Slate Culture Slate Podcasts

This episode will be available for free beginning June 1.

In this week’s essay, John discusses instinct versus obligation, his daughter’s wit, how he has changed since episode one, and more.

Notebook Entries:
Notebook 58, page 10. September 16, 2021
“You don’t measure your life the way you measure your writing.” - Nan

Notebook 75, page 46-47. September 2021
When your dog dies and son goes to college and you are confronted with your life’s work it all boils down to one alarm: the clock is ticking. If a scream is better than a thesis, I was hearing some kind of scream, but what was the thesis?

References:
Everything Is Copy – HBODocs
The Power of Regret – Daniel Pink

The Mezzanine – Nicholson Baker
“The Creative Process” – James Baldwin
Slouching Towards Bethlehem – Joan Didion
“Three Paths Toward the Meaning of Life” - Arthur Brooks for The Atlantic

Podcast production by Cheyna Roth.
Email us at navelgazingpodcast@gmail.com

This episode will be available for free beginning May 31st.

Girl groups have long been underestimated—even by the producers and managers who created them.

For women listeners, girl groups narrated profound emotions and expressed personal freedom—even when the singers were not so free themselves. For male listeners, girl groups provided inspiration, and a way to express matters of the heart.

And for all listeners across rock and soul history, girl groups pushed music forward. In the ’60s, the Shirelles, Marvelettes, Ronettes and Shangri-Las kept rock afloat between Elvis Presley and the Beatles. In the ’70s and ’80s, girl groups from the Emotions to Exposé rebooted dance music. In the ’90s, En Vogue, TLC and Destiny’s Child fused hip-hop style with old-school soul—and the Spice Girls fired up a new generation through Girl Power.

Join Chris Molanphy as we shimmy and strut through decades of bops to give girl groups the respect they deserve. You’ll love them tomorrow, because friendship never ends.

Podcast production by Kevin Bendis.

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On this week’s show, the hosts begin by jumping into Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga, a prequel to George Miller’s 2015 Fury Road, in which Anya Taylor-Joy stars as Furiosa, an arachnid beauty who’s stolen as a child and becomes a wasteland road warrior. She’s a “strong, silent type,” typical of the action film genre, but does that trope mean something different with a female protagonist in 2024? The panel discusses. (Read Dana’s review of Furiosa!) Then, the three chat Hit Man, Richard Linklater’s latest starring Glen Powell as Gary Johnson, a college professor who moonlights as a fake gunman for hire. It’s a delightful rom-com tucked within a thriller—a romantic thriller, if you will–that manages to feel like a hangout film despite its ridiculous premise. (Read Dana’s review of Hat Man!) Finally, ScarJo or FauxJo? Tech journalist and author of Blood in the Machine: The Origins of the Rebellion Against Big Tech Brian Merchant joins the panel to parse through Silicon’s Valley’s latest scandal: Scarlett Johansson accusing ChatGPT of stealing her voice for its new interface program. (Read Brian’s newsletter about it!)

In the exclusive slate Plus segment, the hosts answer an excellent listener question from Michael Schulman: What fictional works of art-within-the-art would you most want to see on their own?

Email us at culturefest@slate.com. 

Endorsements:

Dana: An interview between Richard Linklater and Skip Hollandsworth, whose stories Linklater adapted in the films Bernie and Hit Man, for Texas Monthly. 

Julia: Monopoly Deal, a well-designed family card game. 

Stephen: A poem by Janet Frame, “Scarlet Tanager, Saratoga Springs” which was featured on the Yumi Zouma song, “Lie Like You Want Me Back - Alternative Version.”

Podcast production by Jessamine Molli. Production assistance by Kat Hong.
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Today, we’re revisiting one of our favorite episodes from September 2022 about TikTok Shop.
In the episode, Rachelle and Candice are joined by sustainable stylist and fashion educator Lakyn Carlton to discuss TikTok Shop — a new feature that lets users purchase products without ever leaving the app. TikTok Shop is a modern day QVC, where merchants can shell products they’ve made — or are authorized to resell — in live videos with products tagged on screen. In the age of Amazon Storefronts and Etsy, it’s not surprising for TikTok to enter the e-commerce space. But the crowded, merchant-filled experience has ruined the app’s appeal and made users consider quitting TikTok for good.
This podcast is produced by Se’era Spragley Ricks, Daisy Rosario, Candice Lim and Rachelle Hampton.
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This week, Bryan dives into the world of sports to talk about the often obscured queer history of the Olympics with writer Michael Waters. Michael’s new book ‘The Other Olympians: Fascism, Queerness, and the Making of Modern Sports’ highlights the gripping true stories of pioneering trans and intersex athletes from the 1936 Olympics.
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Everyone has a different birth experience. 
Obstetricians and midwives are well-known members of the birth team. Along with the pregnant person, they are central to labor and delivery.
Doulas are lesser known, but they can provide essential support for pregnant women and their loved ones. 
On this week’s episode of Well, Now: What to expect when working with a doula with Latham Thomas, founder of Mama Glow.
If you liked this episode, check out: Overcoming a Complicated Pregnancy
Well, Now is hosted by Maya Feller, CDN and Kavita Patel, MD.
Podcast production by Vic Whitley-Berry with editorial oversight by Alicia Montgomery.
Send your comments and recommendations on what to cover to wellnow@slate.com.
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