Political Gabfest Slate Podcasts

This week, Emily Bazelon, John Dickerson, and David Plotz discuss the 2024 presidential debates; a possible warning on social media and another ban of smartphones in schools; and the future and failures of one-party rule.
 
Here are some notes and references from this week’s show:
Ashley Lopez for NPR: Biden vs. Trump remains close, so next week’s debate offers them an opportunity
James Oliphant for Reuters: The Biden-Trump presidential debate: what to watch for
Shane Goldmacher and Reid J. Epstein for The New York Times: Trump, Biden and CNN Prepare for a Hostile Debate (With Muted Mics)
Josh Barro for Very Serious: Of Course Biden Should Attack Trump for Being a Convicted Felon
Dr. Vivek H. Murthy in The New York Times: Surgeon General: Why I’m Calling for a Warning Label on Social Media Platforms and Sherry Turkle: Stop Googling. Let’s Talk.
Consider This on NPR: ‘An unfair fight’: The U.S. surgeon general declares war on social media
Howard Blume and Defne Karabatur for The Los Angeles Times: LAUSD approves cellphone ban as Newsom calls for statewide action
Tatum Hunter for The Washington Post: What research actually says about social media and kids’ health
Candice L. Odgers in Nature: The great rewiring: is social media really behind an epidemic of teenage mental illness?
Mitch Daniels in The Washington Post: Indiana is revealing the real consequences of one-party rule
Ballotpedia: State government trifectas
Scott S. Greenberger in NC Newsline: Shared power used to be the norm in state government. Now it’s nearly extinct.
Nicholas Kristof for The New York Times: What Have We Liberals Done to the West Coast?

Here are this week’s chatters:
John: Liquor.com: Vesper; The New York Times: John Hurt in ‘Krapp’s Last Tape’; and John Hurt in The Guardian: Krapp’s Last Tape: John Hurt on Samuel Beckett’s loner hero
Emily: The Innocence Project: Texas Seeks Execution Date for Robert Roberson, An Innocent Man Wrongly Convicted Under Debunked Shaken Baby Hypothesis
David: Initiative on Catholic Social Thought and Public Life, Georgetown University: The Vocation of Journalists in a Time of Testing; Washington City Paper: Paper, Cut; and Bruce Weber and Ashley Southall for The New York Times: David Carr, Times Critic and Champion of Media, Dies at 58
Listener chatter from Tristan Hinderliter in Long Island City, New York: Samantha Pearson for The Wall Street Journal: Even Hardened Convicts Are No Match for These Guard Geese
 
For this week’s Slate Plus bonus segment, David, Emily, and John talk about the Brat Pack: then and now. See Hulu: Brats and David Blum for New York Magazine: Hollywood’s Brat Pack. See also RHINO: John Parr – St. Elmo’s Fire (Man In Motion) (Official Music Video) and Comedy Bites Vintage: Don’t You Forget About Me (Final Scene) The Breakfast Club.
 
In the next Gabfest Reads, David talks with Sierra Greer about her new book, Annie Bot: A Novel.
 
Email your chatters, questions, and comments to gabfest@slate.com. (Messages may be referenced by name unless the writer stipulates otherwise.)
 
Podcast production by Cheyna Roth
Research by Julie Huygen
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David Plotz talks with author Sierra Greer about her new book, Annie Bot. They discuss how much discomfort Annie (a “Cuddle Bunny” type of robot) can feel, how the story of a robot is really about the right to control a body, and more.  

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

David Plotz talks with author Sierra Greer about her new book, Annie Bot. They discuss how much discomfort Annie (a “Cuddle Bunny” type of robot) can feel, how the story of a robot is really about the right to control a body, and more.

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 Cheyna Roth.

This week, Emily Bazelon, John Dickerson, and David Plotz discuss President Biden’s new asylum policy; the recent European Parliament elections with The Atlantic’s Anne Applebaum; and the jammed congestion pricing in New York City.
 
Here are some notes and references from this week’s show:
Corvid Research: Help, I’ve found a baby crow!
Zolan Kanno-Youngs and Hamed Aleaziz for The New York Times: In Shift, Biden Issues Order Allowing Temporary Border Closure to Migrants and Miriam Jordan: Biden Opens a New Back Door on Immigration
Matthew Yglesias for Slow Boring: Biden is doing the right thing on asylum
Matt Collette for Vox: Our identity crisis on immigration
Alex Nowrasteh for the Cato Institute: The Most Common Arguments Against Immigration and Why They’re Wrong
Statista: U.S. immigration/migration – statistics & facts
Andres Triay, Robert Legare, Nicole Sganga, Pat Milton, and Camilo Montoya-Galvez for CBS News: ICE arrests 8 with suspected ISIS ties
BBC: What is the UK’s plan to send asylum seekers to Rwanda? and Nick Beake and Kostas Kallergis: Greece boat disaster: BBC investigation casts doubt on coastguard’s claims
Anthony Faiola, Imogen Piper, Joyce Sohyun Lee, Klaas van Dijken, Maud Jullien, and May Bulman for The Washington Post: With Europe’s support, North African nations push migrants to the desert
Anne Applebaum for The Atlantic: Trump Is Not America’s Le Pen
Sam Jones for The Guardian: EU elections 2024: how did key countries vote and what does it mean?
CBS News: NYC Comptroller Brad Lander announces legal challenge to congestion pricing pause
Michelle Kaske, Laura Nahmias, and Zach Williams for Bloomberg: New York Governor Shocks Manhattan With Halt to Congestion Pricing
Lauren Sforza for The Hill: Murphy says ‘the biggest policy mistake of the past 50 years in New Jersey’ was Christie’s decision to cancel Gateway tunnel project
The Affluent Society by John Kenneth Galbraith

Here are this week’s chatters:
Emily: Curt Anderson for WJHG: Florida jury finds Chiquita Brands liable for Colombia deaths, must pay $38.3M to family members 
John: Well, This Is Me: A Cartoon Collection from the New Yorker’s Asher Perlman by Asher Perlman and Taylor Orth for YouGov: In-flight drama: Where Americans sit on airline etiquette
David: City Cast Nashville and Hey Nashville; City Cast Austin and Hey Austin; Open: An Autobiography by Andre Agassi; Dartmouth: 2024 Commencement Address by Roger Federer at Dartmouth; Maxi 4 NBA: Michael Jordan I’ve missed more than 9000 shots in my career.; and Winning Ugly: Mental Warfare in Tennis—Lessons from a Master by Brad Gilbert and Steve Jamison 
Listener chatter from Jason Anderson in Chicago, Illinois: Neil Steinberg for the Chicago Sun-Times: Sorry, Ken Griffin – Chicagoans will call the Museum of Science and Industry what they please
 
For this week’s Slate Plus bonus segment, Emily, John, and David talk about Hunter Biden’s conviction. See Jonathan Lemire for Politico: Biden’s team was waiting for a Hunter verdict. That didn’t make it easier when it arrived. and Abby Phillip for CNN: Hear how conservatives reacted to Hunter Biden’s conviction. See also Perry Stein for The Washington Post: Gun counts Hunter Biden faces are rarely stand-alone charges and John Miller for CNN: Meanwhile, Trump said during pre-sentencing interview he had a gun in Florida, weeks after his conviction.
 
In the next Gabfest Reads, David talks with Sierra Greer about her new book, Annie Bot: A Novel.
 
Email your chatters, questions, and comments to gabfest@slate.com. (Messages may be referenced 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 fallout from Donald Trump’s felony conviction; the spin-up for Hunter Biden’s trial; and the upshot for college speech from campus protests with Charles Homans.
 
Here are some notes and references from this week’s show:
Nathaniel Rakich for 538: Trump’s conviction may be hurting him – but it’s early
Sarah Longwell in The Atlantic: The Two-Time Trump Voters Who Have Had Enough
Dafydd Townley for The Conversation: Trump guilty verdict: the fallout for US democracy
Politico Magazine: 22 Experts Predict What the Trump Conviction Will Mean for 2024 and Beyond
CBS News: Watch: Biden speaks at D-Day commemoration ceremony
Perry Stein for The Washington Post: Gun counts Hunter Biden faces are rarely stand-alone charges and Perry Stein, Devlin Barrett, and Matt Viser: How a fight over immunity unraveled Hunter Biden’s plea deal
Cris Barrish for WHYY: Lawyers spar in Wilmington court over whether Hunter Biden ‘knowingly’ lied on federal gun purchase form about drug use
Eugene Daniels for Politico: Biden issues a rare statement on his son’s criminal trial
Mini Racker for Time: How Hunter Biden’s Scandals Compare to Those of Trump’s Family Members
Matthew Yglesias for Vox: Nepotism and the 2020 election, explained
Emily Bazelon and Charles Homans for The New York Times: The Battle Over College Speech Will Outlive the Encampments
Here & Now on WBUR: Pro-Palestinian protesters at Brown reach deal with university
Emma H. Haidar and Cam E. Kettles for The Harvard Crimson: Harvard Will Refrain From Controversial Statements About Public Policy Issues
Paul Alivisatos in The Wall Street Journal: Why I Ended the University of Chicago Protest Encampment
Greta Reich and Caroline Chen for The Stanford Daily: Pro-Palestine protesters detained following occupation of president’s office, face immediate suspension

Here are this week’s chatters:
Emily: Liz Goodwin for The Washington Post: Senate Republicans vote against making contraception a federal right and Ellen Wexler for Smithsonian Magazine: The 150-Year-Old Comstock Act Could Transform the Abortion Debate
John: Marco Hernandez, Jeffrey Gettleman, Finbarr O’Reilly, and Tim Wallace for The New York Times: What Ukraine Has Lost and Helena Skinner and Emma Ogao for ABC News: Satellite images show devastation in Sudan 1 year since conflict began
David: Alina Chan in The New York Times: Why the Pandemic Probably Started in a Lab, in 5 Key Points
Listener chatter from Kevin Cassidy in Sawyer, Michigan: Dyartorin Crafts: How to make Leonardo Da Vinci Bridge using popsicle sticks and HeyDadHey: How To Make A Da Vinci Bridge
 
For this week’s Slate Plus bonus segment, Emily, John, and David talk about changes at the Washington Post and the state of journalism. See Oliver Darcy for CNN: Washington Post abruptly replaces executive editor Sally Buzbee in shakeup, David Folkenflik for NPR: New CEO of ‘The Washington Post’ puts former colleagues in power, and David Bauder for AP: With its top editor abruptly gone, The Washington Post grapples with a hastily announced restructure. See also Edward Helmore for The Guardian: ‘The final act’: fears US journalism crisis could destabilize 2024 election and Jack Shafer for Slate: The New Vanity Press Moguls. 
 
In the next Gabfest Reads, David talks with Sierra Greer about her new book, Annie Bot: A Novel.
Email your chatters, questions, and comments to gabfest@slate.com. (Messages may be referenced 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

In this week’s essay, John discusses instinct versus obligation, his daughter’s wit, how he has changed since episode one, and more.
 
Notebook Entries:
Notebook 58, page 10. September 16, 2021
“You don’t measure your life the way you measure your writing.” - Nan

Notebook 75, page 46-47. September 2021
When your dog dies and son goes to college and you are confronted with your life’s work it all boils down to one alarm: the clock is ticking. If a scream is better than a thesis, I was hearing some kind of scream, but what was the thesis?

References:
Everything Is Copy – HBODocs 
 The Power of Regret – Daniel Pink

The Mezzanine – Nicholson Baker 
“The Creative Process” – James Baldwin
Slouching Towards Bethlehem – Joan Didion
“Three Paths Toward the Meaning of Life” - Arthur Brooks for The Atlantic

Podcast production by Cheyna Roth.
Email us at navelgazingpodcast@gmail.com
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices