On this week’s show an all-star team of super agents join Julia to gab including guest host Amy Nicholson, film critic for the Los Angeles Times. Their first mission: Mission Impossible: The Final Reckoning, the supposed final installment of the Tom Cruise action juggernaut. Like Cruise on to a vintage biplane, Dana jumps on the call to discuss all the film’s death-defying stunts, clunky exposition, and lasting cultural impact.

Next, they’re joined by Slate senior editor Rebecca Onion to dish on Sirens, Netflix’s pastel-hued dramedy starring Meghan Fahey, Milly Alcock, and Julianne Moore. Finally, Slate’s music critic Carl Wilson arrives to grapple with the hugely successful, but critically polarizing, new Morgan Wallen album I’m the Problem.

In an exclusive Plus segment, Amy, fresh from the Riviera, shares with Julia and Dana her favorite films and moments from the 2025 Cannes Film Festival.

Endorsements:

Amy: The 19th season of the British game show Taskmaster, wherein a group of comedians are made to do impossible tasks by host Greg Davies.

Carl: The Mock Trial-centric live episode of the musical improv podcast Off Book, and the podcast itself while you’re at it. 

Julia: The quintessentially American, summertime experience of eating a hotdog on a ferry as well as the 2011 film Money Ball.

You can also hear more from Amy on her podcast Unspooled and from Carl on his substack Crritic!. 

Want more Culture Gabfest? Subscribe to Slate Plus to unlock weekly bonus episodes. Plus, you’ll access ad-free listening across all your favorite Slate podcasts. Subscribe now on Apple Podcasts by clicking “Try Free” at the top of the Culture Gabfest show page. Or, visit slate.com/cultureplus to get access wherever you listen.

Podcast production by Benjamin Frisch.

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In this week’s show, Dana and Julia are joined by guest host Isaac Butler to go through the A24, bromance looking glass to discuss Friendship, the surreal cringe comedy starring I Think You Should Leave’s Tim Robinson and the always friend-crushable Paul Rudd.

Next, they share their thoughts on Final Thoughts: Jerry Springer, the new podcast by Prologue Projects and Leon Neyfakh about the improbable and complex story of the infamous talk-show host and one-time progressive politician. Finally, they circle the drain of cultural apocalypse vis-a-vis a conversation on a recent Atlantic piece by Spencer Kornhaber about the possible decline of nothing less than Western culture itself.

In an exclusive Slate Plus Bonus Episode about a recent essay by Issac in Slate, Dana and Julia find out how he went from thinking the actor Tom Hardy was a grunting, incomprehensible B-list Brando to a delightful, albeit weird, screen star.

Want more Culture Gabfest? Subscribe to Slate Plus to unlock weekly bonus episodes. Plus, you’ll access ad-free listening across all your favorite Slate podcasts. Subscribe now on Apple Podcasts by clicking “Try Free” at the top of the Culture Gabfest show page. Or, visit slate.com/cultureplus to get access wherever you listen.

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On this week’s show, Steve, Dana, and Julia gab about Another Simple Favor, the sequel to Paul Fieg’s 2018 A Simple Favor, which again pits Blake Lively and Anna Kendrick in a twisty, noir comedy.

Next, they discuss Amy Sherman Paladino’s new Franco-American ballet TV confection Étoile. Finally, they confer on the shocking conclave pick of an American pope with New York Times journalist and Vatican-watcher Ruth Graham.

In the exclusive Slate Plus Bonus Episode, the panel spoils the heck out of all the many wild plot turns of Another Simple Favor.

Endorsements:

Dana: The new film April by up-and-coming Georgian filmmaker Déa Kulumbegashvili.

Julia: An essay by Keith Phipps’s about six crucial seconds in The French Connection and the experience of seeing this William Friedken film classic at a repertory cinema near you. 

Steve: The enduringly nourishing poem “Peeling Onions” by Adrienne Rich.

Podcast production by Jessamine Molli.

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On this week’s show, it’s one of the Gabfest’s most cherished traditions: the yearly call-in show. Dana, Julia, and Stephen answer listen-submitted questions that run the gamut – can cooking for one be a joy? Should philosophy be studied more? And how did you make your most recent friend? 

In the exclusive Slate Plus segment, the panel gets into Lena Dunham's latest addition to the canon of "writers writing about moving out of New York."

Email us at [email protected]. 

Podcast production by Jared Downing. Production assistance by Kat Hong and Palace Shaw.

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On this week’s show, Julia Turner is joined by Slate’s own Dan Kois and Sam Adams. They start by talking about the second season of Andor, the Star Wars series that might have more in common with The Wire than The Mandalorian. 

Then, they talk about The Wedding Banquet, a remake of the Ang Lee classic. Finally, they get into the story of the discovery of a new color called olo. 

In the exclusive Slate Plus segment, Julia, Sam, and Dan answer a listener question about a piece of art that they appreciated more with age. 

Email us at [email protected]. 

Endorsements:

Dan: While being on a quest for a new cookbook, but also struggling to find a cookbook that feels surprising, finally came across Third Culture Cooking: Classic Recipes for a New Generation by Zaynab Issa. 

Sam: David Thomas, frontman and only permanent member of the band Pere Ubu, died last week. To get into his work, start with the collection Terminal Tower: An Archival Collection. Also, check out this obit that Slatester Carl Wilson wrote for his newsletter. 

Julia: Colors Are Nice, a Little Golden Book that manages to capture Julia’s feeling about color. 

Podcast production by Palace Shaw.

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On this week’s show, Julia, Stephen, and Dana are together and talk about Sinners with Slate Culture Writer Nadira Goffe. 

Then, they talk about a new animated series from Ramy Youssef called #1 Happy Family USA. Finally, they take a listener's suggestion and listen to a few episodes of the new podcast, Good Hang with Amy Poehler. 

In the exclusive Slate Plus segment, Nadira rejoins the panel to go deep on Sinners. 

Email us at [email protected].

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On this week’s show, Julia, Stephen, and Dana are reunited! The panel starts with Apple TV+’s new prestige offering, Your Friends and Neighbors, starring Jon Hamm. 

Then, they talk about A Minecraft Movie, already the most financially successful movie of the year. Finally, they bat around the purpose of, and responses to, the all-female Blue Origin flight that happened on Monday. 

In the exclusive Slate Plus segment, a conversation about The Pitt season finale. 

Email us at [email protected]. 

Endorsements:

Dana: What Rough Beast, a new podcast from Gabfest’s own Stephen Metclaf, and for Trumpcast host Virginia Heffernan. 

Steve: Read something by poet and writer, Delmore Schwartz. Start here. 

Julia: John Mulaney’s Netflix talk show, Everybody's Live! Though, she does prefer the previous title, Everybody's in LA. 

Podcast production by Kevin Bendis.

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On this week’s show, Slate’s own Sam Adams sits in for Julia as they discuss the new Michelle Williams limited series “Dying for Sex,” about a woman who leaves her husband to experience a sexual awakening after receiving a breast cancer diagnosis. 

Then, the trio discuss the documentary “Secret Mall Apartment” about a group in Rhode Island who managed to keep an apartment in a busy mall for years in the early aughts. Finally, Carl Wilson joins for a conversation about the new album from Lucy Dacus of Boygenius fame. 

In the exclusive Slate Plus segment, the panel talks about art ripoffs and wonders who owns an idea. 

Email us at [email protected]. 

Endorsements:

Dana: In tribute to Val Kilmer, this beautiful obituary by David Hudson via Criterion.  

Sam: Two endorsements: 1. Sarah Snook’s athletic performance in “The Picture of Dorian Gray” on Broadway. 2. The TikTok dance trend to the song Pop Muzik. 

Steve: The album Radio DDR by Sharp Pins. Steve recommends starting with the track, “Sycophant.” 

Bonus endorsement: Val Kilmer’s commentary on David Mamet

Podcast production by Jessamine Molli. Production assistance by Sophie Summergrad, Cameron Drews, and Daisy Rosario.

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On this week’s show, the hosts discuss Apple TV’s latest ode (tragic comedy?) to the movie industry with The Studio. Then, they step up to the plate and take a swing at the baseball film Eephus. Finally, they invite Slate’s Rebecca Onion to discuss the new edition to Panem’s dystopia: Suzanne Collin’s Sunrise on the Reaping.

Endorsements:

Dana: A French Village Podcast

Steve: “Personal Responsibility Under Dictatorship” by Hannah Arendt

Dan: Sky Daddy by Kate Folk

Podcast production and research by Vic Whitley-Berry. Email us at [email protected].

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On this week’s show, Slate’s Rebecca Onion sits in for Julia. The team discusses Netflix’s current number 1 program Adolescence and what it says about how the descent into incel culture starts young. They then invite Chris Molanphy to talk about Lady Gaga’s new album, MAYHEM. They close out with a discussion on Trump's continued assault against DEI, this time holding funding over the heads of public universities if they don’t end programs that they say advance "racial preferences and stereotypes in education programs and activities."

Endorsements:

Steve: Lauren Theisen’s review of A Streetcar Named Desire

Dana: “That’s Life” on the Lady Gaga album Harlequin

Rebecca: The Fall

Podcast production and research by Vic Whitley-Berry. Email us at [email protected].

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