620 episodes

Voted “Favorite Political Podcast” by Apple Podcasts listeners. Stephen Colbert says "Everybody should listen to the Slate Political Gabfest." The Gabfest, featuring Emily Bazelon, John Dickerson, and David Plotz, is the kind of informal and irreverent discussion Washington journalists have after hours over drinks.

Political Gabfest Slate Podcasts

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Voted “Favorite Political Podcast” by Apple Podcasts listeners. Stephen Colbert says "Everybody should listen to the Slate Political Gabfest." The Gabfest, featuring Emily Bazelon, John Dickerson, and David Plotz, is the kind of informal and irreverent discussion Washington journalists have after hours over drinks.

Listen on Apple Podcasts
Requires subscription and macOS 11.4 or higher

    John Dickerson’s Navel Gazing: Time Travel Via an Assortment of Journal Entries

    John Dickerson’s Navel Gazing: Time Travel Via an Assortment of Journal Entries

    This episode will be available for free beginning May 25th.

    In this week’s essay, John discusses Mothers’s Day, playing tennis with the Attorney General, medical scares, and more

    Notebook Entries:
    Notebook 19, page 16. April 2011
    Is it possible, through applied thought, to become systematic in an approach to life? If you were to do that how would you proceed?

    Notebook 16, page 6. July 26, 2005
    “I’m here with a bunch of midshipmen and wondering what there is to do around here.” - Boy trying to hit on a girl working @ The Reef in Castine, ME.

    Notebook 15, page 30. September 2004
    Head problems:
    Sunday 9/5 morning
    Tuesday 9/7 evening
    Wednesday 9/8 before lunch

    Notebook 22, page 22. April 24, 2014
    Question:
    What did you want to be when you were a kid?
    What do you want to be now?
    Why the difference?

    Notebook 9. 1995
    “That’s just the ticket the doctor ordered”

    Notebook 13. 2001
    “Free as a clam”

    Notebook 17, page 67. December 2006
    The man sitting next to me has a face on the boil and garlic and old booze on his breath. When he sleeps, he sighs. For this leg of the flight I am wrapped in his breathy gumbo.

    Notebook 15, page 7. April 2004
    “In all these there are messages for those who use their reason.” - Quran quotation

    Notebook 15, page 80. 2005
    Would like to meet her.

    Notebook 54. July 26, 2020
    “Writing requires a reader. You can’t do it alone.” - John Cheever

    Notebook 15, page 71. 2005
    In the light of sobriety not sure what this means

    Notebook 13. March 2001
    Yesterday I played tennis with John Ashcroft the atty. general of the U.S.

    Notebook 13, page 108. December 11, 2001
    Anne just called. There is one little heartbeat beating in her today. Everything is okay for this hurdle. I must say, I was really worried.

    Notebook 20, page 10. December 24, 2013
    “Sometimes Dad says weird stuff, just ignore him” - Anne to kids about me

    Notebook 15, page 84.
    “Life goes on,” Hayawi says. “We are in the middle of a war [in Iraq] and we still smoke the water pipe.”

    Notebook 45, page 24. April 16, 2019
    Our savior lives by the manner in which we live.

    Notebook 19, page 23. 2011
    People on their mobile phones in England say goodbye a lot: “Cheers, alright then, speak to you soon, ta.” (That’s four ways of saying goodbye). Amelia tells the story of a man who thanked a ticket-taker by saying “Ta, magical, cheers.”

    References:
    Disaster on the Penobscot - John Henry Fay for Naval History Magazine
    One Man’s Meat by E.B. White
    The House at Allen Cove I E.B. White House Tour - New England Magazine
    Little Plastic Castle - Ani Defranco
    “Two Years of War: Taking Stock” - Anthony Shadid for the Washington Post

    Podcast production by Cheyna Roth.
    Email us at navelgazingpodcast@gmail.com

    Gabfest Reads: Why Americans Care About Animals

    Gabfest Reads: Why Americans Care About Animals

    Emily Bazelon talks with authors Bill Wasik and Monica Murphy, about their new book, Our Kindred Creatures: How Americans Came to Feel the Way They Do About Animals. They discuss the evolution of animal treatment in America, moral duties to animals, and how to care about more animals than our pets. 

    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

    • 33 min
    John Dickerson’s Navel Gazing: Moving in New York Twenty Years After September 11th.

    John Dickerson’s Navel Gazing: Moving in New York Twenty Years After September 11th.

    In this week’s essay, John discusses the differences between moving around New York in 1991 and 2021; remembering 9/11 twenty years later; and more. 
     
    Notebook Entries:
    Notebook 75, page 12. September 2021
    Notebooks to Garret

    Notebook 75, page 13. September 2021
    Can you make a typo with handwriting? What’s a typo with handwriting called?

    Notebook 4. 1991
    We have to unplug the light to run the vacuum, so we do a lot of our vacuuming in the dark.

    Notebook 75. September 11, 2021
    Fritz want something?

    References:
    Smythson Notebooks in Blue
    9/11 ceremonies, events and coverage on 20th anniversary - CBS News
    Richard Drew on Photographing the “Falling Man” of 9/11 - CBS News

    Want to listen to Navel Gazing uninterrupted? Subscribe to Slate Plus to immediately unlock ad-free listening to Navel Gazing and all your other favorite Slate podcasts. Subscribe now on Apple Podcasts by clicking “Try Free” at the top of our show page. Or, visit slate.com/navelgazingplus to get access wherever you listen.
     
    Podcast production by Cheyna Roth.
    Email us at navelgazingpodcast@gmail.com
    Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

    • 43 min
    John Dickerson’s Navel Gazing: Moving in New York Twenty Years After September 11th

    John Dickerson’s Navel Gazing: Moving in New York Twenty Years After September 11th

    This episode will be available for free starting May 18th.

    In this week’s essay, John discusses the differences between moving around New York in 1991 and 2021; remembering September 11th twenty years later; and more.

    Notebook Entries:
    Notebook 75, page 12. September 2021
    Notebooks to Garret


    Notebook 75, page 13. September 2021
    Can you make a typo with handwriting? What’s a typo with handwriting called?

    Notebook 4. 1991
    We have to unplug the light to run the vacuum, so we do a lot of our vacuuming in the dark.

    Notebook 75. September 11, 2021
    Fritz want something?


    References:
    Smythson Notebooks in Blue

    9/11 ceremonies, events and coverage on 20th anniversary - CBS News

    Richard Drew on Photographing the “Falling Man” of 9/11 - CBS News


    Podcast production by Cheyna Roth.
    Email us at navelgazingpodcast@gmail.com

    How Bad Was The Poll For Biden?

    How Bad Was The Poll For Biden?

    This week, Emily Bazelon, John Dickerson, and David Plotz discuss the latest New York Times presidential poll and the Maryland primary results; the presidential debates; and who’s talking inside and outside Donald Trump’s Manhattan trial courtroom. 
     
    Here are some notes and references from this week’s show:
    Nate Cohn for The New York Times: Trump Leads in 5 Key States, as Young and Nonwhite Voters Express Discontent With Biden and Battleground Polling Shows Ticket-Splitting Pattern
    Aaron Navarro for CBS News: Biden to tout Microsoft expansion in Wisconsin
    Matt Bush for NPR: Maryland Democrats pick Angela Alsobrooks to take on Hogan for open U.S. Senate seat
    Betsy Klein, Michael Williams, and Kristen Holmes for CNN: Biden and Trump agree to 2 presidential debates, with first set for June 27 on CNN
    @JoeBiden on X
    Perry Stein for The Washington Post: Michael Cohen seemed to have delivered for prosecutors – if jurors believe him
    Ed Mazza for HuffPost: George Conway Goes There With Scathing Personal Challenge For ‘Wuss’ Trump
    Stephen Collinson for CNN: Why Johnson’s appearance at Manhattan courthouse stands out among Republicans backing up Trump
    Politico: ‘Embarrassing’: Romney calls out GOP who attended Trump trial  

    Here are this week’s chatters:
    Emily: Netflix’s Duran Duran: There’s Something You Should Know; HBO’s The Bee Gees: How Can You Mend A Broken Heart; Magnolia Pictures & Magnet Releasing’s Joan Baez: I Am A Noise; Netflix’s The Greatest Night In Pop; HBO’s Jason Isbell: Running With Our Eyes Closed; Netflix’s Wham!; and Think Film’s Festival Express
    John: The Daily Report with John Dickerson for CBS News 
    David: Brown Revisited: Brown v. Board of Education (1954) and Warner Bros. Pictures’ They Shall Not Grow Old
    Listener chatter from Rob Jones in Seattle, Washington: SmarterEveryDay on YouTube: How to Surface a Submarine in the Arctic Ocean
     
    For this week’s Slate Plus bonus segment, Emily talks with Azeen Ghorayshi of The New York Times about The Cass Review. See Azeen Ghorayshi for The New York Times: Hilary Cass Says U.S. Doctors Are ‘Out of Date’ on Youth Gender Medicine. See also Claire Rush for AP: Idaho’s ban on youth gender-affirming care has families desperately scrambling for solutions and Jonathan Chait for the Intelligencer: CPAC Speaker Urges Eradication of Trans Rights.
     
    In the latest Gabfest Reads, John talks with David E. Sanger about his new book, New Cold Wars: China’s Rise, Russia’s Invasion, and America’s Struggle to Defend the West.
     
    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

    • 1 hr
    John Dickerson’s Navel Gazing: The Sneaky Pitfalls of the To-Do List

    John Dickerson’s Navel Gazing: The Sneaky Pitfalls of the To-Do List

    In this week’s essay, John discusses the Pomodoro Routine (among other productivity routines), why he especially needs a meditation pillow, and how a particular teacher captured his heart. 
     
     
    Notebook Entries:
    Notebook 75, pages 8 and 9. September 2021
    OReinstating the Pomodoro Routine…
    Starting Marshall again…
    Write Brice…
    Send Laura the larger project list…
    Work on budget to get accounts in order
    Meditation pillow upstairs.

    Notebook 18. December 6, 2009
    Instapaper
    Alpha Smart
    Richard Hugo on poetry
    Degrees of Gray In Philipsburg.

    Notebook 18, page 105. June 4, 2011
    Visit to Mr. Mead. He was playing piano as we entered. [During our conversation, he asked]: do you find your work fulfilling? Do you have a close circle of friends? Questions about life and living it well…


    References:
    Getting Things Done - David Allen
    The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People - Stephen Covey 
    The Questions That Will Get Me Through the Pandemic - John Dickerson
    43 Folders - Merlin Mann 
    The Hardest Job in the World - John Dickerson
    Essays of E.B. White
    “Merlin Mann” - Tina Essmaker for The Great Disconnect
    More about Ernest “Boots” Mead
    “Because Buying New Running Shoes is More Fun Than Actually Running” - Merlin Mann for 43 Folders
    Atomic Habits - James Clear
    The Creative Habit - Twyla Tharp
    Free Agent Nation - Daniel Pink
    “Sharon Salzberg On: Openness, Not Believing the Stories You Tell Yourself, and Why the Most Powerful Tools Often Seem Stupid at First” - Ten Percent Happier

    Want to listen to Navel Gazing uninterrupted? Subscribe to Slate Plus to immediately unlock ad-free listening to Navel Gazing and all your other favorite Slate podcasts. Subscribe now on Apple Podcasts by clicking “Try Free” at the top of our show page. Or, visit slate.com/navelgazingplus to get access wherever you listen.
     
    Podcast production by Cheyna Roth.
    Email us at navelgazingpodcast@gmail.com
    Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

    • 38 min

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