Political Gabfest

Slate Podcasts

An informal and irreverent look at the week's political news.

  • 39 minutes 13 seconds
    Gabfest Reads | The Day the Challenger Fell From the Sky

    David Plotz talks with author Adam Higginbotham about his new book, Challenger: A True Story of Heroism and Disaster on the Edge of Space. They discuss the feats of engineering that took place, the political cynicism and cost-cutting that played a role in the tragedy, the heroism and tragic loss of the people on board the shuttle, and more.   


    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

    15 March 2025, 7:00 am
  • 1 hour 10 minutes
    What Happens When Government Breaks

    This week, John Dickerson and David Plotz are joined by Juliette Kayyem to discuss how Elon Musk and DOGE are endangering Americans; the Trump administration’s attacks on universities and the arrest of Palestinian activist Mahmoud Khalil; and the politics of the measles outbreak centered on West Texas.


    For this week’s Slate Plus bonus episode, John and David are joined by Juliette Kayyem to discuss taking your kids to work: great, weird, terrible, or all of the above?

     

    In the latest Gabfest Reads, Emily talks with author Rich Benjamin about his new book, Talk to Me: Lessons From a Family Forged by History.

     

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

     

    Research by Emily Ditto

     

    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.

    Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

    13 March 2025, 8:00 pm
  • 1 hour 7 minutes
    Trump’s Display of Dominance

    This week, Emily Bazelon, John Dickerson, and David Plotz discuss President Trump’s authoritarian address to Congress and whipsawing on tariffs; the outright betrayal of Ukraine and alliance with Russia on naked display in the Oval Office; and the ways the Covid pandemic caused and accelerated change in America.

    For this week’s Slate Plus bonus episode, Emily, John, and David discuss Andrew Cuomo, the NYC mayoral race, and its relevance to national politics.

     

    In the latest Gabfest Reads, Emily talks with author Rich Benjamin about his new book, Talk to Me: Lessons From a Family Forged by History.

     

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

     Research by Emily Ditto

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    6 March 2025, 9:00 pm
  • 1 hour 14 minutes
    So Europe is Our Enemy Now?

    This week, Emily Bazelon, John Dickerson, and David Plotz discuss the future of the transatlantic alliance and Ukraine in the wake of the UN resolution votes with Zanny Minton Beddoes, editor-in-chief of The Economist; the House GOP’s budget resolution and the reconciliation process; and the Trump administration’s increasingly aggressive moves against the press. 


    For this week’s Slate Plus bonus episode, Emily, John, and David discuss recent legal developments around two death penalty cases in Texas.

     

    In the latest Gabfest Reads, Emily talks with author Rich Benjamin about his new book, Talk to Me: Lessons From a Family Forged by History.

     

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

     

    Podcast production by Cheyna Roth 

    Research by Emily Ditto

    Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

    27 February 2025, 9:15 pm
  • 1 hour 10 minutes
    The “Justice Department is Dire“

    This week, Emily Bazelon, John Dickerson, and David Plotz discuss the apparent corrupt bargain involving NYC mayor Eric Adams and the bonfire of Justice Department resignations; what could possibly go wrong when Musk and DOGE access the IRS and Social Security; and talk to Marc Dunkelman about his new book Why Nothing Works: Who Killed Progress – and How to Bring it Back


    For this week’s Slate Plus bonus episode, Emily, John, and David discuss whether the human body could endure a voyage to Mars and if space really is our destiny as humans.


    In the latest Gabfest Reads, Emily talks with author Rich Benjamin about his new book, Talk to Me: Lessons From a Family Forged by History.


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


    Podcast production by Kevin Bendis


    Research by Emily Ditto

    Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

    20 February 2025, 11:40 pm
  • 36 minutes 41 seconds
    Gabfest Reads | A Former Haitian President’s Grandson Lives the Modern Immigrant Experience

    Emily Bazelon talks with author Rich Benjamin about his new book, Talk to Me: Lessons From a Family Forged by History. They delve into Rich’s complex family history— particularly the experiences of his grandfather, Daniel Fignolé. Fignolé was the president of Hatti in 1957 before being ousted by a coup that involved American influence. Rich and Emily discuss how the political upheaval had a lasting impact on Rich and his family, the immigrant experience of “internalizing America” and the lasting scars of trauma.   


    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

    15 February 2025, 8:00 am
  • 1 hour 10 minutes
    Trump vs. The Judges

    This week, Emily Bazelon, John Dickerson, and David Plotz discuss the constitutional crisis developing between President Trump and the courts, the attack on NIH and overhead funding, and political sorting among American workplaces.

    For this week’s Slate Plus bonus episode, Emily, John, and David discuss their recent favorite TV shows, focusing on HBO’s Somebody Somewhere and its relevance to contemporary American experiences.

     

    In the latest Gabfest Reads, Emily talks with Yael van der Wouden about her novel, The Safekeep.

     

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

     

    Research by Emily Ditto

     

    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.

    Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

    13 February 2025, 9:20 pm
  • 1 hour 11 minutes
    Elon Musk’s DOGE Rampage

    This week, Emily Bazelon, John Dickerson, and David Plotz discuss Elon Musk’s speedy assault on federal agencies, talk to guest David Leonhardt about the widening gap between US prosperity and quality of life, and discuss recent aggressive immigration efforts by states.

    For this week’s Slate Plus bonus episode, Emily, John, and David discuss the New York doctor recently indicted in Louisiana for sending abortion pills there, and the complexities of abortion shield laws.

     

    In the latest Gabfest Reads, Emily talks with Yael van der Wouden about her novel, The Safekeep.

     

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

    Research by Emily Ditto

     

    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.

    Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

    6 February 2025, 9:20 pm
  • 1 hour 18 minutes
    Elon Musk’s Fork in the Road

    This week, Emily Bazelon, John Dickerson, and David Plotz discuss the chaos and coming fight around impoundment of federal grants; the surprise market shakeup around AI and DeepSeek; and talk with Jonathan Rauch about his new book out next week entitled Cross Purposes: Christianity’s Broken Bargain with Democracy.

    For this week’s Slate Plus Episode, Emily, John, and David discuss new data from the 2024 NAEP Reading and Mathematics Assessments and the collapse of student test scores in the US.

     

    In the latest Gabfest Reads, Emily talks with Yael van der Wouden about her novel, The Safekeep

     

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

     

    Research by Emily Ditto

     

    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.

    Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

    30 January 2025, 9:55 pm
  • 1 hour 14 minutes
    This Time Trump Knows What He’s Doing

    This week, Emily Bazelon, John Dickerson, and David Plotz discuss President Trump’s flurry of executive orders on the federal workforce and immigration; the sweeping January 6 pardons; and the overtly symbolic elements of Trump’s second presidential inauguration.

    For this week’s Slate Plus bonus segment, Emily and David go behind the scenes with John to discuss his new post as co-anchor for the CBS Evening News.

     

    In the latest Gabfest Reads, Emily talks with Yael van der Wouden about her novel, The Safekeep

     

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

    Research by Julie Huygen and Emily Ditto

     

    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.

    Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

    23 January 2025, 9:00 pm
  • 33 minutes 54 seconds
    Gabfest Reads | Finding Connection in the Aftermath of History’s Horrors

    Emily Bazelon talks with author Yael van der Wouden about her debut novel, The Safekeep. They discuss why Yael chose a queer love story, how Yael’s own Dutch and Jewish heritage influenced her writing, the history of dispossession after World War II, and more. 


    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

    18 January 2025, 8:00 am
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