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Comment by ryanwaggoner | Hacker News Reader

Interested to see how this plays out.

I'm a Slate Plus member, mainly for the extra segment on the Slate Political Gabfest. Ironically, none of the three hosts of that show have worked at Slate in years, which is probably a large part of what makes it enjoyable.

For reasons I'd be hard-pressed to explain, I listen to a number of other Slate podcasts, even though I often find them irritating. Most (but not all) Slate writers and hosts come across less like thoughtful journalists or experts in their field, and more like college bloggers writing an angry screed about how everything in the world is terrible.

There are a few exceptions, but not many. And I do enjoy hearing from the actual experts they have on the various podcasts.

Kind of looking forward to watching this group of clowns destroy their own jobs.

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> like college bloggers writing an angry screed about how everything in the world is terrible.

In my country we seem to have this phenomenon for most of the established media, even more so with newer news outlets.

I think of this as a problem for our society, because the repercussions from the 'fourth-column' becoming this way are spilling over to the other three columns: E.g. once clearly differential political parties reshape their programs to align with what journalists want, lest for diminishing their attack surface. The result is a parliament with parties distinguishable by name only.

That creates huge vacuums in voter representation. Voters then turn to alternative news sources and political parties, which by their nature are more prone to be filled with/usurped by fringe extremists.

That in return leaves the repelled voters with increased attack surface and thus even less chance to participate in the democratic process, making them feel disenfranchised and ultimately not caring for what the "mainstream" says - even if it is good, correct and in their interest.

Edit: Regarding the strike itself, I'm not aware of the situation at Slate, but in general striking for me is an important tool of representation as well.

$10 you're talking about Germany

That's one Oktoberfest Maß for you ;-)

I finally gave up on the Political Gabfest. Mostly because I am fine with the cadence of the primary three hosts righteousness or overt partisan moments, but I have a hard time listening to the rotating fill-in hosts, which happens more frequently now and causes the show to take the shape of the rest of the Slate podcasts, which are past my irritation threshold.

Your comment doesn't deserve downvotes.

Agreed on all points except I guess my thresholds are higher :)

I can’t believe they still find the time to do the Gabfest, John especially.

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