The following podcast contains explicit language.

Hello and welcome to the Slate Political Gap Fest for January 4th, 2018, the Lost

His Mind edition. I am David Potts and Atlas Obscura. I am in Washington, D.C., happy new year to all.

We haven't been with you for two weeks. I haven't been with John Dickerson for two weeks,

but here he is. Hello, John. Hi, David.

Although, I must say, people feel like they've been with us, maybe even more deeply than

before, since the response to the conundrum show has been really

elemental.

Elemental.

What conundrum most spoke to people that you heard about?

I heard from somebody who, I guess you would plot on a different side of the ideological

spectrum from you, but who found themselves constantly agreeing with you, called you

even their spirit animal. So I just, you know, I'm just saying, it may not have been one

individual element of the conundrum show, but the entire prestige. That listener, you just know that

as your spirit animal, I am wearing a tail, a very furry, plodsey and tail. Also joining us, hello,

Emily Bazelon of the New York Times Magazine in New Haven. Hello, and happy New Year. Can you still say

that? It's still the beginning of January. Did you guys have a great holiday? I saw you briefly,

Emily. I know, that was a nice moment in a holiday. You were in cold part of the country.

And so it was David, yes.

Vermont was really, really freezing, but I still managed to go outside, which felt

like a great victory to me since I'm not someone who cherishes the cold.

On this week's Gab Fest, the feud, the delightful feud exploding between President Trump and his former Svengali, Steve Bannon, then more twists and turns and swerves and U-turns and the Russia investigations.

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