Höre Political Gabfest

This week, Emily Bazelon and David Plotz are joined by Henry Blodget [https://henryblodget.com/about] to discuss the financial and political fallout from the President’s threats to fire Fed Chair Powell and subsequent retreat; a Supreme Court case over free exercise of religion that could have broad implications; and why Trump stands by Hegseth after Signalgate Part 2. For this week’s Slate Plus bonus episode, Emily and David are joined by Henry Blodget [https://henryblodget.com/about] to discuss the weird and somewhat terrifying AI experiment he conducted for his Substack Regenerator [https://www.regenerator1.com/].   In the latest Gabfest Reads [https://slate.com/podcasts/gabfestreads], John talks with author Maggie Smith [https://maggiesmithpoet.com/bio/] about her new book, Dear Writer: Pep Talks & Practical Advice for the Creative Life [https://www.amazon.com/Dear-Writer-Practical-Advice-Creative/dp/1982170840/tag=slatmaga-20].   Email your chatters, questions, and comments to gabfest@slate.com [gabfest@slate.com]. (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  [https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/political-gabfest/id158004641]and Spotify [https://open.spotify.com/show/2oXS9kkKiXdkkCYB3YfqYZ]. Or visit slate.com/gabfestplus [http://slate.com/gabfestplus] to get access wherever you listen. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices [https://megaphone.fm/adchoices]

John Dickerson talks with author Maggie Smith about her new book, Dear Writer: Pep Talks & Practical Advice for the Creative Life [https://bookshop.org/p/books/dear-writer-pep-talks-practical-advice-for-the-creative-life-maggie-smith/21525857?ean=9781982170844&next=t].  They talk about the essential elements of all creative projects, when you know a project is “done”, how to stay “porous” in the world, and more.  Tweet us your questions @SlateGabfest [https://twitter.com/slategabfest?lang=en] or email us at gabfest@slate.com [gabfest@slate.com]. (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 [https://megaphone.fm/adchoices]

This week, Emily Bazelon, John Dickerson, and David Plotz discuss the Trump administration’s ramped up attacks on Harvard and international students, the courts flirting with findings of contempt after the administration ignores and mocks court orders, and the ways the Trump tariffs and exemptions invite corruption and “swampiness.” For this week’s Slate Plus bonus episode, Emily, John, and David discuss the implications of the White House cutting the wire services seat from the press pool to explicitly punish the Associated Press.   In the latest Gabfest Reads [https://slate.com/podcasts/gabfestreads], David talks with author Adam Higginbotham [https://www.simonandschuster.com/authors/Adam-Higginbotham/562760918] about his new book, Challenger: A True Story of Heroism and Disaster on the Edge of Space [https://www.simonandschuster.com/books/Challenger/Adam-Higginbotham/9781982176617].   Email your chatters, questions, and comments to gabfest@slate.com [gabfest@slate.com]. (Messages may be referenced by name unless the writer stipulates otherwise.)   Research by Emily Ditto Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices [https://megaphone.fm/adchoices]

This week, Emily Bazelon, John Dickerson, and David Plotz discuss the self-inflicted chaos of Trump’s tariffs and an escalating trade war with China; the Supreme Court’s careful responses to deportations without due process which leave key questions unanswered; and the brazen attempted heist of a North Carolina Supreme Court seat by Republicans. Emily: Adam Cancryn and Maggie Miller for Politico: Trump orders investigation of two first-term administration aides who criticized him [https://www.politico.com/news/2025/04/09/donald-trump-retribution-miles-taylor-00007512] John: Blue Mass (Wikipedia) [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blue_mass]; National Museum of American History: Blue Mass Compound, Sugar-coated Pills [https://americanhistory.si.edu/collections/object/nmah_734354]; Wallace B. Mendelson for Psychology Today: Heavy Metal Blues: The History of Medicinal Mercury [https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/psychiatry-a-history/202304/heavy-metal-blues-the-history-of-medicinal-mercury]; Everything Is Tuberculosis [https://www.amazon.com/Everything-Tuberculosis-Signed-Persistence-Deadliest/dp/0525426051/tag=slatmaga-20] by John Green; Alka Agrawal for Science: All the President’s Pills [https://www.science.org/content/article/all-presidents-pills]. David: Sage McHugh for The Spruce: The 7 Best Moth Repellents the Spruce Has Tested [https://www.thespruce.com/best-moth-repellents-4157574?utm_medium=con&displayPrice=no&utm_source=googlepaid&utm_medium=con&utm_content=Cj0KCQjw2N2_BhCAARIsAK4pEkVnVQr0_JbCuVu0ujZ5fMOP6sgpvVpzH1lnTGFP0bRA5zAIdqShzNAaAuBmEALw_wcB&utm_campaign=commerce-dd-MothRepellents_TheSpruce_Combined_CommSEM_OrganicLP-4157574&utm_term=moth%2520killer%2520repellent&utm_test=&gad_source=1&gbraid=0AAAAACeazfAV6s3WY7EqDZryj360EFSyE&gclid=Cj0KCQjw2N2_BhCAARIsAK4pEkVnVQr0_JbCuVu0ujZ5fMOP6sgpvVpzH1lnTGFP0bRA5zAIdqShzNAaAuBmEALw_wcB]; Sophie Yarin for The Brink: Pioneering Research from Boston University: Elevating the Clothes-Eating Moth from Pest to Evolutionary Marvel [https://www.bu.edu/articles/2023/how-clothes-eating-moths-could-benefit-the-environment/#:~:text=If%2520you%2520live%2520in%2520an,probably%2520prefer%2520to%2520store%2520clothes.]; Chris Obenschain for HowStuffWorks: What To Do If You Inherit An Old Car [https://lifestyle.howstuffworks.com/family/heirlooms/inherit-old-car.htm] Listener chatter from Tim in Solana Beach, California: Jack Dolan for the L.A. Times: As baby great whites cruise among California surfers, science finds (almost) nothing to fear [https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2025-03-14/baby-great-white-sharks-cruise-california-surfers]; Video [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FRzyNcsQ4AY] (3:15), L.A. Times on YouTube For this week’s Slate Plus bonus episode, Emily, John, and David discuss favorite artworks they turn to for solace and perspective when chaos and tumult dominates the news. In the latest Gabfest Reads [https://slate.com/podcasts/gabfestreads], David talks with author Adam Higginbotham [https://www.simonandschuster.com/authors/Adam-Higginbotham/562760918] about his new book, Challenger: A True Story of Heroism and Disaster on the Edge of Space [https://www.simonandschuster.com/books/Challenger/Adam-Higginbotham/9781982176617]. 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 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 [https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/political-gabfest/id158004641]and Spotify [https://open.spotify.com/show/2oXS9kkKiXdkkCYB3YfqYZ]. Or visit slate.com/gabfestplus [http://slate.com/gabfestplus] to get access wherever you listen. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices [https://megaphone.fm/adchoices]

This week, Emily Bazelon, John Dickerson, and David Plotz discuss liberal judge Susan Crawford’s sweeping victory in the Wisconsin Supreme Court race; Trump’s new, nearly universal massive tariffs; and the dangerously casual standards the government is using to deport alleged gang members despite acknowledged mistakes. Here are this week’s chatters: Emily: Stephanie Nolen for the New York Times: Millions of Women Will Lose Access to Contraception as a Result of Trump Aid Cuts [https://www.nytimes.com/2025/04/01/health/usaid-contraception-cuts.html]. John: Arthur Delaney for HuffPost: Emails Confirm Social Security Administration Canceled Maine Contracts As Political Payback [https://www.huffpost.com/entry/janet-mills-social-security-maine-leland-dudek_n_67ed2d99e4b0b937ab8f135c]; Fatima Hussein and Patrick Whittle for the Associated Press: Social Security’s acting leader faces calls to resign over decision to cut Maine contracts [https://apnews.com/article/social-security-benefits-retirement-trump-mills-transgender-100540d59a1a8a2c919397ce047e5a75]. Bodkin [https://www.netflix.com/title/81423482] on Netflix. David: Book Challenger: A True Story of Heroism and Disaster on the Edge of Space [https://www.simonandschuster.com/books/Challenger/Adam-Higginbotham/9781982176617], by author Adam Higginbotham [https://www.simonandschuster.com/authors/Adam-Higginbotham/562760918]; Movie The Intern with Robert De Niro and Anne Hathaway (official trailer on YouTube: The Intern [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZU3Xban0Y6A]); book Emma by Jane Austen (Emma ebook [https://www.gutenberg.org/files/158/158-h/158-h.htm] at Project Gutenberg; Emma at Jane Austen’s House [https://janeaustens.house/jane-austen/novels/emma/]). Listener chatter from Emma in Lebanon, New Hampshire: Vermont’s ‘Mr. Maple’ Has Great Stories To Tell [https://www.ourherald.com/articles/vermonts-mr-maple-has-great-stories-to-tell/] For this week’s Slate Plus bonus episode, Emily talks with Annie Karni and Luke Broadwater about their new book, Mad House: How Donald Trump, MAGA Mean Girls, A Former Used Car Salesman, A Florida Nepo Baby, and a Man With Rats In His Walls Broke Congress [https://www.amazon.com/Mad-House-Salesman-Florida-Congress/dp/0593731263/tag=slatmaga-20]. In the latest Gabfest Reads [https://slate.com/podcasts/gabfestreads], David talks with author Adam Higginbotham [https://www.simonandschuster.com/authors/Adam-Higginbotham/562760918] about his new book, Challenger: A True Story of Heroism and Disaster on the Edge of Space [https://www.simonandschuster.com/books/Challenger/Adam-Higginbotham/9781982176617]. 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 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 [https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/political-gabfest/id158004641]and Spotify [https://open.spotify.com/show/2oXS9kkKiXdkkCYB3YfqYZ]. Or visit slate.com/gabfestplus [http://slate.com/gabfestplus] to get access wherever you listen. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices [https://megaphone.fm/adchoices]