Culture Gabfest

On this emergency episode of The Waves, Slate senior producer Cheyna Roth and Slate senior staff writer Christina Cauterucci respond to the decision by the US Supreme Court to overturn Roe v. Wade and get real about how they’re handling this devastating blow.  Read Christina’s piece on medication abortions here. Find all of Slate’s coverage of Roe v Wade here, and a guide to basic questions about what happens next here.  Recommendations: Cheyna: Getting your kid the COVID vaccine and JellyCat stuffed animals.  Christina: Fire Island on Hulu.   Podcast production by Cheyna Roth with editorial oversight by Shannon Palus and Alicia Montgomery. Send your comments and recommendations on what to cover to thewaves@slate.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

With the Golden State Warriors wrapping up another championship, NBA players are settling in for the off-season when many will be working on physical fitness and strength. But more teams are recognizing that mental fitness –especially for a league full of young Black men– is just as important. On today’s episode of A Word, Jason Johnson is joined by Corey Yeager, a life coach and psychotherapist for NBA’s Detroit Pistons. They discuss how Black athletes are dealing with the mental challenges of the pandemic, the racial reckoning, and other political issues, on top of the pressure to perform on the court. Guest: Corey Yeager, psychotherapist, life coach and author of the forthcoming book “How Am I Doing?: 40 Conversations to Have with Yourself.”  Podcast production by Kristie Taiwo-Makanjuola You can skip all the ads in A Word by joining Slate Plus. Sign up now at slate.com/awordplus for just $1 for your first month. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This week’s Spoiler Specials takes on Lightyear. Slate’s movie critic, Dana Stevens, and senior editor, Sam Adams spoil the new animated film from Disney.  Note: As the title indicates, this podcast contains spoilers galore. Read Dana’s review here and Sam’s review here. Email us at spoilers@slate.com. Podcast production by Jasmine Ellis and Kevin Bendis. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

On this week’s episode of The Waves, Slate staff writer Heather Schwedel is joined by Slate books and culture columnist Laura Miller on the ten year anniversary of Gillian Flynn’s Gone Girl. They talk about the initial reaction to Gone Girl, why the twists packed such a punch, and the enduring impact of the famous “cool girl” speech. Then they explore why, despite many books proclaiming to be so, there has never really been another Gone Girl. In Slate Plus, Laura takes Heather behind the scenes of book blurbs.  Recommendations: Heather: The Palace Papers by Tina Brown Laura: TV series Redemption, available on BritBox   Podcast production by Cheyna Roth with editorial oversight by Shannon Palus and Alicia Montgomery.  Send your comments and recommendations on what to cover to thewaves@slate.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Lesbians on dating and hookup apps aren’t looking for men, but that’s what platforms like Bumble and Tinder are serving them. On today’s show, Madison and Rachelle speak to some queer women who’ve had this problem and what sorts of issues it creates. Then they discuss the women-focused apps that’ve tried to fill that space, and why it’s so difficult to find safe queer dates online. This podcast is produced by Daniel Schroeder, Madison Malone Kircher, and Rachelle Hampton. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This week, the panel begins by trying out the new Adam Sandler film on Netflix, Hustle. Then, they discuss the new hit Indian film RRR. Finally, the panel is joined by host of Slate's Hit Parade podcast, Chris Molanphy, to discuss musician Kate Bush's recent rise in the charts. In Slate Plus, the panel debates which SNL stars became the best film actors. Email us at culturefest@slate.com Endorsements Dana: A crown of sonnets, For My Father: A Sonnet Redouble, by Alexis Sears in Literary Matters. Julia: Cheap hack to kitchen luxury: buy yourself 4 or 5 complete sets of measuring spoons. Steve: Elvis Costello and Chet Baker performing together. Podcast production by Cameron Drews. Production assistance by Nadira Goffe. Outro music: "Bring My Friends" by Tigerblood Jewel. Slate Plus members get ad-free podcasts, a bonus segment in each episode of the Culture Gabfest, full access to Slate's journalism on Slate.com, and more. Sign up now at slate.com/cultureplus. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.f

It’s story time, fam! This month, Bryan, Christina, and Jules talk about whether—and why—we still need Pride. Every Pride is someone’s first, and to get that fresh perspective, the hosts spoke with Sammie Bennett, who just celebrated for the first time in Kalamazoo, Michigan. They then talk about their own memories and feelings about the annual queer gathering. Thanks to Alicia DeMaio for our first "Thots & Queries" segment. Here’s the them.us piece she referenced. Items discussed in the show: “The Battle Over Gender Therapy,” by Emily Bazelon in the New York Times Magazine Jules’ Twitter thread Jules’ Substack response Postmates’ “Eat With Pride” ad campaign Leo Herrera’s Instagram story about this campaign Christina’s Slate story about a U-Haul truck full of Nazis who headed to a Pride celebration in Idaho. New York City Drag March Gay Agenda Bryan: Buzzfeed’s roundup of “This Pride Month” memes Christina: Kaftko Jules: Read a banned LGBTQ book This podcast was produced by June Thomas. Please send feedback

Joel Anderson, Stefan Fatsis, and Josh Levin are joined by ESPN’s Greg Wyshynski to discuss the Stanley Cup Finals. They also talk about Dream On, the ESPN documentary on the 1996 U.S. women’s Olympic basketball team. Finally, they assess Nike upon its 50th anniversary.   Stanley Cup (2:40): Inside the match-up between the Colorado Avalanche and Tampa Bay Lightning.   Dream On (26:57): Looking back at a landmark moment for women’s sports.   Nike (50:25): How it became a cultural behemoth.   Afterball (1:12:00): Stefan on his daughter, Scrabble, and Steph Curry. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This week, host June Thomas talks to Barbara Wilson, author of multiple mystery novels and co-founder of the feminist publishing house Seal Press, which launched in 1976. In the interview, Barbara starts by discussing her mystery novels and her decision to revive the character Cassandra Reilly. Then she talks about her experience co-founding Seal Press and the challenges that she and her colleagues faced as indie publishers.  After the interview, June and co-hose Isaac Butler chat about the use of formulas in fiction. In the exclusive Slate Plus segment, Barbara explains why she changed her name to Barbara Sjoholm and started publishing certain books under that name.  Send your questions about creativity and any other feedback to working@slate.com or give us a call at (304) 933-9675. Podcast production by Cameron Drews.  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 Big Mood, Lit

Earlier this month, the American Girl Doll Instagram account announced the return of the classic Molly doll, and because it was announced during Pride month everybody started wondering, “Is Molly gay?” On today’s show, Rachelle and Madison discuss the recent gay panic of the conservative American Doll Instagram community, the online life of American Girl memes, and their own histories with these beloved childhood treasures. Plus, they discuss the drama around Lizzo’s “GRRRLS” and why she’s one of the few celebrities to nail the Notes app apology. This podcast is produced by Daniel Schroeder, Madison Malone Kircher, and Rachelle Hampton. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

For decades, British alt-pop goddess Kate Bush had never had a Top 10 hit in America. Now, in 2022, she finds herself in the Hot 100’s Top Five—and television got her there. Her classic “Running Up That Hill” is featured prominently in the latest season of Netflix’s hit ’80s horror fantasy show Stranger Things. This puts Bush in a long lineage of hits spawned or made bigger by TV, dating all the way back to Davy Crockett and Peter Gunn, through Hawaii Five-O and Happy Days, and peaking in the ’80s with Miami Vice and Family Ties. Join host Chris Molanphy as he walks through more than six decades of hits from the so-called boob tube and reveals why—thanks to our streaming age—Kate Bush’s hit might be the biggest TV tune of all. Podcast production by Kevin Bendis. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

*This will be a frank discussion about homophobia, and our guest will talk about his experience being called an anti-gay slur.* This LGBTQ Pride Month has been marred by a rash of anti-gay and anti-trans laws, and some groups plotting physical attacks at Pride events. For Black members of the community, racism has added even more tension to this year’s Pride. On today’s episode of A Word, Jason Johnson is joined by Clay Cane, author of Live Through This: Surviving the Intersections of Sexuality, God, and Race. They discuss how anti-Black and anti-gay violence is affecting Pride this year, as well as concerns about ongoing homophobia among African Americans, and racism within the LGBTQ movement.   Guest: Clay Cane, host of SiriusXM’s The Clay Cane Show Podcast production by Eric Aaron You can skip all the ads in A Word by joining Slate Plus. Sign up now at slate.com/awordplus for just $1 for your first month. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

On this week’s episode of The Waves, Slate science writer and editor Shannon Palus is joined by Popular Science executive editor and author Rachel Feltman to talk about sex, baby. Rachel’s new book, “Been There, Done That” explores the quirky, wild, and often queer side of the history of sex. Shannon and Rachel talk about why animal sex is so relevant to human sex, the “loop-de-loop” of sexual evolution, and they ponder the age old question, “Why are even men?”  In Slate Plus, Rachel talks about why Sexually Transmitted Infections (STIs) may in some cases not be as terrible as you think.  Recommendations: Shannon: Spindrift seltzer  Rachel: The horror anthology, Your Body is Not Your Body   Podcast production by Cheyna Roth with editorial oversight by Shannon Palus and Alicia Montgomery. Send your comments and recommendations on what to cover to thewaves@slate.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

On this week’s addition of Working Overtime, hosts June Thomas and Isaac Butler evaluate some writing advice that June received from Slate book critic Laura Miller, who got the idea from the writer Graham Greene. The advice is to write 500 words per day, and once you’re done with that quota, you can do whatever you want. But what happens when your schedule doesn’t allow such a rigid ritual? Is there something magic about the number 500? June and Isaac weigh in on these and other questions, and then they discuss a concept called “modular writing.” Do you have a question about creative work? Call us and leave a message at 304-933-9675, or email us at working@slate.com. Podcast production by Kevin Bendis and Cameron Drews. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Throughout the 2010s, the One Direction fandom was inescapable online. On today’s show, Atlantic writer Kaitlyn Tiffany is here to discuss her new book all about that subject, Everything I Need I Get From You: How Fangirls Created the Internet as We Know It. Rachelle and Madison talk to Kaitlyn about why she chose One Direction, how fan theories get out of hand, and why neither she nor Rachelle would ever want to meet Harry Styles. Podcast production by Daniel Schroeder, Rachelle Hampton, and Madison Malone Kircher. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This month, in honor of Pride, we’re bringing you extra episodes of Outward. This week, hosts Christina Cauterucci, Jules Gill-Peterson, and Bryan Lowder dig into the big gay movie of summer 2022: Fire Island. Directed by Andrew Ahn and written by Joel Kim Booster, who also appears in the film, Fire Island explores the magic of queer spaces like the titular enclave—along with the class and race disparities that so often beset them. The film, which also stars Bowen Yang, Margaret Cho, and Conrad Ricamora, is a gay resetting of Pride and Prejudice. Does it succeed? The hosts discuss this, and much more, in spoiler-filled detail. This podcast was produced by June Thomas. Please send feedback, topic ideas, and advice questions to outwardpodcast@slate.com. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This week, the panel begins by fraternizing with the dinosaurs of Jurassic World: Dominion. Then, they’re joined by senior writer for New York Magazine E. Alex Jung to discuss the movie that changed the Bechdel Test, Fire Island. Finally, the panel discusses a New York Times opinion piece from Tish Harrison, titled “I Married the Wrong Person, and I’m So Glad I Did.” In Slate Plus, the panel discusses the Bechdel Test. Email us at culturefest@slate.com. Endorsements Dana: In honor of the recently late actor Phillip Baker Hall, the 1984 Robert Altman film Secret Honor, based on the one-man show. Julia: Generally: micro journaling. Specifically: The Five Minute Journal and One Line A Day: A Five-Year Memory Book.  Steve: With love for the musical cover: Leo Nocentelli’s (of The Meters) cover of Elton John’s “Your Song.” Also: the band The Apartments (per Steve: the most underrated indie rock band of all time) and their song “Everything is Given to Be Taken Away” from their live album Live at L’Ubu. Podcast prod

Joel Anderson and Josh Levin are joined by the New Yorker’s Vinson Cunningham to discuss Steph Curry and the NBA Finals. Then, they review the Adam Sandler basketball movie Hustle. Finally, ESPN’s Kevin Van Valkenburg joins Joel and Josh to talk about the debut weekend of the Saudi-funded LIV Golf.   Steph and the NBA (3:30): The Warriors got back into the Finals with some Curry magic. Can Jayson Tatum summon some of his own?   Hustle (45:35): It’s not just a bunch of NBA cameos.   LIV Golf (1:08:23): Will the Saudis’ money take down the PGA Tour?   Afterball (1:08:23): Joel on Rickey Henderson and Pine Bluff, Arkansas. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This week, host Isaac Butler talks to music supervisors Bruce Gilbert and Lauren Mikus, whose most recent projects include the Hulu series Only Murders in the Building and the the multidimensional action movie Everything Everywhere All at Once.  After the interview, Isaac and co-host June Thomas talk about music choices in film and TV and discuss whether it’s better to pick well-known hits or more obscure deep cuts.  In the exclusive Slate Plus segment, Bruce and Lauren talk about the taste-making aspect of their job. Then they explain their process for creating a uniquely New York sound for Only Murders in the Building.  Send your questions about creativity and any other feedback to working@slate.com or give us a call at (304) 933-9675. Podcast production by Cameron Drews.  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 Big Mood, Little Mood—and you’ll be supporting the work we d

On today’s episode, Rachelle and Madison dabble in some TikTok approved ASMR. Later they’re joined by Vice Senior Staff Writer, Anna Merlan, for an interview about political ads and the left leaning campaigns that pay influencers to produce policy based content - despite TikTok’s stringent rules. Podcast production by Daniel Schroeder, Madison Malone Kircher, Rachelle Hampton, and Kevin Bendis Support ICYMI and listen to the show with zero ads. Sign up to become a Slate Plus member for just $1 for your first month. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices