John, Emily and David discuss Biden’s approval numbers, authoritarianism on the rise, and they are joined by author Jay Caspian Kang to talk about his new book, The Loneliest Americans.

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

FiveThirtyEight, Latest Polls

Isaac Chotiner for the New Yorker: “Can Biden’s Agenda Survive Inflation?”

Jason Furman for the Wall Street Journal: “Biden Can Whip Inflation and Build Back Better”

The Loneliest Americans, by Jay Caspian Kang

Pew Research Center: “Where Do You Fit In The Political Typology?”

Christopher Borrelli for the Chicago Tribune: “What We’re Reading: 4 Korean American Memoirs, From Personal Stories To An Unsettling Confrontation on Identity and Assimilation”

Anne Appelbaum for the Atlantic: “The Bad Guys Are Winning”

Freedom House: “Freedom in the World 2021: Democracy Under Siege”

The Dictator's Learning Curve: Inside the Global Battle for Democracy, by William J. Dobson

Twitter and Tear Gas: The Power and Fragility of Networked Protest, by Zeynep Tufekci

Zeynep Tufekci for the Atlantic: “How the Coronavirus Revealed Authoritarianism’s Fatal Flaw”

Here’s this week’s chatter:

Emily: Ashley Southall and Jonah E. Bromwich for the New York Times: “2 Men Convicted of Killing Malcolm X Will Be Exonerated After Decades”

John: The Faber Book of Reportage, by John Carey; The Way We Live Now, by Anthony Trollope audiobook

David: Geoffrey Leavenworth for the New York Times: “One Chaste Marriage, Four Kids, and the Catholic Church”; Spencer Buell for Boston magazine: “New England Hidden Gems You’ll Find on the New Atlas Obscura App”; City Cast Houston

Listener chatter from Melissa Ocepek: A fox listens to the banjo

For this week’s Slate Plus bonus segment Emily, John, and David discuss the most useful friend to have.

Tweet us your questions and chatters @SlateGabfest or email us at gabfest@slate.com. (Messages may be quoted by name unless the writer stipulates otherwise.)

Podcast production by Jocelyn Frank.

Research and show notes by Bridgette Dunlap.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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Political: No Joe Mojo