Kremlin Wedding Present
Summary
Hosts David Plotz, John Dickerson, and Emily Bazelon discuss the Supreme Court’s ruling blocking Trump’s postal service interference in mail-in voting, alongside ongoing election security threats. They analyze the rising political salience of AI safety concerns, noting the gap between corporate caution and Trump’s dismissal of risks. The episode also covers ProPublica’s revelations that a Russian oligarch funded Donald Trump Jr.’s wedding, highlighting the bizarre and potentially compromising nature of the event.
Topics discussed
Intro: Small town politics in Cabot, Vermont
Slate Plus promotion and episode overview
Supreme Court ruling on mail-in ballots
Legal arguments: Post Office authority vs. states
Constitutional concerns and election clause
Other election threats: ICE, FBI, and voting machines
Voter confusion and election infrastructure turnover
AI safety, recursive self-improvement, and politics
AI regulation, stock market, and US-China dynamics
Trump's AI memes and public perception of AI risk
Cultural references: Tolkien, NYT definitions, and crypto
Trump Jr. wedding funded by Russian oligarch
Analysis of 'open for business' corruption and gifts
Reflections on wedding culture and human behavior
Cocktail Chatter: Book recommendation 'Supremacy'
Chatter: TV shows and US embassy air pollution data
Chatter: Historical luxury objects and canned bread
Chatter: OnlyFans failure and bonus episode teaser
Outro and final Slate Plus call to action
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