Unlock weekly bonus episodes + ad-free listening

US$11.99/mo or US$117.99/yr after trial

Culture Gabfest

New York Times critic Dwight Garner says “The Slate Culture Gabfest is one of the highlights of my week.” The award-winning Culturefest features critics Stephen Metcalf, Dana Stevens, and Julia Turner debating the week in culture, from highbrow to pop. For more of Slate’s culture podcasts, check out the Slate Culture feed.Want more Culture Gabfest? Subscribe to Slate Plus to unlock weekly bonus episodes. Plus, you’ll access ad-free listening across all your favorite Slate podcasts. Subscribe now on Apple Podcasts by clicking “Try Free” at the top of the Culture Gabfest show page. Or, visit slate.com/cultureplus to get access wherever you listen. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

  1. 1 HR AGO

    Elvis Has Entered the Building Edition

    On this week’s show, Steve is joined by June Thomas, author of A Place of Our Own, and Michael Schulman, author of Her Again and Oscar Wars, for some rollicking Gabfest discourse. First up, they get all shook up by EPiC: Elvis Presley in Concert, the concert documentary directed by Baz Luhrmann from archival Elvis performance footage. Does the master of cinematic spectacle bring the King back to life? Next, they turn to The Fall and Rise of Reggie Dinkins, the new sitcom from 30 Rock co-creator Robert Carlock starring Tracy Morgan. Finally, they examine the uncanny and profound phenomena of posthumously-published celebrity interviews—including Eric Dane and Jane Goodall—of Netflix’s Famous Last Words specials. Existential bravery or exploitative trash? They discuss. In an exclusive bonus episode for Slate Plus subscribers, the panel weighs in on the best casting Oscar race. Endorsements Michael: The audiobook of the memoir I Regret Almost Everything by Keith McNally as narrated by the incomparable Richard E. Grant. June: Two niche podcasts featuring conversations with authors of biography including Bio, the official podcast of the Biographers International Organization, and Biographers in Conversation. Also, jumping on the Richard E. Grant train, the BBC parody cooking series Posh Nosh starring Grant and Arabella Weir. Steve: The recent essay “The Stony Dark Within” by Joy Williams about Rainer Maria Rilke in the New York Review of Books. -- Email us your thoughts at culturefest@slate.com.  Podcast production by Benjamin Frisch. Production assistance by Daniel Hirsch. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

    1h 3m
  2. 25 FEB

    The Creator of Derry Girls Is Back Edition

    The original trio Steve, Dana, and Julia convene for a right cracker of a Gabfest as they discuss How to Get to Heaven from Belfast, the new comedic mystery from Derry Girls creator Lisa McGee. In the Netflix series, three longtime Belfast friends must revisit their childhood trauma to unravel the mystery of a fourth friend’s disappearance— raucous Northern Irish hijinks ensue. Next, they step into the unhinged dystopian Los Angeles of Gore Verbinski’s new film Good Luck, Have Fun, Don’t Die. In it a beleaguered time traveler played by Sam Rockwell must visit the same Norm’s diner 117 times to save the world from the menace of A.I.. Finally, they welcome Slate senior writer Christina Cauterucci to unpack her recent piece “My Gun and Me” about her unlikely journey towards gun ownership during Trump 2.0—and how she’s not alone in doing so in her left-leaning, queer community. In an exclusive bonus episode for Slate Plus subscribers, they determine if there are indeed no comfortable reading positions, as a recent Slate essay by Luke Winkie attests.  Endorsements Dana: The latest Today in Tabs entry from Rusty Foster "A.I. Isn't People." Julia: In lieu of an endorsement, a gripe: the much-hyped New York Times two-player word game Crossplay is just Scrabble! (If only there were a German word for this specific form of disappointment...) Steve: Rereading J.D. Salinger with some distance from one’s own adolescence— particularly Franny and Zooey and the short story "For Esmé—with Love and Squalor." And for a good critical reassessment, read Janet Malcolm's New York Review of Books essay "Justice to J.D. Salinger."  -- Email us your thoughts at culturefest@slate.com.  Podcast production by Benjamin Frisch. Production assistance by Daniel Hirsch. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

    1h 1m
  3. 18 FEB

    Heathcliff, It’s Me Cathy Edition

    This week, Dana is joined by Amy Nicholson, Los Angeles Times film critic and host of the podcast Unspooled, as well as Jamelle Bouie, New York Times columnist and host of the podcast Unclear and Present Danger. They discuss love affairs, lustful, glamorous, and interspecies. First up, it’s the lustful as they take up Emerald Fennell’s bodice-ripping adaptation of “Wuthering Heights.” Starring Margot Robbie and Jacob Elordi as the doomed duo Cathy and Heathcliff, the adaptation promises an over-the-top, camp spin on the Gothic tale but does it offer enough depravity to really deliver? Next, it’s on to the glamorous with the Ryan Murphy-produced, CK One-scented limited series Love Story: JFK Jr. and Carolyn Bessette about the tragic love story of the political scion and New York fashion It Girl. Finally, they discuss all the interspecies hijinks and backstage chaos in the delightful revival of The Muppet Show. In an exclusive bonus episode for Slate Plus subscribers, the trio of cinephiles celebrate recent reporting that movie theaters are cool again. Endorsements Jamelle: William Wyler's 1939 version of Wuthering Heights starring Laurence Olivier— and while you're visiting the Criterion Channel, check out their collection Mervyn LeRoy’s Pre-Code Films. Amy: Gore Verbinski's new film Good Luck, Have Fun, Don’t Die, in theaters now. Dana: The patient, observant documentaries of the recently deceased filmmaker Frederick Wiseman, several of which are available to stream on Kanopy.  ---- Email us your thoughts at culturefest@slate.com.  Podcast production by Benjamin Frisch. Production assistance by Daniel Hirsch. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

    52 min
  4. 11 FEB

    Bad Bunny Spikes the Football Edition

    The sugarcane fields! La casita! Piraguas! Lady Gaga! Ricky Martin! An actual wedding! Bad Bunny’s immense and boisterous Super Bowl Halftime show brought a whole Puerto Rican universe to Levi’s Stadium and into American viewers’ homes. Julia and guest hosts Nadira Goffe and Rebecca Onion revel in the joyful spectacle and are joined by Slate writer Joshua Rivera to decode the inclusive politics of this party.  Next, the panel examines the bracing, anxiety-inducing film If I Had Legs I’d Kick You. Starring a ferocious and funny Rose Byrne and directed by Mary Bronstein, it’s a jittery, intense portrait of motherhood. Finally, they discuss the hugely popular podcast The Rest Is History and ponder how two British dudes—Tom Holland and Dominic Sandbrook—talking about things like the Battle of Carthage captured so much attention and admiration. In an exclusive bonus episode for Slate Plus subscribers, it’s time for some Wednesday morning quarterbacking to size up the big game’s real players: the commercials. Endorsements Nadira: The new album of footwork music OVERTIME by the underground hip hop outfit usertime and Marsh crane as well as the new album URGH by the English–French noise rock band Mandy, Indiana. Rebecca: The novel The Director by Daniel Kehlmann and the 2011 appropriately moody Bronte adaptation Wuthering Heights directed by Andrea Arnold. Julia: The new cookbook by Joshua McFadden Six Seasons of Pasta — try all the absurd little steps at least once, the cheese gravel is good! --- Email us your thoughts at culturefest@slate.com.  Podcast production by Benjamin Frisch. Production assistance by Daniel Hirsch. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

    1h 4m

Shows with Subscription Benefits

Unlock weekly bonus episodes + ad-free listening

US$11.99/mo or US$117.99/yr after trial

About

New York Times critic Dwight Garner says “The Slate Culture Gabfest is one of the highlights of my week.” The award-winning Culturefest features critics Stephen Metcalf, Dana Stevens, and Julia Turner debating the week in culture, from highbrow to pop. For more of Slate’s culture podcasts, check out the Slate Culture feed.Want more Culture Gabfest? Subscribe to Slate Plus to unlock weekly bonus episodes. Plus, you’ll access ad-free listening across all your favorite Slate podcasts. Subscribe now on Apple Podcasts by clicking “Try Free” at the top of the Culture Gabfest show page. Or, visit slate.com/cultureplus to get access wherever you listen. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

More From Slate Podcasts

You Might Also Like