Culture Gabfest

The Authority is Slate’s deep dive into the world(s) of HBO’s His Dark Materials. Each week, Slate’s scholars of experimental theology Dan Kois and Laura Miller discuss the new HBO series and Philip Pullman’s original trilogy. This week, they’re discussing Episode 2, The Idea of North”, studying the relationship between Lyra and Mrs. Coulter, and a closer look at daemons. Join the conversation: Email: asktheauthority@slate.com Dan Kois on Twitter: @dankois Laura Miller on Twitter: @magiciansbook Podcast production by Phil Surkis, with engineering assistance from Melissa Kaplan. 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. Marissa Martinelli, Inkoo Kang and Heather Schwedel spoil Last Christmas. Emilia Clarke’s character, Kate, is a walking disaster. She’s working as Santa’s elf when she meets Henry Golding’s character, Tom, who tries to help her get back on her feet. He’s charming and handsome. And has a good heart. Something they both share. But what’s Tom’s real motive? Why does Kate’s heart feel funky? And what does Brexit have to do with any of this? You can read Inkoo Kang’s review here. You can also check out past Spoiler Specials, and you can subscribe to the podcast on Apple Podcasts. Note: As the title indicates, spoilers galore. Email us at spoilers@slate.com. Podcast Production by Rosemary Belson.  Hosts Marissa Martinelli is a Slate assistant editor. Inkoo Kang is a staff writer in Slate’s culture department. She writes about movies, television, and mor

This episode is brought to you by Everlane. Check out your personalized collection today at everlane.com/momanddad.  On this week’s episode: Jamilah, Dan and guest host Ezekiel answer listener questions from a mom whose ex-husband’s abrupt move may upend her living arrangements. And the hosts strategize how they’ll survive Elsa’s new big song in Frozen 2 with Slate’s Ruth Graham. For Slate Plus, the hosts advise parents on how to talk to kids about big social issues, like climate change and racism. Sign up for Slate Plus here.  Recommendations: Jamilah recommends improving with your kids, which is fun and free.  Ezekiel recommends The Lorax movie - the 1972 version only.   Dan recommends The Authority, a new podcast where Dan and Slate’s Laura Miller break down His Dark Materials.  Join us on Facebook and email us at momanddad@slate.com to tell us what you thought of today’s show and give us ideas for what we should talk about in future episodes. Got questions that you’d like us to answer? Call and leave us a

We say Sudeikis, you say Mantzoukas, let's call the whole thing off! Yes, it's a 'two for one' deal on this week's episode, in which we examine two funnymen named Jason and figure out their very distinct and very different brands of sex appeal. Sudeikis is all charm in a bottle and Mantzoukas has his wildman persona, and yet both satisfy our varied thirsts. Finally! We have the return of Thirst Sommelier and this time we’re helping someone find a suitable replacement for Shia LaBeouf, “good boy-bad man.” Fanfic Wars gets cozy and, of course, silly. With these two Thirst Objects, how could it not?  As usual, you can follow us on Twitter @ThirstAidKit. Nichole is @tnwhiskeywoman and Bim is @bimadew. Our music is by Tanya Morgan. You can find show notes, gifs and so much 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

Jenna Karvunidis invented the gender reveal party, but now she has regrets. On this episode of Decoder Ring, we explore the pink and blue world of the gender reveal party, and how Jenna's small barbecue celebration turned into a global phenomenon that's gotten way out of control. We talk to psychologists, historians, critics, and business owners, to figure out why the gender reveal is having such a big, bizarre moment right now, and how we can best understand the strange power they hold over social media. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Stephen Metcalf, Dana Stevens, and Julia Turner discuss Netflix's My Name is Dolemite, Apple TV+'s The Morning Show, and the mass resignations that took place at the website Deadspin with Slate's Tom Scocca. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Welcome to The Authority, Slate’s deep dive into the world(s) of HBO’s His Dark Materials. Each week, Slate’s scholars of experimental theology Dan Kois and Laura Miller discuss the new HBO series and Philip Pullman’s original trilogy. This week, they’re discussing the series premiere; weighing in on the show’s three primary characters, Lyra, Mrs. Coulter, and Lord Asriel; and going in-depth about the complex relationship between Jordan College and the Magisterium.   Join the conversation: Email: asktheauthority@slate.com Dan Kois on Twitter: @dankois Laura Miller on Twitter: @magiciansbook Podcast production by Phil Surkis, with engineering assistance from Rosemary Belson. 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, Forrest Wickman and Sam Adams discuss the sixth installment in the Terminator series, Terminator: Dark Fate. Despite the sequels in between, T6 picks up where Terminator 2: Judgment Day left off. Sarah Connor is back and joined in the fight against Terminators by a Rev-9, a technologically advanced human and, of course, Arnold Schwarzenegger’s terminator. But will James Cameron’s return be enough to revitalize this nostalgic franchise? Or are audiences ready to say “hasta la vista” to the Terminator? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Happy Halloween! This week there are no tricks, and only BIG OLE TREATS thanks to the top tier selection of Thirst Objects gathered. We asked our friend, writer and covert thirst-bucket Driadonna Roland to help us break down the dudes that make her weak in the knees… We started on Baldwin’s Beale Street with Stephan (StePHOINE) James, pivoted to the Boardwalk for Bobby ‘something’s about to go down’ Cannavale and traversed the Jabari kingdom for Winston ‘dem thighs!’ Duke. Fanfic Wars was a mixed bag of thirst as usual — don’t forget to vote for your fave drabble! As usual, you can follow us on Twitter @ThirstAidKit. Nichole is @tnwhiskeywoman and Bim is @bimadew. Our music is by Tanya Morgan. You can find show notes, gifs and so much more on our Tumblr at thirstaidkitpodcast.tumblr.com. Send us your (short!) thirsty drabbles by emailing thirstaidkit@slate.com. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

If you were an angsty American teenager in the 1980s—whether in real life, or in a John Hughes movie—the rock you loved probably came from the United Kingdom, complete with droning vocals, brooding lyrics, goth hair, and black nail polish. The Cure, Siouxsie and the Banshees, Bauhaus, Joy Division/New Order, the Smiths: All these U.K. postpunk acts were hard-pressed to score American hits in the first half of the ’80s—the era of fun-loving New Romantic bands like Duran Duran. But to Gen X teens, Robert Smith, Siouxsie Sioux, and Morrissey were icons. By the end of the decade, however, these bands became American hitmakers, especially after Billboard launched the music bible’s first alternative rock chart. Depeche Mode sold out a California stadium. New Order dominated dancefloors. The Smiths’ Johnny Marr became a guitar god, Morrissey an MTV crush object. And finally, in 1989, the Cure—dark, doomy, and moody as ever—were challenging Janet Jackson for the top of the Billboard Hot 100. Just in time for Hallowee

Julia Turner, Dana Stevens, and Stephen Metcalf discuss the horror classic Rosemary's Baby, the TV show Modern Love, and Morrissey's political legacy with the LA Times' Randall Roberts. In Slate Plus: The Marvel vs. Scorsese kerfuffle. 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, Forrest Wickman, Sam Adams and Dan Kois discuss Jojo Rabbit. Taika Waitit’s Nazi spoof takes a comedic look at how people, even children, get caught up in movements fueled by hateful ideology. But does the comedic lens allow for sympathization? As a young member of Hitler Youth nearing the end of WWII, Jojo Betzler, invents an imaginary friend... Hitler. What happens when Jojo discovers a Jewish girl hiding in his family home? And how does Jojo navigate those challenging his ideology and the imminent fall of Nazi Germany? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Buttoned Up. Taciturn. No-Nonsense. We all know the magnetism of a stern man, and how it compels thirst. Writer, benevolent internet queen and genteel bisexual lady Nicole Cliffe joined us to discuss her many thirsts, both real and fictional — from her formative crush on Gillian Anderson as Dana Scully on The X Files to Mindhunter’s Bill Tench. We also made a stop at the door of stoic-but-filled-with-rage KGB agent Ilya Kuryakin (played by Armie Hammer) in The Man From U.N.C.L.E. Last but not least, we explored the flinty charm of 1920s-but-modern Detective Inspector Jack Robinson from Miss Fisher’s Murder Mysteries. Both our drabbles are caretaking masterpieces, if we do say so ourselves. You can follow us on Twitter @ThirstAidKit. Nichole is @tnwhiskeywoman and Bim is @bimadew. Our music is by Tanya Morgan. You can find show notes, gifs and more on our Tumblr at thirstaidkitpodcast.tumblr.com. Don’t forget to send us your drabbles by emailing thirstaidkit@slate.com. And you can leave us a voicemail at our n

Stephen Metcalf, Dana Stevens, and Julia Turner discuss the film Pain and Glory with Slate's June Thomas, the podcast Dolly Parton's America, and the Slate profile of Lauren Gunderson, the most popular playwright in America, with author Dan Kois. In Slate Plus: cats vs. dogs. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Slate Money is obsessed with Succession, HBO’s wonderful drama about the lives of the superrich Roy family, so every Monday we’ll be discussing the previous night’s episode with spoiler-filled glee. In this extra special bonus episode, J. Smith-Cameron, aka Queen Gerri herself, and the New York Times Magazine’s Taffy Brodesser-Akner join Felix and Emily to discuss which of her lines were actually improvised, how she reacted to the Roman/Gerri storyline, what kinds of storylines and scenes were cut from the season, and more insights and hilarious tidbits from the show.  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, Forrest Wickman and Inkoo Kang discuss Parasite. With Hitchcock-like quality, Bong Joon-ho plays with the audience in the upstairs / downstairs dive into economic inequality. The Kims, stuck on their low social rung jump at the opportunity to latch onto an affluent family. But how long can they keep the ruse up? What will they do to keep up the charade? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

We never wanted a hall pass for Zack Morris but our thirst for Mark-Paul Gosselaar grew from a tiny acorn into a mighty oak — JUST LIKE HE DID. From Pitch to the Passage, we explore what makes MPG the MVP: is it the well-groomed beard? The thick thighs? Or maybe the fact that he’s starred opposite so many black women and girls that’s got our foofs a-tingle… This week on Fanfic Wars, MPG saves Nichole, relaxes with Bim after a fan convention. Plus [REDACTED] as usual. Follow us on Twitter @ThirstAidKit. Nichole is @tnwhiskeywoman and Bim is @bimadew. Find show notes, gifs, and links on our Tumblr at thirstaidkitpodcast.tumblr.com. Share your drabbles with us there or email them to us at thirstaidkit@slate.com. Our music is by Tanya Morgan. Thirst responsibly — wear shinpads! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Dana Stevens, Stephen Metcalf, and Julia Turner discuss the Breaking Bad movie El Camino, The Great British Baking Show, and the streaming wars and the future of television. In Slate Plus, the panel discuss the work of critic Harold Bloom who died this week with professor Al Filreis. 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, Willa Paskin and Sam Adams spoil El Camino: A Breaking Bad Movie. After a relatively successful series finale, will El Camino be just as satisfying for Breaking Bad fans? Picking up where the series ended, Jesse Pinkman (Aaron Paul) is free and trying to figure out his next move. But after everything can Jesse truly start over? You can also check out past Spoiler Specials, and you can subscribe to the podcast on Apple Podcasts. Note: As the title indicates, spoilers galore. Email us at spoilers@slate.com. Podcast Production by Rosemary Belson.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Unless you’ve been living under a rock you’ll have heard all the #ThirstDiscourse about Fleabag’s Hot Priest  — and we’re here to peel back his cassock and reveal what lies beneath… We also look at his forebear, Sidney Chambers AKA the Sexy Vicar of Grantchester, solvin’ crimes, breakin’ hearts and listenin’ to smoky jazz. Plus, a quick rundown of the other sexy clergy of our youth and beyond. There’s also our usuals: [REDACTED], super-steamy Fanfic Wars, in which Nichole tries to teach Hot Priest something new ::eyes emoji::  As usual, you can folllow us on Twitter @ThirstAidKit. Nichole is @tnwhiskeywoman and Bim is @bimadew. Our music is by Tanya Morgan. You can find show notes, and more on our Tumblr at thirstaidkitpodcast.tumblr.com. Feel free to confess your sins… we mean send us your drabbles by emailing us at thirstaidkit@slate.com.  Thirst responsibly: Hot Priest is watching... Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices