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On this week’s Slate Political Gabfest, Emily Bazelon, David Plotz, and Jamelle Bouie discuss the fallout from John Boehner’s surprise resignation and Emily’s New York Times Magazine article on the troubling state of DNA evidence law in criminal cases. The hosts are also joined by special guest Julia Ioffe, contributing writer at the New York Times Magazine and Foreign Policy, to discuss how President Obama should respond to Russia’s escalating involvement in the Syrian civil war and whether or not Vladimir Putin has a greater interest in helping combat ISIS’s advances or in saving the regime of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.

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

• Last week, Speaker of the House John Boehner surprised everyone by announcing his resignation. What happened and who will be the next speaker of the House?
• What does Boehner’s resignation mean for the possible government shutdown and future debt-ceiling debate? And will his absence help fix the gridlock in Congress?
• Was John Boehner underappreciated as speaker of the House, will Republicans regret losing him, and will Boehner’s resignation be a good thing or a bad thing for the GOP primary?
• Vladimir Putin has escalated Russia’s involvement in the ongoing civil war in Syria. Are Russia and the United States capable of working together to fight ISIS or is Putin really working with Syrian President Bashar al-Assad?
• What should President Obama do about Syria (and Putin), and is this yet another example of the president’s flawed foreign policy?
• Julia Ioffe argues that Russia’s game plan in Syria is simple: To stick it to the Americans.
• Emily’s troubling New York Times Magazine piece on whether defendants should have access to DNA evidence before accepting a plea bargain.

Jamelle chatters about Robert Harris’ novel Fatherland and the cast recording of the Broadway musical Hamilton.

David chatters about Atlas Obscura’s list of the ultimate crowdsourced punny businesses in America.

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Podcast production by Jayson De Leon. Links compiled by Tarik Barrett.