The Huddled Masses and Plotz's Birthday Gabfest
Listen to Slate's show about the politics of immigration reform, the unrest in Egypt, and how to compensate the victims of child pornography.
The Political Gabfest has moved! Find new episodes here.
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. Or follow us @SlateGabfest!
To listen to the discussion, use the player below:
Live DoubleX Gabfest—in Washington, D.C., Feb. 13, at Sixth & I. With special guest Emily Yoffe (aka “Dear Prudence”). Tickets and additional information.
This week’s Audible recommendation is Columbine by Dave Cullen. Try Audible free for 30 days and get a free audiobook by visiting AudiblePodcast.com/Gabfest.
Special offer for Gabfest listeners! Pre-order Emily’s new book, Sticks and Stones: Defeating the Culture of Bullying and Rediscovering the Power of Character and Empathy, before Feb. 19 and receive:
- A free one-hour webinar with Emily – with a look at the latest developments in research about bullying and kids’ behavior online, and a Q&A with Emily.
- A free Sticks and Stones book plate, signed by Emily and mailed to you to slap inside your book.
- An entry into a raffle of 25 Gabfest posters, signed by David and John and me, and mailed to you.
- An entry into a raffle of 10 Gabfest T-shirts, mailed to you.
- An entry into a raffle to sit in on a taping, in the D.C. studio or via Google Hangout, OR to do a cocktail chatter on the show. Your choice.
For more info about the book and the offer, visit Emily’s website. Once you preorder the book, or if you've done so already, just forward your receipt in any form to gabfestpreorder@gmail.com. We'll verify it and then send you instructions on how to access your freebies when they're ready.
Preorder from Amazon (35 percent off), IndieBound, or from Audible.
On this week’s Slate Political Gabfest, John Dickerson, Emily Bazelon, David Plotz, and special guest Will Dobson discuss the politics of immigration reform and the unrest in Egypt. Plus, they discuss Emily’s New York Times Magazine cover story about compensating the victims of child pornography.

Here are some of the links and references mentioned during this week's show:
- John writes that Marco Rubio is using immigration to get to the big stage.
- Could supporting the “octogang’s” proposal actually help the GOP win Hispanic voters? Dave Weigel explores the GOP's demographic dare.
- Emily says that tougher enforcement of the border has, in fact, already happened.
- John says that the gang of eight does not represent a new spirit of bipartisanship.
- Egypt’s nascent democracy is experiencing growing pains—but that’s the usual course of political development, says Sheri Berman in Foreign Affairs.
- Last year, Will Dobson wrote about the challenges of reforming Egypt’s political system. Will’s book is titled The Dictator’s Learning Curve: Inside the Global Battle for Democracy.
- In addition to her cover story about the victims of child pornography, Emily talked to the New York Times Magazine about reporting the piece.
Emily chatters about the decline in law school applications.
John chatters about a digitally annotated version of Moby Dick.
David chatters about a family cut off from all human contact for 40 years.
Topic ideas for next week? You can tweet suggestions, links, and questions to @SlateGabfest. The email address for the Political Gabfest is gabfest@slate.com. (Email may be quoted by name unless the writer stipulates otherwise.)
Podcast production by Mike Vuolo. Links compiled by Jeff Friedrich.