, and why restraint can be an artist’s best friend. Tweet us your questions@SlateGabfestor email us [email protected]. (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