Culture Gabfest

Stephen Metcalf, Dana Stevens, and Julia Turner discuss the film Pain and Glory with Slate's June Thomas, the podcast Dolly Parton's America, and the Slate profile of Lauren Gunderson, the most popular playwright in America, with author Dan Kois. In Slate Plus: cats vs. dogs. Need to set up your Slate Plus feed? If you subscribed through Slate.com, check out our FAQ at slate.com/podcastfaqs for ea...

Dana Stevens, Stephen Metcalf, and Julia Turner discuss the Breaking Bad movie El Camino, The Great British Baking Show, and the streaming wars and the future of television. In Slate Plus, the panel discuss the work of critic Harold Bloom who died this week with professor Al Filreis. Need to set up your Slate Plus feed? If you subscribed through Slate.com, check out our FAQ at slate.com/podcastfaq...

Julia Turner, Stephen Metcalf, and Dana Stevens discuss the film Joker, Transparent's musical finale episode, and the question of Gwyneth Paltrow with critic Wesley Morris.  Producer's Note: You’ve probably noticed that this feed now features a lot of Slate culture podcasts beyond just our show. We’ve heard that some of you would prefer to get just the Culture Gabfest in your feed. If that’s you,...

Stephen Metcalf and Dana Stevens discuss the new Judy Garland biopic Judy with Slate's Sam Adams, Netflix's Unbelievable with Slate's Inkoo Kang, and welcome Simon Doonan back to the show to discuss his new book about the art and history of drag. In Slate Plus, more from the conversation with Simon Doonan. This episode is brought to you by Everlane. Check out your personalized collection today at...

Julia Turner, Dana Stevens, and Stephen Metcalf discuss the movie Ad Astra, the HGTV show A Very Brady Renovation and George Packer's piece in The Atlantic "When the Culture War Comes for Our Kids". Plus: The Emmys.  Need to set up your Slate Plus feed? If you subscribed through Slate.com, check out our FAQ at slate.com/podcastfaqs for easy instructions. Members subscribed via Apple Podcasts get a...

Julia Turner, Dana Stevens, and Stephen Metcalf discuss the movie Hustlers, Ken Burns' PBS documentary about country music with Slate's Carl Wilson, and the saga of Caroline Calloway in The Cut. In Slate Plus, the panel discusses the life and work of photographer Robert Frank with Slate's Fred Kaplan. This episode is brought to you by Everlane. Check out your personalized collection today at everl...

Dana Stevens, Julia Turner, and Stephen Metcalf discuss the new Netflix streamer American Factory, Lana Del Ray's new album with Slate's Carl Wilson, and talk to Dana about her recent residency at a nunnery in Idaho. In Slate Plus, the panel discuss their fantasy residencies.  Need to set up your Slate Plus feed? If you subscribed through Slate.com, check out our FAQ at slate.com/podcastfaqs for e...

Stephen Metcalf and June Thomas are joined by a rotating third chair including Julia Turner, Heather Schwedel, and Benjamin Frisch to discuss Showtime's On Becoming a God In Central Florida, ESPN's The Sterling Affairs, and Taylor Swift's new album, Lover. In Slate Plus the panel discusses sports and their relationship to being a fan.  Need to set up your Slate Plus feed? If you subscribed through...

This week Stephen Metcalf and Julia Turner are joined by guest host and pop culture aficionado Isaac Butler to discuss the cinematic ode to The Boss, Blinded By The Light . Then they dive into why they love the wacky, unique vibes of AMC’s Lodge 49 . And finally, discuss the 25 year old phenomenon that is Friends and why the show’s popularity doesn’t seem to be waning any time soon. And in Slate P...

June Thomas, Benjamin Frisch, and Rachelle Hampton discuss Richard Linklater's Where'd You Go Bernadette, HBO's A Black Lady Sketch Show, and Slate's list of the 25 most important characters of the past 25 Years with Forrest Wickman. In Slate Plus, the panel adds their own picks to the important characters list. This episode is brought to you by Everlane. Check out your personalized collection tod...

Stephen Metcalf, Aisha Harris, and Gabriel Roth discuss Jennifer Kent's new film The Nightingale, Amazon's streaming show The Boys, and the work of Toni Morrison with Sarah J. Jackson, professor at the Annenberg School for Communication at the University of Pennsylvania. Need to set up your Slate Plus feed? If you subscribed through Slate.com, check out our FAQ at slate.com/podcastfaqs for easy in...

Stephen Metcalf, Julia Turner, and Dana Stevens discuss the new film The Farewell, Netflix's glass-blowing show Blown Away, and the life of legendary theater director Hal Prince with Isaac Butler. In Slate Plus, Steve explains why he left Twitter. Slate Plus members get bonus segments and ad-free podcast feeds. Sign up now.  We're looking for a new production assistant! This is a paid, part-time p...

Stephen Metcalf, Dana Stevens, and Julia Turner discuss Tarantino's Once Upon a Time In Hollywood, Netflix's The Great Hack documentary, and a piece about chronic lyme disease in  The Cut. In Slate Plus: Once Upon a Time In Hollywood spoilers. Slate Plus members get bonus segments and ad-free podcast feeds. Sign up now.  We're looking for a new production assistant! This is a paid, part-time posit...

Stephen Metcalf, Julia Turner, and Dana Stevens discuss the new version of Disney's The Lion King with the New York Times's Aisha Harris, the social media app TikTok with Slate's Daniel Schroeder, and the TV series about Roger Ailes, The Loudest Voice. In Slate Plus: the panel discusses the new trailer for the film CATS. Slate Plus members get bonus segments and ad-free podcast feeds. Sign up now....

Stephen Metcalf, Dana Stevens, and Julia Turner discuss the film Peterloo, the newly-streaming classic anime Neon Genesis Evangelion with Slate's Benjamin Frisch, and the legacy of Mad Magazine with Slate's Dan Kois.  Need to set up your Slate Plus feed? If you subscribed through Slate.com, check out our FAQ at slate.com/podcastfaqs for easy instructions. Members subscribed via Apple Podcasts get...

Julia Turner, Dana Stevens, and Stephen Metcalf discuss the film Midsommar, the life and work of the bossa nova progenitor João Gilberto with critic Nate Chinen, and the end of life-hacking with Slate's Laura Miller.  Need to set up your Slate Plus feed? If you subscribed through Slate.com, check out our FAQ at slate.com/podcastfaqs for easy instructions. Members subscribed via Apple Podcasts get...

Julia Turner, Stephen Metcalf, and Dana Stevens are joined by Chris Molanphy to discuss the song of the summer and our annual summer strut playlist. You can find our full playlist on Spotify, as well as a shortlist of songs selected on the show. Need to set up your Slate Plus feed? If you subscribed through Slate.com, check out our FAQ at slate.com/podcastfaqs for easy instructions. Members subscr...

Dana Stevens, Julia Turner, and Stephen Metcalf discuss The Day the Music Burned with Jody Rosen, about the massive loss of master tapes from historically important record labels due to fire, then CBS's The Good Fight with Vulture's Mark Harris, and Sally Rooney's novel Normal People.  Need to set up your Slate Plus feed? If you subscribed through Slate.com, check out our FAQ at slate.com/podcastf...

Stephen Metcalf, Willa Paskin, and Marissa Martinelli discuss Big Little Lies season two, the movie The Last Black Man in San Francisco, and The Sims 4, with Slate's Dawnthea Price.  Need to set up your Slate Plus feed? If you subscribed through Slate.com, check out our FAQ at slate.com/podcastfaqs for easy instructions. Members subscribed via Apple Podcasts get automatic access—no setup required....

The Culture Gabfest is live from The High Line in New York City to discuss the movie Late Night with Inkoo Kang, the life and work of Dr. John with Chris Molanphy, and King Lear with Isaac Butler.  Need to set up your Slate Plus feed? If you subscribed through Slate.com, check out our FAQ at slate.com/podcastfaqs for easy instructions. Members subscribed via Apple Podcasts get automatic access—no...

Dana Stevens and Stephen Metcalf are joined by a rotating third chair of Slatesters to discuss Rocketman with Forrest Wickman, HBO's Chernobyl with Sam Adams, and the podcast Headlon: Running From COPS with Inkoo Kang.  Need to set up your Slate Plus feed? If you subscribed through Slate.com, check out our FAQ at slate.com/podcastfaqs for easy instructions. Members subscribed via Apple Podcasts ge...

Stephen Metcalf, Julia Turner, and Dana Stevens discuss the movie Booksmart, what it's like to lose 250 thousand dollars on Who Wants to Be a Millionaire on the occasion of its cancelation with Slate's Justin Peters, and Dana's new podcast Flashback with K. Austin Collins. In Slate Plus: the panel picks their favorite TV show endings.  Need to set up your Slate Plus feed? If you subscribed through...

Dana Stevens, Julia Turner, and Stephen Metcalf discuss the new, third film in the John Wick saga, the second season of Amazon's Fleabag, and the New York Times package on generation X and the concept of generations as a useful metric. In Slate Plus, the panel each recommend a piece of gen X art.  Need to set up your Slate Plus feed? If you subscribed through Slate.com, check out our FAQ at slate....

Julia Turner, Stephen Metcalf, and Dana Stevens discuss the movie Long Shot, Netflix's new series Dead to Me, and the legacy of camp and the MET Gala with Slate's Bryan Lowder. Need to set up your Slate Plus feed? If you subscribed through Slate.com, check out our FAQ at slate.com/podcastfaqs for easy instructions. Members subscribed via Apple Podcasts get automatic access—no setup required. Hoste...

Julia Turner, Stephen Metcalf, and Isaac Butler discuss the new documentary Knock Down the House about women competing in Democratic primaries, the new animated sitcom Tuca and Bertie, and then Father of the Bride, the new album from Vampire Weekend with critic Carl Wilson. In Slate Plus, Dana calls in to talk about her time at the San Fransisco Silent Film Festival.  Need to set up your Slate Plu...