History

Navel Gazing

by John Dickerson

HistorySociety & Culture

Share this ranking Is this your show? Claim it

Listen on Apple Podcasts RSS feed

Chart positions today · United States

Not on the United States charts we track today.

If you like Navel Gazing, try…

Political Gabfest

Latest episodes

Season 2 | John Dickerson's Notebooks: What Will You Leave Behind?

October 26, 2026 · 24 min

Today in the notebooks: The birds sang in the wet trees and I listened to them it was a hundred years from now And I was dead and someone else was listening to them. But I was glad I had recorded for him the melancholy. Wet evening in…
Season 2 | John Dickerson's Notebooks: Orphaned Nouns and Asking 'Why'

October 19, 2026 · 21 min

Today in the notebooks: Notebook 1, page 1: “Satellite dishes.” June 6, 1990 Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Season 2 | John Dickerson's Notebooks: It Was All Mom's Idea

October 10, 2026 · 22 min

Today in the notebooks: How did you start? Notebook 1, June 6, 1990 Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Season 2 | John Dickerson's Notebooks: A Trip to the Coffee Shop With Hugo and Cortes

October 9, 2026 · 22 min

This week in the notebooks: “Observing as an act of emancipation.” -Notebook #72, page 1. April 23, 2024 Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
John Dickerson’s Notebooks: The Meaning Behind All This Navel Gazing

June 1, 2024 · 36 min

In this week’s essay, John discusses instinct versus obligation, his daughter’s wit, how he has changed since episode one, and more. Notebook Entries: Notebook 58, page 10. September 16, 2021 “You don’t measure your life the way you…

Show 7 more episodesShow fewer episodes

John Dickerson’s Notebooks: Time Travel Via an Assortment of Journal Entries

May 25, 2024 · 26 min

In this week’s essay, John discusses Mothers’s Day, playing tennis with the Attorney General, medical scares, and more. Notebook Entries: Notebook 19, page 16. April 2011 Is it possible, through applied thought, to become systematic in…
John Dickerson’s Notebooks: Moving in New York Twenty Years After September 11th.

May 18, 2024 · 41 min

In this week’s essay, John discusses the differences between moving around New York in 1991 and 2021; remembering 9/11 twenty years later; and more. Notebook Entries: Notebook 75, page 12. September 2021 Notebooks to Garret Notebook 75…
John Dickerson’s Notebooks: The Sneaky Pitfalls of the To-Do List

May 11, 2024 · 36 min

In this week’s essay, John discusses the Pomodoro Routine (among other productivity routines), why he especially needs a meditation pillow, and how a particular teacher captured his heart. Notebook Entries: Notebook 75, pages 8 and 9…
John Dickerson’s Notebooks: Remembering Early 1990s New York

May 4, 2024 · 42 min

In this week’s essay, John discusses an onboarding memo for his assistant Laura, and recounts his early days living and working in New York City. Notebook Entries: Notebook 75 Onboard memo for Laura Notebook 3, page 44. May 1991 June 17…
John Dickerson’s Notebooks: The Power of Four Numbers

April 27, 2024 · 31 min

In this week’s essay, John discusses the art of attention and how to develop the skill of slow-looking. Notebook Entries: Notebook 75, page 8. September 2021 1016 Notebook 1, page 54. June 1990 - Magna carta 1215 at…
John Dickerson’s Notebooks: Remembering George and Defending the Morning

April 20, 2024 · 24 min

In this week’s essay, John dives deep into the loss of his beloved dog, George, the essayist’s dilemma, the comfort of quiet mornings, and more. Notebook Entries: Notebook 75, page 5. September 5, 2021 I go to the morning…
John Dickerson’s Notebooks: Sending our Son to College

April 13, 2024 · 25 min

In this week’s essay, John remembers dropping his son off at college, and trying to hold onto moments and feelings while you can. Notebook Entries: Notebook 75, page 6. September 2021: They chose you. Notebook 15, page 4. April…

Full episode archive on Apple Podcasts →

About the show

Political Gabfest host John Dickerson has been a journalist for more than three decades, reporting about presidential campaigns, political scandals, the evolving state of our democracy. Along the way, he’s also been recording his observations in notebooks he has carried in his back pocket. On the Navel Gazing podcast, John Dickerson invites you to join him in figuring out what these thirty years of notebooks mean: sorting out what makes a life—or a day in a life—noteworthy.Want to listen to Navel Gazing uninterrupted? Subscribe to Slate Plus to immediately unlock ad-free listening to Navel Gazing and all your other favorite Slate podcasts. Subscribe now on Apple Podcasts by clicking “Try Free” at the top of our show page. Or, visit slate.com/navelgazingplus to get access wherever you listen. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.