Click here  for the most recent Cultural Gabfest.

Listen to the Gabfest for March 28 by clicking the arrow on the audio player below: You can also download the program here, or you can subscribe to the weekly Gabfest podcast feed in iTunes by clicking here.

John Dickerson, Emily Bazelon, and guest Will Saletan gather in Slate's Washington, D.C., studio to discuss whether Hillary Clinton has any chance of winning the Democratic nomination, how faulty memory hurts candidates on the campaign trail, and the 10^th anniversary of Viagra.

Here are links to some of the articles and other items mentioned in the show:

John on Hillary Clinton's will to live
Jeff Greenfield on primary lessons
Mickey Kaus on the first time Obama attended the Rev. Jeremiah Wright's church   
"Today's Blogs" on Hillary misspeaking about her trip to Bosnia
Emily recommends the film Fifty Nude Women
A public opinion poll finds that 22 percent of Democratic voters nationwide say Hillary Clinton should drop out of the race, but 22 percent also say Barack Obama should drop out

Posted by Dale Willman on March 28 at 11:51 a.m.

March 26, 2008

Listen to Cultural Gabfest No. 4 with critics Stephen Metcalf, Meghan O'Rourke, and John Swansburg by clicking the arrow on the audio player below:

You can also download the program here, or you can subscribe to the weekly Gabfest podcast feed in iTunes by clicking here.

In this week's Cultural Gabfest, our critics discuss whether Barack Obama was channeling Walt Whitman, whether the head of JPMorgan was channeling Gordon Gekko, and whether English professors should be channeling Wal-Mart associates.

Here are links to some of the articles and other items mentioned in the show:

Barack Obama's "A More Perfect Union" speech
Walt Whitman's Song of Myself
New York magazine's profile of Jamie Dimon
Michael Douglas as Gordon Gekko in Wall Street
Joseph Schumpeter's "Creative Destruction"
The New York Times' "You Say Recession, I Say 'Reservations!' "
NOBU restaurant in New York City
Gerald Graff's Professing Literature: An Institutional History
Meghan's pick: The Hakawati by Rabih Alameddine
John's pick: Dispatches by Michael Herr
Stephen's pick: Boys and Girls in America from the Hold Steady

Posted by Andy Bowers on March 26 at 8:16 p.m.

March 21, 2008

Listen to the Gabfest for March 21 by clicking the arrow on the audio player below:

You can also download the program here, or you can subscribe to the weekly Gabfest podcast feed in iTunes by clicking here.

Emily Bazelon, John Dickerson and David Plotz discuss Barack Obama's speech, the fifth anniversary of the Iraq war, and the guns case before the Supreme Court.

The e-mail address for the Political Gabfest is gabfest@slate.com. (E-mail may be quoted by name unless the writer stipulates otherwise.)

Posted by June Thomas on March 24 at 12:10 p.m.

March 14, 2008

Listen to the Gabfest for March 14 by clicking the arrow on the audio player below:

You can also download the program here, or you can subscribe to the weekly Gabfest podcast feed in iTunes by clicking here.

Emily Bazelon, John Dickerson, and David Plotz gather in Slate's Washington, D.C, studio to discuss the impact of New York Gov. Eliot Spitzer's resignation, how Geraldine Ferraro's comments can help or hurt each Democratic candidate's campaign, and the ongoing murmurs about a Clinton-Obama dream ticket.

Eliot Spitzer's involvement with a prostitute and subsequent resignation dominated the discussion. Of particular note, the Gabfest team explored the possibility that Spitzer did not pay enough. They discussed a post on "The XX Factor" that argues that finding sex may not be easier for powerful men. They also looked at the consequences of Spitzer's resignation on his superdelegate vote.

A roundup of Slate's coverage of the Eliot Spitzer scandal can be found here.

The discussion then turned to Geraldine Ferraro's racially loaded comments and the impact they will have on each campaign. Emily conceded that Ferraro's comments held some truth, although her phrasing was deeply flawed. 

Finally, the Gabfest panelists doubted the possibility of a dream ticket between the two major Democratic candidates. Emily was particularly taken with Clinton's recent ads, which, she believes, have successfully planted the seed in voters' minds that Obama is the "unready" candidate.

To include those who will not be drinking, John Dickerson introduced this week's supermarket-aisle chatter in place of the usual cocktail chatter. Emily pointed out an upcoming Second Amendment case before the Supreme Court; David marveled at Marion Barry's political resilience; and John introduced this week's best listener-submitted sports metaphors.

The e-mail address for the Political Gabfest is gabfest@slate.com. (E-mail may be quoted by name unless the writer stipulates otherwise.)

Posted by Alex Joseph on March 14 at 3:30 p.m.

March 12, 2008

Listen to Cultural Gabfest No. 3 with critics Stephen Metcalf, Dana Stevens, and John Swansburg by clicking the arrow on the audio player below:

You can also download the program here, or you can subscribe to the weekly Gabfest podcast feed in iTunes by clicking here.

Our newest podcast, the Cultural Gabfest, is back just in time to take on the Eliot Spitzer meltdown and how it's echoing through the media. Critics Stephen Metcalf, Dana Stevens, and John Swansburg also discuss the recent rash of fake memoirs and a breakout blog that claims to shed light on stuff white people like.

Here are links to some of the items mentioned in this week's episode:

"The Fake Memoirist's Survival Guide" on Slate

A Fan's Notes by Frederick Exley

The Stuff White People Like blog

Stuff White People Like on NPR's Talk of the Nation

Dana Stevens' recommended movie: Chop Shop

John Swansburg's recommended fake memoir: Amazons: An Intimate Memoir by the First Women To Play in the National Hockey League by Cleo Birdwell (aka Don DeLillo)

Stephen Metcalf's recommended TV show: Top Gear from BBC America

Posted by Andy Bowers at 11:55 a.m.

March 7, 2008

To play the March 7 Political Gabfest, click the arrow on the audio player below:

You can also download the program here, or you can subscribe to the weekly Gabfest podcast feed in iTunes by clicking here.

Emily Bazelon, John Dickerson, and David Plotz gather in Slate's Washington studio to discuss Hillary Clinton's comeback, John McCain's White House photo-op, and Margaret B. Jones' fake memoir.

Here are some of the stories mentioned in the podcast:

David Greenberg's "History Lesson" on how Democrats always take forever to pick a nominee

A Slate V discussion of Tuesday's results, featuring Emily Bazelon, Dahlia Lithwick, and Melinda Hennenberger

Slate's coverage of fake memoir week (check out the links at the top of the page)

Charlotte Allen's "Outlook" essay and the outraged response on "XX Factor"

"Trailhead" on Yes, Pecan ice cream and the hijacked conference call

Gabfest listener Neal Jahren was nice enough to set up an unofficial Facebook fan page for the show. If you'd like to join the discussion there, here's the link.

If you have ideas for the most appropriate sports metaphor for the Democratic slugfest, or if you'd just like to tell us what you think about the show, our e-mail address is gabfest@slate.com. (E-mail may be quoted by name unless the writer stipulates otherwise.) Posted by June Thomas at 6:16 p.m.