Gabfest Reads

David Plotz talks with Wikipedia co-founder Jimmy Wales about his new book The Seven Rules of Trust: A Blueprint for Building Things That Last. They discuss how Wikipedia’s culture of assuming good faith and shared purpose became a model for building trustworthy digital communities — and what lessons that holds for companies, social media, and politics today. Wales reflects on how to maintain trust in polarized times, the challenges of AI-generated information, and why genuine civility still matters online. Tweet us your questions @SlateGabfest or email us at gabfest@slate.com. (Messages may be quoted by name unless the writer stipulates otherwise.) Podcast production by Nina Porzucki. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

John Dickerson talks with journalist and author Andrew Ross Sorkin about his new book 1929: Inside the Greatest Crash in Wall Street History and How It Shattered a Nation. Recorded live at the 92nd Street Y in NYC, their conversation explores how a decade of optimism, leverage, and moral hazard culminated in the financial collapse that defined modern capitalism. Sorkin details how figures like banker Charles “Sunshine Charlie” Mitchell, Senator Carter Glass, and investor Jesse Livermore shaped the boom and bust of the era and how their decisions echo in today’s bubbles around A.I., crypto, and debt-fueled speculation. Tweet us your questions @SlateGabfest or email us at gabfest@slate.com. (Messages may be quoted by name unless the writer stipulates otherwise.) Podcast production by Nina Porzucki. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Emily Bazelon talks with Yale law professor John Witt about his new book The Radical Fund: How a Band of Visionaries and a Million Dollars Upended America. They explore the remarkable story of the Garland Fund—a small 1920s foundation that bankrolled early work by A. Philip Randolph, and others who would go on to shape the civil rights and labor movements. Witt traces how the fund connected race and class politics, supported the intellectual groundwork for Brown v. Board of Education, and anticipated today’s challenges around misinformation, inequality, and political disconnection. He and Bazelon also discuss what lessons progressives might take from this forgotten story of organizing during political exile. Tweet us your questions @SlateGabfest or email us at gabfest@slate.com. (Messages could be quoted by name unless the writer stipulates otherwise.) Podcast production by Nina Porzucki. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Emily Bazelon talks with author and Yale professor Judith Resnik about her new book, Impermissible Punishments: How Prison Became a Problem for Democracy. They discuss the history of the prison system’s use of punishments like whipping, how the practice came to an end, and more.   Tweet us your questions @SlateGabfest or email us at gabfest@slate.com. (Messages could be quoted by name unless the writer stipulates otherwise.)   Podcast production by Cheyna Roth. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Political Gabfest host Emily Bazelon talks with Jonathan Mahler about his new book, The Gods of New York. They discuss the unraveling of Mayor Ed Koch’s New York City; how the city’s current mayoral race is mirroring the past; and more.   Tweet us your questions @SlateGabfest or email us at gabfest@slate.com. (Messages could be quoted by name unless the writer stipulates otherwise.)   Podcast production by Cheyna Roth. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

David Plotz talks with author Carl Hiaasen about his new book, Fever Beach. Fever Beach is a political satire that follows a couple of dimwitted white supremacists, a corrupt congressman, and the people that try to take them all down. They discuss the real-life racist event Hiaasen witnessed that inspired a central scene in the novel, how Matt Gaetz factors into the book, Hiaasen’s next moves, and more.   Tweet us your questions @SlateGabfest or email us at gabfest@slate.com. (Messages could be quoted by name unless the writer stipulates otherwise.)   Podcast production by Cheyna Roth. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

David Plotz talks with author Alison Bechdel about her new book, Spent. They discuss what’s memoir and what’s less than memoir in the comic novel, David’s own contribution to the book, and more.   Tweet us your questions @SlateGabfest or email us at gabfest@slate.com. (Messages could be quoted by name unless the writer stipulates otherwise.)   Podcast production by Cheyna Roth. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Emily Bazelon talks with author Susan Dominus about her new book, The Family Dynamic: A Journey into the Mystery of Sibling Success. They discuss the commonalities among families that have multiple high-achieving children, what we can learn from these unique families, and more.   Tweet us your questions @SlateGabfest or email us at gabfest@slate.com. (Messages could be quoted by name unless the writer stipulates otherwise.)   Podcast production by Cheyna Roth. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

John Dickerson talks with author Maggie Smith about her new book, Dear Writer: Pep Talks & Practical Advice for the Creative Life.  They talk about the essential elements of all creative projects, when you know a project is “done”, how to stay “porous” in the world, and more.  Tweet us your questions @SlateGabfest or email us at gabfest@slate.com. (Messages could be quoted by name unless the writer stipulates otherwise.) Podcast production by Cheyna Roth. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

David Plotz talks with author Adam Higginbotham about his new book, Challenger: A True Story of Heroism and Disaster on the Edge of Space. They discuss the feats of engineering that took place, the political cynicism and cost-cutting that played a role in the tragedy, the heroism and tragic loss of the people on board the shuttle, and more.    Tweet us your questions @SlateGabfest or email us at gabfest@slate.com. (Messages could be quoted by name unless the writer stipulates otherwise.) Podcast production by Cheyna Roth. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Emily Bazelon talks with author Rich Benjamin about his new book, Talk to Me: Lessons From a Family Forged by History. They delve into Rich’s complex family history— particularly the experiences of his grandfather, Daniel Fignolé. Fignolé was the president of Hatti in 1957 before being ousted by a coup that involved American influence. Rich and Emily discuss how the political upheaval had a lasting impact on Rich and his family, the immigrant experience of “internalizing America” and the lasting scars of trauma.    Tweet us your questions @SlateGabfest or email us at gabfest@slate.com. (Messages could be quoted by name unless the writer stipulates otherwise.) Podcast production by Cheyna Roth. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Emily Bazelon talks with author Yael van der Wouden about her debut novel, The Safekeep. They discuss why Yael chose a queer love story, how Yael’s own Dutch and Jewish heritage influenced her writing, the history of dispossession after World War II, and more.  Tweet us your questions @SlateGabfest or email us at gabfest@slate.com. (Messages could be quoted by name unless the writer stipulates otherwise.) Podcast production by Cheyna Roth. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Slate Political Gabfest host David Plotz talks with author David Greenberg about his new book, John Lewis: A Life. They discuss how Lewis went from marching with Martin Luther King, Jr. to an iconic career as a politician, Lewis’s commitment to non-violence, how Greenberg uncovered never-before-seen documents, and more. Tweet us your questions @SlateGabfest or email us at gabfest@slate.com. (Messages could be quoted by name unless the writer stipulates otherwise.) Podcast production by Cheyna Roth. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Political Gabfest host Emily Bazelon talks with author Stephanie Gorton about her new book, The Icon & The Idealist.They discuss racism and prudishness in the early suffragist movement, how eugenics played a role in the birth control movement, and how two different women fought each other, despite wanting the same things.  Tweet us your questions @SlateGabfest or email us at gabfest@slate.com. (Messages could be quoted by name unless the writer stipulates otherwise.) Podcast production by Cheyna Roth. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Political Gabfest host John Dickerson talks with author Dan Harris about his re-released book, 10% Happier: How I Tamed the Voice in My Head, Reduced Stress Without Losing My Edge, And Found Self-Help That Actually Works – A True Story in light of the looming November 5 vote. They discuss the steps to coping with election anxiety, how to benefit from group dynamics (instead of letting the doom-scrolling get to you), and more. Tweet us your questions @SlateGabfest or email us at gabfest@slate.com. (Messages could be quoted by name unless the writer stipulates otherwise.) Podcast production by Cheyna Roth. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

On this month’s edition of Gabfest Reads, Political Gabfest host David Plotz talks with author Elizabeth Strout about her new book, Tell Me Everything. They discuss how Strout conceives of interconnected stories and characters across her work, including the return of beloved characters like Olive Kitteridge. They also dig into the importance of listening and the ways ordinary lives can be extraordinary.  Tweet us your questions @SlateGabfest or email us at gabfest@slate.com. (Messages could be quoted by name unless the writer stipulates otherwise.) Podcast production by Cheyna Roth. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Political Gabfest host Emily Bazalon talks with author Joshua Leifer about his new book, Tablets Shattered: The End of An American Jewish Century and the Future of Jewish Life. They discuss Leifer’s experience growing up Jewish in America, the conflict in Gaza, how what it means to be Jewish has evolved, and more.  Tweet us your questions @SlateGabfest or email us at gabfest@slate.com. (Messages could be quoted by name unless the writer stipulates otherwise.) Podcast production by Cheyna Roth. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

John Dickerson talks with author Roland Allen about his new book, The Notebook: A History of Thinking on Paper. They discuss the historical origins of notebooks, how to keep a notebook and their own personal journeys documenting their lives. If you enjoyed this conversation, you’ll love an exploration into John Dickerson’s notebooks with his podcast Navel Gazing. Season one is out now. Tweet us your questions @SlateGabfest or email us at gabfest@slate.com. (Messages could be quoted by name unless the writer stipulates otherwise.) Podcast production by Cheyna Roth. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

David Plotz talks with author Sierra Greer about her new book, Annie Bot. They discuss how much discomfort Annie (a “Cuddle Bunny” type of robot) can feel, how the story of a robot is really about the right to control a body, and more.   Tweet us your questions @SlateGabfest or email us at gabfest@slate.com. (Messages could be quoted by name unless the writer stipulates otherwise.) Podcast production by Cheyna Roth. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Emily Bazelon talks with authors Bill Wasik and Monica Murphy, about their new book, Our Kindred Creatures: How Americans Came to Feel the Way They Do About Animals. They discuss the evolution of animal treatment in America, moral duties to animals, and how to care about more animals than our pets.  Tweet us your questions @SlateGabfest or email us at gabfest@slate.com. (Messages could be quoted by name unless the writer stipulates otherwise.) Podcast production by Cheyna Roth. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices