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gabfest: Slate's weekly political roundtable.

The Hope-Monger GabfestListen to Slate's review of the week in politics.

By Emily Bazelon, John Dickerson, and David Plotz
Updated Friday, Feb. 29, 2008, at 3:34 PM ET

To play the Feb. 29 Political Gabfest, click the arrow on the audio player below:

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

Emily Bazelon, John Dickerson, and David Plotz gather in Slate's Washington studio to discuss whether Hillary can stage a comeback in the race for the Democratic nomination, how McCain can confront Obama on Iraq, and the death of conservative legend and regular Slate reader William F. Buckley Jr.

The Gabfest begins by exploring the perilous delegate math that faces Hillary Clinton and how Slate's delegate calculator can help you sort it out. It continues with a discussion of Hillary's appeal to women. Emily Bazelon points to Tina Fey's defense of feminism, and John Dickerson alludes to Cokie Roberts' explanation on ABC's This Week With George Stephanopoulos. Finally, the Slate editors discuss how Obama has grown throughout the campaign—both in his debate performance and in his ability to handle incoming fire from political opponents.

The discussion then turns to John McCain and Barack Obama's weeklong quarrel over the Iraq war. David Plotz believes Democrats would be wise to stay away from the topic of Iraq during the general election.

Finally, the Gabfest panelists offer their memories of conservative icon William F. Buckley Jr., who died this week. Buckley had a close relationship with Slate: He was a regular reader, kept a Slate "Diary," and engaged in a "Dialogue" with the magazine's founding editor, Michael Kinsley.

Things turn grim during the Gabfest's cocktail chatter. John Dickerson highlights a new study showing that one in every 100 American adults is in prison. David Plotz recaps a Newsweek article on stagflation, and Emily Bazelon laments the retirement of legendary New York Times Supreme Court reporter Linda Greenhouse.

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

Posted by Andy Bowers on Feb. 29 at 2:30 p.m.

Feb. 28, 2008

Here's the sophomore outing of our newest audio program, the Cultural Gabfest, with critics Stephen Metcalf, Dana Stevens, and Julia Turner. To listen, click the arrow on the audio player below:

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

In this edition, the panelists discuss the aftermath of the Oscars, the challenge Barack Obama poses for comedians, and Lindsay Lohan's Marilyn Monroe impression. Here are some of the links for items mentioned in the show:

Daniel Day-Lewis' Oscar acceptance speech.
Saturday Night Live's Obama/Clinton debate sketch.
Lindsay Lohan's New York magazine photo shoot.
Julia Turner's Oscar fashion dialogue with Amanda Fortini.
The Encyclopedia Baracktannica.

Posted by Andy Bowers on Feb. 28 at 3:07 p.m.

Feb. 22, 2008

To play the Feb. 22 Gabfest, click the arrow on the audio player below:

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

John Dickerson beat back his flu and joined Emily Bazelon and David Plotz in Slate's Washington studio for a discussion of John McCain's "bad day," the latest developments in the Democratic race, and the wide world of foreign affairs.

The top story on this week's agenda was the widely assailed New York Times article describing advisers' concern about the appearance of impropriety in the relationship between Sen. John McCain and lobbyist Vicki Iseman during the 2000 presidential campaign. David said that while you feel for a guy who is wrongly accused, McCain's constant claims of ultrahigh ethical standards are also becoming a mite tiresome.

Then came the Texas debate between Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama. The Gabfesters felt both candidates put in a strong performance and gave credit to Clinton, who instantly had the audience in the palm of her hand when she said, "Everybody here knows I've lived through some crises and some challenging moments in my life." But Clinton also lost points when she brought up the plagiarism accusation against Obama and was booed.

The Gabfesters talked about emotion and reason in campaign rhetoric. David said there was something frightening about Obama's ability to wield emotion so effectively in his speeches.

Finally, the world seems to be teeming with upheaval, with Page One stories appearing about Cuba, Kosovo, and Pakistan in recent days.

Our e-mail address is . (E-mail may be quoted by name unless the writer stipulates otherwise.) Posted by Jonathan Rubin on Feb. 25 at 2:35 p.m.

Feb. 15, 2008

To play the Feb. 15 Gabfest, click the arrow on the audio player below:

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

John Dickerson has the flu this week, so Christopher Beam joined Emily Bazelon and David Plotz to discuss presidential politics after the Potomac primaries and the latest news from Guantanamo.

Here are some of the Slate stories mentioned in the podcast:

Chris' "Trailhead" posting on the myth of "shmoshmentum"
Jack Goldsmith and Eric Posner on the Guantanamo trials
"Obamamatopoeia"—the English language, Obamafied

Our e-mail address is . (E-mail may be quoted by name unless the writer stipulates otherwise.) Posted by June Thomas at 3:16 p.m.

Feb. 8, 2008

To play the Feb. 8 Gabfest, click the arrow on the audio player below:

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

On today's agenda: Mitt Romney exits the race, the Democrats remain in a stalemate, and the Gabfest finds a slogan, sort of.

Here are some of the Slate stories mentioned in the podcast:

John reflected on Romney's best speech—unfortunately, the one in which he announced the suspension of his campaign.

Our Gabfesters talked about who emerged victorious after the Democratic primaries and caucuses held on Super Tuesday, and the precarious future of the race as the specter of a brokered convention looms.

Emily's piece on what the exit polls said about Super Tuesday voters who supported Hillary Clinton.

William Saletan on Barack Obama's breakthrough with white voters.

Emily also spoke about the controversial essay by Robin Morgan that apparently resonated with Chelsea Clinton, which she discussed in a "XX" Factor post.

A Slate piece about how mobsters get their colorful nicknames.

Our e-mail address is . (E-mail may be quoted by name unless the writer stipulates otherwise.) Posted by Alex Joseph at 2:10 p.m.

Friday, Feb. 1, 2008

To play the Feb. 1 Gabfest, click the arrow on the audio player below:

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

John is back in D.C. and healthy enough to take back the host's chair. On today's agenda: the Democratic debate, electronic surveillance, and bye-bye to John Edwards.

Here are some of the Slate stories mentioned in the podcast:

John reflected on the toothless Democratic debate. He also welcomed a new Republican front-runner in John McCain.

Emily spoke about the future of electronic surveillance and was happy to report that a new cure for the common cold may have been found.

Our e-mail address is . (E-mail may be quoted by name unless the writer stipulates otherwise.) Posted by Alex Joseph at 1:31 p.m.

Friday, Jan. 25, 2008

To play the Jan. 25 Gabfest, click the arrow on the audio player below:

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

This week, David (in the host's chair), Emily, and John discuss the emergence of Bill Clinton as a co-candidate, the importance of the Florida primary for Republicans, and the fallout of Palestinian refugees in the Gaza Strip entering into Egypt. Plus, they give the preliminary results of our contest for a new Gabfest slogan.

Here are some of the Slate stories mentioned in the podcast:

John's thoughts on Fred Thompson's departure from the race.
Nicholas Bagley in "Jurisprudence" on how the federal government allowed subprime lending to go unchecked

Our e-mail address is . (E-mail may be quoted by name unless the writer stipulates otherwise.) Posted by Alex Joseph at 4:18 p.m.

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Emily Bazelon is a Slate senior editor. John Dickerson is Slate's chief political correspondent and author of On Her Trail. He can be reached at . David Plotz is Slate's editor. He is the author of The Genius Factory: The Curious History of the Nobel Prize Sperm Bank. You can e-mail him at .
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