Culture Gabfest

This week, host Rumaan Alam talks to artist Paul Mpagi Sepuya about his unique style of intimate studio photography. In the interview, Paul breaks down the difference between artist and photographer, shares what it was like to get recognized for his work early in life, and explains why critical success doesn’t always translate to monetary success.  After the interview, Rumaan and co-host Isaac Butler talk about why it’s so difficult to sum up visual art with language.  Send your questions about creativity and any other feedback to working@slate.com Podcast production by Cameron Drews. And 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 Dear Prudence—and you’ll be supporting the work we do here on Working. It’s only $35 for the first year, and you can get a free two-week trial. Sign up now to help support our work. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The mullet, the love-to-hate-it hairstyle is as associated with the 1980's as Ronald Reagan, junk bonds, and break dancing. But in at least one major way, we are suffering from a collective case of false memory syndrome. In this episode we track the rise and fall of the mullet, and also the lexical quandary at its heart: who named the mullet? Slate Plus members get ad-free podcasts and bonus episodes of shows like Dear Prudence and Slow Burn. Sign up now to listen and support our work. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This week, host Isaac Butler talks to composer Michael Abels about what it’s like to write music for suspenseful movies like Get Out, Us, and the recent HBO movie Bad Education, starring Hugh Jackman and Allison Janney. In the interview, Michael digs into the collaborative nature of film scoring and offers tips on how to capture your creativity.   After the interview, Isaac and co-host Rumaan Alam talk about the music they listen to when they’re doing creative work.  Send your questions about creativity and any other feedback to working@slate.com   Podcast production by Cameron Drews And 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 Dear Prudence—and you’ll be supporting the work we do here on Working. It’s only $35 for the first year, and you can get a free two-week trial. Sign up now to help support our work. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

On the Spoiler Special podcast, Slate critics discuss movies, the occasional TV show, and, once in a blue moon, another podcast, in full spoiler-filled detail. This week, Dana Stevens, Slate’s movie critic, is joined by Isaac Butler, writer, theater director, and co-host of Slate’s podcast Working, to spoil An American Pickle. Seth Rogen stars as Herschel Greenbaum, a man who wakes up after being preserved in pickle brine for a century, and Ben Greenbaum, Herschel’s only living descendant. Can Herschel adapt to the contemporary world? Will Ben and Herschel bond despite generational and value differences? How convincing is Seth Rogen as both of these men? You can read Marissa Martinelli’s interview with An American Pickle’s prop master here. You can read Matthew Dessem’s piece on pickle related catastrophes here.  Note: As the title indicates, this podcast contains spoilers galore. Email us at spoilers@slate.com. Podcast production by Rosemary Belson. Slate Plus members get ad-free podcasts and access to

We’ve long talked about our love for romance novels and in this episode we are going deep: talking about the changing aesthetics of romance novels, the increased visibility of our favourite tropes and sub-genres, and the heroes and heroines that we love to see. In our Plus segment, we take begrudging inspiration from our times and look at how movies have treated love at a distance. The Truth About Cats and Dogs, 40 Days and 40 Nights, and The Age of Innocence all keep our main couples apart somehow and yet they manage to find ways to ease the physical ache of love and attraction.  As usual, you can follow us on Twitter @ThirstAidKit. Our music is by Tanya Morgan. You can find show notes, and more on our Tumblr at thirstaidkitpodcast.tumblr.com. Don’t forget to send us your drabbles by emailing thirstaidkit@slate.com. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

On this week’s episode, Steve, Dana, and Julia are joined by Slate’s music critic Carl Wilson to take on Taylor Swift’s Folklore. Then, the panelists discusses school reopenings, riffing off of Dana’s recent op-ed for the Washington Post. Finally, they break down this week’s comfort watch—the 1936 screwball comedy, My Man Godfrey. In Slate Plus, the hosts are joined by Slate staff writer Lili Loofbourow to discuss her recent pieces on cancel culture and online debate. Slate Plus members get a bonus segment on the Culture Gabfest each episode, and access to exclusive shows like Dana Stevens’ classic movies podcast Flashback. Sign up now to listen and support our work. Other items discussed in this show: “Taylor Swift’s New Album Reveals That Social Distancing Has Served Her Well” by Carl Wilson in Slate “Held back: As parents realize how badly the U.S. botched the next school year, we’re furious” by Dana Stevens in the Washington Post “The Cancel Culture Trap” by Lili Loofbourow in Slate “Illiberalism Isn’t to

This week, host June Thomas talks about her deep love of audio fiction with longtime radio and podcast writer-producer John Scott Dryden. First, they discuss the U.K. origins of the genre and the growing appetite for audio fiction in the U.S. Then they dig into John’s production process and discuss how he creates immersive stories using sounds and voices from all over the world.  After the interview, June and co-host Rumaan Alam answer a question from a listener.  Send your questions about creativity and any other feedback to working@slate.com. Podcast production by Cameron Drews. And 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 Dear Prudence—and you’ll be supporting the work we do here on Working. It’s only $35 for the first year, and you can get a free two-week trial. Sign up now to help support our work. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Like many media organizations at the moment, Slate is getting hit pretty hard by what's going on with the economy in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic. We want to continue doing our work, providing you with all our great podcasts, news and reporting, and we simply cannot do that without your support. So we're asking you to sign up for Slate Plus, our membership program. It's just $35 for the first year, and it goes a long way to supporting us in this crucial moment. In the late ’70s and early ’80s, a scene and a sound cropped up on the West Coast: polished, perfectionist studio musicians who generated sleek, jazzy, R&B-flavored music. About a quarter-century later, this sound was given a name: Yacht Rock. The inventors of the genre name weren’t thinking about boats…well, unless the song was Christopher Cross’s “Sailing.” Yacht Rock was meant to signify deluxe, yuppified, “smooth” music suitable for playing on luxury nautical craft. Whatever you call it, this music really did command the charts at the turn of

It’s never a bad move to hear from our thirsty yet oh-so-talented Thirst Buckets! Our audience is the best audience because they send us drabbles that make us swoon and giggle and we immediately put them aside so we can share the wealth on air. That’s what we’re doing with this episode— sharing listener-submitted drabbles about John Boyega, Aidan Turner, Pedro Pascal, Andy Samberg, and Seth Rogen. We also answer some questions from Tumblr and a couple of Thirst Sommelier requests. One listener needs someone with a Lin-Manuel Miranda vibe and someone else wants to replace Terry Crews on her thirst mood board. Luckily, we have a few suggestions we think will make everyone happy.  In our Slate Plus segment, we break down quarantine beards: yay or nay?  As usual, you can follow us on Twitter @ThirstAidKit. Our music is by Tanya Morgan. You can find show notes, and more on our Tumblr at thirstaidkitpodcast.tumblr.com. Don’t forget to send us your drabbles by emailing thirstaidkit@slate.com. Learn more about your a

This week, host Rumaan Alam talks to cartoonist and New Yorker cover artist Adrian Tomine, who just released a graphic memoir called The Loneliness of the Long-Distance Cartoonist. In the interview, Adrian talks about what it was like for his childhood hobby to become a full-time job, and how his art has evolved over the years.  After the interview, co-host June Thomas interviews Slate writers Dahlia Lithwick and Molly Olmstead about a massive piece of journalism they’ve put together about the women in Ruth Bader Ginsburg’s class at Harvard Law School. To hear the audio version of the piece, subscribe to Slate’s Amicus podcast.  Send your questions about creativity and any other feedback to working@slate.com. And 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 Dear Prudence—and you’ll be supporting the work we do here on Working. It’s only $35 for the first year, and you can get a

On the Spoiler Special podcast, Slate critics discuss movies, the occasional TV show, and, once in a blue moon, another podcast, in full spoiler-filled detail. This week, Slate’s movie critic Dana Stevens is joined by Willa Paskin, Slate’s television critic, and Sam Adams, a senior editor at Slate and the editor of Slate’s culture blog, Brow Beat, to spoil Palm Springs. At first, Palm Springs seems like a fun wedding rom-com until Nyles (Andy Samberg) is shot with a bow and arrow while fooling around in the desert with Sarah (Cristin Milioti). Injured, he crawls into a nearby cave and tells Sarah not to follow him. She ignores his warning and is pulled into his infinite time loop. Will she follow Nyles’ lead and make peace with the situation? Why is Nyles being hunted? Why is Sarah so desperate to find a way out? And what is with those dinosaurs?  You can read Sam’s interview with the theoretical physicist who consulted on the movie here.  Note: As the title indicates, this podcast contains spoilers galore.

It’s Bim’s turn to delve into the roots of her thirst habits — and naturally, it turned out to be a journey through TV and film! Watching Tevin Campbell sing to Ashley on The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air and falling in love with Dwayne Wayne on A Different World led naturally to a love for Capeside’s finest, Pacey Witter… and also the Blue Moon Agency’s David Addison (Bruce Willis). We also trace Bim’s love for a Strong Nose to David Duchovny (Red Shoe Diaries) and ER’s Dr Luka Kovac (Goran Višnjić). Thirst is complex, y’all. In our Plus segment, we take a look at some of the cliche ‘sexy time’ tropes in film and TV and why they work (or not): the wanton clearing of a desk (hello, Friends and also The Good Wife); the full-bodied slam against the wall/bookcase (Atonement, Always Be My Maybe, The Night Manager) and why we do NOT fool around with food. Join Slate Plus to find out why! Slate.com/thirstaidplus As usual, you can follow us on Twitter @ThirstAidKit. Our music is by Tanya Morgan. You can find show notes, a

We’re joined this week by Aminatou Sow and Ann Friedman of the wildly popular podcast Call Your Girlfriend. We giggle over Tunde Adebimpe, Peter Dinklage, and Stanley Tucci before we discuss Big Friendship: How We Keep Each Other Close, the book that looks at Ann and Aminatou’s friendship. This episode will make you laugh and think and hopefully, reach out to your friends for no reason at all.  In our Thirst Aid Kit Plus segment this week, we put the microscope to Nichole’s drabbles to find out why she keeps men on their knees so much!  As usual, you can follow us on Twitter @ThirstAidKit. Our music is by Tanya Morgan. You can find show notes, and more on our Tumblr at thirstaidkitpodcast.tumblr.com. Don’t forget to send us your drabbles by emailing thirstaidkit@slate.com. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This month, Christina, Bryan, and Rumaan interview journalist David France about his new documentary Welcome to Chechnya on the atrocities happening there and the work being done by activists to liberate queer Chechens. Then they discuss the new audio documentary by Evan Roberts, “Caring for Lesbian Icon Phyllis Lyon, With Love and Deceit.” June shares how important Naya Rivera and her Glee character, Santana Lopez, were to the queer community and changing American attitudes on gay marriage. Then we close it out with the gay agenda. This podcast was produced by Daniel Schroeder. Slate Plus members get bonus segments and ad-free podcast feeds. Sign up now. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

On this week’s episode, Steve, Dana, and Julia are joined by Chris Molanphy, Slate's pop critic and host of the Hit Parade podcast. The four of them pick their favorite songs form a giant list of listener suggestions. They also talk about which songs are candidates for Song of the Summer this year. Slate Plus members get a bonus segment on the Culture Gabfest each episode, and access to exclusive shows like Dana Stevens’ classic movies podcast Flashback. Sign up now to listen and support our work. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This week, host June Thomas talks to Julio Torres, Ana Fabrega, and Fred Armisen, creators of the HBO show Los Espookys. The three comedians talk about what it was like to craft a bilingual TV show with dialogue in both English and Spanish and why the show isn’t set in a particular country. They also discuss the show’s supernatural elements, which intentionally lack specific rules and logic.  After the interview, June and co-host Isaac Butler help a listener who’s feeling unproductive in her new workplace.  Send your questions about creativity and any other feedback to working@slate.com. And 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 Dear Prudence—and you’ll be supporting the work we do here on Working. It’s only $35 for the first year, and you can get a free two-week trial. Sign up now to help support our work. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

On the Spoiler Special podcast, Slate critics discuss movies, the occasional TV show, and, once in a blue moon, another podcast, in full spoiler-filled detail. This week, Dana Stevens, Slate’s movie critic, is joined by Sam Adams, a senior editor at Slate and the editor of Slate’s culture blog, Brow Beat, and Tom Scocca, Slate's politics editor. They dive into Jon Stewart’s comedy starring Steve Carell as an out-of-touch political operative who decides that a former marine would make a great Democratic candidate for mayor in Deerlaken, Wisconsin. It creates a proxy battleground in rural Wisconsin as Carell’s Republican counterpart, played by Rose Byrne, ups the ante. Stewart practically perfected political commentary woven with jokes during his time on The Daily Show. But can he harness that same nuance as a director? And how does the movie’s big twist affect Stewart’s message about unchecked money in politics?  You can read Sam Adams’ review here.  You can read Tom Scocca’s piece on the twist here.   Note:

The Karen, a white woman who surveys, inconveniences, and terrorizes, service workers and people of color is a relatively new term in the culture, but her character type has been with us for centuries. In this episode of Decoder Ring we explore the history of this type, from the code-names used during enslavement, to the contemporary menace of the COVID age. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This week, host Isaac Butler talks to novelist and celebrity profile writer Taffy Brodesser-Akner. In the interview, Taffy shares how she’s able to land interviews with celebrities and how she structures her pieces. She also explains why she’s a “champion advice-taker” and tells the story of how her bestselling novel, Fleishman Is in Trouble, started as a failed magazine pitch. Don’t miss her New York Times Magazine profiles of Gwyneth Paltrow and Val Kilmer. After the interview, Isaac and co-host June Thomas discuss a couple of Taffy’s most ingenious pieces of wisdom. Check out Isaac’s profile of Nathan Lane. Send your questions about creativity and any other feedback to working@slate.com. And 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 Dear Prudence—and you’ll be supporting the work we do here on Working. It’s only $35 for the first year, and you can get a free two-week trial

On the Spoiler Special podcast, Slate critics discuss movies, the occasional TV show, and, once in a blue moon, another podcast, in full spoiler-filled detail. For a very special LIVE episode of Spoiler Specials, Slate’s Dana Stevens was joined by Sam Adams, Rachelle Hampton and Rebecca Onion to spoil the Hamilton movie that’s streaming on Disney+. They discuss how well the show has aged, historical inaccuracies, colorblind casting, and even the ending scene that doesn’t appear on the album.  You can read Sam Adams’ dive into the ending here.  You can hear more analysis from Dana Stevens here.   You can even read Marissa Martinelli’s argument to not watch the film here. Note: As the title indicates, this podcast contains spoilers galore. Slate Plus members get ad-free podcasts and access to exclusive shows like Dana Stevens’ classic movies podcast Flashback. Sign up now to listen and support our work. Email us at spoilers@slate.com. Podcast production by Rosemary Belson. A huge thank you to Faith Smith a