Emily, David and Alexandra Petri discuss the Afghanistan withdrawal, with guest Annie Pforzheimer; California’s recall election; and personal pandemic ethics. Here are some notes and references from this week’s show: Annie Pforzheimer for the Washington Post, “Leaving Afghanistan Will Lead to Yet Another Civil War There” Annie Pforzheimer for the Washington Post, “In Afghanistan, a Summer of Pain Awaits” Annie Pforzheimer for the New York Times, “The Long Road Out of Afghanistan” Rachel Feintzeig for the Wall Street Journal: “These People Who Work From Home Have a Secret: They Have Two Jobs” Daniel Lavery’s Substack newsletter: The Chatner Nothing Is Wrong and Here Is Why, by Alexandra Petri A Field Guide to Awkward Silences, by Alexandra Petri The Best of Wodehouse: An Anthology Clouds, by Aristophanes Raymond Chandler: Collected Stories Three Men In A Boat: (To Say Nothing of the Dog), by Jerome K. Jerome Solutions and Other Problems, by Allie Brosh Hyperbole and a Half: Unfortunate Situations, Flawed Coping Mechanisms, Mayhem, and Other Things That Happened, by Allie Brosh New Teeth, by Simon Rich Ant Farm: And Other Desperate Situations, by Simon Rich Simon Rich for the New Yorker: “Sell Out” Simon Rich for the New Yorker: “The Big Nap” Simon Rich for the New Yorker: “Raised by Wolves” Pride and Prejudice, by Jane Austen My Life and Hard Times, by James Thurber Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea, by Jules Verne The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, by Douglas Adams Here’s this week’s chatter: Emily: Meira Levinson, Alan C. Geller, and Joseph G. Allen for The Lancet: “Health Equity, Schooling Hesitancy, and the Social Determinants of Learning” Alexandra: Never a Dull Moment: The Memoirs of Countess Marguerite Cassini David: Dahlia Lithwick for Slate: “The Fierce Legal Battle at the Heart of the Fight Over Reclining Airline Seats” Listener chatter from Lesley Gild: Bored Panda: “People Are Sharing ‘Alternate Angles’ of Iconic Events and Places in History, Here Are 30 of the Best” If you enjoy the show, please consider signing up for Slate Plus. Slate Plus members get benefits like zero ads on any Slate podcast, bonus episodes of shows like Slow Burn and Danny Lavery's show Big Mood, Little Mood and you’ll be supporting the Political Gabfest. Sign up now at slate.com/gabfestplus to help support our work. For this week’s Slate Plus bonus segment, Alexandra, Emily, and David discuss their favorite funny books. Tweet us your questions and chatters @SlateGabfest or email us at [email protected]. (Messages may be quoted by name unless the writer stipulates otherwise.) Podcast production by Jocelyn Frank. Research and show notes by Bridgette Dunlap and Shayna Elliot. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices