This week, Emily Bazelon, John Dickerson, and David Plotz discuss whether the US should join Israel’s war on Iran, the tragic Minnesota assassinations and why US political violence is surging now, and the Supreme Court’s unsurprising but willfully obtuse decision to uphold Tennessee’s youth transgender care ban.
Here are some notes and references from this week’s show:
Michael Birnbaum, Dan Lamothe, Claire Parker, and Karen DeYoung for The Washington Post: Trump debates bombing Iran in pivotal moment for presidency
Alexander Ward, Lara Seligman, and Dustin Volz for The Wall Street Journal (Exclusive): Israel Built Its Case for War With Iran on New Intelligence. The U.S. Didn’t Buy It.
Roger Cohen for the New York Times (Analysis): An Islamic Republic With Its Back Against the Wall
Seth Cropsey for The Wall Street Journal (Opinion): Israel Hands America an Opportunity in the Mideast
Thomas L. Friedman for The New York Times (Opinion): The Smart Way for Trump to End the Israel-Iran War
The Editors of National Review: U.S. Should Destroy Fordow — but Only If Israel Can’t
Oren Cass for Understanding America (Substack): Is Israel the Ideal “America First” Ally?
Warren P. Strobel, Alex Horton, and Abigail Hauslohner for the Washington Post: Navigating Iran crisis, Trump relies on experience over star power
Mike Lillis and Rebecca Beitsch for The Hill: Congress on edge after Minnesota lawmaker shootings
Benjamin Wallace-Wells for The New Yorker (The Lede): The Minnesota Shootings and the Dangerous Trend of Impersonating Law Enforcement
Brian Klaas for The Atlantic: In Minnesota, America’s Luck Ran Out
The Editorial Board of The Washington Post (Opinion): The Minnesota assassin sought — and found — soft targets
Gerard Baker for The Wall Street Journal (Opinion): The Uses and Abuses of Political Violence
Marcia Kramer, Ali Bauman, Jesse Zanger, and Renee Anderson for CBS News New York: Brad Lander, NYC comptroller and mayoral candidate, arrested by ICE agents
Amy Howe for SCOTUSblog: Court upholds Tennessee’s ban on certain medical treatments for transgender minors
Abbie VanSickle for The New York Times: Sotomayor Writes the Court ‘Abandons’ Transgender Children to ‘Political Whims’
Ella Lee for The Hill: Clarence Thomas urges courts to end deferring to ‘experts’ on gender-affirming care
Ian Millhiser for Vox: The Supreme Court’s incoherent new attack on trans rights, explained
Adam Liptak and Abbie VanSickle for The New York Times: The Supreme Court’s Decision on Transgender Care for Minors, Annotated
Here are this week’s chatters:
Emily: A Family Matter by Claire Lynch; The Fall of Affirmative Action: Race, the Supreme Court, and the Future of Higher Education by Justin Driver; A Flower Traveled in My Blood: The Incredible True Story of the Grandmothers Who Fought to Find a Stolen Generation of Children by Haley Cohen Gilliland.
John: Mary Cunningham for CBS News: Federal Reserve holds its benchmark interest rate steady at today’s FOMC meeting; ABA Banking Journal: Fed’s Powell says some areas of U.S. may be ‘uninsurable’ in next decade
David: Trip Gabriel for the New York Times: William Langewiesche, the ‘Steve McQueen of Journalism,’ Dies at 70
Listener chatter from Jacob Podell in Chicago, Illinois: Juliana Kim for NPR: Family shows AI video of slain victim as an impact statement – possibly a legal first
For this week’s Slate Plus bonus episode, Emily, John, and David discuss the exciting possibilities and likely limitations of using AI tools for historical research and writing.
In the latest Gabfest Reads, Emily talks with author Susan Dominus about her new book, The Family Dynamic: A Journey into the Mystery of Sibling Success.
Email your chatters, questions, and comments to gabfest@slate.com. (Messages may be referenced by name unless the writer stipulates otherwise.)
Research by Emily Ditto