Political Gabfest

Updated: 16 Aug 2025 • 922 episodes
slate.com/podcasts/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. Want more Political Gabfest? Join Slate Plus to unlock weekly bonus episodes. Plus, you’ll access ad-free listening across all your favorite Slate podcasts. You can subscribe directly from the Political Gabfest show page on Apple Podcasts and Spotify. Or, visit slate.com/gabfestplus to get access wherever you listen.

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Political Gabfest host Emily Bazelon talks with Jonathan Mahler about his new book, The Gods of New York. They discuss the unraveling of Mayor Ed Koch’s New York City; how the city’s current mayoral race is mirroring the past; and more.   Tweet us your questions @SlateGabfest or email us at gabfest@slate.com. (Messages

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This week, Emily Bazelon, John Dickerson, and guest host Jamelle Bouie discuss the perils of this week’s Trump-plus-Putin (minus Zelensky) summit in Alaska, how Trump’s claimed crime “emergency” provided pretext for National Guard deployment and takeover of D.C. police, and a new presidential memorandum requiring colle

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07 Aug 2025 • EN

Putting the BS in BLS

This week, Emily Bazelon, David Plotz, and guest host Juliette Kayyem discuss the future integrity of US economic data after Trump fired the head of the Bureau of Labor Statistics, what the mid-decade redistricting arms race portends for the future of US representative government, and the phenomenon of “Trump’s Rasputi

69 min
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31 Jul 2025 • EN

Gaza is Starving

This week, Emily Bazelon, John Dickerson and David Plotz discuss the deepening humanitarian crisis in Gaza and the international condemnations of Israel’s actions. They also examine how the Trump administration is gaining control of both universities and the judiciary—through settlements with Ivy League institutions an

64 min
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This week, Emily Bazelon, John Dickerson, and David Plotz discuss the latest developments in the Epstein files saga, how Supreme Court decisions under John Roberts have dramatically expanded Trump’s power, and whether the Texas Republicans’ redistricting plan will tip the map redder, or backfire. For this week’s Slate

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David Plotz talks with author Carl Hiaasen about his new book, Fever Beach. Fever Beach is a political satire that follows a couple of dimwitted white supremacists, a corrupt congressman, and the people that try to take them all down. They discuss the real-life racist event Hiaasen witnessed that inspired a central sce

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