Decoder Ring Slate Podcasts

Lawn ornaments are everywhere—but for something so ubiquitous, they’re also mysterious. What’s the person with the flamingo or the gargoyle in their yard trying to say—and why do they want to say it so publicly? From the garden-variety to the not so common, the adorable to the odious—lawn ornaments speak volumes, without saying a word. In this episode, we travel from Germany to England and back home to look at the history and meaning behind three specific lawn ornaments: the garden gnome, the lawn jockey, and the 18th century ornamental hermit.
You’ll hear from historian Twigs Way, Sven Berrar of the Zwergstatt Gräfenroda, David Pilgrim of the Jim Crow Museum, Kenneth Goings who is an emeritus professor at the Ohio State University, and art historian Ned Harwood.
This episode was written by Evan Chung and Willa Paskin. It was produced by Evan Chung. We produce Decoder Ring with Katie Shepherd and Max Freedman. We had additional production from Cheyna Roth and Martina Weber. Derek John is Executive Producer. Merritt Jacob is Senior Technical Director.
Thank you to Friedemann Brenneis, Heather Joseph-Witham, and Elise Gramza.
If you have any cultural mysteries you want us to decode, email us at DecoderRing@slate.com.
If you love the show and want to support us, consider joining Slate Plus. With Slate Plus you get ad-free podcasts, bonus episodes, and total access to all of Slate’s journalism.
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Lawn ornaments are everywhere—but for something so ubiquitous, they’re also mysterious. What’s the person with the flamingo or the gargoyle in their yard trying to say—and why do they want to say it so publicly? From the garden-variety to the not so common, the adorable to the odious—lawn ornaments speak volumes, without saying a word. In this episode, we travel from Germany to England and back home to look at the history and meaning behind three specific lawn ornaments: the garden gnome, the lawn jockey, and the 18th century ornamental hermit.

You’ll hear from historian Twigs Way, Sven Berrar of the Zwergstatt Gräfenroda, David Pilgrim of the Jim Crow Museum, Kenneth Goings who is an emeritus professor at the Ohio State University, and art historian Ned Harwood.

This episode was written by Evan Chung and Willa Paskin. It was produced by Evan Chung. We produce Decoder Ring with Katie Shepherd and Max Freedman. We had additional production from Cheyna Roth and Martina Weber. Derek John is Executive Producer. Merritt Jacob is Senior Technical Director.

Thank you to Friedemann Brenneis, Heather Joseph-Witham, and Elise Gramza.

If you have any cultural mysteries you want us to decode, email us at DecoderRing@slate.com.

If you love the show and want to support us, consider joining Slate Plus. With Slate Plus you get ad-free podcasts, bonus episodes, and total access to all of Slate’s journalism.

Axolotls. Narwhals. Llamas. Sloths. Every few years, it seems like American kids and parents collectively decide they cannot get enough of a creature that makes teddy bears seem impossibly quaint. In today’s episode we’re going to swim after the axolotl, as it takes us to some far-flung and unexpected places, to understand how it came to rule the stuffed animal kingdom. Though the answer absolutely has to do with parents eager to please their children at the gift shop, it's bigger than that. The insatiable hunger for novelty that is bound up with the axolotl — well, that has to do with all of us. 
This episode was written by Willa Paskin. It was produced by Katie Shepherd. It was edited by Evan Chung. We produce Decoder Ring with Max Freedman. Derek John is Executive Producer. Merritt Jacob is Senior Technical Director.
In this episode you’ll hear from Elaine Kollias who works with Folkmanis Puppets, Diana Laura Vasquez Mendoza who is a biologist at the National Autonomous University of Mexico, Dr. Jessica Whited who is a professor at Harvard, Gerhard Runken who is the executive vice president of global brand and marketing for Jazwares, and Laura Wattenberg who is a baby name expert.
Thank you to our translator Ezequiel Andino, as well as Luis Zambrano, Kelley Garnier, and Alejandra Escobar. And if you’d like to help the wild Axolotl, here is the conservation project where Diana works and they accept donations. 
If you haven’t yet, please subscribe and rate our feed in Apple Podcasts or wherever you get your podcasts. And even better, tell your friends.
If you’re a fan of the show, please sign up for Slate Plus. Members get to listen to Decoder Ring and all other Slate podcasts without any ads and have total access to Slate’s website. Your support is also crucial to our work. Go to Slate.com/decoderplus to join Slate Plus today. 
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

30 years ago, the Stanley Cup playoffs ignited a rumor that has been messing with Jane Macdougall’s life ever since. 
In 1994, the Vancouver Canucks had made it all the way to Game 7 of the Stanley Cup Finals against the New York Rangers. When they barely lost, fans expected the team to come back blazing the next year. Instead, 1995 was a total letdown. Team chemistry disappeared and fans started looking for an explanation. Quickly, a rumor took hold: a defensive player had been having an affair with the goalie’s wife, which destroyed team morale and left the franchise flailing. 
In this episode of Decoder Ring, Acey Rowe from the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation traces the Canucks rumor from locker rooms to chat rooms. And she talks to NHL players Kirk McLean and Jeff Brown to figure out how a story like this can snowball and survive for 30 years.
This episode was reported and produced by Acey Rowe. Story editing by Willa Paskin and Evan Chung. Decoder Ring is produced by Willa Paskin, Evan Chung, Katie Shepherd and Max Freedman. Derek John is Executive Producer. Merritt Jacob is Senior Technical Director.
A longer version of this story was published on CBC’s Storylines, part of the CBC Audio Doc Unit. Julia Pagel is the Senior Producer of Audio Docs and Anna Lazowski is the Senior Producer of Special Programming at the CBC. 
If you have a cultural mystery you’d like us to decode send us an email at decoderring@slate.com. Please subscribe and rate our feed in Apple Podcasts or wherever you listen. And even better, tell your friends.
If you’re a fan of the show, you should sign up for Slate Plus. Members get to listen to Decoder Ring and all other Slate podcasts without any ads and have total access to Slate’s website. Your support is also crucial to our work. Go to Slate.com/decoderplus to join Slate Plus today.
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

30 years ago, the Stanley Cup playoffs ignited a rumor that has been messing with Jane Macdougall’s life ever since.

In 1994, the Vancouver Canucks had made it all the way to Game 7 of the Stanley Cup Finals against the New York Rangers. When they barely lost, fans expected the team to come back blazing the next year. Instead, 1995 was a total letdown. Team chemistry disappeared and fans started looking for an explanation. Quickly, a rumor took hold: a defensive player had been having an affair with the goalie’s wife, which destroyed team morale and left the franchise flailing.

In this episode of Decoder Ring, Acey Rowe from the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation traces the Canucks rumor from locker rooms to chat rooms. And she talks to NHL players Kirk McLean and Jeff Brown to figure out how a story like this can snowball and survive for 30 years.

This episode was reported and produced by Acey Rowe. Story editing by Willa Paskin and Evan Chung. Decoder Ring is produced by Willa Paskin, Evan Chung, Katie Shepherd and Max Freedman. Derek John is Executive Producer. Merritt Jacob is Senior Technical Director.

A longer version of this story was published on CBC’s Storylines, part of the CBC Audio Doc Unit. Julia Pagel is the Senior Producer of Audio Docs and Anna Lazowski is the Senior Producer of Special Programming at the CBC.

If you have a cultural mystery you’d like us to decode send us an email at decoderring@slate.com. Please subscribe and rate our feed in Apple Podcasts or wherever you listen. And even better, tell your friends.

If you’re a fan of the show, you should sign up for Slate Plus. Members get to listen to Decoder Ring and all other Slate podcasts without any ads and have total access to Slate’s website. Your support is also crucial to our work. Go to Slate.com/decoderplus to join Slate Plus today.

In 1990, the cartoon superhero Captain Planet swooped onto TV screens all over the world. He was the brainchild of media mogul Ted Turner, and in the face of impending ecological catastrophe, he had the lofty goal of turning kids into environmental warriors. 
In this episode, we’re going to look at how Captain Planet came to be, what he aspired to do, and how much he really got done. Captain Planet’s mission was noble, but was it also naive? How much of an impact can even the most well-meaning fictional superhero have on very real environmental disasters? And can we really entertain ourselves and our children into solving our hardest problems?
This episode was reported and produced by Olivia Briley. It was edited by Evan Chung. Decoder Ring is produced by Willa Paskin, Evan Chung, Katie Shepherd and Max Freedman. Derek John is Executive Producer. Merritt Jacob is Senior Technical Director.
In this episode you’ll hear from Nick Boxer, David Coburn, Marsha Goodman, and  Illac Diaz.
Thank you to Eugene Linden, Dr. Juliette Rooney-Varga, Mary DeMocker, Claire Reynolds, and Kelly Jones.
If you haven’t yet, please subscribe and rate our feed in Apple Podcasts or wherever you get your podcasts. And even better, tell your friends.
If you’re a fan of the show, please sign up for Slate Plus. Members get to listen to Decoder Ring and all other Slate podcasts without any ads and have total access to Slate’s website. Your support is also crucial to our work. Go to Slate.com/decoderplus to join Slate Plus today. 
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices