Political Gabfest

Emily, David and Alexandra Petri discuss the Afghanistan withdrawal, with guest Annie Pforzheimer; California’s recall election; and personal pandemic ethics. Here are some notes and references from this week’s show: Annie Pforzheimer for the Washington Post, “ Leaving Afghanistan Will Lead to Yet Another Civil War There ” Annie Pforzheimer for the Washington Post, “ In Afghanistan, a Summer of Pa...

Here are some notes and references from this week’s show: Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change Report   Little Fires Everywhere , by Celeste Ng   Public Citizens: The Attack on Big Government and the Remaking of American Liberalism , by Paul Sabin Paul Sabin for the New York Times: “ How Liberals Can Attack From the Left—and Win ” Charged: The New Movement to Transform American Prosecution an...

John and David are joined by Andrea Valdez of The Atlantic to discuss New York Mayor Andrew Cuomo refusing to resign, the survival of the eviction moratorium and the arrival of vaccine passports. Here are some notes and references from this week’s show: Annie Lowery for the Atlantic: “ The Time Tax ” Here’s this week’s chatter: Andrea: Planet Money: “ Three Reasons for the Housing Shortage ”; Jeru...

Emily, John and David discuss the January 6th Commission, the return of masks and they are joined by guest Annie Lowrey to talk about the "time tax." Here are some notes and references from this week’s show: Annie Lowrey for The Atlantic: “ The Time Tax: Why is so much American bureaucracy left to average citizens? ” Here’s this week’s chatter:  John: Max Fisher for the New York Times: “Disinforma...

Emily, John and David discuss the Delta variant and the vaccination decline, the bipartisan infrastructure plan living another day, and the pandemic Olympics. Here are some notes and references from this week’s show: David Leonhardt for The New York Times: “ Why Aren’t the Vaccines Approved? ” Matthew Yglesias for Slow Boring: “ Let's Get More People Vaccinated ” Ross Douthat for The New York Time...

John, David and Josie discuss the escalating threats to democratic elections, minors’ rights to vaccination, and Josh Levin on the podcast One Year: 1977. Here are some notes and references from this week’s show: Slate’s One Year: 1977 The Queen: The Forgotten Life Behind an American Myth , by Josh Levin  Citizen Kan e Ulysses , by James Joyce Here’s this week’s chatter: John: Gaia Pianigiani and...

Emily, John and David discuss New York City’s primary election, J.D. Vance’s Senate run, and injustice illuminated by Britney Spears. Here are some notes and references from this week’s show: Hillbilly Elegy: A Memoir of a Family and Culture in Crisis , by J.D. Vance Molly Ball for Time: “ Breakfast with J.D. Vance, Anti-Trump Author Turned Pro-Trump Candidate ” Ronan Farrow and Jia Tolentino for...

Emily Bazelon is joined by Ruth Marcus and Jamelle Bouie to discuss the infrastructure negotiations, alarming Supreme Court decisions and Bill Cosby’s release. Here are some notes and references from this week’s show: Catherine Rampell for The Washington Post: “ Three Things That Could Still Blow Up The Bipartisan Infrastructure Deal ” Give Us the Ballot: The Modern Struggle for Voting Rights in A...

Emily, John and David discuss the post-pandemic workforce, Tucker Carlson, and student wins at the Supreme Court. Here are some notes and references from this week’s show: Ben Smith for the New York Times: “ Tucker Carlson Calls Journalists ‘Animals.’ He’s Also Their Best Source. ” Slate: “ David Plotz and Tucker Carlson Debate Scott Brown, Health Care, and More ” Andrew Van Dam for the Washington...

Emily, John and David discuss President Biden's G7 summit and the meeting with President Putin, McConnell’s plans to block a Biden Supreme Court nominee, and they are joined by guest Melissa Murray on what “critical race theory” is and is not. Here are some notes and references from this week’s show: Julia Ioffe for Tomorrow Will Be Worse: “ ‘Everyone Gets What They Deserve’: Biden Takes On the Pu...

Emily, John and David discuss Joe Manchin, how the Trump DOJ lives on, and George Packer’s four Americas. Here are some notes and references from this week’s show: John Dickerson for CBS News: “ Sen. Joe Manchin on Face the Nation , June 6, 2021 ” Ruth Marcus for the Washington Post: “ Attorney General Garland, Please Stop Digging ” George Packer for the Atlantic: “ How America Fractured Into Four...

Here are some notes and references from this week’s show: The Ezra Klein Show: “ Obama Explains How America Went From ‘Yes We Can’ to ‘MAGA’ ” Uneasy Peace: The Great Crime Decline, the Renewal of City Life, and the Next War on Violence , by Patrick Sharkey  AmericanViolence.org Monica C. Bell for the Yale Law Journal: “ Police Reform and the Dismantling of Legal Estrangement ” Penn Wharton Budget...

Here are some notes and references from this week’s show: David Leonhardt for The New York Times: “ The Lab-Leak Theory ” Nicholson Baker for New York Magazine: “ The Lab-Leak Hypothesis ” Nicholas Wade for The Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists: “ The Origin of COVID: Did People or Nature Open Pandora’s Box at Wuhan? ” Anne Applebaum for The Atlantic: “ Other Regimes Will Hijack Planes Too ” The S...

Emily, John and David discuss the violence between Israel and Gaza, abortion at the Supreme Court, and the book Nine Nasty Words with author John McWhorter. Here are some notes and references from this week’s show: John Dickerson for CBS: “ Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on "Face the Nation," May 16, 2021 ” Bernie Sanders for the New York Times: “ Bernie Sanders: The U.S. Must Stop Bein...

Emily, John and David discuss the post-pandemic economy; vaccine hoarding; and they're joined by Alex Stamos to talk about infrastructure, cybersecurity and the Colonial Pipeline hack. Here are some notes and references from this week’s show: David Leonhardt for the New York Times: “ A Misleading C.D.C. Number ” Dana Goldstein for the New York Times: “ President of Key Teachers’ Union Shares Plea:...

David, John and Emily discuss Liz Cheney's defiance of Trumpists; Trump’s Facebook suspension; and meatlessness getting (more) political. Here are some notes and references from this week’s show : Kimberly Robinson for Bloomberg Law: “ Video: The Wild Hypotheticals Posed by Justice Stephen Breyer ” John Dickerson for CBS News: “ Ron Klain on ‘Face the Nation,’ May 2, 2021 ” Evelyn Douek for Lawfar...

A live Gabfest with Emily, David and John on the policies and politics of Biden’s first 100 days— with special guest Jamelle Bouie! A reference from this week’s show: Thomas B. Edsall for The New York Times: “ Should Biden Emphasize Race or Class or Both or None of the Above ” Here’s this week’s chatter: John: The Premonition: A Pandemic Story by Michael Lewis; Gertrude Stein on punctuation from L...

Emily, John and David discuss the verdict in the Derek Chauvin trial with guest Dwayne Betts; Andrew Yang’s campaign for Mayor of New York City; and why the U.S. invaded Iraq with guest Noreen Malone (host of the Slow Burn podcast). Here are some notes and references from this week’s show: Netflix Is A Joke: “ Richard Pryor's 1979 Joke About Police Still Applies ” “ When I Think of Tamir Rice Whil...

Emily, John and David discuss the vaccine “pause,” the death of Daunte Wright, and Biden’s commission on the U.S. Supreme Court. Here are some notes and references from this week’s show: Ronald Brownstein for The Atlantic: “ The Decision That Will Define Democrats for a Decade ” Ryan D. Doerfler and Samuel Moyn for The Atlantic: “ Reform the Court, but Don’t Pack It ” Emily Bazelon for The New Yor...

Emily, John and David discuss the corporate backlash to Georgia’s voting restrictions, Matt Gaetz and shamelessness in government, and they are joined by Amanda Ripley to talk about her new book High Conflict. Here are some notes and references from this week’s show: Jonathan Rauch for the Atlantic: “ How American Politics Went Insane ” Insecure Majorities: Congress and the Perpetual Campaign by F...

Emily, David and guest host Andrea Valdez discuss the fourth wave of the virus, Derek Chauvin’s murder trial, and fixing the U.S.’s caregiving infrastructure. Here are some notes and references from this week’s show: How to Be a Texan: The Manual , by Andrea Valdez Ko Bragg for the 19th: “ Four Girls Testified in the Derek Chauvin Trial. Here’s What They Told the Jury. ” The University Will Requir...

Emily, John and David discuss immigration, violence against Asian Americans and how Amazon is shaping the American economic landscape. Here are some notes and references from this week’s show: Emily Bazelon for Slate: “ Stop Telling Ruth Bader Ginsburg to Retire: It's Counterproductive ” David Leonhardt for The New York Times: “ The Democrats’ Immigration Problem ” Nicole Narea for Vox: “ Migrants...

David, John and Josie discuss the politics of vaccine acceptance, the changed conversation on policing, and how Texas, undeterred by failing to find voter fraud, continues its assault on voting rights. Here are some notes and references from this week’s show: Dan Diamond for The Washington Post: “ ‘We Want To Be Educated, Not Indoctrinated,’ Say Trump Voters Wary of Covid Shots ” Charles Duhigg fo...

Emily, John and David discuss the unprecedented American Rescue Plan. Author Heather McGhee joins the Gabfest to talk about her new book outlining how racism hurts all Americans and Dr. Michael Mina answers questions about how to improve the nation's pandemic-fighting strategies. Here are some notes and references from this week’s show: Pew Research Center: “ Broad Public Support for Coronavirus A...

Emily, John and David discuss the stimulus bill, sexual harassment allegations against Andrew Cuomo, and escalating voter suppression efforts. Here are some notes and references from this week’s show: Dahlia Lithwick for Slate: “ Maybe It’s a Good Thing Andrew Cuomo Is Still Governor ” Charlotte Klein for Vanity Fair: “ Pence Can’t Quit The Big Election Lie That Nearly Got Him Killed ” The Brennan...