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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News
Government
Politics
26
Gabfest Reads | A Beach Read for the Outraged
24 min
27
MAGA’s Epstein Obsession
70 min
28
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
29
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
30
Let’s Plunge, New York
63 min
31
Gabfest Reads | Alison Bechdel Explains Selling...
27 min
32
Massive Ordnance Penetrator
64 min
33
Very Heavy Force
56 min
34
Republicans vs. the Big Beautiful Bill
63 min
35
Why Destroy Harvard?
69 min
36
Big and Beautiful or Huge and Horrendous
62 min
37
Gabfest Reads | How to Create an Exceptional Fa...
32 min
38
Just a Modest $400 Million Gift
67 min
39
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
40
Only 100 Days
64 min
41
One Thing Even Trump Won’t Do
61 min
42
Gabfest Reads | How to Turn the Creative Proces...
44 min
43
Trump vs. Harvard
63 min
44
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
45
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
46
Houthi PC Small Group
51 min
47
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
48
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
49
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
50
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