Slate Culture Feed

The delicious, healthful prune has long had a cross to bear: It’s best known for making people poop. In the late 1990s, the California Prune Board set out on a quixotic mission to amend this sales-flattening reputation. It would attempt to rechristen this ancient fruit in the hopes the prune could one day be as unencumbered as an apricot, a raisin, or a fig. 

In a world where every product and person increasingly believes it’s one good rebrand away from changing how they are seen, the story of the prune’s attempt to become the “dried plum” is a telling tale about the impossibility of escaping who you really are—and the freedom that comes with self-acceptance. 

You’ll hear from Richard Peterson, retired Executive Director of the California Prune Board; food writer and chef David Liebovitz; lawyer and lobbyist Dan Haley; and Kiaran Locy, Director of Brand and Industry Communications at the California Prune Board.

This episode was written by Willa Paskin. It was edited by Evan Chung, our supervising producer. It was produced by Katie Shepherd. Decoder Ring is also produced by Max Freedman. Merritt Jacob is Senior Technical Director.

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.

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Sources for This Episode

Barry, Dave. Dave Barry Hits Below the Beltway, Ballantine Books, 2002. 

Brasher, Philip. “FDA Approves Prune Name Change,” ABC News, Feb. 1, 2001. 

Brasher, Philip. “Where's the beef? Kids give prune burgers the taste test,” Associated Press, Jan 29, 2002. 

Cimons, Marlene. “A New Wrinkle for the Prune Industry,” Los Angeles Times, Dec. 21, 1999.

Crespi, John M., Harry M. Kaiser, Julian M. Alston, and  Richard J. Sexton. “The Evaluation of Prune Promotion by the California Dried Plum Board,” The Economics of Commodity Promotion Programs: Lessons from California, Peter Lang USA, 2005. 

Davis, Glenn. “French History in Your City: San Jose, California - the Pellier Brothers,” Yale National Initiative, Sep. 2015. 

Fabricant, Florence. “In France, the Prune Holds a Noble Station,” The New York Times, Oct. 31, 2001.

Fabricant, Florence. “Responsible Party: Richard Peterson; Rejuvenating The Humble Prune,” The New York Times, Aug. 13, 2000. 

Fabricant, Florence. “Underapprecaited: The Humble Prune,” The New York Times, Oct. 12, 1983.

A Fortune In Two Old Trunks. Sunsweet, 1947.  

Fullan, Genevieve. “In Defense of Prunes,” Eater, Jun 21, 2022. 

Gellene, Denise. “New Wrinkle in an Old Story,” Los Angeles Times, Oct 16, 1997. 

Good Wrinkles. Sunsweet, 1951. 

Kamen, Al. “Sunday in the Loop: Plum Outta Luck,” Washington Post, Dec. 11, 1999. 

Koger, Chris. “Dried plums no longer: California prunes have new brand,” The Packer, Nov. 15, 2022. 

Lucas, Greg. “Who'd Have Thought? Pruneburgers / Juicy, tender and low-fat, they're surprising hits in school cafeterias,” San Francisco Chronicle, Aug. 9, 1999.

Martin, Ronda Beaman. “Stan Freberg—His Credits and Contributions to Advertising,” M.A. Thesis, Texas Tech University, Dec. 1986. 

McKay, Leonard. “Louis Pellier,” San Jose Inside, Sep. 25, 2006.

Morse, Rob. “Hold the prunes, hold the lettuce,” San Francisco Examiner, July 28, 1999. 

“Prune gets $10 million makeover -- as dried plum,” CNN, Sep. 13, 2000.

Rao, Tejal. “In Praise of the Prune,” The New York Times Magazine, Feb. 16, 2017.

Roach, Mary. “The power of prunes,” Salon, Nov. 5, 1999.

Waters, Michael. “When the Dried Plum Lobby Tried to Make Pruneburgers Happen,” Atlas Obscura, April 13, 2018. 

Zasky, Jason. “Prunes: Turning Over a New Leaf,” Failure Magazine, Apr. 16, 2002.

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On today’s episode, host Kate Lindsay and senior supervising producer Daisy Rosario reflect on the 2026 Winter Olympics—but not just what happened out on the ice. There was a different Olympics unfolding on social media, with viral moments from the ceremony that deserve their own gold, silver, and bronze medals. Kate and Daisy rank them, and also finally break their silence on the internet’s other current fixation: Punch the monkey. 

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

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The original trio Steve, Dana, and Julia convene for a right cracker of a Gabfest as they discuss How to Get to Heaven from Belfast, the new comedic mystery from Derry Girls creator Lisa McGee. In the Netflix series, three longtime Belfast friends must revisit their childhood trauma to unravel the mystery of a fourth friend’s disappearance— raucous Northern Irish hijinks ensue.

Next, they step into the unhinged dystopian Los Angeles of Gore Verbinski’s new film Good Luck, Have Fun, Don’t Die. In it a beleaguered time traveler played by Sam Rockwell must visit the same Norm’s diner 117 times to save the world from the menace of A.I..

Finally, they welcome Slate senior writer Christina Cauterucci to unpack her recent piece “My Gun and Me” about her unlikely journey towards gun ownership during Trump 2.0—and how she’s not alone in doing so in her left-leaning, queer community.

In an exclusive bonus episode for Slate Plus subscribers, they determine if there are indeed no comfortable reading positions, as a recent Slate essay by Luke Winkie attests. 

Endorsements

Dana: The latest Today in Tabs entry from Rusty Foster "A.I. Isn't People."

Julia: In lieu of an endorsement, a gripe: the much-hyped New York Times two-player word game Crossplay is just Scrabble! (If only there were a German word for this specific form of disappointment...)

Steve: Rereading J.D. Salinger with some distance from one’s own adolescence— particularly Franny and Zooey and the short story "For Esmé—with Love and Squalor." And for a good critical reassessment, read Janet Malcolm's New York Review of Books essay "Justice to J.D. Salinger." 

--

Email us your thoughts at [email protected]. 

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

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When Helena de Groot got married she didn't want children, but her husband did. For eight years, love was enough to paper over their differences. Then an unplanned pregnancy forced them to finally choose.

Listen to her terrific new podcast Creation Myth, out now from the CBC.

This episode was produced 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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Hosts Alex Kirshner, Lindsay Gibbs, and Ben Lindbergh relive the dual wins for Team USA's women's and men’s hockey teams and examine how MAGA has co-opted the victory. Then, they’re joined by journalist Chris Dalby, author of the Sports and Crime newsletter, goes deep on why Trump seems to love pardoning athletes. Next, the hosts get into the alarming expansion of sports betting via prediction markets. And finally, Ben brings us an Afterball on the demise of the European Super League.

On the bonus episode, available exclusively for Slate Plus members, the hosts share their highs and lows of watching the Winter Olympics. 

Olympics Hockey: (--): Team USA brings home gold.

Trump Pardons (--): Chris Dalby breaks down what’s really going on.

Prediction Markets (--): Who will reign in this new way of betting?

European Super League (--): Ben eulogizes the failed league. 

Episode Notes:

• Alex in Slate on America’s reckless, brilliant strategy to beat Canada.
• This New York Times breakdown of the move that beat Chloe Kim in the halfpipe
• Chris Dalby on Donald Trump’s love of pardoning athletes.

(Note: time codes are only accurate for Slate Plus members, who listen ad-free.)

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

You can email us at [email protected].

Podcast production and editing by Kevin Bendis, with production assistance from Patrick Fort.

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On today’s episode, host Kate Lindsay is joined by writer Charlie Sosnick to break down “looksmaxxing.” While the trend—which involves things like jaw surgery and “bone smashing” to achieve mathematically-determined levels of attractiveness—has existed for some time in incel forums, creators like Clavicular have brought it mainstream. Now, teenage boys are growing up with their own kind of beauty standard, one that insists their success in life is determined by arbitrary factors like the width of their clavicles or tilt of their eyes. Rooted in racism and eugenics, the movement risks normalizing a new kind of masculinity that’s barely even human. 

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

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On today’s episode, host Kate Lindsay is joined by Jenna Ryu, a lifestyle writer at SELF whose piece, “Meet the ‘Finger Princess’: The Annoying Friend Everyone Has,” introduced the term for a persistent pet peeve. “Finger princess,” the English translation of the Korean phrase ping-peu, applies to those in the group chat who ask questions instead of Googling, and refuse to scroll up to see if their question has already been answered. But by calling out finger princesses, are we actually being the finger police?

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

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week, Dana is joined by Amy Nicholson, Los Angeles Times film critic and host of the podcast Unspooled, as well as Jamelle Bouie, New York Times columnist and host of the podcast Unclear and Present Danger. They discuss love affairs, lustful, glamorous, and interspecies.

First up, it’s the lustful as they take up Emerald Fennell’s bodice-ripping adaptation of “Wuthering Heights.” Starring Margot Robbie and Jacob Elordi as the doomed duo Cathy and Heathcliff, the adaptation promises an over-the-top, camp spin on the Gothic tale but does it offer enough depravity to really deliver?

Next, it’s on to the glamorous with the Ryan Murphy-produced, CK One-scented limited series Love Story: JFK Jr. and Carolyn Bessette about the tragic love story of the political scion and New York fashion It Girl.

Finally, they discuss all the interspecies hijinks and backstage chaos in the delightful revival of The Muppet Show.

In an exclusive bonus episode for Slate Plus subscribers, the trio of cinephiles celebrate recent reporting that movie theaters are cool again.

Endorsements

Jamelle: William Wyler's 1939 version of Wuthering Heights starring Laurence Olivier— and while you're visiting the Criterion Channel, check out their collection Mervyn LeRoy’s Pre-Code Films.

Amy: Gore Verbinski's new film Good Luck, Have Fun, Don’t Die, in theaters now.

Dana: The patient, observant documentaries of the recently deceased filmmaker Frederick Wiseman, several of which are available to stream on Kanopy. 

----

Email us your thoughts at [email protected]. 

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

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Hosts Alex Kirshner, Lindsay Gibbs, and Ben Lindbergh examine the NBA’s growing tanking problem and the league’s ongoing struggle to make the All-Star Game competitive. Then they’re joined by sportswriter, Neil Paine, to discuss the rise of Connor Zilisch, a young NASCAR driver drawing comparisons to Jeff Gordon. To close, Hang Up vet, Josh Levin, returns to talk all things Winter Olympics and what he’s looking forward to in its last week.

Ben also has an Afterball on the Snoop Dogg-ification of the Olympics and sports in general.

On the bonus episode, available exclusively for Slate Plus members, the panel talks about the NCAA's messy player eligibility lawsuits.

NBA (2:39): The race to the bottom

NASCAR (20:40): A new young phenom racing to the top

Olympics with Josh (37:38): Levin crosses the hog line!

Afterballs (01:00:14): Ben drops it like it's hot

(Note: time codes are only accurate for Slate Plus members, who listen ad-free.)

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

You can email us at [email protected].

Podcast production and editing by Kevin Bendis, with production assistance from Patrick Fort.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Here at DSM, we’ve been enjoying Heated Rivalry, the HBO series about two pro hockey players who begin a secret love affair. The show is steamy, but it also highlights some persistent problems in male sports culture, namely, that same-sex relationships are still extremely taboo. 

But one TikTok account is trying to change that culture for the better. Sex Ed for Guys was started by athletes at Colby College in Maine, and their videos promote emotional vulnerability and openness, strong male friendships, safe sex, and lots more. This week, Anna talks to three of those athletes (Chris Maichin, Jack Gatjanis, and Mitch Humphrey) and to Adam Howard, their faculty mentor.   

This episode was produced by Cameron Drews.

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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