This week, Emily Bazelon, John Dickerson, and David Plotz discuss whether Trump is as unpopular as polls suggest and what this means for the midterms, the causes and consequences of the riots in France with Paris-based journalist <a href="https://www.racheldonadio.com/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Rachel Donadio</a>, and how a seemingly trivial courtroom fight over the fate of the East Potomac Golf Links in Washington, D.C. is an important illustration of the lawlessness that defines Trumpism.Here are this week’s chatters: Emily: Owen Dahlkamp for Politico: <a href="https://www.politico.com/news/2026/10/16/anthropic-ai-safety-01124654" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Exclusive: Anthropic quietly pitches its own AI safety bill to lawmakers</a>; Sophie Hurwitz for Mother Jones: <a href="https://www.motherjones.com/politics/2026/10/anthropics-ai-safety-bill-has-an-alarming-threshold-for-government-action/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Anthropic’s AI Safety Bill Has an Alarming Threshold for Government Action</a>John: Erica Pandey for Axios: <a href="https://www.axios.com/2026/10/22/russ-sullivan-congressional-adoption-institute" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">The dad who gave 22 kids a home</a>David: Alex Horton and Dan Lamothe for The Washington Post: <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/national-security/2026/10/22/hegseth-wanted-eisenhowers-globe-his-office-his-staff-broke-it/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Exclusive: Hegseth wanted Eisenhower’s globe for his office. His staff broke it.</a>Listener chatter from Aaron Tax in Washington, D.C.: Jason Fuller, Christopher Intagliata, and Patrick Jarenwattananon for NPR: <a href="https://www.npr.org/2026/09/30/nx-s1-5983845/the-101-plays-itself-this-computer-program-treats-the-interstate-into-music" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">&#39;The 101 Plays Itself&#39;: This computer program treats the interstate into music</a>; <a href="https://jayjudah.com/101/#theremin,glass" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">The 101 Plays Itself</a>For this week’s Slate Plus bonus episode, Emily, John, and David discuss investigative journalist Bob Woodward&#39;s upcoming memoir, <a href="https://www.amazon.com/Secrets-Reporters-Memoir-Bob-Woodward/dp/1668008238/tag=slatmaga-20" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Secrets: A Reporter’s Memoir</a>, excerpted in The New Yorker this week. They explore how Woodward&#39;s relationship with friend and key source Dick Darman collapsed, journalistic ethics, and whether reporters can really be friends with sources.In the latest <a href="https://slate.com/podcasts/gabfestreads" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Gabfest Reads</a>, John Dickerson interviews Angela Duckworth about her new book, <a href="https://www.amazon.com/Situated-Find-People-Places-Bring/dp/1668005948/tag=slatmaga-20" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Situated: Find the People and Places That Bring Out Your Best</a>. This new book argues that the most successful people don’t just grind harder; they reshape their circumstances to make success feel automatic.Email your chatters, questions, and comments to gabfest@slate.com. (Messages may be referenced by name unless the writer stipulates otherwise.)Podcast production by Nina Porzucki Research by Emily DittoYou can find the full Political Gabfest <a href="https://slate.com/podcasts/political-gabfest" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">show pages here</a>.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 <a href="https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/political-gabfest/id158004641" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Apple Podcasts </a>and <a href="https://open.spotify.com/show/2oXS9kkKiXdkkCYB3YfqYZ" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Spotify</a>. Or visit <a href="http://slate.com/gabfestplus" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">slate.com/gabfestplus</a> to get access wherever you listen.Find out more about <a href="http://secretfortdc.com/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">David Plotz&#39;s monthly tours of Ft. DeRussy,</a> the secret Civil War fort hidden in Rock Creek Park.<hr> Hosted on Acast. See <a style='color:grey;' target='_blank' rel='noopener noreferrer' href='https://acast.com/privacy'>acast.com/privacy</a> for more information.

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