Hello and welcome to the Slate Political Gab Fest.

March 5th, 2026, the What's the Point of the Iran War edition?

I am David Plotz of Citycast here in Washington, D.C.

I'm joined from New Haven, Connecticut, where she is one year older, but four years wiser.

New York Times Magazine and Yale University of Law School's Emily Bazelon.

Wait, what, John?

Well, how did... How does that work? How did... Just because Emily's so much brighter and the rest of us. 100%, but I didn't understand. I thought there was a ratio of one to four that I was missing. No. No. Just stupid. Okay. And then from New York City, John Dickerson. And John has been using some of his free time to hone in on your territory, Emily. Did you know that? He filed his first amicus brief. Fascinating challenge to Trump's newest tariffs. John has a novel legal theory that Trump's tariffs are actually illegal because they contravene rules outlined by the 1861

Morrill tariffs, which are of course John's favorite 19th century tariffs, which John believes,

for reasons having to do with some quirks in Andrew Johnson's presidency, were never actually repealed.

And John has a really profound point about how those tariffs only could apply to iron and textile industries and not to all the industries that the Trump has tariffed.

It's really, John, do I have that right?

No, indubitably.

I love John practicing law without a license.

It's going to be great.

Look at you with the Muriel tariff.

I know. Whatever.

Had you heard of the Muriel tariff? I hadn't. No.

I mean, you know, at some point in my life, maybe. I don't know.

Was it Johnson or Buchanan? Anyway,

it's 18, they're 1861. I think they're, uh, probably Lincoln. Huh. I don't know.

Yeah. All right, guys, we're continuing on. We got to move on. I'm sorry. No. No. Okay.

But because Lincoln doesn't get inaugurated until later.

...