Slate Culture Feed

Kara Swisher has built an impressive career reporting on–and forcefully critiquing–the world of tech, especially the ultra-wealthy power players increasingly calling the shots. Since Steve Job’s death in 2011, she’s noticed a sharp uptick amongst those Silicon Valley elite doing all sorts of “wacky shit” to try and defy aging, extend their lifespan, and possibly even stop death itself.  

On her new CNN series Kara Swisher Wants to Live Forever, Kara cracks jokes and tries out some of the buzziest longevity trends, but she takes very seriously the inequality of it all – how these unproven, but potentially ground-breaking treatments remain squarely out of reach for most of us, while proven medical care continues to get more expensive with worse outcomes.  

Listen to our 2024 interview with Kara at the Tribeca Festival here.  

Join us on June 10 for our 2026 Tribeca Festival live event with Peter Dinklage and Erica Schmidt. Get your tickets here. 

Podcast production by Andrew Dunn

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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On today’s episode, host Kate Lindsay is joined by author Leigh Stein, who landed her first book deal in the 2010s personal essay boom. With new memoirs from Lindy West and Lena Dunham, it feels like confessional writing is getting a 2020s rebirth. However, reactions to viral personal essays, like those in The Cut, prove social media has become a much different beast. Now, writing a personal essay is not only much more fraught, but can be downright dangerous. Did the personal essay change, or did we?

This podcast is produced by Vic Whitley-Berry, Daisy Rosario, and Kate Lindsay.

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This week, Dana, Steve, and Nadira Goffe assess if we as a culture can ever really escape Neverland— namely, the gigantic and fraught legacy of Michael Jackson. They unpack the biopic Michael. Directed by Antoine Fuqua, starring Jackson’s own nephew Jaafar Jackson, and produced by much of the Jackson family, the film is chock full of musical numbers and light on the troubling aspects of the singer’s life. Does it ever rise above King of Pop hagiography? They discuss.

Next, they take up Half Man, the new limited series from Baby Reindeer creator Richard Gadd. It’s a brutal look at a toxic male relationship. Is its unflinching eye too unflinching? Perhaps.

Finally, how can one become cultured? What does that even mean!? Such are the questions raised by T Magazine’s recent special issue “How to Be Cultured.” Our panel debates the package’s various high brow listicles, takes their quiz, and Nadira even makes her own culture list as rebuttal! (See below.)

In an exclusive bonus episode for Slate Plus subscribers, our hosts share which cultural figures they think would make for good biopic subjects.

Endorsements

Nadira: The new EP NAIL from Yves, particularly the title track, and Curtis Live! the live album by Curtis Mayfield, especially the song "The Makings of You."

Steve: The poem "Like the Train's Beat" by Philip Larkin.

Dana: The book On Michael Jackson by Margo Jefferson about Michael Jackson's complicated cultural place.

Nadira's Culture List:

(Editor’s Note: Nadira added two things since our discussion — we’re all still staying curious and expanding our cultural horizons!)

1. “Throw Some Ds on It” — Rich Boy (Song; 2007)
2. “Jealous Guy” — Donny Hathaway covering John Lennon live (Song; 1972)
3. Any vlogger on YouTube, but particularly the work of Casey Neistat
4. Happily Ever After: Fairy Tales for Every Child (TV Show; 1995)
5. Fleabag (TV Show; 2016-2019)
6. Monster (Anime Series, currently avail. on Netflix; 2004)
7. Stop Making Sense (Movie; 1984)
8. The Devil Wears Prada (Movie; 2006)
9. Step Up 2: The Streets (Movie; 2008)
10. Tampopo (Movie; 1985)
11. Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse (Movie; 2018)
12. Original Cast Album Company (Movie; 1970)
13. Quo Vadis, Aida? (Movie; 2004)
14. Playing in the Dark — Toni Morrison (Book; 1992)
15. Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow — Gabrielle Zevin (Book; 2022)
16. Any painting by Kerry James Marshall, but particularly “School of Beauty, School of Culture” and “Portrait of the artist as a shadow of his former self”
17. Fallingwater, Frank Lloyd Wright (Architecture; 1964)

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Email us your thoughts at [email protected]. 

Podcast production by Benjamin Frisch. Production assistance by Daniel Hirsch.

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On today’s episode, host Kate Lindsay is joined by ex-Mormon content creator Alyssa Grenfell to discuss the new Secret Lives of Mormon Wives spinoff, Netflix’s Trust Me, and the pop-culturification of Mormonism. While the internet has long been a place for Mormon creators to thrive, now that they’ve gone mainstream, our obsession with MomTok and dirty sodas risks softening, and even obscuring, the religion’s conservative ideology. During a time in history when our conservative government feels more dangerous than ever, we can’t let pop culture give racism and sexism a sugar-coated rebrand. 

This podcast is produced by Vic Whitley-Berry, Daisy Rosario, and Kate Lindsay.

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When musician Chris Dowd was 19, shortly after graduating from high school, his band Fishbone got signed to Columbia Records. The group was made up of Black teenagers in Los Angeles, who combined several musical genres—funk, punk, ska, metal, reggae—into a new exciting sound in the late 70’s. They influenced countless other bands but struggled to find lasting commercial success.

This week on the show, Chris talks to Anna Sale about being a teenage rock pioneer who stepped away from the group in 1994. He also discusses his close friendship with the late Jeff Buckley, his trouble with alcoholism after Jeff's death, and what it's been like to rejoin Fishbone and go on tour. 

Fishbone songs featured in this episode:

Skankin’ to the Beat

Ugly

Adolescent Regressive Behavior

Party at Ground Zero 

Cubicle

Love is Love

Last Call in America (feat. George Clinton) 

Housework

Watch Fishbone’s 1991 performance on SNL: https://www.dailymotion.com/video/xl7e88 

This episode was produced by Cameron Drews and Daisy Rosario. 

Get more Death, Sex & Money with Slate Plus! Join for exclusive bonus episodes of DSM and ad-free listening on all your favorite Slate podcasts. Subscribe from the Death, Sex & Money show page on Apple Podcasts or Spotify. Or, visit slate.com/dsmplus to get access wherever you listen.

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 email address, where you can reach us with voice memos, pep talks, questions, critiques, is [email protected]. 

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On today’s episode, host Kate Lindsay is joined by culture writer Kat Tenbarge to discuss CNN’s recent investigation into a global online “rape academy.” The reporters infiltrated a Telegram group of nearly 1000 men exchanging tactics to drug and sexually assault their partners, which they found through a specific pornography website. However, when CNN reported that this website received 62 million hits in a month, some readers conflated this number with the number of members in the Telegram group, resulting in viral misinformation. Those attempting to correct the record have been accused of minimizing these crimes. Why does the truth feel so controversial?

This podcast is produced by Vic Whitley-Berry, Daisy Rosario, and Kate Lindsay.

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Hit Parade is on a brief break, but if you need a daily dose of fascinating stories, check out History Daily. Host Lindsay Graham (the history guy! not the senator!) explores what happened "on this day in history," with a broad mix of politics, sports, technology, medicine, and much more. Chris recommends this episode about the genesis of MTV—including the forgotten role played by a former member of the Monkees.

Find History Daily's huge archive of quick-hit history at: https://www.historydaily.com/ 

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Donna Summer was a hit-maker for two decades and a dance floor deity for more than three. Her collaborations with Giorgio Moroder and Pete Bellotte were formative in dance, electronic, and rock music, influencing everyone from David Bowie and Blondie to Madonna and Moby. But the rock establishment was stinting in its appreciation—whether at Comiskey Park in Chicago in 1979 or the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in the 2000s.

In Part 2 of this encore episode from 2017, Chris Molanphy examines how Summer became the queen of disco … and then transcended that role altogether.

Get more Hit Parade with Slate Plus! Join for monthly early-access episodes, bonus episodes of "The Bridge," and ad-free listening across all your favorite Slate podcasts. Subscribe directly from the Hit Parade show page on Apple Podcasts or Spotify. Or, visit slate.com/hitparadeplus to get access wherever you listen.

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Steve, Dana, and Julia convene once more for a rousing Gabfest. First up, it’s Mother Mary. David Lowery’s strange psychodrama centers on a pop star, played by Anne Hathaway, reuniting with her estranged friend and costume designer, played by Michaela Coel, and the menacing piece of red chiffon that haunts them both. 

Next, they turn to another pair of mothers in Margo’s Got Money Troubles. The new series stars Elle Fanning as a new single mom— and Michelle Pfeiffer as her mom— who turns to OnlyFans to make ends meet. 

Finally they welcome back Gabfest favorite Caity Weaver to dish on her epic quest to find the best free restaurant bread in America— as chronicled in her hilarious and insightful piece in The Atlantic.

In an exclusive bonus episode for Slate Plus subscribers, Julia shares a behind-the-scenes peek into the founding of her new local media startup L.A. Material. 

Endorsements

Dana: The completely unscripted shows of The Improvised Shakespeare Company—on tour now.

Caity: The live album Sam Cooke at the Copa, especially the song "The Best Things in Life Are Free"—the best bread certainly is.

Julia: The sitcom The Fall and Rise of Reggie Dinkins which really hits its stride after a few episodes.

Steve: The novel The Go-Between by L.P. Hartley as well as Paul Buchanan, of the band The Blue Nile, covering David Bowie’s "Ashes to Ashes."

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Email us your thoughts at [email protected]. 

Podcast production by Benjamin Frisch. Production assistance by Daniel Hirsch.

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Money is everywhere. Money influences just about everything. We think about money all the time. But how much do we really know about it? In this episode of Decoder Ring, we explore the obscure historical forces that make our money what it is and behave the way it does. We ask two simple-sounding questions with surprising answers: Why is our money called the dollar—and where are those dollars really coming from? 

First, you’ll hear from Brendan Greeley, a veteran finance reporter turned economic historian, and author of the new book, The Almighty Dollar: 500 Years of the World’s Most Powerful Money. Then, we get help from Mark Blyth, a political economist at Brown University who teaches about the architecture and plumbing of global finance.

This episode was written by Willa Paskin and Max Freedman and produced by Max Freedman. Decoder Ring is also produced by Katie Shepherd and Supervising Producer Evan Chung. Merritt Jacob is our Senior Technical Director. Thank you to Lizzie O’Leary.

If you have any cultural mysteries you want us to decode, email us at [email protected] or leave a message on our hotline at (347) 460-7281.

Get more of Decoder Ring with Slate Plus! Join for exclusive bonus episodes of Decoder Ring and ad-free listening on all your favorite Slate podcasts. Subscribe from the Decoder Ring show page on Apple Podcasts or Spotify. Or, visit slate.com/decoderplus for access wherever you listen.

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