This week, Emily Bazelon, John Dickerson, and David Plotz discuss the problems with issue polling and issues with political journalism; the chaos and conflict of Sam Altman and OpenAI; and the failure of the Oslo Accords and perpetual struggle between Israel and Palestine. Send us your Conundrums: submit them at slate.com/conundrum. And join us in-person or online with our special guest – The Late Show’s Steven Colbert – for Gabfest Live: The Conundrums Edition! December 7 at The 92nd Street Y, New York City. Tickets on sale now!

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

Nate Cohn for The New York Times: The Crisis in Issue Polling, and What We’re Doing About It and We Did an Experiment to See How Much Democracy and Abortion Matter to Voters

Claire Cain Miller and Francesca Paris for The New York Times: The Great Disconnect: Why Voters Feel One Way About the Economy but Act Differently

The Image: A Guide to Pseudo-Events in America by Daniel J. Boorstin

What’s the Matter with Kansas?: How Conservatives Won the Heart of America by Thomas Frank

Eli Saslow for The New York Times: A Jan. 6 Defendant Pleads His Case to the Son Who Turned Him In

Brian Beutler for the Off Message newsletter: The 2024 Election Is About Real Things

Charlie Warzel for The Atlantic: The Money Always Wins and Karen Hao and Charlie Warzel: Inside the Chaos at OpenAI

John Dickerson and Jo Ling Kent for CBS News Prime Time: What Sam Altman’s ouster from OpenAI could mean for the tech world

Pranshu Verman, Nitasha Tiku, and Gerrit De Vynck for The Washington Post: Sam Altman reinstated as OpenAI CEO with new board members 

Louise Matsakis and Reed Albergotti for Semafor: The AI industry turns against its favorite philosophy

Emily Bazelon for The New York Times Magazine: Was Peace Ever Possible? 

Ezra Klein for The New York Times’s The Ezra Klein Show podcast: The Best Primer I’ve Heard on Israeli-Palestinian Peace Efforts

Oslo on HBO

John Dickerson for CBS Mornings: Former