Slate Culture Feed

4.2 (1.9K)
Arts
Updated Semiweekly

Get the Culture Gabfest and all of Slate's culture coverage here. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

17h ago

ICYMI - An Internet Boyfriend Just Made The Movie Of The Year

You may have thought we knew everything there was to know about Elizabeth Holmes. The Theranos founder who was found guilty of defrauding investors sparked books, documentaries, and even a TV show—but nothing like this. Nathan Fielder’s You Can See Everything is ostensibly another exploration of Holmes, but ends up being about so much more. On today’s episode, host Kate Lindsay and joined by Slate senior writer Scaachi Koul to discuss the internet’s divided reaction to the project, and how Fielder’s own internet history contributes to the overwhelming response. This podcast is produced by Vic Whitley-Berry, Daisy Rosario, and Kate Lindsay. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
1d ago

Death, Sex & Money - Side Effects May Include Headaches, Sleep Eating, Buying Power Tools

For this episode, we asked for your stories about medication side effects. You told us about the weird, from sleep-eating to compulsive spending. You told us about making trade-off calculations: Is an improved mood worth a decreased sex drive? And we heard about the loneliness of living with side effects that alter your quality of life when you have a condition that depends on lifelong treatment. Podcast production by Zoe Azulay Death, Sex & Money is produced by Slate! To support us and our colleagues, please sign up for our membership program, Slate Plus! Members get ad-free podcasts, bonus content on lots of Slate shows, and full access to all the articles on Slate.com. Sign up today at slate.com/dsmplus. And if you’re new to the show, welcome. We’re so glad you’re here. Find us and follow us on Instagram and you can find Anna’s newsletter at annasale.substack.com. Our email address, where you can reach us with voice memos and pitches is, deathsexmoney@slate.com. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
4d ago

ICYMI - The “Tradwife” To Girlboss Pipeline

The “tradwives” are retreating. Nara Smith went on Call Her Daddy to renounce any association with the term, and has been in the middle of a full-on rebrand as the promotes her new cookbook. Other figureheads, like Hannah Neeleman aka Ballerina Farm, are taking a step back to put their business first. Meanwhile, the actual former tradwives are suffering. On today’s episode, host Kate Lindsay is joined by author and Culture Study host Anne Helen Petersen to talk about why these women are making such public shifts, and what happens when the word “tradwife” loses all meaning. This podcast is produced by Vic Whitley-Berry, Daisy Rosario, and Kate Lindsay. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Oct 21

ICYMI - The Toxic FB Groups For Estranged Parents

The latest internet “trend,” apparently, is adult children cutting off their parents. And while there are plenty of spaces on the internet where both children and parents can seek advice and community about their estrangement, the reality is much more complicated, and these digital support groups may be doing more harm than good. On today’s episode, host Kate Lindsay is joined by author Christina Wyman to talk about coming across her own mothers posts in a Facebook group for estranged parents, which she wrote about for Slate. But in a social media world, is there ever such a thing as “no contact”? And how can we stop algorithms and echo chambers from making it even worse? This podcast is produced by Vic Whitley-Berry, Daisy Rosario, and Kate Lindsay. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Oct 21

Decoder Ring - Clown Panic (Encore)

Clowns have existed in various forms for thousands of years. From the big top to Bozo’s TV show, they used to be beloved figures of amusement and delight. What changed and made so many people suspect and fear them? In this episode, originally aired in 2018, Decoder Ring traces the history of clowns and clowning and finds that both the scary clown and the happy clown are over-simplifications that have more in common than it might first appear. This episode was produced and edited by Benjamin Frisch. Decoder Ring is produced by Max Freedman, Alesandra Tejeda, and Evan Chung, our supervising producer. Merritt Jacob is Senior Technical Director. Thank you to Benjamin Radford, Isaac Butler, Jim Bredesen, Andrew Kahn, Aisha Harris, and June Thomas. And special thanks to Daniel Royer for recommending this subject. If you have any cultural mysteries you want us to decode, email us at DecoderRing@slate.com or leave a message on our hotline at (347) 460-7281. Get more of Decoder Ring with Slate Plus! Join for exclusive bonus episodes of Decoder Ring and ad-free listening on all your favorite Slate podcasts. Subscribe from the Decoder Ring show page on Apple Podcasts or Spotify. Or, visit slate.com/decoderplus for access wherever you listen. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Oct 20

Death, Sex & Money - Comedian Murray Hill on the Teachers Who Freed Him From an Unsafe Home

Now famous as a New York City nightlife fixture and for his role on Somebody Somewhere, comedian Murray Hill used to keep his personal history private. In fact, the persona of “Murray Hill” started as a drag king character modeled after old-timey comedians. Over time, though, the gap between the character and the man has shrunk. This week on the show, Murray opens up about everything: his upbringing in Connecticut with a family who could be cruel and abusive, teachers who looked out for him, and friends who helped the real Murray emerge. His new memoir is called Showbiz!: My Life as a Middle-Aged Man. The interview with Norman Lear that Anna mentions can be found here. Get more with Death, Sex & Money Plus! Join for exclusive bonus episodes of DSM and ad-free listening on all your favorite Slate podcasts. Subscribe from the Death, Sex & Money show page on Apple Podcasts or Spotify. Or, visit slate.com/dsmplus to get access wherever you listen. If you’re new to the show, welcome. We’re so glad you’re here. Find us and follow us on Instagram and you can find Anna’s newsletter at annasale.substack.com. Our email address, where you can reach us with voice memos, pep talks, questions, critiques, is deathsexmoney@slate.com. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Oct 17

ICYMI - The Labubufication of AI Agents

The new AI agents from Meta and OpenAI have one thing in common: they look like children’s cartoons. At the same time these companies are warning that AI will kill us all, they’re trying to convince users to try even more products by making them look as cuddly and innocent as possible. On today’s episode, host Kate Lindsay is joined by writer and Slate columnist Steffi Cao to talk about just how much access these AI agents want in our lives, and what they’re hiding behind their fuzzy facades. This podcast is produced by Vic Whitley-Berry, Daisy Rosario, and Kate Lindsay. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Oct 14

ICYMI - How The Pussyhat Unraveled

Ten years ago, the world was gearing up to welcome the first female president. Instead, Donald Trump’s surprise victory went on to alter America’s entire political landscape. It’s exactly what the people behind the Pussyhat Project feared. And yet, the pink knitted hat that took over the first of many Women’s Marches has gone on to become the opposite of the feminist symbol it was intended to be. Now, it’s a relic of white feminism, enacted at the expense of trans women and women of color. On today’s episode, host Kate Lindsay is joined by Anjali and Alison, the hosts of the Two Women Yelling About Knitting podcast, ahead of the Pussyhat’s ten-year anniversary to discuss what went wrong and what digital craftivism should look like. This podcast is produced by Vic Whitley-Berry, Daisy Rosario, and Kate Lindsay. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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Anna Sale explores the big questions and hard choices that are often left out of polite conversation. Get more Death, Sex & Money with Slate Plus! Join for exclusive bonus episodes of DSM and ad-free listening on all your favorite Slate podcasts. Subscribe from the Death, Sex & Money show page on Apple Podcasts or Spotify. Or visit slate.com/dsmplus to get access wherever you listen. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

4.6 (7444)

Relationships
Voted “Favorite Political Podcast” by Apple Podcasts listeners. Stephen Colbert says "Everybody should listen to the Slate Political Gabfest." The Gabfest, featuring Emily Bazelon, John Dickerson, and David Plotz, is the kind of informal and irreverent discussion Washington journalists have after hours over drinks. Get more Political Gabfest with Slate Plus. Join to unlock weekly bonus episodes—plus ad-free listening across all your favorite Slate podcasts. Subscribe directly from the Political Gabfest show page on Apple Podcasts and Spotify. Or visit slate.com/gabfestplus to get access wherever you listen. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

4.4 (8270)

Politics
The problem with the news right now? It’s everywhere. And each day, it can feel like we’re all just mindlessly scrolling. It’s why we created What Next. This short daily show is here to help you make sense of things. When the news feels overwhelming, we’re here to help you answer: What next? Look for new episodes every weekday morning. Get more of What Next with Slate Plus! Join for exclusive bonus episodes of What Next and ad-free listening on all your favorite Slate podcasts. Subscribe from the What Next show page on Apple Podcasts or Spotify, or visit slate.com/whatnextplus for access wherever you listen. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

4.2 (2388)

News
A show about the law and the nine Supreme Court justices who interpret it for the rest of America. Get more Amicus with Slate Plus. Join to unlock weekly bonus episodes with exclusive legal analysis—plus ad-free listening across all your favorite Slate podcasts. Subscribe directly from the Amicus show page on Apple Podcasts and Spotify. Or visit slate.com/amicusplus to get access wherever you listen. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

4.6 (3386)

News
Slow Burn illuminates America’s most consequential moments, making sense of the past to better understand the present. Through archival tape and first-person interviews, the series uncovers the surprising events and little-known characters lurking within the biggest stories of our time. Join Slate Plus to unlock full, ad-free access to Slow Burn and your other favorite Slate podcasts. You can subscribe from the Slow Burn show page on Apple Podcasts and Spotify. Or visit slate.com/slowburnplus to get access wherever you listen. Season 11: Becoming Justice Gorsuch How Neil Gorsuch laid the foundation for a SCOTUS supermajority and then became its most unexpected wild card. Season 10: The Rise of Fox News How a cable news channel became a cultural and political force—and how a whole bunch of people rose up to try and stop it. Season 9: Gays Against Briggs A nationwide moral panic, a California legislator who rode the anti-gay wave, and the LGBTQ+ people who stepped up and came out to try and stop him. Season 8: Becoming Justice Thomas Where Clarence Thomas came from, how he rose to power, and how he’s brought the rest of us along with him, whether we like it or not. Winner of the Podcast of the Year at the 2024 Ambies Awards. Season 7: Roe v. Wade The women who fought for legal abortion, the activists who pushed back, and the justices who thought they could solve the issue for good. Winner of Apple Podcasts Show of the Year in 2022. Season 6: The L.A. Riots How decades of police brutality, a broken justice system, and a video tape set off six days of unrest in Los Angeles. Season 5: The Road to the Iraq War Eighteen months after 9/11, the United States invaded a country that had nothing to do with the attacks. Who’s to blame? And was there any way to stop it? Season 4: David Duke America’s most famous white supremacist came within a runoff of controlling Louisiana. How did David Duke rise to power? And what did it take to stop him? Season 3: Biggie and Tupac How is it that two of the most famous performers in the world were murdered within a year of each other—and their killings were never solved? Season 2: The Clinton Impeachment A reexamination of the scandals that nearly destroyed the 42nd president and forever changed the life of a former White House intern. Season 1: Watergate What did it feel like to live through the scandal that brought down President Nixon? Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

4.6 (23835)

History
Decoder Ring is the show about cracking cultural mysteries. In each episode, host Willa Paskin takes a cultural question, object, or habit; examines its history; and tries to figure out what it means and why it matters. Get more of Decoder Ring with Slate Plus! Join for exclusive bonus episodes of Decoder Ring and ad-free listening on all your favorite Slate podcasts. Subscribe from the Decoder Ring show page on Apple Podcasts or Spotify. Or visit slate.com/decoderplus for access wherever you listen. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

4.6 (2080)

Documentary

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4.2

out of 5

1,855 Ratings

How does the GF parse culture and politics?

Feb 4

Rober66

Long term fan of the Gabfest. I have been wondering how you all decide what is cultural regarding the political. Steve reading the ad for a planned parenthood seems political, as does covering Bruce’s Minneapolis song. I support all of that. But you have been quiet in Gaza and there have been musicians who have taken that on, and authors as well, like Sally Rooney. Not to mention the cultural shift in general - lots of great Palestinian stand-ups. I guess i am hoping it isn’t just a matter of playing it safe…
Staple Pod - A Must Follow

07/03/2025

rwinnstar

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
ICYMI is 10/10

04/07/2025

Deeeeeedubya

Always interesting dives into internet subcultures, excited for each ep.
ICYMI journalistic malpractice

02/27/2025

educalculator

The episode on Ethan Klein didn’t even attempt to do any fact-checking or reaching out to the other side. In turn, they have completely botched the story, which isn’t even primarily about Fauxmoi.