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This week, host June Thomas talks about her deep love of audio fiction with longtime radio and podcast writer-producer John Scott Dryden. First, they discuss the U.K. origins of the genre and the growing appetite for audio fiction in the U.S. Then they dig into John’s production process and discuss how he creates immersive stories using sounds and voices from all over the world. 
After the interview, June and co-host Rumaan Alam answer a question from a listener. 
Send your questions about creativity and any other feedback to working@slate.com.
Podcast production by Cameron Drews.
And if you enjoy this show, please consider signing up for Slate Plus. Slate Plus members get benefits like zero ads on any Slate podcast, bonus episodes of shows like Slow Burn and Dear Prudence—and you’ll be supporting the work we do here on Working. It’s only $35 for the first year, and you can get a free two-week trial. Sign up now to help support our work.
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Like many media organizations at the moment, Slate is getting hit pretty hard by what's going on with the economy in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic. We want to continue doing our work, providing you with all our great podcasts, news and reporting, and we simply cannot do that without your support. So we're asking you to sign up for Slate Plus, our membership program. It's just $35 for the first year, and it goes a long way to supporting us in this crucial moment.
In the late ’70s and early ’80s, a scene and a sound cropped up on the West Coast: polished, perfectionist studio musicians who generated sleek, jazzy, R&B-flavored music. About a quarter-century later, this sound was given a name: Yacht Rock. The inventors of the genre name weren’t thinking about boats…well, unless the song was Christopher Cross’s “Sailing.” Yacht Rock was meant to signify deluxe, yuppified, “smooth” music suitable for playing on luxury nautical craft.
Whatever you call it, this music really did command the charts at the turn of the ’80s: from Steely Dan to George Benson, Michael McDonald to Kenny Loggins, Toto to…Michael Jackson?! Believe it: even Thriller is partially a Yacht Rock album. This month, Hit Parade breaks down what Yacht Rock was and how it took over the charts four decades ago—from the perfectionism of “Peg,” to the bounce of “What a Fool Believes,” to the epic smoothness of “Africa.”
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It’s never a bad move to hear from our thirsty yet oh-so-talented Thirst Buckets! Our audience is the best audience because they send us drabbles that make us swoon and giggle and we immediately put them aside so we can share the wealth on air. That’s what we’re doing with this episode— sharing listener-submitted drabbles about John Boyega, Aidan Turner, Pedro Pascal, Andy Samberg, and Seth Rogen. We also answer some questions from Tumblr and a couple of Thirst Sommelier requests. One listener needs someone with a Lin-Manuel Miranda vibe and someone else wants to replace Terry Crews on her thirst mood board. Luckily, we have a few suggestions we think will make everyone happy. 
In our Slate Plus segment, we break down quarantine beards: yay or nay? 
As usual, you can follow us on Twitter @ThirstAidKit. Our music is by Tanya Morgan. You can find show notes, and more on our Tumblr at thirstaidkitpodcast.tumblr.com. Don’t forget to send us your drabbles by emailing thirstaidkit@slate.com.
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This week, host Rumaan Alam talks to cartoonist and New Yorker cover artist Adrian Tomine, who just released a graphic memoir called The Loneliness of the Long-Distance Cartoonist. In the interview, Adrian talks about what it was like for his childhood hobby to become a full-time job, and how his art has evolved over the years. 
After the interview, co-host June Thomas interviews Slate writers Dahlia Lithwick and Molly Olmstead about a massive piece of journalism they’ve put together about the women in Ruth Bader Ginsburg’s class at Harvard Law School. To hear the audio version of the piece, subscribe to Slate’s Amicus podcast. 
Send your questions about creativity and any other feedback to working@slate.com.
And if you enjoy this show, please consider signing up for Slate Plus. Slate Plus members get benefits like zero ads on any Slate podcast, bonus episodes of shows like Slow Burn and Dear Prudence—and you’ll be supporting the work we do here on Working. It’s only $35 for the first year, and you can get a free two-week trial. Sign up now to help support our work.
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On the Spoiler Special podcast, Slate critics discuss movies, the occasional TV show, and, once in a blue moon, another podcast, in full spoiler-filled detail. This week, Slate’s movie critic Dana Stevens is joined by Willa Paskin, Slate’s television critic, and Sam Adams, a senior editor at Slate and the editor of Slate’s culture blog, Brow Beat, to spoil Palm Springs. At first, Palm Springs seems like a fun wedding rom-com until Nyles (Andy Samberg) is shot with a bow and arrow while fooling around in the desert with Sarah (Cristin Milioti). Injured, he crawls into a nearby cave and tells Sarah not to follow him. She ignores his warning and is pulled into his infinite time loop. Will she follow Nyles’ lead and make peace with the situation? Why is Nyles being hunted? Why is Sarah so desperate to find a way out? And what is with those dinosaurs? 

You can read Sam’s interview with the theoretical physicist who consulted on the movie here. 

Note: As the title indicates, this podcast contains spoilers galore.

Email us at spoilers@slate.com.

Podcast production by Rosemary Belson. 

Slate Plus members get ad-free podcasts and access to exclusive shows like Dana Stevens’ classic movies podcast Flashback. Sign up now to listen and support our work.
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It’s Bim’s turn to delve into the roots of her thirst habits — and naturally, it turned out to be a journey through TV and film! Watching Tevin Campbell sing to Ashley on The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air and falling in love with Dwayne Wayne on A Different World led naturally to a love for Capeside’s finest, Pacey Witter… and also the Blue Moon Agency’s David Addison (Bruce Willis). We also trace Bim’s love for a Strong Nose to David Duchovny (Red Shoe Diaries) and ER’s Dr Luka Kovac (Goran Višnjić). Thirst is complex, y’all.
In our Plus segment, we take a look at some of the cliche ‘sexy time’ tropes in film and TV and why they work (or not): the wanton clearing of a desk (hello, Friends and also The Good Wife); the full-bodied slam against the wall/bookcase (Atonement, Always Be My Maybe, The Night Manager) and why we do NOT fool around with food. Join Slate Plus to find out why! Slate.com/thirstaidplus
As usual, you can follow us on Twitter @ThirstAidKit. Our music is by Tanya Morgan. You can find show notes, and more on our Tumblr at thirstaidkitpodcast.tumblr.com. Don’t forget to send us your drabbles by emailing thirstaidkit@slate.com.
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