Political Gabfest

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 [email protected]. (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. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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.Here are this week’s chatters: Emily: Samuel A. Alito Jr. for The Wall Street Journal: Opinion: Commentary: Justice Samuel Alito: Even Originalists Make MistakesJohn: Hamed Aleaziz, David A. Fahrenthold, Nicholas Nehamas, Tyler Pager, and Niraj Chokshi for The New York Times: Kristi Noem’s Agency Gave Her Donor a Lucrative Contract Just Before She Left; David Gilmour for Mediaite: ABC News Mysteriously Deletes Report on Trump Sons’ ‘$6B’ Business Dealings (original from ABC News on Internet Archive); Dana Mattioli, Drew Hinshaw, Rebecca Ballhaus, and Joe Parkinson for The Wall Street Journal: Exclusive: ‘Honey Please’: Kimberly Guilfoyle Pushed Donor to Wire $100,000 to Her Amex Account; Record Lows by CJ Green; Historian T.J. Stiles on Bluesky on Grant documentary (also available on Netflix)David: Acquired Podcast: Season 13, Episode 2: Costco (also on Apple Podcasts); Lioness on Paramount PlusListener chatter from Mark Phillips in Baltimore, Maryland: Katie Bo Lillis and Zachary Cohen for CNN: Exclusive: US military had close call after using AI for false intelligence report, sources sayFor 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?).Gabfest is coming to Providence, RI on October 21st. Tickets available now!In the latest Gabfest Reads, 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.Email your chatters, questions, and comments to [email protected]. (Messages may be referenced by name unless the writer stipulates otherwise.)Podcast production by Nina PorzuckiResearch by Emily DittoYou can find the full Political Gabfest show pages here.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.Find out more about David Plotz's monthly tours of Ft. DeRussy, the secret Civil War fort hidden in Rock Creek Park. Follow@SlateGabfest on X / https://twitter.com/SlateGabfestSlate Political Gabfest on Facebook / https://www.facebook.com/Gabfest/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. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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.Here are this week’s chatters: Emily: Kohelet Rabbah 7:1, The Sefaria Midrash Rabbah, 2022John: History Channel: Grant; John Anderson for The Wall Street Journal: ‘Grant’ Review: The Wisdom and Weaknesses of a WarriorJuliette: Madeline Puckette for Wine Folly: Everything You Want to Know About Orange Wine; Winecountry Collective: Exploring the World of Orange WinesListener chatter from John McMillian in Atlanta, Georgia: Rick Perlstein for Smithsonian Magazine: An Interview With ‘Playboy’ Magazine Nearly Torpedoed Jimmy Carter’s Presidential Campaign; Robert Scheer for Playboy Magazine: The Playboy Interview With Jimmy CarterFor 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.In the latest Gabfest Reads, 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.Email your chatters, questions, and comments to [email protected]. (Messages may be referenced by name unless the writer stipulates otherwise.)Podcast production by Nina PorzuckiResearch by Emily DittoYou can find the full Political Gabfest show pages here.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 Find out more about David Plotz's monthly tours of Ft. DeRussy, the secret Civil War fort hidden in Rock Creek Park. Follow@SlateGabfest on X / https://twitter.com/SlateGabfestSlate Political Gabfest on Facebook / https://www.facebook.com/Gabfest/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. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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.Here are this week’s chatters: Emily: New podcast Examined: The Backfire Effect, by Josie Duffy Rice; Supremacy: How Rule by the Court Replaced Government by the People by Nikolas Bowie and Daphna Renan John: Wild Card with Rachel Martin (NPR): John Dickerson says doubt only helps to solidify his faith; Derek DelGaudio's In & Of Itself (Trailer on YouTube) (Streaming on Hulu); Linda Holmes for NPR: 'In & Of Itself' Is A Study Of Identity And Magic; AMORALMAN: A True Story and Other Lies by Derek DelGaudio David: Colin from Accounts on Paramount Plus; Daniel Wu for The Washington Post: Pollution spikes after Trump halted global air-monitoring efforts, report says Listener chatter from Julian Ozen in Brooklyn, NY: Ordinary Abundance 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 [email protected]. (Messages may be referenced by name unless the writer stipulates otherwise.) Podcast production by Nina Porzucki Research by Emily DittoYou can find the full Political Gabfest show pages here. 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. Find out more about David Plotz's monthly tours of Ft. DeRussy, the secret Civil War fort hidden in Rock Creek Park.   Follow@SlateGabfest on X / https://twitter.com/SlateGabfestSlate Political Gabfest on Facebook / https://www.facebook.com/Gabfest/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. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.