Donald Trump Takes Back the White House

This week, Emily Bazelon, John Dickerson, and David Plotz discuss the big wins of Donald Trump and Senate Republicans; the what-next of the second Trump presidency; and the electoral victories and possible setbacks for abortion rights. Join us on December 4 for Political Gabfest Live in Brooklyn! Tickets are on sale now. And send us your Conundrums at slate.com/conundrum.

Here are some notes and references from this week’s show:

AP: 2024 Senate Election Results and 2024 House Election Results

Jennifer De Pinto, Fred Backus, and Eran Ben-Porath for CBS News: How Trump won the 2024 election – CBS News exit poll results

Jed Kolko for Slow Boring: Breaking down the election results

The Bulwark: What Just Happened? Election Debrief (w/ Sarah Longwell & Jonathan V. Last)

Katie Rogers for The New York Times: Will a Woman Ever Be President? and Erica L. Green and Maya King: For Black Women, ‘America Has Revealed to Us Her True Self’

Matthew Yglesias in The New York Times: Opinion: Why Isn’t Trump Running Away With This?

Allison Pecorin and Meredith Deliso for ABC News: Bernie Sanders blasts Democratic Party following Kamala Harris loss

Steve Benen for MSNBC: As Trump prevails, it’s time to grapple with the ‘who we are’ question

Peter Baker for The New York Times: ‘Trump’s America’: Comeback Victory Signals a Different Kind of Country and Peter Baker and Charlie Savage: Trump Will Return to Power With a More Expansive Agenda

Amanda Moore for Politico: A Trump Field Director Was Fired for Being a White Nationalist

Ella Nilsen for CNN: Hours after Trump’s election, Biden moved to limit oil drilling in Arctic National Wildlife Refuge

William Kristol and Andrew Egger for The Bulwark: No Honeymoon for Trumpism

Stacey Abrams for Crooked’s Assembly Required with Stacey Abrams: Stacey’s Post-Election Message and The Power of Music

Allison McCann and Amy Schoenfeld Walker for The New York Times: How Ballot Measures Will Change Abortion Access

Aria Bendix and Randi Richardson for NBC News: What Trump’s victory could mean for the future of abortion rights

Here are this week’s chatters:

Emily: The Icon and the Idealist: Margaret Sanger, Mary Ware Dennett, and the Rivalry That Brought Birth Control to America by Stephanie Gorton

John: BBC One’s Shetland and Legendborn, Bloodmarked, and Oathbound by Tracy Deonn

David: Tree: dead or alive?; The Witches Are Coming by Lindy West; and The Freeman Institute: College Entrance Essay?

Listener chatter from Jonas in Boston: 99% Invisible and The Power Broker: Robert Moses and the Fall of New York by Robert A. Caro

For this week’s Slate Plus bonus segment, Emily, John, and David give a few more thoughts on the 2024 elections.

In the latest Gabfest Reads, John talks with Dan Harris about his book, 10% Happier 10th Anniversary Edition: How I Tamed the Voice in My Head, Reduced Stress Without Losing My Edge, and Found Self-Help That Actually Works – A True Story.

Email your chatters, questions, and comments to gabfest@slate.com. (Messages may be referenced by name unless the writer stipulates otherwise.)

Podcast production by Cheyna Roth

Research by Julie Huygen