The “Airplane Travel is a Nightmare’ Edition
Politicians deadlock in partial government shutdown as U.S. air travel descends into chaos; the Supreme Court considers a state law around mail-in ballot deadlines; and Meta loses two high-profile civil cases.
Listen & Subscribe
Choose your preferred player:
Apple Podcasts
Get Your Slate Plus Podcast
If you can't access your feeds, please contact customer support.
Listen on your computer:
Apple Podcasts will only work on MacOS operating systems since Catalina. We do not support Android apps on desktop at this time.
Listen on your device:RECOMMENDED
These links will only work if you're on the device you listen to podcasts on.
Set up manually:
Episode Notes
This week, Emily Bazelon, John Dickerson, and David Plotz discuss why politicians keep failing to solve the escalating crisis of American air travel as massive lines and ICE agents disrupt airport operations, what could happen to the 2026 elections when the Supreme Court decides the fate of a state law on mail-in ballot deadlines, and how two jury verdicts provide new legal hooks to hold social media companies liable for harms to children.
Here are some notes and references from this week’s show:
David A. Graham for The Atlantic: American Aviation Is Near Collapse
Ganesh Sitaraman for The New York Times (Opinion: Guest Essay): This Is Why Flying Is So Awful
Jay Kuo for The Status Kuo (Substack): Trump Now Owns the Airport Chaos
Juliette Kayyem for The Atlantic: There Were Warnings
The Editors of National Review: Congress Can Split Up the Homeland Security Funding
Sheldon H. Jacobson for The Hill (Opinion): Keep ICE away from airport security — pay TSA instead
Annie Linskey, Alexander Ward, and Alex Leary for The Wall Street Journal: Trump Tells Aides He Wants Speedy End to Iran War
The Economist: Advantage Iran
Amy Howe for SCOTUSblog (Argument Analysis): Court appears ready to overturn state law allowing for late-arriving mail-in ballots
Nick Corasaniti for The New York Times: Here’s How the Supreme Court’s Decision on Mail-In Ballots Could Affect Elections
Derek Muller for Election Law Blog: A few thoughts on the way forward after Watson v. RNC
Josh Blackman for Reason: The Volokh Conspiracy: It’s Elementary, My Dear Watson
Mark Joseph Stern for Slate: The Alito Wing of the Supreme Court Sure Sounds Sold on Trump’s Voter Fraud Lies
Erich Schwartzel, Meghan Bobrowsky, Katherine Sayre, and Erin Mulvaney for The Wall Street Journal: Meta and YouTube Lose Landmark Social-Media Trial
Cecilia Kang, Ryan Mac, and Eli Tan for The New York Times: Meta and YouTube Found Negligent in Landmark Social Media Addiction Case
Ashley Belanger for Ars Technica: Meta loses trial after arguing child exploitation was “inevitable” on its apps
Amy Howe for SCOTUSblog: Court allows Texas’ law on age-verification for pornography sites
Here are this week’s chatters:
Emily: L.A. Material; L.A. Material: About Us; Matt Hamilton for L.A. Material: The City Tried To Shut Down a Sex Trafficking Corridor. It Went to a Wealthier Neighborhood.
John: Federal Reserve Bank of New York: Unemployment Rates for Recent College Graduates versus Other Groups; Sarah Fioroni for Gallup: U.S. Worker Thriving Declines as Job Market Pessimism Grows; Aki Ito for Business Insider: Congratulations, here’s a pay cut
David: Hannah Sampson for The Washington Post: When your first-class ‘flight’ turns out to be a bus ride
Listener chatter from Elena Oberg in Yellow Springs, Ohio: A Way with Words Podcast: Episode 12/8/24: The Devil Strip Is Not a Gentlemen’s Club; Episode 3/16/25: Hell Strip and Gardening Strip Aren’t Kinds of Skin Waxing; PBS, Dictionary of American Regional English: Linguistic Profiling; Jack Hitt for The New Yorker: Words On Trial
For this week’s Slate Plus bonus episode, Emily, John, and David discuss the new book This Land is Your Land: A Road Trip Through U.S. History with author and historian Beverly Gage. They talk about the value of exploring U.S. historical sites in all their complexity as the 250th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence approaches this summer.
In the latest Gabfest Reads, David Plotz talks with journalist Gabriel Sherman about his new book Bonfire of the Murdochs: How the Epic Fight to Control the Last Great Media Dynasty Broke a Family—and the World. Sherman, who also wrote the bestselling biography of Fox News chief Roger Ailes, spent 15 years reporting on the Murdoch empire. In this book he turns his lens on the family itself — the rivalries, the wounds, and the secret Nevada courtroom battle that finally forced Rupert’s hand.
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.
Want more Political Gabfest? Join Slate Plus to unlock weekly bonus episodes. Plus, you’ll access ad-free listening across all your favorite Slate podcasts. You can subscribe directly from the Political Gabfest show page on Apple Podcasts and Spotify. Or visit slate.com/gabfestplus to get access wherever you listen.
Find out more about David Plotz’s monthly tours of Ft. DeRussy, the secret Civil War fort hidden in Rock Creek Park.