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This week, Emily Bazelon, John Dickerson, and David Plotz discuss how the Iran War is hurting Trump and the Republicans as its economic fallout grows, the sudden revival of abortion pill politics which ended an uneasy equilibrium between federal law and state bans, and early results of a study on school cellphone bans.

For this week’s Slate Plus bonus episode, Emily, John, and David discuss recent reporting on Trump's escalating and self-aggrandizing efforts to remake the landscape of Washington D.C. including the takeover of municipal golf courses, planning for the "Garden of Heroes," and developments in the ongoing White House ballroom saga.

In the latest Gabfest Reads, Emily Bazelon talks with journalist Mark Oppenheimer about his new book, Judy Blume: A Life. Oppenheimer, who spent years with Blume’s papers at Yale and conducted extensive interviews with the author herself, traces how a restless housewife in New Jersey became one of the most beloved—and most banned—writers in American history.

Email your chatters, questions, and comments to [email protected]. (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.

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Find out more about David Plotz's monthly tours of Ft. DeRussy, the secret Civil War fort hidden in Rock Creek Park.

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Donald Trump is spending his second term trying to cement his legacy, but he still hasn’t zeroed in on what that should be: Is it his name on monuments? A ballroom decorated in his specific style? Owning Greenland or whatever?

Credit where credit is due, though, he’s already made a mark on the political discourse that will have the staying power of a jagged scar.

Guest: Michael Scherer, staff writer at The Atlantic.

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Podcast production by Elena Schwartz, Paige Osburn, Anna Phillips, Madeline Ducharme, and Rob Gunther.
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On this episode: Lucy Lopez, Elizabeth Newcamp, and Zak Rosen are joined by a very special guest: Zak’s mom! Jo Strausz Rosen shares her motherhood journey and what it was like raising Zak and his sister. She also dispenses some invaluable wisdom about the importance of family, creativity, and friendship along the way.
Podcast production by Cheyna Roth and Rosemary Belson.
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This week, Julia Turner and Dana Stevens are joined by Slate’s own Rebecca Onion to discuss The Devil Wears Prada 2, BEEF season 2, and the NYT’s best living songwriters package with Slate’s music critic Carl Wilson.

Twenty years on, we return to the world of The Devil Wears Prada. In the sequel, Andy, Anne Hathaway’s character, must save Runway Magazine from the forces of capital, who are selling the Vogue-analogue for parts, as Meryl Streep’s Miranda Priestly struggles to hang on to her own power. The movie has a lot to say about the state of journalism and media with plot lines seemingly ripped from the gossip pages, but does it all come together in the edit? We discuss.

Then, the second season of A24’s anthology series BEEF stars Oscar Isaac and Carey Mulligan as a volatile millennial couple who enter into a feud with a younger couple, played by Cailee Spaeny and Charles Melton. Set at a rich Californian golf resort and its environs, the show satirizes class and generational resentments as the characters scramble to claim the scraps of their betters at the expense of everyone else. The characters are mostly unlikeable, and the premise might be a little less original than the first season, but given BEEF’s stacked cast and pedigree, does the show sizzle?

Finally we’re joined by Carl Wilson, Slate’s music critic and author of the newsletter “Crritic!” to discuss the New York Times package: The 30 Greatest Living Songwriters. Carl submitted a ballot for the list, and the polished version isn’t too far from his submission. He gets into his picks and discusses what the list is saying about the field of songwriting and the idea of a songwriter as it’s been expanded to include non-traditional instrumentation and digital composition. But like all lists it has sparked debate about the inclusions (Carole King, Stevie Wonder) the exclusions (Randy Newman, Liz Phair, David Byrne) and whether Taylor Swift’s inclusion was solely to get an interview. Together with Carl, we try and make sense of the list and talk about our favorites.

As promised, here is Carl’s full ballot (The asterisks indicate people who Carl voted for but who have since died):

Willie Nelson
Smokey Robinson
Bobby Braddock
*Brian Wilson
Bob Dylan
Carole King
Randy Newman
Dolly Parton
Stevie Wonder
*Sly Stone
The Flatlanders (Butch Hancock/Jimmie Dale Gilmore/*Joe Ely)
Tom Waits & Kathleen Brennan
Nile Rodgers
David Byrne
Mark Eitzel
Chuck D & the Bomb Squad
Jimmy Jam & Terry Lewis
Stephin Merritt
Liz Phair
John Darnielle (The Mountain Goats)
Missy Elliott & Timbaland
The Love Junkies (Hillary Lindsey/Lori McKenna/Liz Rose)
Outkast (Big Boi/Andre 3000)
Josh Osborne/Brandy Clark/Shane McAnally
Phoebe Bridgers

Endorsements:

Julia: The SNL sketch featuring Teana Taylor, Grandpa At The Wedding.

Rebecca: The new Lord Of The Flies adaptation on Netflix.

Dana: The article in Vogue: Meryl Streep and Anna Wintour on Power, Fashion, and Acting the Part by Chloe Malle.

Email us your thoughts at [email protected].

Podcast production by Benjamin Frisch. Production assistance by Daniel Hirsch.

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Even with all that Democrats having going for them—mid-term elections typically favoring the out-of-power party, Trump’s sinking approval rates, even rising gas prices—it will be an uphill battle to wrest the Senate from GOP control.

Guest: Jonathan Martin, POLITICO politics bureau chief and host of “On the Road” a podcast about the 2026 midterms.

Want more What Next? Subscribe to Slate Plus to access ad-free listening to the whole What Next family and across all your favorite Slate podcasts. Subscribe today on Apple Podcasts by clicking “Try Free” at the top of our show page. Sign up now at slate.com/whatnextplus to get access wherever you listen.

Podcast production by Elena Schwartz, Paige Osburn, Anna Phillips, Madeline Ducharme, and Rob Gunther.
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.