The “Subject to the Jurisdiction Thereof’ Edition

This week, Emily Bazelon, John Dickerson, and David Plotz discuss yesterday’s oral arguments in the monumentally important birthright citizenship case at the Supreme Court, Trump’s primetime attempt to convince Americans that both their wallets and the Iran war are just fine, and strategy versus vibes in key Senate races in Maine and Texas.

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

Dahlia Lithwick and Anna O. Law for Slate: Amicus Podcast: Immigration Myths and Birthright Citizenship

SCOTUSblog and Briefly: Birthright citizenship: an animated explainer (video, 2:43 long)

Justin Jouvenal for The Washington Post: Supreme Court appears skeptical of Trump’s effort to end birthright citizenship

Amy Howe for SCOTUSblog: A history of birthright citizenship at the Supreme Court

Ian Millhiser for Vox: The ugly history behind Trump’s birthright citizenship case in the Supreme Court

Jamelle Bouie for The New York Times (Opinion): The Birthright Con

Scott Waldman, Eli Stokols, and Dasha Burns for Politico: With gas prices on the rise, Trump officials discuss feared $150 oil

Megan Leonhardt for Barron’s: $4 Gas Could Be the Breaking Point for the Economy, Inflation

Catherine Allen for Politico: The states where higher gas prices could shape the midterms

Greg Miller for The Washington Post: Israel targets Iran’s leaders with lethal expertise using new AI platform

The Economist: Donald Trump and the art of bad diplomacy

Lisa Lerer and Katie Glueck for The New York Times: How a Democratic Battle in Maine Is Challenging the Idea of Political Risk

Ronald Brownstein for Bloomberg (Opinion): Platner Needs These Collins Voters to Win in Maine

Natalie Allison for The Washington Post: MAGA’s eruption has so far kept Trump from endorsing in key Senate race

Here are this week’s chatters:

Emily: Ashley Lopez and Benjamin Swasey for NPR: Trump signs a new executive order on voting. Experts say he lacks the authority; Chad de Guzman for Time: Trump’s Order Restricting Mail-In Voting Rebuked by States; Nick Corasaniti and Michael Gold for The New York Times: Trump Signs Order Seeking Federal Control of Mail Voting as He Promotes False Claims

John: Michael Casey for Associated Press: Fed is watching energy price spikes, but Chair Powell says bank is limited in what it can do; Balazs Koranyi and Maria Martinez for Reuters: Euro zone inflation surges past ECB target on oil shock; Scott Horsley for NPR: Have Trump’s tariffs worked? This is where things stand a year after ‘Liberation Day’; Phil Gramm and Donald J. Boudreaux for The Wall Street Journal: ‘Liberation Day,’ One Year Later

David: Steve Benen for MS NOW: Trump’s ‘God Squad’ discards the administration’s supposed interest in whale protections; Ella Nilsen for CNN: Only 50 of these whales are left in existence. Trump’s ‘God Squad’ just chose oil drilling over protecting them; Alex Vadukul for The New York Times: A New Jersey Teen Finds Treasure, and More, in Abandoned Storage Units

Listener chatter from Keith Chaffee in West Hollywood, California: Ursula K. Le Guin: The Ones Who Walk Away from Omelas; PBS Learning Media: American Masters: Exploring Ethics in Literature: “The Ones Who Walk Away from Omelas” | Ursula K. Le Guin

For this week’s Slate Plus bonus episode, Emily, John, and David discuss the launch of NASA’s Artemis II mission to the Moon. They muse poetically about space exploration, ask what NASA has been doing all this time, and discuss the benefits to humanity of such expensive missions.

In the latest Gabfest Reads, David Plotz talks with journalist Gabriel Sherman about his new book Bonfire of the Murdochs: How the Epic Fight to Control the Last Great Media Dynasty Broke a Family—and the World. Sherman, who also wrote the bestselling biography of Fox News chief Roger Ailes, spent 15 years reporting on the Murdoch empire. In this book he turns his lens on the family itself — the rivalries, the wounds, and the secret Nevada courtroom battle that finally forced Rupert’s hand.

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

Podcast production by Nina Porzucki

Research by Emily Ditto

You can find the full Political Gabfest show pages here.

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Find out more about David Plotz’s monthly tours of Ft. DeRussy, the secret Civil War fort hidden in Rock Creek Park.

Bonus Episode

Bonus: We’re Going to the Moon, Again

NASA launches Artemis II, the first crewed flight to the Moon in over 50 years