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On this week’s Slate Political Gabfest, Emily Bazelon, John Dickerson, and David Plotz discuss health care, Jeff Sessions, and trans people in the military.
Here are some of the links and references from this week’s show:
- Dartmouth’s “Bright Line Watch” initiative to monitor the state of American democracy
- Ross Douthat writes in the New York Times: “A Trump Tower of Absolute Folly”
- President Donald Trump’s anti-immigrant speech in Ohio
- Rachael Bade and Josh Dawsey write in Politico: “Inside Trump’s Snap Decision to Ban Transgender Troops”
- The RAND study “Assessing the Implications of Allowing Transgender Personnel to Serve Openly”
Here are this week’s cocktail chatters:
- Emily: The new Jennifer Egan novel, Manhattan Beach.
- John: Email John if you have any insights on whether expertise in one area translates well to other areas.
- David: The city of Knoxville and the musician Jeremy Pinnell.
For this week’s Slate Plus bonus segment the hosts discuss Trump’s speech at the Boy Scout Jamboree. Join Slate Plus! Members get bonus segments, exclusive member-only podcasts, and more. Sign up for a free trial today at slate.com/gabfestplus.
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Podcast production by Jocelyn Frank. Links compiled by Kevin Townsend.