The Political Gabfest for Sept. 25, 2009.

The Political Gabfest for Sept. 25, 2009.

The Political Gabfest for Sept. 25, 2009.

Slate's weekly political roundtable.
Sept. 25 2009 1:35 PM

The Political Second Acts Gabfest

Listen to Slate's review of the week in politics.

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Listen to the Gabfest for Sept. 25 by clicking the arrow on the audio player below:

Get your free 14-day trial membership of Gabfest sponsor Audible.com, which includes a credit for one free audiobook. This week's suggestion for how to spend that credit comes from our own Emily Bazelon, who highly recommends Katy Kelly's Lucy Rose: Here's the Thing About Me, narrated by Tara Sands. This funny children's book features an 8-year-old girl named Lucy Rose writing about life during her parents' separation.

Emily Bazelon, John Dickerson, and David Plotz talk politics. This week the panelists discuss Afghanistan, the parade of leaders at the United Nations, and the attempted comebacks of Tom DeLay, John Edwards, and Sarah Palin.

Here are links for some of the references made during this week's show:

Bob Woodward's piece in the Washington Post about Gen. Stanley McChrystal's assessment of the war in Afghanistan.
The Slate "Chatterbox" article reaffirming John's observation that the word to use when referring to the people of Afghanistan is Afghan, not Afghani.
David chatters about the evil giant panda.
Emily chatters about Amy Bach's book Ordinary Injustice, which reveals injustices in the criminal justice system.
John has a shout-out for two Gabfesters who were recently married: Robert and Ann McKeehan. Congratulations, and thanks for being loyal listeners!

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 on Sept. 25 by Amman Sood at 1:36 p.m.

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Sept. 18, 2009

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Listen to the Gabfest for Sept. 18 by clicking the arrow on the audio player below:

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Get your free 14-day trial membership of Gabfest sponsor Audible.com, which includes a credit for one free audio book. This week's recommendation comes from our own David Plotz recommending The Way of All Flesh by Samuel Butler. The book tells of the hardships one must go through to overcome the oppression of parents and affirm one's own personal freedom of expression.

John Dickerson, David Plotz, and Emily Bazelon talk politics. This week: A more sober panel discusses Sen. Max Baucus's health care plan, Jimmy Carter's charges of anti-Obama racism, and ACORN's pimp problem. 

Here's some of the references made during this week's show:

Maureen Dowd's piece about race in the New York Times.
Emily chatters about the grisly murder of Yale student Annie Le.
David chatters about Tyler Cowen's Create Your Own Economy, a wonderful book about the autistic mannerisms of our economy.
John Dickerson chatters about Admiral Mullent's recent testimony before the Senate Armed Services Committee.

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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 on Sept. 18 by Amman Sood at 8:40 p.m.

Sept. 11, 2009

Become a fan of the Political Gabfest on Facebook. We post to the Facebook throughout the week, so keep the conversation going by joining us there.

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Listen to the Gabfest for Sept. 11 by clicking the arrow on the audio player below:

Get your free 14-day trial membership of Gabfest sponsor Audible.com, which includes a credit for one free audiobook. This week's recommendation comes from Robert Tracy, who recommends The Big Rich: The Rise and Fall of the Greatest Texas Oil Fortune by Brian Burrough. It chronicles the scandals, tragedies, and conflicts of Texas oil tycoons.

Emily Bazelon, John Dickerson, and David Plotz talk politics. This week: Obama's health care speech to Congress, free speech before the Supreme Court, and Dan Brown wows Washington with The Lost Symbol.

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Here are some of the links and references made during this week's show:

The transcript of President Obama's health care speech.
Eliot Spitzer on the Citizens United vs. FEC case.
Dan Brown's upcoming book The Lost Symbol.
Emily chatters about the deceptive "Smart Choices" food label.
David chatters about the sex scandal of ex-California state Assemblyman Michael Duvall.
John chatters about the increase in the poverty rate.
A Washington Post article showing the income of some Washingtonians

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 on Sept. 11 by Amman Sood at 6:30 p.m.

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Sept. 4, 2009

Become a fan of the Political Gabfest on Facebook. We post to the Facebook throughout the week, so keep the conversation going by joining us there.

Listen to the Gabfest for Sept. 4 by clicking the arrow on the audio player below:

Get your free 14-day trial membership of Gabfest sponsor Audible.com, which includes a credit for one free audiobook. This week's recommendation comes from reader Justin McMahan recommending All the Shah's Men by Stephen Kinzer. Read by Michael Prichard, the book tells the story of Operation Ajax, a U.S.-and-U.K.-led plot to oust Iranian Prime Minister Mohammed Mossadegh in 1953.

Emily Bazelon, John Dickerson, and David Plotz talk politics. This week: the latest on health care reform, the growing Democratic squabbles over Afghanistan, and the troubling case of kidnapping victim Jaycee Dugard.

Here's some of the links and stories mentioned in this week's show:

An NPR segment on the utilization of fear in the health care debate.
A CBS poll about health care.
Chuck Hagel's op-ed in the Washington Post about Afghanistan.
John chatters about William Manchester's book The Glory and the Dream.The book is a narrative history about America from 1932-72.
Emily chatters about Justice John Paul Stevens not hiring clerks for 2010, which may be a signal that he will retire in June.
David chatters about Sweet Juniper's pictorial essay on the feral houses of Detroit.

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 on Sept. 4 by Amman Sood at 3:50 p.m.

Slate Senior Editor Emily Bazelon, Chief Political Correspondent John Dickerson, and Editor David Plotz host the Gabfest weekly.