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This week, Emily Bazelon, John Dickerson, and guest host Juliette Kayyem discuss what we learn from Trump's escalating battle with the press and its track record in the courts, the likely outcomes of this week's Trump-Xi summit with former New York Times Beijing Bureau Chief and host of Face-Off: the US vs. China, Jane Perlez, and the role of voter trust as the midterm elections approach.

Here are this week’s chatters:

Emily: Kohelet Rabbah 7:1, The Sefaria Midrash Rabbah, 2022

John: History Channel: Grant; John Anderson for The Wall Street Journal: ‘Grant’ Review: The Wisdom and Weaknesses of a Warrior

Juliette: Madeline Puckette for Wine Folly: Everything You Want to Know About Orange Wine; Winecountry Collective: Exploring the World of Orange Wines

Listener chatter from John McMillian in Atlanta, Georgia: Rick Perlstein for Smithsonian Magazine: An Interview With ‘Playboy’ Magazine Nearly Torpedoed Jimmy Carter’s Presidential Campaign; Robert Scheer for Playboy Magazine: The Playboy Interview With Jimmy Carter

For this week’s Slate Plus bonus episode, Emily, John, and guest host Juliette Kayyem discuss reactions to Nikole Hannah-Jones's New York Times Magazine essay, In Fighting for Every Black Child, Did I Betray My Own?, and why the online hostility looks so different from what she actually wrote. They dig into the research on socioeconomic integration, the tendency to conflate race and class, and the problem with asking individual parents to solve what is really a policy problem.

In the latest Gabfest Reads, David Plotz talks with journalist Annie Lowrey about her new book, The Time Tax: How the Government Wastes Our Time - and How to Fix It, an investigation into the hours Americans lose to broken bureaucracy, from 12-hour tax filings to multiyear waits for housing vouchers and building permits.

Email your chatters, questions, and comments to gabfest@slate.com. (Messages may be referenced by name unless the writer stipulates otherwise.)

Podcast production by Nina Porzucki

Research by Emily Ditto

You can find the full Political Gabfest show pages here.

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Find out more about David Plotz's monthly tours of Ft. DeRussy, the secret Civil War fort hidden in Rock Creek Park.

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Donald Trump announced that he was banning CNN, Politico and MS NOW at kind of a weird time—it’s not like he thought they were doing a great job last year or in his first term or...ever. But with the announcement of something called “Trump TV,” suddenly it all makes sense: it could just be a First Amendment-violating exercise in branding.

Guest: Oliver Darcy, founder and lead author of Status News.

This episode is member-exclusive. Listen to it now by subscribing to Slate Plus. By joining, not only will you unlock exclusive episodes of What Next —you’ll also access ad-free listening across all your favorite Slate podcasts. You can subscribe directly from the What Next show page on Apple Podcasts and Spotify. Or, visit slate.com/whatnextplus to get access wherever you listen.

Podcast production by Rob Gunther, Evan Campbell, Madeline Thames-Ducharme and Patrick Fort.

Paige Osburn is the senior supervising producer of What Next and What Next TBD.
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Donald Trump’s in-roads with Latino voters was one of the surprises of his 2024 victory, carrying places like southern Texas’s 15th district by 18 points. But singer-turned-congressional candidate Bobby Pulido thinks those gains are temporary, and that Democrats have a chance, with sensible policies, to take the district and Congress.

Guest: Bobby Pulido, congressional candidate for Texas’s 15th district, Tejano singer-songwriter.

Want more What Next? Subscribe to Slate Plus to access ad-free listening to the whole What Next family and across all your favorite Slate podcasts. Subscribe today on Apple Podcasts by clicking “Try Free” at the top of our show page. Sign up now at slate.com/whatnextplus to get access wherever you listen.

Podcast production by Evan Campbell, Madeline Thames-Ducharme and Patrick Fort.

Paige Osburn is the senior supervising producer of What Next and What Next TBD.
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In the 1970s, Dolly Parton parlayed her Nashville success into megawatt pop-culture icon status—yet many of her familiar hits of the era barely scratched the Top 40. Parton finally crossed over at the turn of the ’80s by courting pop fans directly. Nearly five decades later, country music is ubiquitous on the pop charts, with Ella Langley’s “Choosin’ Texas” recently setting a record for most weeks at No. 1. On this installment of Hit Parade, Chris Molanphy examines the chart rules that limited Parton’s pop-chart potential, the trail she blazed for Langley and other country women, and why the Nashville sound is much more than just an island in the (digital) stream.

For more about country to pop crossover stardom listen to Hit Parade’s episode on John Denver and Olivia Newton John and read Chris’s Slate column about Ella Langley’s chart dominance.

Pssst! Do you love Hit Parade? Support what we do and help us absolutely crush it during Slate’s podcast pledge drive! For a limited time, you can join Slate Plus for 50 percent off.and get bonus episodes of "The Bridge," ad-free listening across all your favorite Slate podcasts, and unlimited reading on Slate.com. Visit slate.com/hitparadeplus and use the promo code HIT50 to receive the discount AND get access wherever you listen.
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In the early 1970s, a jigsaw puzzle of a cheerful, young, naked, fat woman known only as “Bridget in the Buff” arrived in stores all over America. It was just the first of countless Bridget-related merchandise that would be sold around the world for the next decade: calendars, playing cards, coloring books, cookbooks, and much more. Bridget was everywhere. But who was she?
In this episode of Decoder Ring, the real Bridget reveals all. Her name is Dawn Brooks, and she takes us through the unusual path that led her to pose nude for scores of popular products. How does it feel to be a gag gift—and now, an unlikely icon?
Besides Dawn, you’ll hear from her friends Leslie Block Prip, Kathy McDermott, and John Emery; Herb Kavet, whose company created the “Bridget in the Buff” line of products; and Bridget admirers Laura Mazzuca Toops and Ginger Geralamo.
Thank you to Brenda Oelbaum, and to Molly Brown and Olivia Dever from the Northeastern University Archives and Special Collections.
This episode was written by Willa Paskin and produced by Evan Chung, our Supervising Producer. Decoder Ring is also produced by Max Freedman. Merritt Jacob is Senior Technical Director.
If you have any cultural mysteries you want us to decode, email us at DecoderRing@slate.com or leave a message on our hotline at (347) 460-7281.
Get more of Decoder Ring with Slate Plus! Join for exclusive bonus episodes of Decoder Ring and ad-free listening on all your favorite Slate podcasts. Subscribe from the Decoder Ring show page on Apple Podcasts or Spotify. Or, visit slate.com/decoderplus for access wherever you listen.
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