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Welcome to Gabfest Extra, a short, nightly podcast tracking the ups and downs of the budget standoff between President Obama and the GOP. Today’s panelists are Slate’s David Plotz and John Dickerson and New York Times columnist Ross Douthat.

You can write us at gabfest@slate.com. (Email may be quoted by name unless the writer stipulates otherwise.)

Podcast production by Mike Vuolo and Andy Bowers.

Read the rest of Slate’s coverage of the government shutdown.