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.
Get more Political Gabfest with Slate Plus. Join to unlock weekly bonus episodes—plus ad-free listening across all your favorite Slate podcasts. Subscribe directly from the Political Gabfest show page on Apple Podcasts and Spotify. Or visit slate.com/gabfestplus to get access wherever you listen.
For this month’s edition of Gabfest Reads, John Dickerson interviews Angela Duckworth about her new book, Situated: Find the People and Places That Bring Out Your Best. Her previous best-selling book, Grit, explored the idea that passion and perseverance drive success. This new book argues that grit is not enough to succeed. Yes, grit matters, but the real game-changer is your situation, that is, the objects within reach, the people around you, the physical and social environment that you inhabit.
Duckworth reveals how the most successful people don't just grind harder; they reshape their circumstances to make success feel automatic. The conversation with host John Dickerson ranges from the "three boxes model" of human behavior to the power of finding your tribe and mentors. Whether you're struggling to be present, trying to build better habits, or wondering why willpower alone hasn't delivered, this book offers a framework for understanding and changing the situation that shapes you every single day.
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 Nina Porzucki.
Need to set up your Slate Plus feed? If you subscribed through Slate.com, check out our FAQ at slate.com/podcastfaqs for easy instructions. Members subscribed via Apple Podcasts get automatic access—no setup required.
This week, Emily Bazelon, John Dickerson, and David Plotz discuss what the evidence beyond polling signals for the impending midterm elections, how Trump betrayed Ukraine with his sudden deal over Russian diesel and Starshield restrictions for Ukrainian operations, and how the chilling federal raid on Rep. Ilhan Omar's home is part of the administration's escalating attempt to build a case for stripping her citizenship.
For this week’s Slate Plus bonus episode, Emily, John, and David discuss the precipitous fall of Kimberly Guilfoyle after the Wall Street Journal reported that she had solicited $100,000 from a Trump donor and why those who've departed the Trump administration are overwhelmingly women.
In the latest Gabfest Reads, David Plotz talks with journalist Annie Lowrey about her new book, , an investigation into the hours Americans lose to broken bureaucracy, from 12-hour tax filings to multiyear waits for housing vouchers and building permits.
Blue Wave or Blue Ripple?
Thursday, October 8, 2026 • Duration 01:10:30
This week, Emily Bazelon, John Dickerson, and David Plotz discuss where the midterms stand mere weeks out from Election Day, the legal and cultural issues at the heart of the deeply disturbing Cornell University rape case, and the perennial American debate over whether to make Daylight Saving Time permanent.
This week, Emily Bazelon, David Plotz, and guest host David Leonhardt discuss the GOP's failed witch hunt against Jack Smith and bizarre moments from the hearing, the Supreme Court's decision to allow the Trump administration's cruel third-country deportations to continue for now and broader issues of immigration and asylum, and the mixed bag of a college sports bill that sidesteps the key question of whether college athletes count as employees.
Listener chatter from Dileep Rao in Los Angeles, California: Annie Roth for The New York Times: What Did Jurassic Forests Sound Like? Like This.; J. Gu, F. Montealegre-Z, T. Jonsson, C. Woodrow, E. Celiker, M.N. Islam, J.B. Linde, F.A. Sarria-S, F. Shi, H. Song, D. Robert, & D. Ren, , Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A. 123 (36) e2615107123, https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.2615107123 (2026).
Purposely Negative
Thursday, September 24, 2026 • Duration 01:00:22
This week, Emily Bazelon, John Dickerson, and guest host Juliette Kayyem discuss what we learn from Trump's escalating battle with the press and its track record in the courts, the likely outcomes of this week's Trump-Xi summit with former New York Times Beijing Bureau Chief and host of Face-Off: the US vs. China, Jane Perlez, and the role of voter trust as the midterm elections approach.
Gabfest Reads | The Tax Nobody Talks About: Your Time
Saturday, September 19, 2026 • Duration 33:50
David Plotz talks with journalist Annie Lowrey about her new book The Time Tax: How the Government Wastes Our Time—and How to Fix It, an investigation into the hours Americans lose to broken bureaucracy, from 12-hour tax filings to multiyear waits for housing vouchers and building permits. Lowrey traces the waste to what she calls the “ordeal mechanism,” the deliberate friction built into some programs to weed out the “undeserving,” alongside outdated technology like the COBOL code still running state unemployment systems. She and Plotz discuss why the burden falls hardest on poor people and immigrants, why Social Security remains one of the few programs that treats recipients with dignity, and why DOGE did nothing to fix any of it.
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 Nina Porzucki.
Need to set up your Slate Plus feed? If you subscribed through Slate.com, check out our FAQ at slate.com/podcastfaqs for easy instructions. Members subscribed via Apple Podcasts get automatic access—no setup required.
This week, Emily Bazelon, John Dickerson, and David Plotz discuss whether this week's Supreme Court intervention rejecting Trump's mail-in ballot restrictions will prevent midterm chaos, explore the fast-evolving dynamics of public and political anxieties about AI, and dissect remarkable new reporting from ProPublica exposing the Putin-adjacent Russian oligarch who paid for much of Donald Trump Jr.'s private island wedding.
This week, Emily Bazelon, John Dickerson, and David Plotz discuss why Republicans are holding an unusual midterm convention and what it says about the state of the race at the homestretch, talk about the new book Profiles in Cowardice: A Study of Collaboration in the Trump Era with author Jacob Weisberg, and reflect on memories and historical consequences on the 25th anniversary of the 9/11 terror attack.
This week, Emily Bazelon, John Dickerson, and David Plotz discuss how a narrow Supreme Court majority used aesthetic standing to greenlight Trump's ballroom construction, why bond yields are rising around the world and how that impacts everyone with guest Jason Furman, and how the extradition showdown between Texas and Minnesota over an ICE officer involved in a shooting betrays fraying relations among the states.
This week, John Dickerson, David Plotz, and guest host Juliette Kayyem discuss this week's Supreme Court ruling allowing the Trump administration to move forward for now with his order restricting mail-in voting, the likely effects of trade wars with Canada and Iran, and what we humans can do about safety as A.I. models rapidly get more sophisticated and autonomous.
For this week’s Slate Plus bonus episode, John, David, and guest host Juliette Kayyem discuss the newest drama enveloping semi-royals Prince Harry and Meghan after they announced an impending move back to the UK.
In the latest Gabfest Reads, David Plotz talks with John Lanchester about his new novel, Look What You Made Me Do, a darkly funny psychological thriller about two couples in modern-day London whose lives collide in a story of infidelity, obsession, and revenge. The book explores the performance of niceness, class, intergenerational frictions and how technology makes vengeance not just possible but almost exceedingly easy in the modern age.
Email your chatters, questions, and comments to gabfest@slate.com. (Messages may be referenced by name unless the writer stipulates otherwise.)
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 and . Or visit to get access wherever you listen.
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.
Need to set up your Slate Plus feed? If you subscribed through Slate.com, check out our FAQ at slate.com/podcastfaqs for easy instructions. Members subscribed via Apple Podcasts get automatic access—no setup required.
For this week’s Slate Plus bonus episode, Emily, John, and David react to a New York Times list of 100 open scientific questions by coming up with some unanswered questions of their own. Their lists run from the cosmic (is interstellar travel possible?) to the intimate (what is it like to be my dog?) to the unsettling (how much of memory is made up in the moment?).
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.
Need to set up your Slate Plus feed? If you subscribed through Slate.com, check out our FAQ at slate.com/podcastfaqs for easy instructions. Members subscribed via Apple Podcasts get automatic access—no setup required.
For this week’s Slate Plus bonus episode, Emily, David, and guest host David Leonhardt discuss the viral story about the infighting over COVID-masking policy at a Massachusetts bar. They explore the long shadow of COVID overhang, hard tradeoffs and how to think about them, and the problematic impulse to eat your own on the left.
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.
Need to set up your Slate Plus feed? If you subscribed through Slate.com, check out our FAQ at slate.com/podcastfaqs for easy instructions. Members subscribed via Apple Podcasts get automatic access—no setup required.
For this week’s Slate Plus bonus episode, Emily, John, and guest host Juliette Kayyem discuss reactions to Nikole Hannah-Jones's New York Times Magazine essay, In Fighting for Every Black Child, Did I Betray My Own?, and why the online hostility looks so different from what she actually wrote. They dig into the research on socioeconomic integration, the tendency to conflate race and class, and the problem with asking individual parents to solve what is really a policy problem.
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.
Come see the Gabfest LIVE Providence, RI on October 21st. Tickets found at slate.com/gabfestlive
Need to set up your Slate Plus feed? If you subscribed through Slate.com, check out our FAQ at slate.com/podcastfaqs for easy instructions. Members subscribed via Apple Podcasts get automatic access—no setup required.
For this week’s Slate Plus bonus episode, Emily, John, and David discuss what California Gov. Gavin Newsom told Jake Tapper about running for president in 2028. They discuss the signaling work of the fly-fishing tableau, what Newsom is really saying about Harris, and whether there's an appetite in the Democratic party for either of them to run.
In the latest Gabfest Reads, David Plotz talks with John Lanchester about his new novel, Look What You Made Me Do, a darkly funny psychological thriller about two couples in modern-day London whose lives collide in a story of infidelity, obsession, and revenge. The book explores the performance of niceness, class, intergenerational frictions and how technology makes vengeance not just possible but almost exceedingly easy in the modern age.
Email your chatters, questions, and comments to gabfest@slate.com. (Messages may be referenced by name unless the writer stipulates otherwise.)
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.
Need to set up your Slate Plus feed? If you subscribed through Slate.com, check out our FAQ at slate.com/podcastfaqs for easy instructions. Members subscribed via Apple Podcasts get automatic access—no setup required.
For this week’s Slate Plus bonus episode, Emily, John, and David discuss this week's big AI story, a researcher's resignation from Anthropic and his dire warnings about AI's imminent dangers to humanity, with guest Nathan Calvin, general counsel at Encode. They discuss the exponential pace of AI development, what the big companies are or are not doing to protect humans from apocalypse, and the simultaneous governmental and industry cooperation that could help manage risks.
In the latest Gabfest Reads, David Plotz talks with John Lanchester about his new novel, Look What You Made Me Do, a darkly funny psychological thriller about two couples in modern-day London whose lives collide in a story of infidelity, obsession, and revenge. The book explores the performance of niceness, class, intergenerational frictions and how technology makes vengeance not just possible but almost exceedingly easy in the modern age.
Email your chatters, questions, and comments to gabfest@slate.com. (Messages may be referenced by name unless the writer stipulates otherwise.)
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.
Need to set up your Slate Plus feed? If you subscribed through Slate.com, check out our FAQ at slate.com/podcastfaqs for easy instructions. Members subscribed via Apple Podcasts get automatic access—no setup required.
Listener chatter from Daniela Koontz in Houston, Texas: Anthropeum
For this week’s Slate Plus bonus episode, Emily, John, and David discuss Army secretary Dan Driscoll's resignation as the latest high-level Army official to run afoul of Pete Hegseth, whether Hegseth is capable of leading the military through a moment of real strain, and the increasing leaks from inside the Pentagon.
In the latest Gabfest Reads, David Plotz talks with John Lanchester about his new novel, Look What You Made Me Do, a darkly funny psychological thriller about two couples in modern-day London whose lives collide in a story of infidelity, obsession, and revenge. The book explores the performance of niceness, class, intergenerational frictions and how technology makes vengeance not just possible but almost exceedingly easy in the modern age.
Email your chatters, questions, and comments to gabfest@slate.com. (Messages may be referenced by name unless the writer stipulates otherwise.)
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.
Need to set up your Slate Plus feed? If you subscribed through Slate.com, check out our FAQ at slate.com/podcastfaqs for easy instructions. Members subscribed via Apple Podcasts get automatic access—no setup required.
Need to set up your Slate Plus feed? If you subscribed through Slate.com, check out our FAQ at slate.com/podcastfaqs for easy instructions. Members subscribed via Apple Podcasts get automatic access—no setup required.
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