The “I Would Build A Great Wall” Edition
Listen to Slate’s show about the massacre at Emanuel AME Church, the presidential aspirations of both Jeb Bush and Donald Trump, and the increasingly effective campaign of Bernie Sanders.
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On this week’s Slate Political Gabfest, John Dickerson, David Plotz, and special guest Jamelle Bouie discuss the horrific shooting at the historic Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church in Charleston, South Carolina, how Donald Trump overshadowed Jeb Bush’s official campaign launch, and what rising support for Bernie Sanders might mean for Hillary Clinton.
Here are some of the links and references mentioned during this week’s show:
- The murder of nine people at the Emanuel AME Church in Charleston was an apparent hate crime, but should we also call it domestic terrorism? Also, will this tragedy move the needle in the gun control debate?
- President Obama called the shooting “particularly heartbreaking” and referenced the “four little girls … killed in a bombing at a black church in Birmingham, Alabama.” Jamelle Bouie explores the rich history of Charleston’s Emanuel AME Church as a living landmark of black resistance to slavery and racism and discusses the history of racists using rape to justify violence.
- Read more of Slate’s coverage of the Charleston shooting.
- Jeb Bush makes it official (finally). Will his war chest enable him to overcome his early challenges, master the digital era, compete in the early primaries, win over women voters, and take down Marco Rubio?
- Donald Trump announced his candidacy as well (seriously). Does his addition help or hurt the GOP primary (and did his entry steal Jeb’s moment)?
- After entering the presidential race as a Democrat, Sen. Bernie Sanders’ call for a progressive political revolution has inspired an army of supporters for the Vermont Independent and led to his surprising surge in the polls (poor Martin O’Malley).
- John Dickerson argues that the addition of Bernie Sanders actually helps Hillary Clinton. Jamelle Bouie argues that the tandem of Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren offers liberals a powerful voice.
- Read more of Slate’s coverage of the 2016 campaign.
Jamelle chatters about the documentary The Story of Film: An Odyssey (available on Netflix) and the 1963 film High and Low (Heaven and Hell) by Japanese director Akira Kurosawa.
John chatters about the bridge that builds itself (the self-assembling bridge).
David chatters about the Larry McMurtry’s classic novel Lonesome Dove, Neal Stephenson’s newest novel Seveneves (read Slate’s interview with Neal Stephenson here), and a recent New York Times piece on the Panoply podcast network.
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Podcast production by Mike Vuolo. Links compiled by Tarik Barrett.