Political Gabfest

This week, Emily Bazelon, John Dickerson, and David Plotz discuss how a narrow Supreme Court majority used aesthetic standing to greenlight Trump's ballroom construction, why bond yields are rising around the world and how that impacts everyone with guest Jason Furman, and how the extradition showdown between Texas and Minnesota over an ICE officer involved in a shooting betrays fraying relations among the states.

Here are this week’s chatters:

Emily: Does Cutting Flower Stems Underwater Really Help?; Rachel Feltman for The Washington Post: How to keep fresh cut flowers from dying (with science)

John: Crime and Punishment by Fyodor Dostoevsky; Line of Duty on Rotten Tomatoes; The Economist: What Democrats—and Republicans—can learn from Raphael Warnock; Lia Picard for Huffpost: The Hidden Health Benefits Of Eating Leftovers For Breakfast

David: Simon Ducroquet and John Ismay for The New York Times: The Logistics Nightmare Facing U.S. Warships; The Last Ship on Netflix

Listener chatter from Daniela Koontz in Houston, Texas: Anthropeum

For this week’s Slate Plus bonus episode, Emily, John, and David discuss Army secretary Dan Driscoll's resignation as the latest high-level Army official to run afoul of Pete Hegseth, whether Hegseth is capable of leading the military through a moment of real strain, and the increasing leaks from inside the Pentagon.

In the latest Gabfest Reads, David Plotz talks with John Lanchester about his new novel, Look What You Made Me Do, a darkly funny psychological thriller about two couples in modern-day London whose lives collide in a story of infidelity, obsession, and revenge. The book explores the performance of niceness, class, intergenerational frictions and how technology makes vengeance not just possible but almost exceedingly easy in the modern age.

Email your chatters, questions, and comments to gabfest@slate.com. (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.

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

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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This week, John Dickerson, David Plotz, and guest host Juliette Kayyem discuss this week's Supreme Court ruling allowing the Trump administration to move forward for now with his order restricting mail-in voting, the likely effects of trade wars with Canada and Iran, and what we humans can do about safety as A.I. models rapidly get more sophisticated and autonomous.

For this week’s Slate Plus bonus episode, John, David, and guest host Juliette Kayyem discuss the newest drama enveloping semi-royals Prince Harry and Meghan after they announced an impending move back to the UK.

In the latest Gabfest Reads, David Plotz talks with John Lanchester about his new novel, Look What You Made Me Do, a darkly funny psychological thriller about two couples in modern-day London whose lives collide in a story of infidelity, obsession, and revenge. The book explores the performance of niceness, class, intergenerational frictions and how technology makes vengeance not just possible but almost exceedingly easy in the modern age.

Email your chatters, questions, and comments to gabfest@slate.com. (Messages may be referenced by name unless the writer stipulates otherwise.)

Podcast production by Kevin Bendis

Research by Emily Ditto

You can find the full Political Gabfest show pages here.

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

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

Need to set up your Slate Plus feed? If you subscribed through Slate.com, check out our FAQ at slate.com/podcastfaqs for easy instructions. Members subscribed via Apple Podcasts get automatic access—no setup required.
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week, Emily Bazelon, John Dickerson, and David Plotz answer listeners' questions of all kinds: the political, the personal, and everything in-between.

Many thanks to all question contributors: Daniel, Karen, Kelly, Jason, Phoebe, Phil, Alex, Adrian, and Dale!

For this week’s Slate Plus bonus episode, Emily, John, and David answer a few more listener questions, just to tide you over until after a quick break.

In the latest Gabfest Reads, David Plotz talks with John Lanchester about his new novel, Look What You Made Me Do, a darkly funny psychological thriller about two couples in modern-day London whose lives collide in a story of infidelity, obsession, and revenge. The book explores the performance of niceness, class, intergenerational frictions and how technology makes vengeance not just possible but almost exceedingly easy in the modern age.

Email your chatters, questions, and comments to gabfest@slate.com. (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.

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

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

Follow
@SlateGabfest on X / https://twitter.com/SlateGabfest
Slate Political Gabfest on Facebook / https://www.facebook.com/Gabfest/

Need to set up your Slate Plus feed? If you subscribed through Slate.com, check out our FAQ at slate.com/podcastfaqs for easy instructions. Members subscribed via Apple Podcasts get automatic access—no setup required.
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

David Plotz interviews John Lanchester about his new novel Look What You Made Me Do, a darkly funny psychological thriller about two couples in modern-day London whose lives collide in a story of infidelity, obsession, and revenge. The book explores the performance of niceness, class, intergenerational frictions and how technology makes vengeance not just possible but almost exceedingly easy in the modern age. The novel's real pleasure lies in its voice and humor, including a legendary dinner party scene where a character launches into a scathing riff on the ubiquity of Yotam Ottolenghi's cooking in contemporary British life. The result is simultaneously a thriller, a comedy, and a dark meditation on niceness in an age when everyone is watching everyone else.

Tweet us your questions @SlateGabfest or email us at gabfest@slate.com. (Messages could be quoted by name unless the writer stipulates otherwise.)

Podcast production by Nina Porzucki.

Need to set up your Slate Plus feed? If you subscribed through Slate.com, check out our FAQ at slate.com/podcastfaqs for easy instructions. Members subscribed via Apple Podcasts get automatic access—no setup required.
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week, Emily Bazelon, David Plotz, and guest host Juliette Kayyem discuss the security calculations behind Trump’s plane switch operation; the White House’s attempts to circumvent Supreme Court rulings in its continued obsession with ‘birth tourism’; and whether ‘burritogate’ reveals the extent of today’s economic anxiety or that young Americans simply aren’t learning to cook anymore.

For this week’s Slate Plus bonus episode, Emily, David, and guest host Juliette Kayyem discuss whether the benefits of the Flock surveillance network are worth its tradeoffs. Flock cameras help police solve crimes, but cases of officers abusing their access to the technology for stalking raise concerns about privacy violations.

In the latest Gabfest Reads, John Dickerson interviews Maggie Haberman and Jonathan Swan about their new book Regime Change: Inside the Imperial Presidency of Donald Trump. Drawing on extensive reporting from inside the White House, they explore how Trump’s second term differs radically from his first, from his decision-making process to the people surrounding him and his relationship with power, money, and the presidency itself.

Email your chatters, questions, and comments to gabfest@slate.com. (Messages may be referenced by name unless the writer stipulates otherwise.)

Podcast production by Jay Cockburn

Research by Nora Moses

You can find the full Political Gabfest show pages here.

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

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

Follow
@SlateGabfest on X / https://twitter.com/SlateGabfest
Slate Political Gabfest on Facebook / https://www.facebook.com/Gabfest/

Need to set up your Slate Plus feed? If you subscribed through Slate.com, check out our FAQ at slate.com/podcastfaqs for easy instructions. Members subscribed via Apple Podcasts get automatic access—no setup required.
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.