Slate Culture Feed

On today’s episode, Rachelle and Madison open up the mailbag to answer all of the latest listener questions. They respond to inquiries about evil animatronics on TikTok, the latest food fetish content, why Tumblr is obsessed with Horse Plinko, and more. Podcast production by Daniel Schroeder. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week, the panel begins by pondering the longevity of the Jackass franchise , focusing on the latest addition, Jackass Forever , with Slate staff writer Sam Adams . Then, the panel watches the surprise Oscar Best Picture contender Nightmare Alley . Finally, the panel discusses the conversation-starter article from The Cut ’s Allison P. Davis, “A Vibe Shift Is Coming. Will Any of Us Survive It?...

Joel Anderson, Stefan Fatsis, and Josh Levin are joined by Slate’s Justin Peters for an Olympics wrap-up. They also discuss the Wisconsin-Michigan handshake line scuffle. Finally, Slate’s Alex Kirshner joins to talk about Saudi Arabia’s efforts to start a new golf tour.   Olympics (3:01):  Were there any bright spots during these dark Winter Games?   Handshake fight (24:18):  Why did things escala...

Kanye West recently got into an online feud with his daughter, North West, his ex-wife, Kim Kardashian, and her new boyfriend, Pete Davidson. On the show today, Rachelle and Madison run through Kanye’s long history of fighting online, our changing understanding of him as his mental health struggles came to light, and how we should talk about celebrities whose private dramas play out so publicly. P...

Today on Hit Parade, we trace the multifarious history of the remix: a musical term with a universe of meanings. Rethinks. Reboots. Reinventions. Re-recordings. Even instances where the so-called remix came before the supposed original. (How is that even possible?) In a way, the most pivotal “remix” in chart history was the one so transformative, it compelled a change in our understanding of what...

You've heard Lisa Fischer singing backup vocals for everyone from the Rolling Stones to Beyoncé. But after decades of touring with rock stars, Fischer lives in a far more humble reality. Find our Breakup Survival Guide here . Did you know we have a weekly email newsletter for the Death, Sex & Money community? Every Wednesday we send out podcast listening recommendations, fascinating letters fr...

On today’s show, Rachelle Hampton is joined by Allegra Frank to talk about two new pieces of scammer-tainment from Netflix: the documentary The Tinder Swindler , which chronicles a con man’s exploitation of the popular dating app, and the series Inventing Anna, starring Julia Garner as faux-heiress Anna Delvey. Rachelle and Allegra discuss how the internet was essential to both these stories and w...

This week, the panel begins by discussing Hulu’s new biopic Pam & Tommy . Then, they dive into the Academy Award-record breaking animated Danish film Flee . Finally, the panel discusses Jennifer Senior’s popular article for The Atlantic , “It’s Your Friends Who Break Your Heart” about friendships as you age. In Slate Plus, the panel takes inspiration from the Scriptnotes podcast and ponders wh...

Joel Anderson, Stefan Fatsis, and Josh Levin talk about the Rams’ Super Bowl win over the Bengals. They’re also joined by David Epstein to discuss the decision to allow Kamila Valieva to skate in the Olympics. Finally, they assess the mega-trade between the Nets and 76ers.   Super Bowl (3:36):  How Aaron Donald and Cooper Kupp led the Rams to victory.   Valieva (23:13):  Why is the 15-year-old com...

TikTok doesn’t know you better than you know yourself, even if you think it does. On the show today, Rachelle and Madison talk about two different ways the app leads people down dangerous paths. First, they discuss the recent uptick in posts and advertisements focused on diagnosing mental and physical health issues, and how it’s so easy to convince yourself that you’re suffering from whatever mala...

Elvis impersonator Brendan Paul marries as many as 75 people a day in the Las Vegas wedding chapel he owns. But while his portrayal of Elvis generally leans into kitsch, his view on The King's life goes deeper. "A lot people go, 'I bet you wish you were Elvis,'" he told me. "And I always go, 'Not really.'" This episode is a collaboration with Condé Nast Traveler and their new love and travel serie...

Shailene Woodley and Aaron Rodgers might not be the most expected pairing, until you look at their willingness to embrace conspiracy nonsense. On the show today, Rachelle and Madison and joined by Vulture’s Rachel Handler to discuss her recent piece, “ What Do Aaron Rodgers and Shailene Woodley ‘Agree to Disagree’ About? ” They talk about the history of weird beliefs these two celebrities have, ho...

This week, Culture Gabfest is coming to you live from The Strand Bookstore in NYC for a special event! In this live taping, Steve interviews Dana about her new book ( Camera Man: Buster Keaton, the Dawn of Cinema, and the Invention of the Twentieth Century ) and Isaac Butler about his new book ( The Method: How the Twentieth Century Learned to Act ). In Slate Plus, Dana and Isaac answer some quest...

Joel Anderson, Stefan Fatsis, and Josh Levin are joined by the New York Times’ John Branch to discuss Chinese-American skier Eileen Gu. They also talk about Brian Flores’ lawsuit against the NFL and ponder the 76ers’ Ben Simmons problem and the Nets’ various conundrums.   Eileen Gu (6:02):  What to make of her decision to represent China at the Beijing Games.   Flores (23:40):  Can anything change...

Last month, a Tennessee school board voted to ban Art Spiegelman’s graphic novel about the Holocaust, Maus , from their eighth grade curriculum. This caused Maus to experience the "Streisand effect." On the show today, Rachelle and Madison explain the origins of the Streisand effect as an online phenomenon, how it helped Maus ’ recent sales skyrocket, and why this short-term publicity isn’t really...

Rihanna is having a baby, and Romance Twitter is furious. On today’s show, High Speed Downloads are back! Madison and Rachelle will zoom through all the important news about Rihanna’s baby bump reveal and Romance Twitter’s toxic reaction to an innocuous tweet. Then, they explain exactly what’s going on with podcast host Joe Rogan over at Spotify, and why it’s so difficult for platforms to part way...

This week, the panel is first joined by author and co-host of Slate’s Working podcast, Isaac Butler, to discuss the new Joel Coen rendition of The Tragedy of Macbeth . ( Buy Isaac’s new book! ) Then, the panel is joined by author and Slate correspondent, Justin Peters, to explain the phenomena of Joe Rogan and the recent Spotify controversy. Finally, the panel discusses the decision to rebrand the...

Stefan Fatsis, Josh Levin, and special guest Louisa Thomas of the New Yorker discuss the NFL’s conference championship games and Tom Brady’s (probable) retirement. Then, they talk about Rafael Nadal’s record-setting Australian Open victory. Finally, Grant Wahl joins Josh and Stefan to assess the U.S. men’s national soccer team’s frigid loss to Canada. NFL (2:32):  How did the Chiefs blow it? Is Jo...

In the past few weeks, Britney Spears has been posting all sorts of Notes App screenshots about how hurt she is by what her sister is saying on her press tour while promoting her new book Things I Should Have Said , by Jamie Lynn Spears. On the show today, Madison and Rachelle read the tweets, and the whole book, so you don’t have to. They talk about the origins of this fight, what’s caused it to...

In part two of our deep dive into Daryl Hall & John Oates' genre-defying streak on the pop charts, Chris Molanphy argues they were also more cutting-edge than you may realize, essentially inventing their own form of cross-racial new wave after spending the ’70s trying everything: rock, R&B, folk, funk, even disco. At their Imperial peak in the early ’80s, Hall and Oates commanded the pop,...

André De Shields shares his wisdom from 50 years on the stage, and 76 years on this earth. You can find our original conversation from our Opportunity Costs series with Ramal Johnson here . Find out more at  deathsexmoney.org/class . Did you know we have a weekly email newsletter for the Death, Sex & Money community? Every Wednesday we send out podcast listening recommendations, fascinating le...

“We Don’t Talk About Bruno,” the hit song from Disney’s Encanto, is sitting at No. 2 on the Billboard Hot 100 this week, and that’s all thanks to TikTok. On the show today, Madison and Rachelle talk about the songs from Encanto currently dominating the platform, and why people online seem to love to hate Lin-Manuel Miranda. Podcast production by Daniel Schroeder and Derek John. Correction: This po...

This week, Slate’s TV critic and host of the podcast Decoder Ring , Willa Paskin, and poet, essayist, podcast host, and author, Nichole Perkins, fill in for Dana and Julia. The panel begins by taking a spin with Julian Fellowes’ (creator of Downton Abbey ) new show The Gilded Age . Then, the panel debates about Kenny G and the installment of the docuseries Music Box: Listening to Kenny G . Finally...

Stefan Fatsis and Josh Levin are joined by the Athletic’s Lindsay Jones to discuss the NFL playoffs. Then, Ben Proudfoot joins for a conversation about Lusia Harris, the subject of his documentary short “The Queen of Basketball.” Finally, they speak with Oliver Roeder about his book  Seven Games . NFL (2:21):  How did the Chiefs-Bills magic happen? Are Tom Brady and Aaron Rodgers done?   Lusia Har...

The name on every TikTokker’s lips is “West Elm Caleb,” a New York City twenty-something whose dating practices and history have come under major scrutiny, after women started posting videos about their negative experiences with him. Things quickly got out of control as more and more people got swept up in the gossipy drama. On today’s episode, Madison and Rachelle talk to some of the women who sh...