Slate Culture Feed

This week, the panel discusses Aaron Sorkin’s Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz biopic, Being the Ricardos . Next, the panel is joined by contributing writer for the New York Times, Jody Rosen, to make sense of Bruce Springsteen’s latest deal and the confusing world of music rights today. Finally, the panel is joined by Slate’s book critic Laura Miller to discuss her list of the best books ( and audiobo...

Stefan Fatsis, Josh Levin, and Slate’s Ben Mathis-Lilley talk about COVID running rampant through every sports league, again. Next, they discuss the end of Urban Meyer’s very brief career as an NFL coach. Finally, Joshua Neuman joins Stefan and Josh for a conversation about Kenny Washington, who broke the NFL’s color barrier a year before Jackie Robinson broke Major League Baseball’s.   COVID (3:1...

This past week, Nancy Reagan trended for her alleged oral talents, and an orange cat named Jorts kept locking himself in a closet. On today’s episode, High Speed Downloads are back. Rachelle and Madison each deliver some rapid-fire information about Nancy Reagan’s blow job skills and why everyone is obsessed with Jorts the cat—and the woman who keeps slathering him in margarine. Then they speak to...

Bing. Nat. Dean. John and Paul. Darlene. Mariah. Ariana. Musicians so famous, with so many classic hits, you don’t even need their last names. Now here are a few more, with fewer hits: Vince Guaraldi. José Feliciano. Donny Hathaway. The Waitresses. What do all of these acts have in common? Years from now, each of them may be known primarily for a single holiday chestnut. In fact, in the streaming...

Your stories about how navigating weight and body size inside a relationship has sometimes made your partnerships stronger...and sometimes broken them apart.  Are you subscribed to our newsletter? You should be! Every Wednesday, we send out podcast listening recommendations, your stories from our inbox, and behind-the-scenes updates from the show. Sign up at  deathsexmoney.org/newsletter . Support...

On today’s episode, Rachelle and Madison are excited to share an episode from One Year: 1995, a Slate podcast focused on telling a series of stories from 1995, ones which we may have forgotten or that merit reexamination. In “The Spot,” producer Evan Chung tells the story of what can be best described as the first internet soap opera. “The Spot” follows a small group of creators who, through a ser...

Dana Stevens and Stephen Metcalf are joined by Isaac Butler to discuss Steven Spielberg’s new adaptation of West Side Story . Then Slate staff writer Heather Schwedel stops by to talk about And Just Like That , the “next chapter” in the lives of the characters from Sex and the City . And finally, they debate Vulture’s list of the “ 101 Best New York Movies Set in the Greatest City in the World ” a...

Today on Decoder Ring: Three stories about fame, and one about monkeys. Are primates susceptible to celebrity endorsements? What does fame do to the mind of a famous person? Who were the famous tattooed ladies of the 1880s? And what's it like to be in a rising rock band, only to see everything fall apart over a beer commercial? If you love the show and want to support us, consider joining Slate Pl...

Stefan Fatsis, Josh Levin, and Slate’s Alex Kirshner talk about the controversial ending to the Formula 1 season. Next, they examine the opening months of college sports’ name, image, and likeness era. Finally, Stefan and Josh are joined by author and chess champion Jennifer Shahade to assess Magnus Carlsen’s latest world title.   Formula 1 (2:46):  Who should’ve won the duel between Lewis Hamilto...

The ICYMI mailbag has started to get full so it’s time for another round of Read Receipts. On today’s episode, Rachelle and Madison answer some listener questions about why people are emptying out tubes of toothpaste on TikTok, whether there’s any similarity between Taylor Swift’s clue dropping and QAnon, and why there are so many possum memes on Instagram. Podcast production by Daniel Schroeder a...

Hi Hang Up and Listen listeners, we thought you'd be interested in this episode of What Next, Slate's daily news podcast. Enjoy! When Chinese tennis player Peng Shuai accused a former Chinese Vice Premier of rape, what came next was darkly predictable: the athlete disappeared from public view while the government scrubbed all mentions of her allegations and censored searches for her name. But few...

On today’s episode, Madison and Rachelle examine two strange new phenomena taking over TikTok. First, Madison explains why Chanel’s advent calendars have become the subject of an internet furor. Then, Rachelle explores Hinge’s new voice notes feature, discusses the voice notes that have gone viral on other platforms, and explains why this not have been the dating app’s brightest idea. Podcast prod...

This week, Julia is back! First, the panel discusses Jane Campion’s big comeback, The Power of the Dog . Next, the panel wades through Peter Jackson’s eight hour-long Beatles docuseries Get Back . Finally, the panel discusses the rise of the gift guide and gift giving. In Slate Plus, Steve and Dana catch up with Julia and chat about how relationships with culture consumption can change.  Email us...

Note: This episode is about offensive material, and so contains explicit and offensive language. Truly Tasteless Jokes were a series of joke books that dominated the bestsellers list during the 1980s. An equal opportunity joke book: Truly Tasteless Jokes were collections of jokes ranging from Helen Keller, to dead babies, to sexist and racist jokes that from the vantage of 2021, seem entirely abje...

Joel Anderson, Stefan Fatsis, and Josh Levin break down college football’s playoff match-ups and Brian Kelly’s move to LSU. Insider’s Bradford William Davis joins to discuss the baseball lockout and his piece on the sport using two different balls. Finally, a conversation about sports blowouts. College football (5:29):  Does   outsider   Cincinnati have a chance against Alabama, Michigan, and Geor...

Actors Anthony Ramos and Jasmine Cephas Jones, who became a beloved couple online after meeting during rehearsals for Hamilton , have reportedly ended their engagement. The reports of the breakup came soon after a TikToker posted a video about Ramos allegedly going into a strip club with a woman who was not his fiancée. On today’s episode, Rachelle and Madison get into the drama, unpack exactly wh...

In Part 2 of this episode, Chris Molanphy continues his analysis of how Cyndi Lauper, Aimee Mann, and The Bangles, three contemporary female acts with rock foundations and pop sensibilities, progressed out of their distinctive rock scenes and into the spotlight. They found critical and commercial acclaim and remain influential decades later, in a variety of media, from Hollywood to Broadway. What...

The Scottish actor and I talk about body image, celebrating aging, why he isn't in a monogamous marriage, and the joys of taking ecstasy. If you or a loved one needs support around an eating disorder, you can call or text the National Eating Disorders Association's helpline at (800) 931-2237. If you're not already subscribed to our newsletter, sign up! Every Wednesday, we send out podcast listenin...

The subreddit r/TumblrInAction started out in the early 2010s as a place to mock the sorts of oversimplified social justice posts all over Tumblr, but it quickly became a breeding ground for online hate. On today’s episode, Rachelle and Allegra discuss their own history as Tumblr teens, the simplified and misguided ways Tumblr posts tried to share progressive ideology, and how the culture of one s...

This week, Steve and Dana are joined by senior managing producer of Slate podcasts and co-host of Slate’s Working podcast, June Thomas. First, the panel discusses the Princess Diana biopic Spencer . Dana tracked Kristen Stewart’s career up to this Oscar vehicle film. Next, the panel gets a taste of the new "meet stew" of a show, Yellowjackets . Finally, the panel is joined by author and co-host of...

In literature, the choice to become a vampire is a metaphor for transformative experiences. On this episode, we bring you a story from Slate's Hi-Phi Nation podcast, which explores problems in contemporary philosophy through story. From real-life blood suckers, to Lord Byron, to Twilight, vampires are a tool for philosophers to think about otherness, sexuality, and the transformative experiences w...

Joel Anderson, Stefan Fatsis, and Josh Levin talk with Slate’s Ben Mathis-Lilley about the Michigan football team’s big win over Ohio State. They also discuss Oklahoma head football coach Lincoln Riley’s surprising departure for USC and the state of LeBron James and the Lakers. Michigan (2:25):  How Jim Harbaugh and the Wolverines exorcised their demons against the Buckeyes.   Lincoln Riley (24:05...

YouTube recently announced that it’s doing away with publicly displaying the dislike count on videos. The buttons will still be there, but the numbers will be made private for creators. On today’s episode, Rachelle and Madison discuss why YouTube has decided to make this change, how dislikes are a tool for harassment, and why our brains have all been broken by the like economy. Podcast production...

On the air, Yesi Ortiz is a warm, flirty host for a popular L.A. hip hop station. Off the air, she's a single parent of six adopted kids. Managing both roles is more than a challenge. If you're not already subscribed to our newsletter, sign up! Every Wednesday, we send out podcast listening recommendations, your stories from our inbox, and behind-the-scenes updates from the show. Sign up at deaths...

So much has happened on the internet in 2021, from Bernie in his mittens to the big boat stuck in the Panama Canal. On today’s episode, Rachelle and Madison are joined at the Friendsgiving table by Buzzfeed’s Elamin Abdelmahmoud and Autostraddle’s Christina Grace Tucker to discuss the funniest, craziest, and horniest things to come across their feeds this year. Podcast production by Daniel Schroed...