Slate Culture Feed

If you’re lucky, it’s possible you’ve never thought much about sitting. It’s just something your body does, like breathing or sleeping. But in the last decade or so, sitting has stepped into the spotlight, as a kind of villain. In today’s episode, Slate’s Dan Kois tells us about his radical experiment to go without sitting for an entire month. Then to understand why sitting is under attack we look back at an earlier posture panic around slouching, and explore the role of hostile architecture.

This episode was written by Max Freedman and Willa Paskin and produced by Max. We produce Decoder Ring with Katie Shepherd and Evan Chung. Derek John is Executive Producer. Merritt Jacob is Senior Technical Director.

You heard “Sitting” by TJ Mack, aka Brian Jordan Alvarez, as remixed by Josh Mac. You also heard from Beth Linker and Jonathan Pacheco Bell. We’d like to thank Stephen Nessen and Rob Robinson. For some of the background on hostile architecture, we are indebted to the late Mike Davis’s book, City of Quartz, and in particular Chapter 4: “Fortress L.A.” Check out Dan Kois’ New York Magazine article about his exploits, “Sitting Is Bad for You. So I Stopped. For a Whole Month.” 

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On today’s episode, Candice Lim and Slate culture writer Nadira Goffe break down the allegations surrounding YouTuber and podcaster Cody Ko. In May, fellow YouTuber Tana Mongeau alleged that Ko had sex with her when she was 17 and he was 25. While covered by outlets such as Rolling Stone, the controversy did not pick up steam until commentary YouTuber D’Angelo Wallace posted a 15-minute video investigating Mongeau’s claims and mapping out Ko’s history of burying controversies.

Since then, Ko has lost more than 300,000 subscribers and his podcast network claims he “will not be involved in the day-to-day operations” of their business. However, fans have lingering questions, such as: did Ko’s associates try to squash the controversy on Reddit? Why were Mongeau’s allegations not taken seriously the first time? And what happens when a commentary YouTuber espouses the rampant misogyny they so heavily criticize online?

This podcast is produced by Se’era Spragley Ricks, Daisy Rosario and Candice Lim.

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On this week’s show, the panel is joined by Jamelle Bouie (New York Times Opinion columnist and Friend of the Pod) to discuss Deadpool & Wolverine, Marvel’s R-rated superhero flick starring Ryan Reynolds and Hugh Jackman that’s dominating at the box office. Then the four assess the onslaught of Kamala Harris memes sweeping the internet right now and the role social media will play in this year’s upcoming election. Finally, Julia, Dana, and Steve puzzle over Eno, a new documentary chronicling Brian Eno’s 50-year career as a visionary musician and artist that’s different every time it’s shown. 

Mentioned in this episode: 

• “Deadpool’s obnoxious gay panic humour is a tiresome schoolyard taunt” (Guy Lodge, The Guardian. July 26, 2024.)
• Upcoming screenings of Eno

In the exclusive Slate Plus segment, the panel answers a listener question from Rob about assigned seating in movie theaters. 

Email us at [email protected]. 

Endorsements:

Stephen: Team USA’s pommel horse stallion, Stephen Nedoroscik, and his flawless routine at the 2024 Olympics. 

Julia: An upcoming exhibit at the National Gallery of Art: “Paris 1874: The Impressionist Moment.”

Dana: The Decameron on Netflix.  

Podcast production by Jared Downing. Production assistance by Kat Hong. 

Hosts

Dana Stephens, Julia Turner, Stephen Metcalf

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This week Bryan sits down with reporter Orion Rummler to break down Project 2025, conservative 920-page policy blueprint for a second Trump term. Orion’s article ‘What is Project 2025? Here’s the Heritage Foundation’s vision for a second Trump term’ looks at the widespread impact of these ideas for women, LGBTQ+ rights, families, education and the workforce. In this episode, we focus on the impact on LGBTQ rights and the danger of turning transness from a state of being to an ‘ideology’.  

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It’s a fact that summers around the world are reaching record-breaking temperatures.

Heat-related illness and death have hit a crisis point, and staying cool is more important than ever.

On this week’s episode of Well, Now we speak with someone living in one of the country's hottest states. 

Dr. Richard Carmona is a career first responder with more than 50 years of experience caring for people in crisis. A veteran of the U.S. Army as a special forces medic, Carmona also served as the 17th U.S. Surgeon General under President George W. Bush. Currently, Carmona is a professor at The University of Arizona in Tucson.

If you liked this episode, check out: How a Former Surgeon General Took on a $5,000 ER Bill

Well, Now is hosted by registered dietitian nutritionist Maya Feller and Dr. Kavita Patel.

Podcast production by Vic Whitley-Berry with editorial oversight by Alicia Montgomery.

Send your comments and recommendations on what to cover to [email protected]

Want to listen to Well, Now uninterrupted? Subscribe to Slate Plus to immediately unlock ad-free listening to Well, Now and all your other favorite Slate podcasts. 

Subscribe now on Apple Podcasts by clicking “Try Free” at the top of our show page. Or, visit slate.com/wellplus to get access wherever you listen.

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During the 1988 Summer Olympics, diver Greg Louganis was competing under extreme pressure. In the preliminary round, he split his head open on the diving board, got stitched up, and decided to stay in the competition. He was also carrying a secret that only a few people knew: six months before the Olympics began, Greg learned that he was HIV positive. 

Despite those obstacles, Greg went on to win gold in both the 3-meter springboard and 10-meter platform events, thrilling viewers and cementing himself as one of the best divers of all time. With the 2024 Games underway, Greg joins Anna to reflect on his odds-defying victories, and he explains how olympic training prepared him for life's challenges outside the pool. 

Podcast production by Cameron Drews

Death, Sex & Money is now produced by Slate! To support us and our colleagues, please sign up for our membership program, Slate Plus! Members get ad-free podcasts, bonus content on lots of Slate shows, and full access to all the articles on Slate.com. Sign up today at slate.com/dsmplus.

And if you’re new to the show, welcome. We’re so glad you’re here. Find us and follow us on Instagram and you can find Anna’s newsletter at annasale.substack.com. Our new email address, where you can reach us with voice memos, pep talks, questions, critiques, is [email protected].

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How do you learn to tell the perfect joke? In this special edition of How To!, founding host Charles Duhigg joins Courtney and Carvell to mark five years of life-changing advice with a look back at our very first episode. It features a pastor from Oklahoma who wants to spice up his sermons. We introduce him to Gary Gulman, a New York standup comedian who makes jokes about his clinical depression. They workshop the pastor’s new joke about the New Testament, and Gary reveals “what might be the most important rule of being funny.”

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. Subscribe for free on Apple, Spotify or wherever you listen. 

How To’s executive producer is Derek John. Joel Meyer is our senior editor/producer. The show is produced by Rosemary Belson, with Kevin Bendis and Sara McCrae.

Slate Plus members get bonus segments and ad-free podcast feeds. Sign up now at slate.com/howtoplus.

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On today’s episode of Hear Me Out: who runs the world?

Kamala Harris is having a brat summer, which means that you’re likely seeing lots of questions about what brat summer is and why anyone cares. But the meme being co-opted by the Harris campaign is just a small piece of the bigger puzzle.

Writer and podcast host H. Alan Scott joins Hear Me Out to argue that pop stars have a huge amount of political influence — that, coupled with “cool factor,” could swing the election.  

If you have thoughts you want to share, or an idea for a topic we should tackle, you can email the show: [email protected]

Podcast production by Maura Currie.

Want more Hear Me Out? Subscribe to Slate Plus to access ad-free listening across all your favorite Slate podcasts. Subscribe today on Apple Podcasts by clicking “Try Free” at the top of our show page. Or, visit slate.com/hearmeoutplus to get access wherever you listen.

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How physical and emotional abuse from coaches still persists in American gymnastics.

Guest: Molly Henseley Clancy, sports writer for the Washington Post.

Want more What Next? Subscribe to Slate Plus to access ad-free listening to the whole What Next family and across all your favorite Slate podcasts. Subscribe today on Apple Podcasts by clicking “Try Free” at the top of our show page. Sign up now at slate.com/whatnextplus to get access wherever you listen.

Podcast production by Elena Schwartz, Paige Osburn, Anna Phillips, Madeline Ducharme and Rob Gunther.

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Joel Anderson, Morgan Campbell, and Stefan Fatsis discuss the Dream Team’s opening-game win at the Paris Olympics. Gymnastics writer Rebecca Schulman joins to assess whether a calf injury might derail Simone Biles’ quest for redemption. And, the Games’ first scandal: Canadian soccer Spygate.

Dream Team (4:53): Led by Kevin Durant and LeBron James, Team USA crushed Nikola Jokic and Serbia it its Olympics opener.

Gymnastics (18:26): How severe is the calf injury that left Simone Biles limping and crawling during qualifying rounds in Paris?

Soccer scandal (33:45): Canada’s men’s and women’s soccer teams used drones to spy on opponents for years.

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