Slate Culture

Slate Culture episodes:

• 04.19.2024

  Dear Prudence: My Wife’s Bipolar Diagnosis Is Creating A Rift in Our Marriage. Help!

  In this episode, Bassey Ikpi (New York Times bestselling essay collection, I’m Telling the Truth but I’m Lying) joins Prudie (Jenée Desmond-Harris) to answer letters from readers about an international sisters’ trip gone awry, a husband’s struggle to live with his...

  
• 04.19.2024

  A Word: Freaknik: Party in the Black

  Nostalgia for the 1990s is everywhere, and for a generation of African Americans, perhaps nothing symbolizes the fun of that decade more than Freaknik. A sprawling days-long festival of all the good –and bad– of spring break behavior, at its...

  
• 04.18.2024

  Working: Collaborating Through Conflict

  For this week’s episode of Working Overtime, hosts Ronald Young Jr. and Isaac Butler examine a listener’s question about tackling the stickiest aspects of collaborating on a creative project. Both hosts have had their fair share of nightmare scenarios, but...

  
• 04.17.2024

  Culture Gabfest: Civil War, What Is It Good For?

  On this week’s show, Slate culture writer (and Very, Very Good Friend of the Show, a.k.a. VVGFOP) Nadira Goffe sits in for Dana Stevens. The three begin with Civil War, writer-director Alex Garland’s (Ex Machina, Annihilation, Men) dystopian travelog starring...

  
• 04.17.2024

  ICYMI: Ann Maddox on Scandoval, Reddit and Grief

  Candice Lim is joined by We Signed An NDA co-host Ann Maddox, who you may know as Tom Sandoval’s former personal assistant. In March 2023, Maddox was teaching improv to a middle school in Japan when she found out Sandoval and his...

  
• 04.17.2024

  Well, Now: We Don’t Need to Cure Autism

  April is Autism Acceptance Month, and how we’ve come to understand autism has evolved over the past several decades.  For years, autism spectrum disorder (ASD) was thought of as something that needed to be cured. Through better data and years of...

  
• 04.17.2024

  Outward: A History of the Gay Right with Neil J. Young

  This week Bryan talks to writer Neil J. Young about his new book Coming Out Republican: A History of the Gay Right. They dig into some of the inherent contradictions of the Gay Right and the pillars of their political...

  
• 04.16.2024

  Death, Sex & Money: A Sociopath's Guide to Death, Sex, and Money

  Patric Gagne says being a sociopath is like having an emotional learning disability. In this episode, she talks about the good and the bad of having limited access to shame and guilt, how she overcame violent compulsions, and becoming a...

  
• 04.16.2024

  Hear Me Out: Legalize Weed, But Not Like This

  On today’s episode of Hear Me Out: blaze it. Ahead of the honorary stoner holiday that is 4/20, we’re taking a look at the marijuana landscape. Public opinion has warmed considerably to legal weed in the past few decades – both...

  
• 04.16.2024

  How To!: ‘Do the Work’ of Racial Justice

  “Doing the work” is a phrase often heard when talking about racial justice. We heard it a lot after the death of George Floyd in 2020. And we need to continue talking about it—but there’s an important aspect of “the...

  
• 04.16.2024

  Hang Up: The Meaning of O.J. Simpson

  Joel Anderson, Stefan Fatsis, and Josh Levin, discuss the death of O.J. Simpson and everything his life and his murder trial dredged up. They’re also joined by Vincent Goodwill of Yahoo Sports for a breakdown of the NBA playoffs. O.J. Simpson's...

  
• 04.14.2024

  Working: A Clarinetist Finds His Flow State

  This week, host Isaac Butler talks to Anthony McGill, principal clarinetist for the New York Philharmonic. In the interview, Anthony describes his weekly routine, which includes practicing lots of different pieces at any given time, rehearsing, and playing multiple shows...

  
• 04.13.2024

  ICYMI: What “Quiet on Set” Leaves Out

  Candice Lim is joined by Slate culture writer Nadira Goffe to discuss their takeaways from Quiet on Set: The Dark Side of Kids TV, a documentary series that details the toxic work environment, child abuse and disturbing events that occurred...

  
• 04.13.2024

  John Dickerson’s Navel Gazing: Sending our Son to College

  In this week’s essay, John remembers dropping his son off at college, and trying to hold onto moments and feelings while you can.    Notebook Entries: Notebook 75, page 6. September 2021: They chose you.   Notebook 15, page 4. April 2004: Sitting with Brice by waterfall....

  
• 04.13.2024

  Hit Parade: We Want It That Way Edition Part 1

  When you hear “boy band,” what do you picture? Five guys with precision dance moves? Songs crafted by the Top 40 pop machine? Svengalis pulling the puppet strings? Hordes of screaming girls? As it turns out, not all boy bands fit...

  
• 04.12.2024

  Dear Prudence: I Lost a Lot of Weight and Now I Enjoy Being a Mean Girl. Help!

  In this episode, Anna Sale (host of Death Sex and Money) joins Prudie (Jenée Desmond-Harris) to answer letters from readers about how to navigate being the friend who always initiates plans, how to handle entitled stepdaughters moving into your home,...

  
• 04.12.2024

  A Word: Candace Owens: Back to Black?

  Commentator Candace Owens’ messy fall from grace in conservative media coincided with her appearances on popular Black chat shows. That includes The Breakfast Club, led by radio host and personality Charlamagne tha God. Once a minor social media personality who condemned Donald Trump as...

  
• 04.10.2024

  Outward: Queer Crime Double Feature: Drive Away Dolls and Love Lies Bleeding

  On this week’s episode, guest hosts Daisy Rosario and Madeline Duchamp break down the new lesbian caper films Drive Away Dolls and Love Lies Bleeding. They dig into the joy of queer bars, Kristen Stewart's soft butch coming out, and...

  
• 04.10.2024

  Culture Gabfest: Dev Patel Goes John Wick

  On this week’s show, the panel is first joined by Slate business and culture writer Nitish Pahwa to discuss Monkey Man, Dev Patel’s dazzling but muddled directorial debut. The ultra-violent action flick stars Patel as Kid, a young man who...

  
• 04.10.2024

  Decoder Ring: Can the “Bookazine” Save Magazines?

  Magazines have fallen on hard times – especially the weekly news, fashion, and celebrity mags that once dominated newsstands. The revenue from magazine racks has plummeted in recent years, and many magazines have stopped appearing in print or shut down...

  
• 04.10.2024

  Well, Now: Most Skincare Products are BS. Here Are the Facts.

  As we approach the warmer months and start spending more time outside, healthy skin couldn’t be more important. So how can we best protect our body’s largest organ? Feel free to stock up on all the products for a 10-step routine...

  
• 04.10.2024

  ICYMI: What Next: TBD: Google’s Scam Obituary Problem

  Why scam obituaries are edging out earnest ones, with the help of artificial intelligence and an adept Google game. Guest: Mia Sato, reporter for The Verge. Want more What Next TBD? Subscribe to Slate Plus to access ad-free listening to the whole What...

  
• 04.09.2024

  Hear Me Out: Interracial Marriages Can Still Be Racist

  On today’s episode of Hear Me Out: amore, but make it anti-racist. Honoring interracial marriage has only been the law of the land for a few decades in this country; there are couples alive today whose relationships were illegal within their...

  
• 04.09.2024

  How To!: Bring a Big Idea to Life

  Mia is a professional violinist. She’s played in symphonies. She’s played in improv groups. She’s played as a form of personal exploration. But now she’s taking on a big, conceptual project that may have nothing to do with music. Instead,...

  
• 04.09.2024

  Death, Sex & Money: From Indie Rockers to Full-Time Caregivers

  When musician Johnny Solomon hit rock bottom, he turned to his mom for help. Then, as his mother’s health declined, he and his wife (and bandmate) Molly moved in with her to lend a hand. But caring for Johnny’s mother...

  
• 04.08.2024

  Hang Up: A Transcendent Women’s Tourney

  Stefan Fatsis and Josh Levin are joined by the Athletic’s Chantel Jennings to talk about South Carolina’s victory over Iowa. They also ponder Caitlin Clark’s WNBA future, John Calipari’s reported move to Arkansas, and Tennessee’s decision to move beyond the...

  
• 04.07.2024

  Working: How to Be Both a Critic and a Creator

  This week, host Ronald Young Jr. talks to Linda Holmes, host of NPR’s Pop Culture Happy Hour podcast and author of two novels: Evvie Drake Starts Over and Flying Solo. In the interview, Linda explains how she started her career...

  
• 04.06.2024

  ICYMI: The Rise of Vine Star Casey Frey

  Candice Lim and Rachelle Hampton dive into the internet history of Casey Frey, a dancer, comedian and internet icon who recently appeared on a Twitter-trending episode of Abbott Elementary. Frey was a Vine star who managed to transfer his audience to YouTube...

  
• 04.06.2024

  John Dickerson's Navel Gazing: An Exploration of Inklings

  In this week’s essay, John Dickerson looks back on a Sunday morning in 2021, and ruminates on the empty spaces left behind by the people that once filled our lives.    Notebook Entries: Notebook 75, page 6. September 5, 2021: “Oh my god. We...

  
• 04.05.2024

  A Word: Criminal Injustice

  A young Black man, wrongfully accused of sexual assault, is convicted nonetheless. Evidence that could’ve exonerated him is withheld or covered up, and he spends much of his youth in prison. It sounds like a movie-of-the-week, but it was the...

  
• 04.05.2024

  Dear Prudence: From Choice Words: Live in Fear or Love? (with Karamo)

  We’re bringing you an episode of Choice Words with Samantha Bee from our friends at Lemonada Media. In this episode, Sam speaks with Queer Eye’s Karamo about the biggest choices he’s made in his life, his unconventional journey to fatherhood,...

  
• 04.04.2024

  Working: Creator Mode vs. Editor Mode

  For this week’s episode of Working Overtime, hosts Ronald Young Jr. and Isaac Butler take on listener Bob’s question about how to shift your brain from editor mode to creator mode. Creating new work can be invigorating, but then having...

  
• 04.03.2024

  John Dickerson Introduces: Navel Gazing

  Political Gabfest host John Dickerson has been a journalist for more than three decades, reporting about presidential campaigns, political scandals, the evolving state of our democracy. Along the way, he’s also been recording his observations in notebooks he has carried...

  
• 04.03.2024

  What Next: How Gambling Took Over Sports

  Sports betting is now mostly legal, and, if you watch sports, its advertisements are inescapable. Now, a series of scandals has rocked the professional leagues. When everyone bets, odds are – someone will cross a line.   Guest: Jay Caspian Kang, staff...

  
• 04.03.2024

  ICYMI: Rebecca Jennings on NYT Connections and Selling Out

  On today’s Internet Diary, Rachelle is joined by Rebecca Jennings, Vox’s senior correspondent covering social platforms and the creator economy. The two discuss Jennings’ recent pieces on why everyone loves NYT Connections and how self-promotion became the internet’s lingua franca. This podcast is produced...

  
• 04.03.2024

  Outward: Brontez Purnell on His New Memoir

  For National Poetry Month Bryan and Jules talk to multi-hyphenate writer and performer Brontez Purnell about his new book Ten Bridges I've Burnt: A Memoir in Verse. They dig into the influence of astrophysics and forgiveness on his work, and...

  
• 04.03.2024

  Well, Now: Spring Cleaning Your Medicine Cabinet

  Spring is a time for fresh starts. For a lot of us, that means spring cleaning. But don’t worry, we’re not talking about the whole house.  This week, the Well, Now team is spring cleaning our medicine cabinets. What are some medicinal...

  
• 04.03.2024

  Culture Gabfest: Beyoncé’s Country Kaleidoscope

  On this week’s show, the panel is first joined by Slate culture writer (and the Gabfest’s Senior Beyoncé Correspondent) Nadira Goffe to dissect Beyoncé’s latest album, Cowboy Carter. Released on March 29th, Cowboy Carter is a 27-track behemoth with a...

  
• 04.02.2024

  How To!: Crack Up Your Coworkers (Encore)

  Last week we learned about using the four different styles of humor to your advantage, and who makes a good target for a joke. But what if you read the room wrong and absolutely bomb? On this episode of How...

  
• 04.02.2024

  Death, Sex & Money: I Was In Debt. Then My Sister Offered Me $16,000.

  In 2021, we talked to a listener that we’re calling Tessa, who found themselves in $19,000 worth of credit card debt. When Tessa’s sister offered to pay a huge chunk of the debt, new problems arose. First, the offer didn’t...

  
• 04.02.2024

  Hear Me Out: Don’t Blame Capitalism For The Housing Crisis

  On today’s episode of Hear Me Out: housing the nation.  We have an affordable housing problem — and an affordability problem, period, but that’s another show.  When we talk about solutions to homelessness and cost burden for renters and homeowners alike, many...

  
• 04.01.2024

  Hang Up: The Kim Mulkey Profile Is Here

  Joel Anderson and Stefan Fatsis are joined by USA Today’s Lindsay Schnell to talk about the NCAA women’s college basketball tournament and by Buzzer’s Eamonn Brennan to discuss the men’s tournament. Finally, the Washington Post’s Kent Babb joins for a...

  
• 03.31.2024

  Working: How a Magician Designs Original, Mind-Blowing Tricks

  This week, guest-host Kristen Meinzer talks to Joshua Jay, a world-class magician, storyteller, and author of multiple books about the history and craft of magic. In the interview, Joshua explains how he’s able to conceive of, design, and execute original...

  
• 03.30.2024

  ICYMI: To Ban or Not to Ban TikTok

  Rachelle Hampton and Candice Lim ask their most pressing questions about the bipartisan bill that would require TikTok’s parent company to sell the app or face a ban on all devices in the U.S. While the bill is not expected...

  
• 03.29.2024

  Hit Parade: Gotcha Covered Edition Part 2

  Cover songs once had a simple playbook: Artists would faithfully rerecord a song—note for note and word for word. They might modernize the instrumentation. If they were feeling radical, they’d punch up the vocals a bit. Now it’s hard to say...

  
• 03.29.2024

  A Word: Run for the Border?

  The American Dream has long been out of reach for many Black people in this country. Between police violence, the lack of economic opportunity, and the threat of a second Trump term, many African Americans are considering building their dream...

  
• 03.29.2024

  Dear Prudence: My Partner Sticks Her Finger in Food to Taste Test It. Help!

  In this episode, Dan Pashman (The Sporkful and Anything’s Pastable) joins Prudie (Jenée Desmond-Harris) to answer letters from readers about how to handle a person who tastes food in an unsanitary fashion and deeply annoys you while you’re trying to cook in...

  
• 03.28.2024

  What Next: Nickelodeon’s Legacy of Abuse

  A new documentary, “Quiet On Set,” looks back at Nickelodeon’s heyday, and the culture of abuse that many of its child stars were subjected to. Guest: Kate Taylor, reporter for Business Insider and producer of “Quiet on Set.”  Want more What Next?...

  
• 03.27.2024

  Culture Gabfest: Jon Stewart Returns

  On this week's show, Slate’s Dan Kois (author of Vintage Contemporaries, How to Be a Family, The World Only Spins Forward, and Facing Future) sits in for Julia Turner. The panel first begins with a reboot: In 1999, when Jon...

  
• 03.27.2024

  Well, Now: Eating Disorders Are Rising Among Boys. Why?

  Eating disorders are one of the most deadly psychiatric disorders. But for decades, much of the criteria to diagnose one applied only to cisgender girls and those assigned female at birth – like a loss of menstruation. This meant that many...