The Gabfest on Putin’s invasion of Ukraine, the 2014 midterm elections, and the theft of nude photos of celebrities including Jennifer Lawrence and Kate Upton.

Can Dems Possibly Keep the Senate?

Can Dems Possibly Keep the Senate?

Slate's weekly political roundtable.
Sept. 5 2014 2:33 PM

The “In the Cloud, No One Knows You’re a Dog” Edition

Listen to Slate’s show about Putin’s aggressive action in Ukraine, the 2014 elections, and the theft of celebrity nude photos.

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For this week’s Slate Plus bonus segment, David, Emily, and John discuss the guilty verdict in the trial of former Virginia Gov. Bob McDonnell and his wife, Maureen McDonnell. Slate Plus members get an ad-free version of this podcast with bonus segments. Visit slate.com/gabfest and try it free for two weeks.

On this week’s Slate Political Gabfest, Emily Bazelon, John Dickerson, Will Dobson, and David Plotz discuss Putin’s aggressive maneuvering in Ukraine, the 2014 midterm elections, and the massive celebrity nude photo hack.

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

  • Russian President Vladimir Putin recently said that Kazakhstan’s statehood might be illegitimate, stoking fears that Russia may have future plans for the former Soviet republic.
  • Fred Kaplan wrote about Obama’s rhetorical alliance with Ukraine.
  • Putin accused Hillary Clinton of covertly organizing anti-Putin protests in Moscow.
  • According to CNN, many Ukrainians would support the country joining the European Union.
  • To stave off defeat and spur voter turnout, Democrats launched the Bannock Street Project, a $60 million effort to engage potential voters in 10 critical states.
  • Women make up almost two-thirds of the country’s minimum wage workers.
  • According to most election forecasts, less than 10 percent of the races for U.S. House seats are competitive.
  • The New York Times suggested the blue-state residents who move to purple states are helping the Democratic Party win elections.
  • Split-ticket balloting has declined significantly since its peak in the 1970s.
  • Emily wrote about why involuntary porn should be easier to remove from the Internet.
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John chatters about Eric Talmadge’s Instagram.

Emily chatters about David Foster Wallace’s 1996 profile of Michael T. Joyce.

David chatters about the National Portrait Gallery’s exhibition One Life: Grant and Lee.

The credits featured anagrams.

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 Maxwell Tani.