The “Do You Live in This Town?” Gabfest
Listen to Slate's show about #ThisTown and how the Senate dodged the nuclear option. Plus, the acquittal of George Zimmerman.
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On this week’s Slate Political Gabfest, Emily Bazelon, John Dickerson, and David Plotz are joined by special guest Mark Leibovich, chief national correspondent for the New York Times Magazine. They discuss Leibovich’s new book, This Town: Two Parties and a Funeral—Plus, Plenty of Valet Parking!—in America's Gilded Capital. They also discuss the Senate’s filibuster deal and the acquittal of George Zimmerman.
This week’s Audible recommendation is 1491: New Revelations of the Americas Before Columbus by Charles C. Mann. Try Audible free for 30 days and get a free audiobook by visiting AudiblePodcast.com/Gabfest.
Here are some of the links and references mentioned during this week's show:
- “A users-guide to why D.C. is so loathsome,” says special guest Mark Leibovich about his new book, This Town: Two Parties and a Funeral—Plus, Plenty of Valet Parking—in America's Gilded Capital.
- An excerpt of This Town in the New York Times Magazine profiles the rise and fall of Hill staffer Kurt Bardella.
- This Town has rattled the D.C. social scene, says Politico’s Lois Romano.
- Emily remembers a piece about the Senate’s self-interested preservation of the filibuster, by Bloomberg’s Brendan Greeley.
- Emily’s initial reaction blamed Florida’s laws for the George Zimmerman verdict. But she also points to Joseph Kennedy’s piece in Slate, which argues that the verdict reflects a broader problem with the law of self-defense.
- Richard Florida explains how race does factor in “stand your ground” verdicts.
John chatters about a Brookings Institution essay about the Sandy Hook families involved in recent efforts to pass gun control legislation.
Emily chatters about The Attack.
David chatters about the scourge of cyclist-hating BMW drivers.
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.