2025 Conundrums!

2025 Conundrums!

Author: Slate Podcasts December 26, 2025 Duration: 1:16:50

This week, Emily Bazelon, John Dickerson, David Plotz, and special guest Stephen Colbert answer listeners’ conundrums of all kinds: the meaningful, the trivial, and the delightfully absurd.

Thanks to all Conundrums contributors: Karl, Elodie, Mitchell, Brian, Phil, Eric, Christian, Kyle, Matthew, Katie, Jesse, John, Bjorn, David, Colin, Alan, Emily, Marie, and Liam!


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 with live show support from Katie Rayford and the team at the New York Society for Ethical Culture

 

Research by Emily Ditto


You can find the full Political Gabfest show pages here.

 

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 Apple Podcasts and Spotify. Or visit slate.com/gabfestplus to get access wherever you listen.

 

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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You're invited to pull up a chair for the kind of candid, inside conversation that happens when the microphones are off. Political Gabfest brings together the sharp minds and wit of Emily Bazelon, John Dickerson, and David Plotz, three seasoned journalists who dissect the week's biggest stories in politics and government without the usual formalities. It feels less like a lecture and more like eavesdropping on the insightful, often irreverent talk you'd hear from friends who really know their stuff after a long week in Washington. This Slate Podcasts production has earned a loyal following, even being called out by Stephen Colbert as essential listening and voted a favorite by Apple Podcasts listeners. Each episode breaks down complex issues into understandable, engaging discussions that are as entertaining as they are informative. For those who want to go deeper, a Slate Plus membership unlocks additional weekly content and an ad-free experience. Tune in for a refreshingly human take on the news cycle, where analysis is served with personality and the stakes of governance are explored through genuine dialogue.
Author: Language: English Episodes: 50

Political Gabfest
Podcast Episodes
Pretend I'm on the Ballot [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:03:12
This week, Emily Bazelon, John Dickerson, and David Plotz discuss why Republicans are holding an unusual midterm convention and what it says about the state of the race at the homestretch, talk about the new book Profile…
What Is the Bond Market, Anyway? [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:05:37
This week, Emily Bazelon, John Dickerson, and David Plotz discuss how a narrow Supreme Court majority used aesthetic standing to greenlight Trump's ballroom construction, why bond yields are rising around the world and h…
Please Do Not Ruin the Post Office [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:06:37
This week, John Dickerson, David Plotz, and guest host Juliette Kayyem discuss this week's Supreme Court ruling allowing the Trump administration to move forward for now with his order restricting mail-in voting, the lik…
Listener Questions [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 45:48
This week, Emily Bazelon, John Dickerson, and David Plotz answer listeners' questions of all kinds: the political, the personal, and everything in-between. Many thanks to all question contributors: Daniel, Karen, Kelly,…
Gabfest Reads | Look What You Made Me Do [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 33:42
David Plotz interviews John Lanchester about his new novel Look What You Made Me Do, a darkly funny psychological thriller about two couples in modern-day London whose lives collide in a story of infidelity, obsession, a…
Air Faux One [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 58:54
This week, Emily Bazelon, David Plotz, and guest host Juliette Kayyem discuss the security calculations behind Trump’s plane switch operation; the White House’s attempts to circumvent Supreme Court rulings in its continu…
Data Center Backlash [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 56:48
This week, Emily Bazelon, John Dickerson, and David Plotz discuss what Abdul El-Sayed's Michigan primary win signals about the future of the Democratic Party, Todd Blanche's march toward confirmation as attorney general…
Unhinged Obsession [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 50:06
This week, Emily Bazelon, John Dickerson, and David Plotz discuss the expanding Iran war and what it means for Trump that news of U.S. missile shortages is leaking from the inside, the blend of conspiracy theory and Rand…
Now We Can Call It a Quagmire [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 49:21
This week, Emily Bazelon, John Dickerson, and David Plotz discuss why the war in Iran has flared back up despite the increasing likelihood of political consequences for Trump and his allies, the promises and perils for t…
Gabfest Reads | The Presidency as Pure Pleasure [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 49:14
John Dickerson interviews Maggie Haberman and Jonathan Swan about their new book Regime Change: Inside the Imperial Presidency of Donald Trump. Drawing on extensive reporting from inside the White House, they explore how…