Listen to Slate's show about Obama’s drone policy, a preview of the State of the Union, and a plan to fix the deficit. 

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On this week’s Slate Political Gabfest, John Dickerson, Emily Bazelon, and special guest David Leonhardt, Washington bureau chief for the New York Times, discuss Obama’s drone policy and his upcoming SOTU address. Plus, they discuss Leonhardt’s new ebook, Here’s the Deal: How Washington Can Solve the Deficit and Spur Growth.

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

• Before John Brennan’s confirmation hearing to become CIA Director, the New York Times reported the presence of a secret U.S. base in Saudi Arabia and revealed other details about the growing use of drone strikes.
• The White House sought to limit the New York Times’ reporting on aspects of the drone program. David talks about how the Times handled these requests—for more info, read this post by the Times’ public editor, Margaret Sullivan.
• Cora Currier, at ProPublica, posted an exhaustive aggregation of reporting about drone strikes.
• Slate contributor Eric Posner thinks the leaked drone memo demonstrates Obama’s acceptance of much of the Bush administration’s approach to fighting terrorism.
• David mentions Obama’s interview with Time magazine in December.
• David’s ebook is Here’s the Deal: How Washington Can Solve the Deficit and Spur Growth.
• During the election, David wrote extensively about research on whether tax cuts lead to economic growth. 

John chatters about Ian McEwan’s Sweet Tooth.

Emily chatters about upcoming Supreme Court cases, including Maryland v. King and a challenge to the voting rights act.

David chatters about … cocktails! He recommends rye and Bar Hill Gin.

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 Mike Vuolo. Links compiled by Jeff Friedrich. Executive Producer: Andy Bowers.