We should all pretend that we care a lot about stuff other than the election but really who has the energy. As Elliot Hannon put it, “Other than—gasp—winning the presidency, these three debates were the biggest stage, the largest portion of our collective attention, that Donald Trump could possibly occupy, and, yes, it was painful at times, but we’re through the worst of it.”
So take a deep breath and let’s review.
- Christina Cauterucci singled out Clinton’s abortion answer as a reason to be glad there was a woman on the debate stage for the first time.
- Jamelle Bouie is horrified by Trump’s refusal to commit to conceding the election should he lose. Ben Mathis-Lilley thinks it’s not that big a deal.
- Leon Neyfakh is dominating the Trump’s-extraordinary-corporeal-presence beat all of a sudden.
- And finally, the world’s scariest game of Would You Rather. Round 1. Round 2.
Not from Slate
- “If kissing us on the cheek before games gets us wins, then it works.”
- Scariest and most depressing Trump take of the week.
- Cheeriest and most uplifting Trump take of the week.
- What does Nevada’s $35 billion fund manager do all day? Nothing.
- Sober demolition of the notion that Trump voters are really motivated by “economic anxiety.”
- New York Times critic pans show after accidentally watching first two episodes out of order.
From the archives
A while ago, we asked you to name Slate pieces that stuck in your memory. Reader Joshua Koerner wrote, “I knew it the minute I read your email. Nothing else comes close.”
Joshua was talking about Emily Bazelon’s 2013 story “The Nazi Anatomists,” which unearths the history of the medical research performed on Hitler’s victims and how it still informs contemporary abortion politics. Read it and let us know what you think. You can also hear Emily discuss the story on the Political Gabfest (audio, transcript).
Is there a Slate story—or podcast, or video, or flavored snack—that stands out for you? Let us know what and why, and we might feature it in a future newsletter. (Hint: Use this schmancy digital gewgaw to search the archives.) And thanks for your Slate Plus membership, which makes our journalism possible. See you next week.
Gabriel Roth
Editorial director, Slate Plus
P.S. We’re hiring a few people to work on Slate Plus, in editorial and customer support. Could one of them be you?
