Is the Melania Movie a Bribe?
Political Gabfest
Slate Podcasts
4.6 • 242 Ratings
🗓️ 5 February 2026
⏱️ 63 minutes
🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
This week, Emily Bazelon, David Plotz, and guest host Juliette Kayyem discuss the juxtaposition between the devastating layoffs at The Washington Post and the exorbitant price owner Jeff Bezos and Amazon paid for the Melania movie, this week’s ominous foreshadowing of the Trump administration’s real threats to the 2026 elections with election law expert Nate Persily, and why the Clintons are facing deposition in House Epstein investigations.
For this week’s Slate Plus bonus episode, Emily, David, and guest host Juliette Kayyem discuss a fascinating profile of anti-government militia leader Ammon Bundy, the contrast between Bundy’s and his former allies’ views on ICE tactics, and how messages about individual liberty and government intervention might be affecting the Trump administration’s narratives about immigration enforcement.
In the latest Gabfest Reads, Emily Bazelon talks with author Curtis Sittenfeld about her short story collection, “Show Don’t Tell.” They discuss the recurring themes of the book from troubled marriages and middle age to the passage of time, and characters who are navigating moments of racial privilege and prejudice.
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.
Follow
@SlateGabfest on X / https://twitter.com/SlateGabfest
Slate Political Gabfest on Facebook / https://www.facebook.com/Gabfest/
Need to set up your Slate Plus feed? If you subscribed through Slate.com, check out our FAQ at slate.com/podcastfaqs for easy instructions. Members subscribed via Apple Podcasts get automatic access—no setup required.
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Transcript
Click on a timestamp to play from that location
| 0:00.0 | Hello, and welcome to the Slate Political Gab Fest. |
| 0:06.6 | February 5th, 2026, the Is the Melania movie, A Bribe edition. I'm David Plotz of city cast here in Washington, |
| 0:24.3 | D.C., still snowbound, still icebound. And man, just such dismal news here in Washington around |
| 0:33.4 | our own profession of media, but we'll get to that. From New Haven, Connecticut, and the New York Times Magazine, and Yale University of Law School, |
| 0:43.2 | and a great cable knit sweater, great Norwegian fishing sweater. |
| 0:48.6 | Yep. |
| 0:49.6 | Thank you. |
| 0:50.8 | All right. |
| 0:51.2 | I'm glad you're advertising my sweater. |
| 0:52.9 | Hey, Juliet. |
| 0:54.3 | Hey. I'm reviewing your appearance, which David will now introduce. I'm glad you're advertising my sweater. Hey, hey, Juliet. Hey. |
| 0:54.6 | She's reviewing your appearance, which David will now introduce. |
| 0:57.7 | I'm impressed that he knew what kind of sweater it was. |
| 1:01.8 | Then that, of course, is most beloved GabFest guest host Juliette. I always forget where you're at Harvard. |
| 1:10.0 | Yeah, Atlantic, CNN. Kennedy School. |
| 1:12.6 | Yeah, Kennedy School. Not personally on the hook for the $1 billion that Harvard has to pay. |
| 1:18.2 | Apparently. I hope you don't have to pay any of that. I hope that is not something you've got to do. |
| 1:24.7 | Yeah, John is off this week. I think he's in rehearsals for his new one-man show about |
| 1:29.2 | Grover Cleveland called Cleveland that he's just getting ready to make. That's going to be his |
| 1:34.4 | career shift. Are you excited for that, Emily? I'm really excited. Juliet is uncertain about whether |
| 1:39.8 | you're making it. Wait, is this, is that real? I'm so excited. No, it's not real. |
| 1:44.3 | Oh, God. You can't, I, I don't get, I don't, I haven't been around along enough. |
... |
Please login to see the full transcript.
Disclaimer: The podcast and artwork embedded on this page are from Slate Podcasts, and are the property of its owner and not affiliated with or endorsed by Tapesearch.
Generated transcripts are the property of Slate Podcasts and are distributed freely under the Fair Use doctrine. Transcripts generated by Tapesearch are not guaranteed to be accurate.
Copyright © Tapesearch 2026.