The Last Shot Gabfest
Listen to Slate's show about the political legacy of the Newtown shootings, Boehner’s Plan B, and the legacy of Robert Bork.
Posted Friday, Dec. 21, 2012, at 2:35 PM ET
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Live Post-Inauguration Gabfest! Jan. 23, Washington, D.C., at Sixth & I Historic Synagogue, 7 p.m. (Doors open at 6.) Tickets and more information here.
On this week’s Slate Political Gabfest, Emily Bazelon, John Dickerson, and David Plotz discuss how America might confront gun violence in the wake of the latest mass shooting tragedy in Newton, Conn. They also update the latest offers exchanged between President Obama and Speaker Boehner in the fiscal cliff negotiations, and discuss the legacy of the late Supreme Court nominee Robert Bork.
Here are some of the links and references mentioned during this week's show:
- Read more of Slate’s coverage of the Sandy Hook school shooting and gun control.
- David also mentions Slate’s project to track gun violence that happens after the Newtown shooting.
- Emily and John both wrote about the politics of taking on the NRA.
- David refers to a piece in the New York Times, “The Freedom of an Armed Society,” while discussing the impact of gun culture on American society.
- While discussing gun control policy options, John refers to a “Bloomberg blueprint”; in a USA Today op-ed, Mayor Bloomberg outlined six ways to confront gun violence.
- Emily mentions Akhil Reed Amar’s piece about Robert Bork. David also recommends Jeffrey Toobin’s piece in The New Yorker.
John chatters about exploding suns and other amazing images curated by Phil Plait in Slate.
Emily chatters about Dafna Lizner’s reporting on the White House Pardon Attorney’s Office.
David chatters about the discovery of an early example of human compassion.
Topic ideas for next week? You can tweet suggestions, links, and questions to @SlateGabfest. The email address for the Political Gabfest is gabfest@slate.com. (Email may be quoted by name unless the writer stipulates otherwise.)
Podcast production by Michael Vuolo. Links compiled by Jeff Friedrich.
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Emily Bazelon is a Slate senior editor and writes about law, family, and kids. Her forthcoming book, Sticks and Stones: Defeating the Culture of Bullying and Rediscovering the Power of Empathy and Character, will be published in February. Find her at emilybazelon@gmail.com or on Facebook or Twitter.
John Dickerson is Slate's chief political correspondent and author of On Her Trail. He can be reached at slatepolitics@gmail.com. Read his series on the presidency and his series on risk. Follow him on Twitter.
David Plotz is the Editor of Slate. He's the author of The Genius Factory: The Curious History of the Nobel Prize Sperm Bank and Good Book. He appears on Slate's Political Gabfest.