This week, Emily Bazelon, John Dickerson, and David Plotz discuss the imminent X Date when the United States hits the debt ceiling and could default; the presidential campaign announcements of Ron DeSantis and Tim Scott; and the possibilities of regulating artificial intelligence.    Here are some notes and references from this week’s show: Ezra Klein for The New York Times: “Liberals Are Persuading Themselves of a Debt Ceiling Plan That Won’t Work” J. Baxter Oliphant for Pew Research Center: “Top tax frustrations for Americans: The feeling that some corporations, wealthy people don’t pay fair share” John Dickerson for CBS News Prime Time: “Former Google executive speaks out against AI”  Emily Conover for Science News Explores: “A new supercomputer just set a world record for speed”   Here are this week’s chatters: John: Oliver Whang for The New York Times: “A Paralyzed Man Can Walk Naturally Again With Brain and Spine Implants”; Henri Lorach, et al., for Nature: “Walking naturally after spinal cord injury using a brain-spine interface” Emily: Charlotte Lytton for The Washington Post: “Long-hidden ruins of vast network of Maya cities could recast history” David: NatureSweet Twilights tomato; join David at a live taping of City Cast DC on Saturday June 3 at 1 p.m., Right Proper Brewing's Brookland production house and tasting room. Tickets are free. RSVP here.    Listener chatter from Bob Rosner: Inti Pacheco for The Wall Street Journal: “The Monks Who Make Chartreuse Don’t Care About Your Fancy Cocktails”   For this week’s Slate Plus bonus segment, David, Emily, and John discuss Harlan Crow’s collections and Graeme Wood’s article in The Atlantic: “Inside the Garden of Evil.”    In the latest edition of Gabfest Reads, Emily talks with Curtis Sittenfeld @csittenfeld about her book, Romantic Comedy.   Join us for a live taping! Political Gabfest Live in Washington, D.C., Wednesday June 28, 7:30 p.m., Sixth & I, 600 I St. NW. Tickets are on sale now.    Email your chatters, questions, and comments to [email protected] or Tweet us @SlateGabfest. (Messages may be quoted 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 John Durham report on the FBI investigation of the 2016 Trump campaign; the mifepristone case heard by the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals and the 12-week abortion ban in North Carolina; and the legal showdown between Florida Governor Ron DeSantis and Disney.    Here are some notes and references from this week’s show: David Frum for The Atlantic: “A Sinister Flop: Special Counsel John Durham served up not an investigation, but an excuse for future partisan abuses.” Emily Bazelon for The New York Times: “How a 150-Year-Old Law Against Lewdness Became a Key to the Abortion Fight” Debra Michals for the National Women’s History Museum: “Margaret Sanger  Stephen Neukam for The Hill: “Rick Scott on Disney-DeSantis feud: ‘Cooler heads have to prevail’” Will Saletan for The Bulwark: “The Corruption of Lindsey Graham: A case study in the rise of authoritarianism.”   Here are this week’s chatters: John: Rebecca Morelle and Alison Francis for BBC News: “Titanic: First ever full-sized scans reveal wreck as never seen before”; Lilit Marcus and Sania Farooqui for CNN: “Sherpa breaks record with 27th Mount Everest summit” Emily: Divide Me By Zero by Lara Vapnyar  David: The Wager: A Tale of Shipwreck, Mutiny and Murder by David Grann; join David at a live taping of City Cast DC on Saturday June 3 at 1 p.m., Right Proper Brewing's Brookland production house and tasting room. Tickets are free. RSVP here.    Listener chatter from Jon: “Trappisten verlassen Abtei Engelszell” [Trappists leave Engelszell Abbey]   For this week’s Slate Plus bonus segment, David, Emily, and John discuss with The Bulwark’s Will Saletan @saletan his book, “The Corruption of Lindsey Graham: A case study in the rise of authoritarianism.”   In the latest edition of Gabfest Reads, Emily talks with Curtis Sittenfeld @csittenfeld about her book, Romantic Comedy.   Join us for a live taping! Political Gabfest Live in Washington, D.C., Wednesday June 28, 7:30 p.m., Sixth & I, 600 I St. NW. Tickets are on sale now.    Email your chatters, questions, and comments to [email protected] or Tweet us @SlateGabfest. (Messages may be quoted 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 $5 million jury verdict for E. Jean Carroll and against Donald Trump; joined by New York Times Mexico bureau chief Natalie Kitroeff @Nataliekitro, the end of Title 42 and the flow of migrants at the border; and the looming crisis of raise the debt ceiling or default.  Here are some notes and references from this week’s show: Kara Scannell, Dan Berman, and Nicki Brown for CNN: “Key moments from the video of Trump’s deposition in E. Jean Carroll trial released to the public” Isaac Arnsdorf, Josh Dawsey, and Marianne LeVine for The Washington Post: “Sexual abuse verdict renews Republican doubts about Trump’s electability” Natalie Kitroeff and Julie Turkewitz for The New York Times: “What’s Driving Record Levels of Migration to the U.S. Border?” Natalie Kitroeff, Christine Zhang, Miriam Jordan, and Eileen Sullivan for The New York Times: “Who Gets In? A Guide to America’s Chaotic Border Rules.” John Dickerson and Jeff Stein for CBS News Prime Time: “14th Amendment and debt ceiling connection explained” Here are this week’s chatters: Emily: Pam Belluck for The New York Times: “F.D.A. Advisers Say Benefits of Over-the-Counter Birth Control Pill” John: Ray A. Smith for The Wall Street Journal: “Workers Now Spend Two Full Days a Week on Email and in Meetings” David: “Exploring a Secret Fort” with David through airbnb; Museo Nacional de Antropología, Mexico City, Mexico Listener chatter from Eric: Ironic Sans on YouTube: “The Most Remade Movie in History” For this week’s Slate Plus bonus segment, David, Emily, and John discuss a listener’s moral dilemma: continue to teach in the LGBTQ-supportive learning environment of an arts high school or change jobs and teach in a parochial school.  In Gabfest Reads, Emily talks with Curtis Sittenfeld @csittenfeld about her latest book, Romantic Comedy. Mark your calendars for the return of Political Gabfest Live! Wednesday, June 28 in Washington, D.C. Further information coming soon…  Email your questions and chatters to [email protected] or Tweet us @SlateGabfest. (Messages may be quoted by name unless the writer stipulates otherwise.) Podcast production by Jared Downing and Cheyna Roth  Research by Julie Huygen Hosts Emily Bazelon, John Dickerson, and David Plotz Make an impact this Asian American & Pacific Islander Heritage Month by helping Macy’s on their mission to fund APIA Scholars. Go to macys.com/purpose to learn more. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Emily Bazelon talks with author author Curtis Sittenfeld about her new book Romantic Comedy.    They discuss why ordinary guys get to be with famous women, but usually not the other way around, the fun of writing a fictional version of Saturday Night Live, and how to write witty email exchanges.   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. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This week, Emily Bazelon, John Dickerson, and the New York Times’s Jamelle Bouie @jbouie discuss the battle between President Joe Biden and Speaker Kevin McCarthy on raising the debt ceiling; the courtroom drama of E. Jean Carroll v. Donald J. Trump; and the power of Republican supermajorities in state legislatures.    Here are some notes and references from this week’s show: Nick Mourtoupalas and Derek Hawkins for The Washington Post: “Washington is running out of workdays to strike a debt ceiling deal”  Jacob Bogage for The Washington Post: “Debt ceiling showdown: 5 possible outcomes” Fourteenth Amendment to the Constitution of the United States Lola Fadulu for The New York Times: “In Trump Trial, a Lawyer Pushes, and E. Jean Carroll Pushes Right Back” Jamelle Bouie for The New York Times: “A Sinister New Page in the Republican Playbook” and “Republicans Did Something Most People Don’t Like, So They’re Changing the Rules” Article IV, Section 4 of the Constitution of the United States Movement Advancement Project: “Snapshot: Democracy Ratings By State” Michael Waldman for the Brennan Center for Justice: “The Great Resignation … Of Election Officials” James Madison: “Federalist No. 10”    Here are this week’s chatters: Jamelle: the films of Seijun Suzuki, including Tokyo Drifter and Branded to Kill John: using ChatGPT to simplify text, such as statements by the Federal Reserve and George Washington’s farewell address Emily: Eleanor Klibanoff for The Texas Tribune: “Three Texas women are sued for wrongful death after allegedly helping friend obtain abortion medication” and “Women accused of facilitating abortion in Galveston wrongful-death lawsuit file countersuit”   Listener chatter from Ted Hogeman: Community Media Center, Institute for Contemporary Art, Virginia Commonwealth University   For this week’s Slate Plus bonus segment, Jamelle, John, and Emily discuss cooking, including roast chicken with bread, Jubilee: Recipes from Two Centuries of African American Cooking by Toni Tipton-Martin, broccoli and cauliflower salad with curried dressing, broccoli salad with peanuts and tahini-lime dressing, and Soom tahini.   In the next Gabfest Reads, Emily talks with Curtis Sittenfeld @csittenfeld about her latest book, Romantic Comedy.   Email your questions and chatters to [email protected] or Tweet us @SlateGabfest. (Messages may be quoted by name unless the writer stipulates otherwise.)   Podcast production by Cheyna Roth  Research by Julie Huygen Make an impact this Asian American & Pacific Islander Heritage Month by helping Macy’s on their mission to fund APIA Scholars. Go to macys.com/purpose to learn more. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices