Culture Gabfest

On this week’s show, the panel is first joined by Mark Harris, cultural historian and the author of Pictures at a Revolution: Five Movies and the Birth of the New Hollywood , to discuss the 96th Academy Awards: a fun, glitzy return to form filled with surprisingly political moments. Then, the three review FX’s Shōgun , a massive epic set in 17th century Japan that many are calling “the new Game of...

On this week’s show, the panel returns to Arrakis! First up, the trio reviews Dune: Part Two , the (as the title suggests) second part of Denis Villeneuve’s adaptation of Frank Herbert’s 1965 science fiction epic. In it, Timothée Chalamet plays Paul Atreides, the supposed “messiah” of Arrakis, a hostile desert planet rich in spice, in a fantastic feat of world building and worm-riding. Then, they...

On this week’s show, the panel is first joined by Wesley Morris, New York Times’ critic at large, to dissect This Is Me… Now: A Love Story , Jennifer Lopez’s bizarre, nutty, yet utterly delicious self-funded vanity project that cost the singer $20 million to produce. (Wesley wrote a brilliant piece about it for the Times .) Then, the three explore 20 Days in Mariupol , the Oscar-nominated document...

On this week’s show, the panel begins by dissecting Mr. & Mrs. Smith , the episodic remake of Brangelina’s 2005 espionage film. The Prime Video series stars Donald Glover and Maya Erskine as the titular Smiths, spies who become “married” as a part of the job, and explores partnership in the gig economy in a quieter, smaller, and less glamorous version of the original. Then, they review The Col...

On this week’s show, the panel returns to 1985 and reviews The Greatest Night in Pop , Netflix’s star-studded documentary about how “We Are the World” (a charity single performed by USA for Africa, a supergroup comprised of the most popular artists not only of the time, but arguably, ever) came to be and the legendary night it was recorded. Although it features cameos from Michael Jackson, Lionel...

On this week’s show, Extreme Friends of the Pod and co-authors of The World Only Spins Forward , Isaac Butler and Dan Kois, fill in for Dana Stevens and Julia Turner. The hosts begin by dissecting The Zone of Interest , filmmaker Jonathan Glazer’s audacious movie about the Holocaust that’s told through the lens of Nazi commandant Rudolf Höss and his wife Hedwig as they live their somewhat ordinary...

From our friends at Life and Art, a culture podcast of the Financial Times: This week, we return to an old comfort classic: the 2003 Nancy Meyers romcom Something’s Gotta Give, starring Diane Keaton and Jack Nicholson. In it, two middle-aged people fall in love, but only after one heart attack, two younger lovers, some unexpected midnight pancakes and ample bickering. Does the movie still work tod...

On this week’s show, Slate culture writer Nadira Goffe and Sam Sanders, host of Vibe Check fill in for Dana Stevens and Julia Turner. The hosts begin with a subversively brilliant Oscar contender, American Fiction , which is Cord Jefferson’s adaptation of Percival Everett’s 2001 novel Erasure . The filmmaker’s debut racked up five Oscar nominations, including Best Picture, and stars Jeffrey Wright...

On this week’s show, Jamelle Bouie (Opinion columnist at The New York Times) sits in for Julia Turner. The hosts first begin with a trip to Ennis, a fictional Alaskan town at the heart of True Detective: Night Country , and review the fourth installment of the HBO Max anthology series. There’s a new showrunner at the helm, Issa López, who brings a desperately needed fresh take on the Lovecraftian...

On this week’s show, Nadira Goffe sits in for Julia Turner. The hosts first begin by exploring an updated cult classic: Mean Girls , the movie musical version of the Broadway show based on the iconic 2004 film. The 2024 iteration stars Reneé Rapp as Regina George and Angourie Rice as Cady Heron. Then the three head to 17th century Edo-era Japan and review Blue Eye Samurai , an animated Netflix ser...

On this week’s show, the hosts are first joined by Slate’s Heather Schwedel to discuss Anyone But You , a paper-thin adaptation of Shakespeare’s Much Ado About Nothing , starring Sydney Sweeney and Glen Powell, whose combined good looks and star wattage aren’t enough to save the flimsily written rom-com. (Although, despite the film’s rocky start, it’s become a sleeper smash at the box-office.) The...

On this week’s show, the hosts begin by jumping into the fantastical world of Wonka , a prequel to Roald Dahl’s enduring novel that explores the origins of its famously impish character, Willy Wonka, portrayed here by a wide-eyed, sugary sweet Timothée Chalamet. The musical film, directed by Paul King ( Paddington , Paddington 2 ) isn’t the kind of movie you want to pick on–it undoubtedly has a wa...

This week, we revisit one of our favorite episodes of 2023! The panel begins by examining  Barbie , Greta Gerwig’s hot pink, record-breaking movie about the iconic Mattel doll. Then, the trio dives into Christopher Nolan’s  Oppenheimer , which chronicles the life of the “Father of the Atomic Bomb,” and explores whether the film achieves its aims. Finally, they are joined by Slate’s Chris Molanphy...

This week, it’s the yearly call-in episode! Steve, Dana, and Julia dive into questions submitted by Culture Gabfest listeners.  Outro music: “Forbidden Love” by OTE Podcast production by Cameron Drews. Production assistance by Kat Hong.  If you enjoy this show, please consider signing up for Slate Plus. Slate Plus members get an ad-free experience across the network and exclusive content on many s...

This week, the panel is joined by Slate writer and senior editor Sam Adams to dissect Poor Things , director Yorgos Lanthimos' horny, steampunk Frankenstein tale about Bella Baxter (played by Emma Stone), a pregnant woman who commits suicide then is brought back to life by a brilliant scientist (Willem Dafoe), with an eccentric caveat: She now has the brain of her unborn fetus. Then, the three rem...

This week, the panel begins by exploring Renaissance: A Film by Beyoncé with Slate culture writer (and Beyhive stan) Nadira Goffe. The renowned pop diva’s theatrical debut works both as a well-oiled concert documentary as well as a surprisingly heartfelt deconstruction of Knowles’ previously impenetrable image of perfection. Then, the three consider Todd Haynes’ May December , an emotionally curio...

This week, Dana and Julia are joined by Jamelle Bouie, Opinion columnist at The New York Times and co-host of Unclear and Present Danger . The panel begins by diving into Ridley Scott’s Napoleon , a visually sumptuous biopic starring Joaquin Phoenix that attempts to chronicle the legendary historical figure’s life and reduce him to human size, yet fails to do so within its 2 ½ hour runtime. Then,...

This week, the panel begins by reviewing The Curse , a cringe-worthy Showtime series co-produced by Nathan Fielder and Benny Safdie. Fielder and Emma Stone star as Asher and Whitney Siegel, a newlywed couple at the center of a reality HGTV show built on narcissism, gentrification, and lies. Then, the three jump into Alexander Payne’s The Holdovers , which Dana describes as a “sadsack Christmas cla...

This week, Dana and Stephen are joined by Supreme Friend of the Pod, Isaac Butler, who co-hosts Slate’s Working podcast and is the author of The Method: How the Twentieth Century Learned to Act (which is now available in paperback!). The panel begins by pondering Dream Scenario , a provocative new film from Norwegian writer-director Kristoffer Borgli. The nightmarish social satire stars Nicolas Ca...

This week, the panel is joined first by Isaac Butler, co-host of Slate’s Working podcast and author of The Method: How the Twentieth Century Learned to Act , to debate the merits of David Fincher’s The Killer and whether the director’s latest “thriller” (which stars Michael Fassbender) is a masterful example of craft or simply a logic-free time-suck. Then, Dana, Julia, and Stephen explore the worl...

This week, the panel begins by discussing Priscilla , Sofia Coppola’s new film starring Cailee Spaeny and Jacob Elordi that’s based on Priscilla Presley’s memoir, Elvis and Me , and features an otherworldly courtship, gilded cages, and whole lot of mumbling. Then, the three review Anatomy of a Fall , an excellent French movie directed and co-written by Justine Triet that, on the surface, looks lik...

This week, the panel begins by reviewing Killers of the Flower Moon , Martin Scorsese’s film based on David Grann’s 2017 non-fiction book about the plot of white Americans to steal the Osage Nation’s headrights in the 1920s, starring Leonardo DiCaprio and Lily Gladstone. Then, the three are joined by Dan Kois, writer and editor at Slate and author of Vintage Contemporaries , to puzzle over Slayers...

This week, the panel begins by diving into Taylor Swift: The Eras Tour , a glittery and extremely fun concert movie starring the singer-songwriter-producer-mogul that’s already become the highest grossing concert documentary of all time. Then, they discuss Beckham , a surprisingly candid four-part docu-series on Netflix directed by Fisher Stevens that chronicles the footballer’s meteoric rise to s...

This week, the panel begins by reviewing The Wonderful World of Henry Sugar , Wes Anderson’s faithful adaptation of a 1977 Roald Dahl short story, that doubles as a sumptuous meta-commentary on the director’s exacting approach to his craft. Then, the three discuss The Super Models , Apple TV+’s docu-series that glossily chronicles the lives and careers of Naomi Campbell, Cindy Crawford, Christy Tu...

This week, the panel begins by dissecting The Golden Bachelor , the latest spin-off of the classic reality TV series starring a 72-year-old bachelor searching for love amongst a group of women in their 60s, 70s, and 80s. Sincerity ensues… or does it? Then, the three return to the ‘80s to discuss A24’s re-release of Stop Making Sense , Jonathan Demme’s seminal 1984 Talking Heads concert movie that’...