Kremlin Wedding Present

<p>This week, Emily Bazelon, John Dickerson, and David Plotz discuss whether this week's Supreme Court intervention rejecting Trump's mail-in ballot restrictions will prevent midterm chaos, explore the fast-evolving dynamics of public and political anxieties about AI, and dissect remarkable new reporting from ProPublica exposing the Putin-adjacent Russian oligarch who paid for much of Donald Trump Jr.'s private island wedding.</p><br><p><strong>Here are this week’s chatters:</strong></p><p><strong>&nbsp;</strong></p><p>Emily: New podcast <a href="https://www.pushkin.fm/podcasts/examined-the-backfire-effect" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Examined: The Backfire Effect</a>, by Josie Duffy Rice; <a href="https://www.amazon.com/Supremacy-Court-Replaced-Government-People/dp/1324092807/tag=slatmaga-20" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"><em>Supremacy: How Rule by the Court Replaced Government by the People</em></a> by Nikolas Bowie and Daphna Renan</p><p>&nbsp;</p><p>John: <a href="https://www.npr.org/2026/09/17/nx-s1-5971459/john-dickerson-slate-political-gabfest-navel-gazing" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Wild Card with Rachel Martin (NPR): John Dickerson says doubt only helps to solidify his faith</a>; Derek DelGaudio's <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GMKJEruYZRU" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">In &amp; Of Itself (Trailer on YouTube)</a> <a href="https://www.hulu.com/movie/derek-delgaudios-in-of-itself-19b9d405-40b2-483e-8e1f-e25fe10c7299" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">(Streaming on Hulu)</a>; Linda Holmes for NPR: <a href="https://www.npr.org/2021/01/22/959305116/in-of-itself-is-a-study-of-identity-and-magic" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">'In &amp; Of Itself' Is A Study Of Identity And Magic</a>; <a href="https://www.amazon.com/AMORALMAN-True-Story-Other-Lies/dp/0593081110/tag=slatmaga-20" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"><em>AMORALMAN: A True Story and Other Lies</em></a><em> </em>by Derek DelGaudio</p><p>&nbsp;</p><p>David: <a href="https://www.paramountplus.com/shows/colin-from-accounts/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Colin from Accounts</a> on Paramount Plus; Daniel Wu for The Washington Post: <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/climate-environment/2026/09/15/pollution-spikes-after-trump-halted-global-air-monitoring-efforts-report-says/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Pollution spikes after Trump halted global air-monitoring efforts, report says<