Slate Daily Feed

On The Gist, Walmart gets a new name.  In the interview, Slate’s Dahlia Lithwick thought about one thing when Senate Democrats started calling for Al Franken’s resignation: Merrick Garland, which she points to as the beginning in a trend of Democrats trying to be honorable and Republicans trying to win at all costs. Are Democrats abandoning process too readily, only to see Republicans surge ahead again? Dahlia is the host of Slate’s Amicus. In the Spiel, the FBI’s testimony on Capitol Hill.

David Plotz, Emily Bazelon and John Dickerson discuss why Roy Moore appears to be surviving while Al Franken and many other harassers are being pushed out of office, the wedding cake case currently before the Supreme Court, and what impact President Trump could have on peace in the Middle East.Join Slate Plus! Members get bonus segments, exclusive member-only podcasts, and more. Sign up for a free trial today at www.slate.com/gabfestplus.Twitter: @SlateGabfestFacebook: facebook.com/GabfestEmail: gabfest@slate.comShow notes at slate.com/gabfest

New York Times theater critic Jesse Green and playwright Paul Rudnick join Kurt to discuss groundbreaking gay theater over the past 50 years. How will plays like “Angels in America” and “Torch Song Trilogy,” which are being revived, hold up for today’s audiences, and what’s the future hold for plays about the LBGT community? Plus, Barry Blitt, the illustrator whose work is frequently featured on the cover of The New Yorker, gives Kurt a tour of his work studio -- and some insights into how he creates his brilliant and hilarious illustrations.

Josh Voorhees with the rundown: a defiant Sen. Franken takes a few parting shots as he heads for the exits; speculation about Franken’s replacement begins in earnest; and the House passes an NRA dream bill.

Rebecca Lavoie and Katherine Goldstein explain Elf on the Shelf to Carvell Wallace, dealing with estranged parents and how to introduce them to your kids, whether following the rules too much is bad for kids, and the joy and sorrow of holiday traditions. Plus Triumphs and Fails and recommendations. 

León Krauze desde Nueva York y Dori Toribio y Fernando Pizarro, corresponsales en Washington, DC, estudian la política estadounidense de esta semana. Primero, los panelistas tratan de descifrar porque los Republicanos se esmeran en pasar una reforma fiscal a mediados de la noche. Luego, invitan al Senador de Virginia, Tim Kaine, a que les comparta su visión del futuro del partido Demócrata – incluso de su colega y amigo Al Franken, quien ha sido acusado de acoso sexual. Kaine se encuentra más optimista que los panelistas sobre la posibilidad del pasaje de un Dream Act que salvaría a los jóvenes inmigrantes del país. En el Broche de Oro, los tres periodistas eligen sus propias Personas del Año (¿habrán nominado al ganador del año que entra?).

Lawrence O’Donnell is the host of ‘The Last Word’ on MSNBC, and the author of a new book, Playing With Fire: The 1968 Election and the Transformation of American Politics. He sits down with Isaac Chotiner to discuss whether JFK’s death really changed his brother, Bobby, how the Democratic Party was permanently transformed by 1968, and why the history of “collusion” in American elections is much older than we think.

On The Gist, Slate’s Jim Newell explains the moral and political case for forcing out Sen. Al Franken. Dozens of Senate Democrats called on Franken to resign after a seventh woman accused him of sexual misconduct on Tuesday. Bob Garfield has spent much of his journalism career talking to eccentrics. In his one-man show, Ruggedly Jewish, the quest to explore his own identity dovetails with the story of an uneasy America. The show is touring in Chicago on Saturday, Dec. 9. And for the Spiel, why President Trump’s Jerusalem announcement solidifies his reputation as the chaos candidate.

On this week’s If Then, Slate’s April Glaser talks with Ellen Pao about sexism in Silicon Valley and why the tech industry hasn’t experienced the same fallout over accusations of sexual harassment and assault as the media and entertainment business. Pao discusses what gives her hope for tech and describes what she’s witnessed as CEO and founder of Project Include, a nonprofit organization dedicated to diversity in tech. They also discuss her time as interim CEO of Reddit and what platforms should do to combat hate speech and harassment on their sites.

Josh Voorhees with the rundown: Is Al Franken on the way out? Did Senate Republicans make a fatal error in writing their tax bill? And how does Roy Moore fit into all this?

Economist Branko Milanovic joins host Yascha Mounk to discuss the Elephant Curve, global wealth inequality and how longterm economic trends relate to the rise of populism and growing middle-class malaise.

Jacob Weisberg talks to The Guardian's Luke Harding about his new book Collusion: How Russia Helped Trump Win.Plus, our Secretary of State issues yet another denial.

Dana Stevens, Julia Turner, and Stephen Metcalf discuss James Franco's The Disaster Artist with Slate's Forrest Wickman, the cult film The Room with producer Benjamin Frisch, and Fiona the hippo and celebrity animals.  

On The Gist, why Alabama’s decrepitude is not incidental to Roy Moore’s competitive bid for Senate.  In the interview, Russell Shorto tells the stories of six people living through the Revolutionary War—one is George Washington; the other five, you’ve probably never heard of. Shorto’s book is Revolution Song. In the Spiel, a counterpoint to Jill Filipovic’s New York Times column arguing that the sexual harassers who covered the election threw the whole thing to Donald Trump. 

Josh Voorhees has the rundown: A Roy Moore surrogate offers up one of the worst talking points you’ll ever hear; a new Atlantic article details a near campaign coup by Mike Pence; and a hungry teen had the most retweeted Twitter post of 2017.