This week, Dana, Julia, and Stephen get started by discussing Avatar: The Way of Water. Then they discuss the new Netflix documentary series Harry & Meghan. Finally, they finish by talking about the new Lensa AI art app and all the photos it’s generating online.

In Slate Plus, the panel answers a listener question about which works of art they like to revisit again and again?

Email us at culturefest@slate.com.

Endorsements

Dana: Spending an afternoon at the Aftel Archive of Curious Scents in Berkeley, California.

Julia: The videos of Front Porch Dad on Instagram. 

Stephen: The essay “Ol’ Blue Eyes,” by Simon Callow about Paul Newman in the New York Review of Books.

Podcast production by Cameron Drews. Production assistance by Yesica Balderrama.

Outro music: "Lonely Calling" by Arc De Soleil.

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New York Times critic Dwight Garner says “The Slate Culture Gabfest is one of the highlights of my week.” The award-winning Culturefest features critics Stephen Metcalf, Dana Stevens, and Julia Turner debating the week in culture, from highbrow to pop. For more of Slate’s culture podcasts, check out the Slate Culture feed.

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Entertainment News

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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Furiosa’s Glower

On this week’s show, the hosts begin by reviewing Babes, Pamela Adlon’s (Better Things, Louie) directorial feature debut starring Ilana Glazer and Michelle Buteau. Through raunch-comedy and body horror, Babes explores childbirth and pregnancy through a refreshingly unromanticized lens, but does it succeed as a drama? Then, the three switch gears and turn to Interview With the Vampire, AMC’s Anne Rice adaptation that’s now in its second season. What a weird show! The series–starring Jacob Anderson as Louis de Pointe du Lac and Eric Bogosian as the titular cynical interviewer–brings the novel’s queer subtext to the surface, and is camp in every sense of the word. Finally, the trio is joined by Mikael Wood, the Los Angeles Times’ pop music critic to discuss Billie Eilish’s latest album, Hit Me Hard and Soft. (You can read Wood’s review here.) Produced with her brother Finneas, Hit Me Hard and Soft offers a new way of thinking about the 22-year-old, and features songs like “Birds of a Feather” and “Lunch,” a fun, lusty track about being into girls. 

In the exclusive Slate Plus segment, the panel answers a question from long-time listener, James: “What things that you love have you been introduced to by advertising?”

Email us at culturefest@slate.com. 

Endorsements:

Dana: This week’s endorsement comes with a brag: Dana’s daughter is going to Julliard! Through that, they discovered the wonderful documentary, Creating a Character: The Moni Yakim Legacy. 

Julia: Two clarifications and an extremely sumptuous sweater recommendation. First, the fashion Substacks mentioned on a previous episode were I Want to be Her!, Girls of a Certain Age, and Blackbird Spyplane. Second, a wool sweater from Dana Lee Brown. 

Stephen: The Time of the Last Persecution, an album by the English singer-songwriter Bill Fay, released in 1971. 

Podcast production by Jessamine Molli. Production assistance by Kat Hong.
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Can Babes Make Childbirth Funny?

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
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Damn Dirty Apes

On this week’s show, the hosts begin by diving head-first into The Fall Guy, director David Leitch’s love letter to stunts and stunt people. It’s a rom-com starring action set pieces, in which stuntman Colt Seavers (Ryan Gosling) falls for his director and ex-flame, Jody (Emily Blunt). The film is very telling about the work that goes into making an action flick… but does The Fall Guy ever achieve liftoff? Then, they debate I Saw the TV Glow, Jane Schoenbrun’s impressive second feature that chronicles the friendship between Owen and Maddy, and their fascination with the fictional show The Pink Opaque. I Saw the TV Glow obsesses over what’s real and not real–and is said to be an allegory for being trans–in a way that’s brave and admirable, but often depressing to watch. Finally, the panel is joined by Lydia Polgreen, Opinion columnist for The New York Times and co-host of the Matter of Opinion podcast, to discuss her reporting on the student protests unfolding in New York City. A few of the media mentioned: “Columbia, Free Speech and the Coddling of the American Right” and “The Student-Led Protests Aren’t Perfect. That Doesn’t Mean They’re Not Right.” by Polgreen; “The Takeover,” an on-the-ground report by the staff of the Columbia Daily Spectator for New York Magazine; the Columbia Revolt documentary. 
In the exclusive Slate Plus segment, the panel discusses the question that’s been roiling TikTok: For women, would you rather be alone in the woods with a man or a bear? 
Email us at culturefest@slate.com. 
Endorsements:
Dana: “Kindness,” a poem by Naomi Shihab Nye, which she read on the On Being podcast. You can explore more of Shihab Nye’s poetry here.
Julia: (1) A congratulations to former Los Angeles Times film critic Justin Chang for his Pulitzer Prize. (2) The Work of Art: How Something Comes From Nothing by Adam Moss. 
Stephen: Saxophonist Frank Morgan, specifically, his album Listen to the Dawn. And you can listen to Steve’s playlist for Julia here.
Podcast production by Jared Downing. Production assistance by Kat Hong. 
Hosts
Dana Stephens, Julia Turner, Stephen Metcalf
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Ryan Gosling Falls for Emily Blunt

On this week’s show, the hosts begin by discussing Challengers, Luca Guadagnino’s sexy tennis flick in which Zendaya stars as Tashi Duncan, the muse and lover of two male players, Art (Mike Faist) and Patrick (Josh O’Connor). It’s a smart but silly movie, one that paints a beautifully nested portrait of friendship and rivalry, and explores the complexities of desire. Then, the three dissect Baby Reindeer, an incredibly constructed and emotionally intense psychodrama–and a true-ish tale–by creator and star Richard Gadd. The seven-part series is currently dominating Netflix and explores themes including masculinity, sexuality, and abuse. Finally, what is a magazine now? The hosts consider this question, inspired by Jessica Testa’s article for The New York Times profiling Highsnobiety, a store-website-production agency-clothing line hybrid that recently won a National Magazine Award for general excellence, the publication’s first nomination and win at the “Oscars of the magazine world.” 
In the exclusive Slate Plus segment, the panel jumps into a classic spoiler special and discusses the final scene of Challengers. 
Email us at culturefest@slate.com. 
Outro music: "The Red Light Special" by Matt Large
Endorsements:
Dana: A piece of Britain everyone can access: Mr Bates vs The Post Office on Hulu. 
Julia: Samin Nosrat’s recipe for Clam Pasta, which can be found in her book, Salt, Fat, Acid, Heat. 
Steve: 
“How Penelope Fitzgerald became a late blooming novelist.” By Henry Oliver. 
Hosts
Dana Stephens, Julia Turner, Stephen Metcalf
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Avatar: Glorious or Racist Schlock?

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