Culture Gabfest: Zendaya Plays Doubles

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 [email protected]. 

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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