Slate Culture

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Our Editor's Take

From details of the latest box office hits to debates on the tackiness of Christmas, Slate Culture is all about culture. The online magazine Slate runs this podcast feed. This long-running digital publication focuses on current events, culture, politics, and business.

Slate Culture brings together episodes from across Slate's podcast network. This show features episodes from several different programs. These include Slate's lifestyle series Outward and Well, Now, and Culture Gabfest.

Culture Gabfest episodes offer an examination of cultural events from the previous week. These include the highbrow and the not-so-highbrow. The show's regular hosts are culture critics Stephen Metcalf and Julia Turner. Slate movie critic Dana Stevens is a regular host as well. In the episode "Culture Gabfest: We're Saving Our Own Lives," the three dissect The Greatest Night In Pop. This Netflix documentary goes back to look at the 1985 recording of "We Are the World." Stephen, Julia, and Dana also explore the biopic Rustin and talk about the best movies to watch on a plane.

Hit Parade episodes also feature in the Slate Culture feed. Pop critic and chart analyst Chris Molanphy hosts this show. Chris examines songs, artists, and music genres from throughout the decades. He explores various themes, such as why some songs become hits. Chris considers the historical significance of popular music too. In some episodes, he recounts the musical journeys of specific bands and artists. In "Hit Parade: Shake It Like a Polaroid Picture Edition Part 1," Chris discusses the rise of the rap group OutKast. He explains the band's long-term impact on the hip-hop genre.

Slate Culture is for those who don't want to miss a thing when it comes to lifestyle topics. Several new episodes may premiere in a single day. Some listeners may opt to select their favorite titles from the releases. For those who can't get enough, several other Slate podcasts are also available. These include the daily news show What Next, the parenting podcast Care and Feeding, and Political Gabfest.

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Episodes

Culture Gabfest: Damn Dirty Apes
5d ago
Culture Gabfest: Damn Dirty Apes
On this week’s show, the hosts begin by dissecting The Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes, the fourth chapter in the Apes franchise. Set “many generations” in the future, the latest installment (directed by Wes Ball and starring Owen Teague) is an undeniably well-crafted summer blockbuster – but does it achieve the level of complexity and thought its predecessors did? (Read Dana’s review for Slate for further analysis.) Then, it’s onto John Mulaney Presents: Everybody’s in LA, a six-part live Netflix special that aired during the streaming giant’s comedy festival. The conceit is thus: Netflix is a Joke attracts the best comedians in the world to LA, John Mulaney interviews them. But the final product is much stranger than that description, both a rejection and reinvention of the tired late-night talk show format, in which Mulaney interviews celebrities and non-celebrities, airs sketches, and delivers long monologues on the character of LA. Is Everybody’s in LA chaotic and sloppy, or a ragged delight? Our panel discusses. Finally, the trio is joined by Slate’s music critic, Carl Wilson, to eulogize the legendary musician and “producing engineer” (his preferred title) Steve Albini. Known for recording albums with Joanna Newsom, Nirvana, and the Pixies, among others, Albini considered himself a documentarian of sound and a technical expert, and brought his punk-rock ethic to everything he did. Read Steve Albini’s essay, “The Problem with Music” and his letter to Nirvana. In the exclusive Slate Plus segment, the panel discusses cultural arbitrage with Slate’s music critic, Carl Wilson, inspired by W. David Marx’s essay for The Atlantic, “The Diminishing Returns of Having Good Taste.”  Email us at culturefest@slate.com.  Endorsements: Dana: “Who’s Afraid of Judith Butler?” – a profile of the philosopher and gender theorist by Parul Sehgal for The New Yorker. Julia: “Espresso” by Sabrina Carpenter. Stephen: The delightful, catchy, and exuberant (with a tincture of melancholy) music of New Zealand band, Yumi Zuma. (Check out Steve’s playlist here.)  Podcast production by Jared Downing. Production assistance by Kat Hong.  Hosts Dana Stephens, Julia Turner, Stephen Metcalf Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Death, Sex & Money: My Eating Disorder Turned Into an Obsession With Money
6d ago
Death, Sex & Money: My Eating Disorder Turned Into an Obsession With Money
Vivian’s eating disorder started in college. She meticulously tracked calories and the number on the scale. Once she graduated she became less rigid with food, but her fixation with numbers took a new form: budgeting and saving money. In this episode, Anna talks to Vivian about her long and complicated relationship to mental math, how tracking calories and paychecks has helped distract her from painful loss, and how she’s managing with her money anxieties now as she plans a wedding and prenup. Want to hear more about relationships and money? Check out an episode we made all about wedding costs last summer. And if you heard last week’s episode about a mobile health care clinic in rural Virginia, we have an important update from local reporting on the high levels of executive pay at the Health Wagon, which just prompted the Virginia legislature to cancel $800,000 of line item funding for the nonprofit. It's a developing story we'll be following. Podcast production by Zoe Azulay  Death, Sex & Money is now produced by Slate! To support us and our colleagues, please sign up for our membership program, Slate Plus! Members get ad-free podcasts, bonus content on lots of Slate shows, and full access to all the articles on Slate.com. Sign up today at slate.com/dsmplus. And if you’re new to the show, welcome. We’re so glad you’re here. Find us and follow us on Instagram and you can find Anna’s newsletter at annasale.substack.com. Our new email address, where you can reach us with voice memos, pep talks, questions, critiques, is deathsexmoney@slate.com. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices