Political Gabfest
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.
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26
Who Wants a Third Party, Anyway?
Musk founds the “America Party” via social media post; the US erratically zags again on aid for Ukraine against Putin; and Trump’s latest plot twist in the tedious tariff saga.
65 min
27
Is Trump’s Reckless Bill Unpopular?
Senate passes massively irresponsible budget bill; last anti-Trump Republicans abandon Congress while Musk teases third party idea; and Paramount sells out journalists to settle with Trump.
66 min
28
Let’s Plunge, New York
63 min
29
Gabfest Reads | Alison Bechdel Explains Selling...
27 min
30
Massive Ordnance Penetrator
64 min
31
Very Heavy Force
56 min
32
Republicans vs. the Big Beautiful Bill
63 min
33
Why Destroy Harvard?
69 min
34
Big and Beautiful or Huge and Horrendous
62 min
35
Gabfest Reads | How to Create an Exceptional Fa...
32 min
36
Just a Modest $400 Million Gift
67 min
37
Trump Backlash, Australian-Style
Canada and Australia both vote against Trumpism; the administration asks a judge to dismiss an abortion-pill case; and the painful fallout from looming Medicaid cuts.
58 min
38
Only 100 Days
64 min
39
One Thing Even Trump Won’t Do
61 min
40
Gabfest Reads | How to Turn the Creative Proces...
44 min
41
Trump vs. Harvard
63 min
42
The Bond Market Shrieks
The ongoing fallout after Trump’s complex tariffs and partial retreat; the Supreme Court’s tepid responses to deportation cases leave questions open; and the NC GOP tries to steal a state Supreme Court seat.
56 min
43
The Democrats Had A Good Day
Liberal handily wins the biggest electoral showdown of Trump 2.0 presidency so far; Trump imposes massive, nearly-universal tariffs; and the government refuses to fix mistakes in deporting alleged gang members.
61 min
44
Houthi PC Small Group
51 min
45
The “Constitutional Crisis Is Here”
The government responds defiantly to court orders in showdown over mass deportation; what the data say about why Trump won in 2024; and slow-motion capitulation in a long call between Trump and Putin.
62 min
46
Gabfest Reads | The Day the Challenger Fell Fro...
Adam Higginbotham’s new book delves deep into the tragedy of the Challenger explosion and the impact the disaster has had on American culture.
32 min
47
What Happens When Government Breaks
DOGE’s cuts are endangering American lives; Trump tests limits of free speech with attacks on universities and the arrest of Palestinian activist Mahmoud Khalil; and the politics of the Texas measles outbreak.
63 min
48
Trump’s Display of Dominance
Trump addresses Congress and plays chicken with tariffs in a show of power; Trump and Vance betray Ukraine’s Zelensky to his face and align with Russia; and we all grapple with the ways Covid changed America.
60 min
49
So Europe is Our Enemy Now?
The transatlantic alliance is over and mobster tactics reign; the House GOP budget resolution portends likely Medicaid cuts to fund tax breaks for the rich; and Trump makes aggressive moves against the press
67 min
50
The “Justice Department is Dire“
The bonfire of Justice Department resignations amid the corrupt bargain of Eric Adams; Musk and DOGE and the palantír of the IRS and Social Security; and how progressives broke the government.
63 min