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On this week’s Slate Political Gabfest, Emily Bazelon, John Dickerson, and David Plotz discuss the conservatives’ victories in the off-year elections and what they mean for the 2016 presidential election, the Republican revolt in the GOP primary debates and what it means for the debates going forward, and the startling increase in the death rate for middle-aged white Americans and how it might inform political discourse in the U.S.
Here are some of the links and references mentioned during this week’s show:
- Conservatives scored huge victories in elections across the country this week. Voters in Houston were scared into voting against an anti-discrimination ordinance, voters in Ohio chose not to legalize marijuana over concerns about monopolization, and voters in Kentucky elected a Republican governor who has threatened to eliminate health coverage for low-income residents.
- What did Democrats do wrong, why are voters so afraid of co-ed restrooms, what is the future of marijuana legalization, and why was the polling so bad in Kentucky? And what do the election losses mean for the 2016 Election?
- Harold Meyerson of the American Prospect argues that Democrats must become the party of working Americans in order to win.
- Read more of Slate’s coverage of the 2016 campaign.
- Following the last GOP debate—and despite their bloviating—Republican candidates are pushing for more control over the primary debates. (Read their demands here.) Will their complaints work?
- Were the CNBC debate questions unfair, what are the candidates really upset about, and will new moderators make a difference? Should Fox News host all of the Republican debates?
- Ben Carson is the new GOP front-runner. Will his campaign hold up under increased scrutiny?
- Read more of Slate’s coverage of the GOP primary.
- A startling new study has found that death rates for middle-aged white Americans are increasing, while flattening for blacks and Hispanics. Why?
- Some have posited that the increased death rates are due to untreated mental health, increased drug abuse, and declining economic security. How might the racial dynamics of the study inform political discourse in the U.S.?
- Read more of Slate’s coverage of news and politics.
Emily chatters about Lauren Redniss’ new novel Thunder and Lightning.
John chatters about Jon Meacham’s new biography of former president George H.W. Bush, Destiny and Power. (Read John’s take on the biography here.)
David chatters about the amazing, real, and accurate CIA’s Simple Sabotage Field Manual (1944), a guide to sabotaging organizations.
Send us your best conundrums! Tweet them to @SlateGabfest (#heygabfest), email them to us at gabfest@slate.com, or submit them to us on Facebook.
If you’re a fan of Slate’s podcasts, you can’t miss out on our one-night-only show in New York City on Nov. 16! We’re combining Slate’s most popular personalities from the Political Gabfest, the Culture Gabfest, and Hang Up and Listen into a blowout event called “Superfest on Broadway” at Manhattan’s Town Hall. After the event, we will be holding an exclusive afterparty with the talent, Slate staff, and Panoply partners at an undisclosed location. You can buy your show ticket or a show and afterparty package by visiting slate.com/superfestnyc. Doors open at 6 p.m. for the show and 9 p.m. for the afterparty.
Podcast production by Jocelyn Frank. Links compiled by Tarik Barrett.
Topic ideas for next week? You can tweet suggestions, links, and questions to @SlateGabfest (#heygabfest). (Tweets may be quoted by name unless the writer stipulates otherwise.)
