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The Nightmare Agenda Live Gabfest Listen to Slate's review of the week in politics.

By Emily Bazelon, John Dickerson, and David PlotzUpdated Thursday, Nov. 12, 2009, at 4:27 PM ET

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Listen to the Gabfest for Nov. 12 by clicking the arrow on the audio player below:

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You can download the program here or you can subscribe to the weekly Gabfest podcast feed in iTunes.

Get your free 14-day trial membership of Gabfest sponsor Audible.com, which includes a credit for one free audiobook. Listener Karen Iker gives us two recommendations this week. Her recommendation for children is Henry and Ribsy by Beverly Cleary, narrated by Neil Patrick Harris. Her other more adult-friendly recommendation is Michael Chabon's Manhood for Amateurs. You'll find links to this and previous Gabfest recommendations on our new Audible RSS feed.

On this week's live Slate Political Gabfest, Emily Bazelon, John Dickerson, and David Plotz dissect health care reform, the Obama presidency, and the shootings at Fort Hood.

Here are some of the links and references mentioned during this week's show:

Arianna Huffington's piece about David Plouffe's The Audacity To Win: The Inside Story and Lessons of Barack Obama's Historic Victory.
Bob Herbert's column in the New York Times regarding President Obama's misplaced priorities.
President Obama's speech at Fort Hood.
David Brooks' column in the New York Times about the "shroud of political correctness" around the Fort Hood shooter.
Dorothy Rabinowitz's column in the Wall Street Journal about the Fort Hood shooter.
Emily chatters about the biography of Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia by Joan Biskupic.
David chatters about a personal ethical dilemma. Listen in for more details.
John chatters about an interesting tidbit from David Plouffe's new book where it's revealed that the Obama campaign leaked news of John Edwards' $400 haircut to the press.

The e-mail address for the Political Gabfest is . (E-mail may be quoted by name unless the writer stipulates otherwise.)

Posted on Nov. 12 by Amman Sood at 4:27 p.m.

Nov. 5, 2009

Become a fan of the Political Gabfest on Facebook. We post to the Facebook page throughout the week, so keep the conversation going by joining us there.

We'd like to invite all readers to a special, live taping of the Gabfest on Tuesday, Nov. 10, at 7 p.m. The event will take place at the Sixth & I Historic Synagogue in Washington, D.C.

We'll discuss the one-year anniversary of President Obama's historic election, what the president has accomplished and what he hasn't, and the hot stories of the week. There will be cocktail chatter (of course!) and a vigorous conversation between the Gabbers and the audience. And there will be surprises! Reserve your tickets now at the Sixth & I Web site. Tickets are $10 in advance and $12 at the door. Please join us!

Listen to the Gabfest for Nov. 5 by clicking the arrow on the audio player below:

You can download the program here or you can subscribe to the weekly Gabfest podcast feed in iTunes.

Get your free 14-day trial membership of Gabfest sponsor Audible.com, which includes a credit for one free audiobook. We've got two recommendations for you this week. The first comes from listener Jim Bosiljevac recommending Farm City: The Education of an Urban Farmer by Novella Carpenter, which tells the story of a woman who turned a small garden in a vacant lot into a working farm with its own slaughterhouse. The second recommendation comes from Robert Sloan, who suggests Sense and Sensibility by Jane Austen, narrated by the wonderful Juliet Stevenson. You'll find links to this and previous Gabfest recommendations on our new Audible RSS feed.

On this week's Slate Political Gabfest, Emily Bazelon, John Dickerson, and David Plotz dissect Tuesday's election results from New Jersey, Virginia, upstate New York, and Maine and tell us what it all means.

Here are some of the links and references mentioned during this week's show:

John's piece in Slate about how this week's elections reflect on Obama.
Politico on how most members of Congress being investigated by the House ethics committee are black.
Emily chatters about the Supreme Court hearing two cases involving juveniles who were sentenced to life in prison without parole.
David chatters about a new HBO documentary called By the People, which David found to be one of the worst pieces of film he's ever seen.

The e-mail address for the Political Gabfest is . (E-mail may be quoted by name unless the writer stipulates otherwise.)

Posted on Nov. 5 by Amman Sood at 2:15 p.m.

Oct. 30, 2009

Listen to the Gabfest for Oct. 30 by clicking the arrow on the audio player below:

You can download the program here or you can subscribe to the weekly Gabfest podcast feed in iTunes.

Get your free 14-day trial membership of Gabfest sponsor Audible.com, which includes a credit for one free audio book. This week's recommendation comes from our very own David Plotz, who enthusiastically endorses Wolf Hall by Hilary Mantel. The novel tells the story of the pragmatic Thomas Cromwell, Henry VIII's right hand man. You'll find links to this and previous Gabfest recommendations on our new Audible RSS feed.

On this week's Slate Political Gabfest, Emily Bazelon, John Dickerson, and David Plotz discuss how health care reform is limping forward, how much damage (political and otherwise) the shortage of swine flu vaccinations is creating, and marriage and basketball in the Obama White House.

Here are some of the links and references mentioned during this week's show:

Timothy Noah's piece in Slate about "trigger options."
The Obama marriage as portrayed by Jodi Kantor in the New York Times Magazine.
Mark Leibovich on the "boys club" of the Obama White House in the New York Times.David chatters about Adrian Chen's piece in Slate on "graving."
Emily chatters about how kids find debunking magic tricks more interesting than the magic itself.
John chatters about former Obama political strategist David Plouffe's book about the 2008 Obama presidential campaign.

The e-mail address for the Political Gabfest is . (E-mail may be quoted by name unless the writer stipulates otherwise.)

Posted on Oct. 30 by Amman Sood at 7:37 p.m.

Oct. 23, 2009

Listen to the Gabfest for Oct. 23 by clicking the arrow on the audio player below:

You can download the program here or you can subscribe to the weekly Gabfest podcast feed in iTunes.

Get your free 14-day trial membership to Gabfest sponsor Audible.com, which includes a credit for one free audio book. This week's recommendation comes from listener Nate Shivar, who recommends 13 Things That Don't Make Sense: The Most Baffling Scientific Mysteries of Our Time by Michael Brooks. Shivar calls it "It is a fun and wonder-ful exploration of the 13 big anomalies in science that are most likely to yield an Einstein or Copernicus-level breakthrough." You can find previous Audible recommendations on our new RSS feed.

This week on the Gabfest, Emily Bazelon, David Plotz, and special guest Bill Smee discuss Afghanistan (and New York Times reporter David Rohde's kidnapping there), new limits on Wall Street compensation, and the New Jersey governor's race.

Here are some of the links and references mentioned during this week's show:

David Rohde's spellbinding series about his seven months as a Taliban hostage.
Nicholas Kristof on Afghanistan.
Matt Bai's profile of New Jersey governor John Corzine's reelection effort.
Bill Smee chatters about a strange outburst against Jews by two South Carolina Republicans.
David chatters about how rising tuition at colleges may be linked to their apparent arms race for the most amenities.

The e-mail address for the Political Gabfest is . (E-mail may be quoted by name unless the writer stipulates otherwise.)

Posted on Oct. 23 by Andy Bowers at 1:16 p.m.

Oct. 16, 2009

Become a fan of the Political Gabfest on Facebook. We post to the Facebook page throughout the week, so keep the conversation going by joining us there.

Listen to the Gabfest for Oct. 16 by clicking the arrow on the audio player below:

You can download the program here, or you can subscribe to the weekly Gabfest podcast feed in iTunes.

This week on the Gabfest, Emily Bazelon, John Dickerson, and David Plotz discuss the latest twists and turns in the health care debate, the argument between gay rights activists and the Obama administration, and the White House vs. Fox News.

Here are some of the links and references mentioned during this week's show:

The Politico article about Maine Sen. Olympia Snowe's health care vote.
David chatters about Jody Rosen's post in Slate this week about NPR's taste in black music.
Emily chatters about a woman who's had 15 abortions and calls herself an "abortion addict."
A Gallup poll showing that Hillary Clinton is now more popular than President Obama.

The e-mail address for the Political Gabfest is . (E-mail may be quoted by name unless the writer stipulates otherwise.)

Posted on Oct. 16 by Amman Sood at 4:42 p.m.

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