The Political Gabfest for Oct. 30, 2009.

The Political Gabfest for Oct. 30, 2009.

The Political Gabfest for Oct. 30, 2009.

Slate's weekly political roundtable.
Oct. 30 2009 7:36 PM

The Boys Club Gabfest

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

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The Political Gabfest has moved! Find new episodes here.

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

We'd like to invite all readers to a special, live taping of the Gabfest on Tuesday, Nov. 10, at 7 p.m. The event will take place at the Sixth & I Historic Synagogue in Washington, D.C.

We'll discuss the one-year anniversary of President Obama's historic election, what the president has accomplished and what he hasn't, and the hot stories of the week. There will be cocktail chatter (of course!) and a vigorous conversation between the Gabbers and the audience. And there will be surprises! Reserve your tickets now at the Sixth & I Web site. Tickets are $10 in advance and $12 at the door. Please join us!

Listen to the Gabfest for Oct. 30 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 audio book. This week's recommendation comes from our very own David Plotz, who enthusiastically endorses Wolf Hall by Hilary Mantel. The novel tells the story of the pragmatic Thomas Cromwell, Henry VIII's right hand man. You'll find links to this and previous Gabfest recommendations on our new Audible RSS feed.

On this week's Slate Political Gabfest, Emily Bazelon, John Dickerson, and David Plotz discuss how health care reform is limping forward, how much damage (political and otherwise) the shortage of swine flu vaccinations is creating, and marriage and basketball in the Obama White House.

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

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Timothy Noah's piece in Slate about "trigger options."
The Obama marriage as portrayed by Jodi Kantor in the New York Times Magazine.
Mark Leibovich on the "boys club" of the Obama White House in the New York Times.David chatters about Adrian Chen's piece in Slate on "graving."
Emily chatters about how kids find debunking magic tricks more interesting than the magic itself.
John chatters about former Obama political strategist David Plouffe's book  about the 2008 Obama presidential campaign.

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 Oct. 30 by Amman Sood at 7:37 p.m.

Oct. 30, 2009

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Listen to the Gabfest for Oct. 23 by clicking the arrow on the audio player below:

Get your free 14-day trial membership to Gabfest sponsor Audible.com, which includes a credit for one free audio book. This week's recommendation comes from listener Nate Shivar, who recommends 13 Things That Don't Make Sense: The Most Baffling Scientific Mysteries of Our Time by Michael Brooks. Shivar calls it "It is a fun and wonder-ful exploration of the 13 big anomalies in science that are most likely to yield an Einstein or Copernicus-level breakthrough." You can find previous Audible recommendations on our new RSS feed.

This week on the Gabfest, Emily Bazelon, David Plotz, and special guest Bill Smee discuss Afghanistan (and New York Times reporter David Rohde's kidnapping there), new limits on Wall Street compensation, and the New Jersey governor's race.

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

David Rohde's spellbinding series about his seven months as a Taliban hostage.
Nicholas Kristof on Afghanistan.
Matt Bai's profile of New Jersey governor John Corzine's reelection effort.
Bill Smee chatters about a strange outburst against Jews by two South Carolina Republicans.
David chatters about how rising tuition at colleges may be linked to their apparent arms race for the most amenities.

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 Oct. 23 by Andy Bowers at 1:16 p.m.

Oct. 16, 2009

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

Listen to the Gabfest for Oct. 16 by clicking the arrow on the audio player below:

This week on the Gabfest, Emily Bazelon, John Dickerson, and David Plotz discuss the latest twists and turns in the health care debate, the argument between gay rights activists and the Obama administration, and the White House vs. Fox News.

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

The Politico article about Maine Sen. Olympia Snowe's health care vote.
David chatters about Jody Rosen's post in Slate this week about NPR's taste in black music.
Emily chatters about a woman who's had 15 abortions and calls herself an "abortion addict."
A Gallup poll showing that Hillary Clinton is now more popular than President Obama.

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 Oct. 16 by Amman Sood at 4:42 p.m.

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Oct. 9, 2009

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

Listen to the Gabfest for Oct. 9 by clicking the arrow on the audio player below:

We'd like to invite all readers to a special, live taping of the Gabfest on Tuesday, Nov. 10, at 7 p.m. The event will take place at the Sixth and I Historic synagogue in Washington, D.C.

We'll discuss the one-year anniversary of President Obama's historic election, what the president has accomplished and what he hasn't, and the hot stories of the week. There will be cocktail chatter (of course!), and a vigorous conversation between the Gabbers and the audience. And there will be surprises! Reserve your tickets now at the Sixth and I Web site. Tickets are $10 in advance and $12 at the door. Please join us!

Get your free 14-day trial membership to Gabfest sponsor Audible.com, which includes a credit for one free audiobook. This week's recommendation comes from listener Glenn Hochberg, who recommends Step Step by Step: A Memoir of Hope, Friendship, Perseverance, and Living the American Dream by Bertie Bowman. The book tells the story of a boy who leaves the Jim Crow South at 13 and heads to Washington, D.C. It chronicles his rise from sweeping the Capitol steps to working as hearing coordinator for the Senate foreign relations committee.

This week, Emily Bazelon, John Dickerson, and David Plotz discuss what the president should do about Afghanistan, the FTC decision to regulate bloggers, and the Supreme Court's new term.

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

Jeffrey Goldberg's piece in the Atlantic arguing against an Israeli strike in Iran.
Emily chatters about June Thomas' Slate series "The American Way of Dentistry."
John chatters about his upcoming series on people who take life-changing risks that affect them economically. If you have a story that might fit this mold, send us an e-mail at gabfest@slate.com.

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 Oct. 9 by Amman Sood at 2:46 p.m.

Oct. 2, 2009

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

Listen to the Gabfest for Oct. 2 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 Imogene Hatch, who recommends A Soldier of the Great War by Mark Helprin, narrated by David Colacci.

John Dickerson, David Plotz, and Emily Bazelon talk politics. This week: The health care debate continues, guns are back before the Supreme Court, and is someone proposing a coup in the United States?

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

The Hyde Amendment on federal abortion funding.
Newsmax hasremoved its coup article, but here's an archived version.
Marcia Clark writes in the Daily Beast about the ongoing Roman Polanski case.
David chatters about a photograph of President Obama with the Spanish prime minister's Goth daughters.
Emily chatters about the lying former prosecutor in the Roman Polanski rape case.

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 Oct. 5 by Amman Sood at 2 p.m.

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