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On this week’s Slate Political Gabfest, Emily Bazelon, David Plotz, and New York Times technology columnist Farhad Manjoo discuss the Mueller investigation, shady dealings between Facebook and Cambridge Analytica, and whether we’re back in the 1960s.
Here are some of the links and references from this week’s show:
- David D. Kirkpatrick and Mark Mazzetti for the New York Times: “How 2 Gulf Monarchies Sought to Influence the White House”
- Zachary Fryer-Biggs for Vox: “Firing Mueller Won’t Solve Trump’s Legal Problems”
- Conor Friedersdorf for the Atlantic: “The Case for Impeaching Trump if He Fires Robert Mueller”
- Olivia Victoria Gazis for CBS News: “U.S. Election Systems Remain Vulnerable, Russia Undeterred, DHS Secretaries Say”
- Kurt Wagner and Rani Molla for Recode: “Facebook Is Not Getting Any Bigger in the United States”
- The Center for Investigative Reporting’s podcast Reveal: “The Rise of the New German Right”
- Emily Bazelon for the New York Times Magazine: “Why Facebook Is After Your Kids”
- Jim Geraghty for National Review: “It’s Not the 1960s: Group Violence in America Is Hard to Pull Off”
Here are this week’s cocktail chatters:
- Emily: She is marveling at a trial in Kansas between the state’s secretary of state, Kris Kobach, and the ACLU over whether voters need to provide proof of citizenship, “Trump’s Voter Fraud Commission Is Gone, but Scrutiny Will Continue” and “Judge Harshly Criticizes Kobach During Contempt Hearing”
- Farhad: Seeking to get off the internet, Farhad took up pottery as a hobby—but then he realized YouTube videos are perfect for learning nondigital skills
- David: Thanks to Atlas Obscura’s Mundane Madness, you can “Vote for the Most Wondrous of These Everyday Inventions”
For this week’s Slate Plus bonus segment, the hosts answer audience questions. 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 Izzy Rode.