Political Gabfest

Civilizational Erasure

This week, Emily Bazelon, John Dickerson, and David Plotz discuss what will happen as the Supreme Court considers whether a president can remove leaders of independent agencies without cause, how the overt signals about immigration and “erasure” in the new National Security Strategy are meant to stir up cultural anxiety in Europe, and the high-stakes merger drama between Netflix, Paramount, and Warner Bros. with guest Tim Wu [https://www.law.columbia.edu/faculty/timothy-wu], professor at Columbia Law School and author of the new book The Age of Extraction: How Tech Platforms Conquered the Economy and Threaten Our Future Prosperity [https://www.amazon.com/Age-Extraction-Platforms-Conquered-Prosperity/dp/0593321243/tag=slatmaga-20]. For this week’s Slate Plus bonus episode, Emily, John, and David discuss a Consumer Reports and Groundwork Collective investigation that found Instacart quoting massive price differences for the same products, which they claim result from AI-enabled pricing experiments.   In the latest Gabfest Reads [https://slate.com/podcasts/gabfestreads], John talks with journalist and author Andrew Ross Sorkin about his new book, 1929: Inside the Greatest Crash in Wall Street History and How It Shattered a Nation [https://www.amazon.com/1929-Inside-Greatest-History-Shattered/dp/0593949242/tag=slatmaga-20]— the story of speculation, debt, and the human drives that fueled the Wall Street crash that changed everything.   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 [https://slate.com/podcasts/political-gabfest].   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. Find out more about David Plotz's monthly tours of Ft. DeRussy, [http://secretfortdc.com/] the secret Civil War fort hidden in Rock Creek Park.     Follow @SlateGabfest on X / https://twitter.com/SlateGabfest [https://twitter.com/SlateGabfest]Slate Political Gabfest on Facebook / https://www.facebook.com/Gabfest/ [https://www.facebook.com/Gabfest/] Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices [https://megaphone.fm/adchoices]

Kill Them All

This week, Emily Bazelon, John Dickerson, and David Plotz discuss why the killing of survivors in a US military strike on an alleged drug boat is so dangerous for Pete Hegseth and the Trump administration, what the results of this week’s special election in Tennessee could portend for the upcoming midterms, and the adoption of self-driving cars as a public health measure. For this week’s Slate Plus bonus episode, Emily, John, and David discuss the complexities of free speech, academic freedom, and consequences in the controversial case of a University of Oklahoma instructor who was put on leave after complaints from a student who flunked a gender essay.   In the latest Gabfest Reads [https://slate.com/podcasts/gabfestreads], John talks with journalist and author Andrew Ross Sorkin about his new book, 1929: Inside the Greatest Crash in Wall Street History and How It Shattered a Nation [https://www.amazon.com/1929-Inside-Greatest-History-Shattered/dp/0593949242/tag=slatmaga-20]— the story of speculation, debt, and the human drives that fueled the Wall Street crash that changed everything.   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 [https://slate.com/podcasts/political-gabfest].   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]

Is This the End of the Trump Era?

This week, Emily Bazelon, John Dickerson, and David Plotz discuss what happens when the government is untrustworthy as a strong pattern of DOJ lying under oath emerges, why the NYC mayor-elect and the president were so cordial with each other in the Oval Office, and how MAGA world continues to fracture as Marjorie Taylor Greene announces her resignation and the Fuentes/Carlson controversy continues. For this week’s Slate Plus bonus episode, Emily, John, and David discuss the new campaign from the Department of Transportation to bring “civility” back to air travel by asking Thanksgiving travelers to dress up to fly.   In the latest Gabfest Reads [https://slate.com/podcasts/gabfestreads], John talks with journalist and author Andrew Ross Sorkin about his new book, 1929: Inside the Greatest Crash in Wall Street History and How It Shattered a Nation [https://www.amazon.com/1929-Inside-Greatest-History-Shattered/dp/0593949242/tag=slatmaga-20]— the story of speculation, debt, and the human drives that fueled the Wall Street crash that changed everything.    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 [https://slate.com/podcasts/political-gabfest]. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices [https://megaphone.fm/adchoices]

DOJ is DOA

This week, Emily Bazelon, John Dickerson, and David Plotz discuss a new oral history of President Trump’s Department of Justice, the complex transactional nationalism of this week’s visit from Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman with guest Jake Sullivan, former National Security Advisor and co-host of the new podcast The Long Game [https://www.youtube.com/@podlonggame], and what is likely to happen now that Trump has signed the bill to release the Justice Department’s Epstein files. For this week’s Slate Plus bonus episode, Emily, John, and David discuss the sordid scandal around the tangled relationships of political reporter Olivia Nuzzi and the complex questions it raises about relationships between journalists and their sources.   In the latest Gabfest Reads [https://slate.com/podcasts/gabfestreads], John talks with journalist and author Andrew Ross Sorkin about his new book, 1929: Inside the Greatest Crash in Wall Street History and How It Shattered a Nation [https://www.amazon.com/1929-Inside-Greatest-History-Shattered/dp/0593949242/tag=slatmaga-20]— the story of speculation, debt, and the human drives that fueled the Wall Street crash that changed everything.   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 [https://slate.com/podcasts/political-gabfest].   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]

Gabfest Reads | Inside the Greatest Crash in Wall Street History

John Dickerson talks with journalist and author Andrew Ross Sorkin about his new book 1929: Inside the Greatest Crash in Wall Street History and How It Shattered a Nation [https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/665634/1929-by-andrew-ross-sorkin/]. Recorded live at the 92nd Street Y in NYC, their conversation explores how a decade of optimism, leverage, and moral hazard culminated in the financial collapse that defined modern capitalism. Sorkin details how figures like banker Charles “Sunshine Charlie” Mitchell, Senator Carter Glass, and investor Jesse Livermore shaped the boom and bust of the era and how their decisions echo in today’s bubbles around A.I., crypto, and debt-fueled speculation. Tweet us your questions @SlateGabfest or email us at gabfest@slate.com. (Messages may be quoted by name unless the writer stipulates otherwise.) Podcast production by Nina Porzucki. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices [https://megaphone.fm/adchoices]