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On this week’s Slate Political Gabfest, Emily Bazelon, John Dickerson, and David Plotz are live in Glenside, Pennsylvania, to discuss the fallout of the Trump–Putin summit in Helsinki and the latest Mueller-investigation indictments of Mariia Butina and 12 Russian officers. Plus, with midterms on the horizon, who in the Democratic Party is positioning themselves for a 2020 presidential nomination?
Here are some of the links and references from this week’s show:
- Ben Mathis-Lilley for Slate: “Trump Denounces U.S. Conclusions About Russian Hacking, Calls Putin’s Denial ‘Extremely Strong and Powerful’ ”
- Ross Douthat for the New York Times: “Trump and Russia: One Mystery, Three Theories”
- CBS News: “Trump Defends Putin From Claims of Election Interference”
- Mark Mazzetti and Katie Benner for the New York Times: “12 Russian Agents Indicted in Mueller Investigation”
- Andrew Prokop for Vox: “Roger Stone, Explained: The Longtime Trump Adviser and Dirty Trickster Is in Mueller’s Sights”
Here are this week’s cocktail chatters:
- Listener chatter from Meg Smith: “I’m Running for Senate as a Republican. My Democrat Parents a re so furious they’re backing my opponent.”
- Emily: The IRS will no longer require the disclosure of major donors to nonprofits.
- John: Blindspotting and Nikita Khrushchev’s relationship with JFK, which illustrates a long history of Russian influence in U.S. elections
- David: Inspired by Putin’s gift of a soccer ball to Trump, the work of the Protocol Gift Unit and some famous presidential gifts
This week’s Slate Plus bonus segment is a Q&A with our Pennsylvania audience. 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.
