Political Gabfest | Just a Modest $400 Million Gift

Slate Daily Feed

Slate Podcasts

News, Business, Society & Culture

4 • 1.1K Ratings

🗓️ 15 May 2025

⏱️ 72 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

This week, Emily Bazelon, John Dickerson, and David Plotz discuss how Trump’s trip to the Middle East is wildly off the scale of any past corruption and offensive to American tradition, the Supreme Court hearing arguments in the first case in Trump’s attempts to limit birthright citizenship, and the buzz about a new book from Jake Tapper and Alex Thompson, Original Sin: President Biden’s Decline, Its Cover-Up, and His Disastrous Choice to Run Again. For this week’s Slate Plus bonus episode, Emily, John, and David discuss the Trump administration admitting White South Africans as expedited refugees from a nonexistent “genocide” while removing deportation protections from Afghan refugees. In the latest Gabfest Reads, John talks with author Maggie Smith about her new book, Dear Writer: Pep Talks & Practical Advice for the Creative Life. Email your chatters, questions, and comments to [email protected]. (Messages may be referenced by name unless the writer stipulates otherwise.) Research by Emily Ditto 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. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Transcript

Click on a timestamp to play from that location

0:00.0	The weather. Tomorrow, expect a... Biting cold front. Hmm, how naughty. I wonder what I'll be wearing or taking off. The night will be wild and untamed. Expect heavy, lashing rain that'll soak you to the skin. By Monday, temperatures will rise slowly but surely reaching their peak in the afternoon.
0:23.1	Not in the mood for miserable weather?
0:25.6	Fly cheaply to Turkey with Sun Express.
0:28.7	Sun Express, non-stop sunshine.
0:35.9	Hello and welcome to this late political GabFest.
0:51.4	May 15th, 2025, just a modest $400 million gift edition.
0:55.3	I'm David Plotz of Citicast here in Washington, D.C.
0:58.3	No one has given me a $400 million gift or even like a $1 million gift,
1:00.4	which I would definitely settle for,
1:02.1	intent, nudge, nudge.
1:04.2	Thank you for a gift to all of us.
1:06.3	Are you for sale?
1:08.3	Yeah, absolutely.
1:09.6	Are you not?
1:10.4	Is there no price?
1:11.3	Have you never played that game?
1:13.2	I've definitely played that game.
1:14.9	There's definitely a price.
1:16.4	There's definitely a price.
1:17.5	I don't think there is for either of you.
1:19.1	I'm going to be honest.
1:19.7	Oh my God.
	...

Please login to see the full transcript.

Previous episode | Next episode

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.