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On this episode: Jamilah, Elizabeth, and Zak talk about the wave of anti-trans legislation, the role of misinformation in this movement, and how to protect trans kids. They are joined by Jules Gill-Peterson. She is a trans historian and author of Histories of the Transgender Child, and co-host of Slate’s very own Outward podcast. 

Recommendations

Jamilah recommends: NYT Spelling Bee 

Elizabeth recommends: PILOT FriXion Clicker Erasable, Refillable & Retractable Gel Ink Pens

Zak recommends: This tweet

Resources

Histories of the Transgender Child by Jules Gill-Peterson

Slate’s Outward podcast

Join us on Facebook and email us at [email protected] to ask us new questions, tell us what you thought of today’s show, and give us ideas about what we should talk about in future episodes. 

Podcast produced by Rosemary Belson and Jasmine Ellis. 

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With one million dead from COVID, many Americans are suffering through profound grief. And for Black Americans, the pandemic combined with the racial reckoning has made the mourning feel endless. On this week’s episode of A Word, Jason Johnson talks with writer Marisa Renee Lee about her new book Grief Is Love: Living With Loss, and about making space for joy in the midst of grief. 

Guest: Marisa Renee Lee, a writer, speaker, and entrepreneur. Her new book is Grief Is Love: Living With Loss.

Podcast production by Jasmine Ellis

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This week, host June Thomas talks to Hannah Kirshner, author of Water, Wood, and Wild Things: Learning Craft and Cultivation in a Japanese Mountain Town. In the interview, Hannah explains how her original plan to write a cookbook turned into an immersive reporting experience, where she practiced and documented multiple artisanal disciplines, like sake brewing and wood turning. She also discusses what it was like to be an outsider navigating the norms of rural Japan. 

After the interview, June and co-host Karen Han talk about the difference between appreciation and appropriation when reporting on a culture different from one’s own. 

In the exclusive Slate Plus segment, Hannah talks in greater detail about working at a sake brewery. Then she explains the care and discipline that goes into growing rice. 

Send your questions about creativity and any other feedback to [email protected] or give us a call at (304) 933-9675.

Podcast production by Cameron Drews.

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You’ve probably heard about the importance of journaling, putting thoughts on paper to help process the daily vicissitudes of life. But it’s easy to stall once you see a blank page or get self conscious about what exactly you’re writing. On this episode of How To!, we bring together Anna Quindlen, bestselling novelist and author of the new book Write For Your Life, and John Dickerson, co-host of Slate’s Political Gabfest, CBS News reporter, author and veteran journaler. They share their wit and wisdom on how to start writing about your personal life — and how to keep it going amid all the distractions. (And stay tuned after the credits for an exclusive sneak peek of Anna Quindlen’s next novel).

If you liked this episode, check out “How To Write a Bestseller” and “How To Get Your Book Published.”

Do you have a problem that needs solving? Send us a note at [email protected] or leave us a voicemail at 646-495-4001 and we might have you on the show.

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When we think of method acting, we tend to think of actors going a little over the top for a role – like Jared Leto, who allegedly sent his colleagues dead rats when he was preparing to be The Joker, or Robert De Niro refusing to break character on the set of the movie Raging Bull.

But that’s not how method acting began. On this episode of Decoder Ring: we look at how “The Method” came to be so well-known and yet so widely misunderstood. It’s a saga that spans three centuries and involves scores of famous actors, directors and teachers. And it altered how we think about realism, authenticity, and a good performance.

Our guest today is Isaac Butler, who wrote The Method: How The 20th Century Learned to Act.

Decoder Ring is written and produced by Willa Paskin. This episode was produced by Elizabeth Nakano. Derek John is Sr. Supervising Producer of Narrative Podcasts. 

If you have any cultural mysteries you want us to decode, email us at [email protected]

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David Plotz talks with author Amy Bloom about her journey to support the death, by suicide, of her husband, chronicled in her new book In Love: A Memoir of Love and Loss.

Tweet us your questions @SlateGabfest or email us at [email protected]. (Messages could be quoted by name unless the writer stipulates otherwise.)

Podcast production by Jocelyn Frank.

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Lend Me Your Ears is a six-part podcast miniseries exploring how Shakespeare’s works have shaped our modern views on politics. Each month, host Isaac Butler will dig into a different Shakespeare play to explore how Shakespeare was responding to his current events, and how they map onto our own.

In this first episode, Lend Me Your Ears is looking at one of Shakespeare’s most accessible works: Julius Caesar. Why was the Bard so fascinated with the fall of the Roman Republic? Why do we tend to turn to this play when we worry about society’s future? How have contemporary theater makers reinvented Shakespeare’s version of the story for their audiences, especially in troubled political times?

You can subscribe to the rest of the podcast by searching for "Lend Me Your Ears" in your podcast app. Learn more about Lend Me Your Ears at slate.com/shakespeare

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Laura Miller, Alex Barasch, and Gabriel Roth discuss the new novel by Alan Hollinghurst, The Sparsholt Affair, a multigenerational saga about gay life. Following this episode, the Audio Book Club will be going on hiatus. From the hosts and producers of the show, thanks for listening. 

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Laura Miller, Jacob Brogan, and Charlie Jane Anders discuss Ursula K. Le Guin's classic science fiction novel "The Left Hand of Darkness". Please fill out the Slate podcast survey at slate.com/podcastsurvey

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Katy Waldman, Parul Sehgal, and Laura Bennett discuss Her Body and Other Parties by Carmen Maria Machado. This episode is Katy's last episode as host of the Audio Book Club, but watch this space for more about the future of the show. 

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