Talking Ourselves Into Gavin
Laura Tremaine joins Sarah for California politics, the Democrats' leaderless wilderness, and the viral Atlantic piece announcing the end of reading.
Beth is out for two more weeks, so I brought in reinforcements. First up is Laura Tremaine , my co-host over at Slow Read, who has lived in California for twenty-five years and has some things to say about her governor. We start with Gavin Newsom — the trolling, Prop 50, the podcast with Charlie Kirk — and somewhere in the middle of it Laura talks herself into him in real time, which is very much not where she started. Then we get into that viral Atlantic piece about the end of reading, what our civic life loses when people stop reading books, and why slowing down might be the only sane response to algorithmic everything. We also announce our next Slow Read, and I’ll just say it: the fandom scares us a little.
— Sarah
Topics Discussed
Gavin Newsom Can’t Help His Face (But He Could Build a Bench)
The Democratic Party Has No Leader and Everybody Can Tell
The Atlantic Declares the End of Reading (Meanwhile, I Opened a Bookshop)
Slow Reading Outlander and Being a Little Scared of the Fandom
Outside of Politics: The Summer the Movies Came Back
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Episode Resources
Pantsuit Politics Resources
Two weeks left! Join us for our live show in Minneapolis on August 29. There will be trivia, there will be singing, there will be lessons learned from America 250 and wild speculation about 2028. Get your tickets here.
Our next Slow Read is Diana Gabaldon’s Outlander. The reading schedule is out now, and this season lives behind the paywall so we can talk about it in all its glory. Read along with us at Slow Read.
America’s Next 250 with Ezra Klein (Pantsuit Politics)
Episode Topic Resources
The End of Reading Is Here (The Atlantic)
The Obscure Media Theory That Explains “99% of Everything” (Derek Thompson)
“The End of Reading Is Here” (Plain English with Derek Thompson)
Footnotes and Tangents (Simon Haisell)
Secret Stuff (Laura Tremaine)
Episode Transcript
Coming soon…
Show Credits
Pantsuit Politics is hosted by Sarah Stewart Holland and Beth Silvers. The show is produced by Studio D Podcast Production.
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When I saw Beshear say “Sorry to miss Fancy Farm…” I legit thought he was calling Rand Paul “Miss Fancy Farm.” Kinda like “Miss Fancy Pants.” 😂😂 In case it’s not obvious, I’m not from Kentucky.