Slate Culture Feed

Hosts Alex Kirshner, Lindsay Gibbs, and Ben Lindbergh speak with the Athletic’s Paul Tenorio on why Apple TV and MLS revised their deal and removed the paywall for viewers. They’re then joined by Massachusetts state senator John Keenan about his proposal to regulate online sports betting and why he’s changed his views on the issue. Finally, they wrap with a discussion of Connor Bedard and Macklin Celebrini, the young hockey phenoms leading the NHL in scoring. Lindsay has an Afterball on the one New York team that is actually good: Gotham FC.On the bonus episode available exclusively for Slate Plus members, the panel discusses the abysmal football on display from both the New York Jets and Giants.Apple and MLS (6:00): Tear down the wallRegulating Big Gaming (25:41): Mass. state senator John Keenan wants to rein in sports bettingHockey’s Young Guns (51:36): Shooting it out for the Art Ross trophyAfterballs (1:07:04): The Bats win it(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 hangup@slate.com.Podcast production and editing by Kevin Bendis, with production assistance from Patrick Fort. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

If you’ve got a cultural question or topic you’d like our hosts to tackle, now is your chance because we’re preparing for our annual call-in show! Call and leave us a message with your cultural query at:  347-201-2397On this week’s show, Julia, Dana, Steve are off to the dystopian races with Edgar Wright’s adaptation of The Running Man. Based on a novel by Stephen King and starring movie-star-to-be Glenn Powell, the film is chockfull of adrenaline and stylish wit but does it overcome its own authoritarian bleakness? They discuss with Slate’s own Sam Adams.Next, they take a look at the oft-forgotten presidency and assassination of James A. Garfield in the Netflix limited series Death By Lightning, starring Michael Shannon, Matthew Macfadyen, and a whole lot of period accurate beards. Finally, they look to the heavens with the loftily ambitious, operatic, and polyglottal new album LUX by Rosalía. In an exclusive bonus episode for Slate Plus subscribers, they continue their recap series and get into the twists and turns of the fourth episode of Pluribus.EndorsementsDana: The 17th century nun and poet (a very Rosalía-like divine feminine) Sor Juana Inés de la Cruz and particularly the poem "The Ripcord of Love" as translated by Ada Límon.Steve: Joyce Carol Oates’s iconic, lacerating subtweet for the ages—illustrated beautifully on Literary Hub—as well as the prolific author's essay about the novel We Have Always Lived In the Castle in The New York Review of Books. (Steve welcomes listener recommendations for their favorite Oates's novel.)Julia: The Alpine Men's Snow Boot from Xero, for when the Los Angeles Almanac predicts rain.Email us your thoughts at culturefest@slate.com. Podcast production by Benjamin Frisch. Production assistance by Daniel Hirsch. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

On today’s episode host Kate Lindsay is joined by porn historian Noelle Perdue, author of the Porn World newsletter. OpenAI announced that they’d allow adult users to have erotic conversations with ChatGPT, just one more way AI and porn are becoming intertwined. As sex becomes more online, not only does it become more solitary, but also more surveilled. Both of these things are intended to divide us, but Noelle is confident that AI’s attempted sex-takeover will fail. This podcast is produced by Vic Whitley-Berry, Daisy Rosario, and Kate Lindsay. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

On today’s episode host Kate Lindsay is joined by New York Magazine feature writer, Rebecca Jennings, to discuss the two internet villains currently trying to get back in the internet’s good graces. First, there’s former Try Guy Ned Fulmer, who was ousted from the group after having an affair with an employee, and has now relaunched his YouTube channel as well as his own podcast. Then, Colleen Ballinger, also known as MirandaSings, appeared on Tea Time with Raven Symone and Miranda Maday to discuss allegations that she had interacted inappropriately with her fans. In both cases, fans have rejected their attempts to return. So why do they keep coming back?This podcast is produced by Vic Whitley-Berry, Daisy Rosario, and Kate Lindsay. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Americans are currently besotted with protein. It’s touted as being good for muscle growth, weight loss, skincare, mental acuity, longevity, and much else besides. It’s sold to men, women, children, the elderly— you can even buy protein for your pets. The protein supplement market alone is worth $21 billion and growing—and extra protein is being added to coffee, cereal, pasta, beer, ice cream, and popcorn.But as frenzied as we currently are about protein, this is not the first protein boom—or even the second. Protein has been promoted as a charismatic, cure-all nutrient for nearly two centuries. In this episode, with the help of Samantha King and Gavin Weedon, the authors of Protein: The Making of a Nutritional Superstar, we look closely at all our protein crazes and their associated protein products—from beef tea to whey powder—and see what they can tell us about our current protein mania. This episode was produced by Max Freedman. Decoder Ring is also produced by Willa Paskin, Katie Shepherd, and Evan Chung, our supervising producer. We had editing support from Josh Levin and fact-checking by Sophie Summergrad. Merritt Jacob is Senior Technical Director.If you have any cultural mysteries you want us to decode, email us at DecoderRing@slate.com  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.Sources for This EpisodeKing, Samantha and Gavin Weedon. Protein: The Making of a Nutritional Superstar, Duke University Press, 2026.Baker, Ryan. “Protein has become America's latest obsession. Companies like General Mills and PepsiCo are capitalizing on it,” CNBC, July 22, 2025.Brock, William H. Justus von Liebig: The Chemical Gatekeeper, Cambridge University Press, 1997.Callahan, Alice. “The More Protein, the Better?” New York Times, April 9, 2025.Draper, Kevin. “America’s Protein Obsession Is Transforming the Dairy Industry,” New York Times, July 16, 2025.Gayomali, Chris. “Big Food Gets Jacked: How protein mania took over the American grocery store,” New York Magazine, Feb. 12, 2025.“The Great Protein Fiasco,” Maintenance Phase, Aug. 31, 2021.Liebig, Justus von. Researches on the Chemistry of Food, Taylor and Walton, 1847.McLaren, Donald S. “The Great Protein Fiasco,” The Lancet, 1974.Oncken, John. “Stingy, 'half-way' dairy farmer's curiosity changed the world,” Wisconsin State Farmer, April 27, 2022.“Subject of Whey Disposal Discussed in UW Bulletin.” Wausau Daily Herald, Aug. 28, 1965.Torrella, Kenny. “You’re probably eating way too much protein,” Vox, Jan. 30, 2024.Wilson, Bee. “Protein mania: the rich world’s new diet obsession,” The Guardian, Jan. 4, 2019.Wu, Katherine J. “Should We All Be Eating Like The Rock?” The Atlantic, Aug. 28, 2023. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Even though the documentary Tig Notaro produced won the Festival Favorite Award at Sundance, she did not spend the festival hobnobbing with industry types. Instead she stayed holed up at the Airbnb she rented with friends and the film's crew. "We were calling it Snuggle Down because we were all sitting around the fire and having tea and just laughing so hard." Among the people at Snuggle Down was the subject of the documentary, poet Andrea Gibson, who was dying of ovarian cancer.In this episode, Tig describes meeting Andrea, what made them click creatively, and how making a documentary about the end of Andrea's life brought an already tight-knit group of friends closer together. Watch: Come See Me In the Good LightAnd we also want to acknowledge the passing of disability activist Alice Wong. She died on Friday in San Francisco at age 51. Alice and Anna first talked in 2020. Listen here: Alice Wong On Ruckuses, Rage And MedicaidPodcast production by Andrew DunnDeath, 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 deathsexmoney@slate.com. Get 50% Off Monarch Money, the all-in-one financial tool at ⁠www.monarchmoney.com/DSM⁠ Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Hosts Alex Kirshner, Lindsay Gibbs, and Ben Lindbergh speak with Yahoo Sports writer Dan Devine about the fallout from the Luka Dončić trade and the subsequent sacking of GM Nico Harrison in Dallas. Then Slate’s Nitish Pahwa joins to unpack the latest dispute between Disney and YouTube TV and what it means for the future of sports streaming. Finally, the Ringer’s Danny Chau stops by to discuss Victor Wembanyama’s breakout season and whether this could be the year he carries the Spurs back to the playoffs.On the bonus episode available exclusively for Slate Plus members, the panel discusses Shedeur Sanders' far-from-stellar  NFL debut.Nico Harrison gets the boot (3:02): The Dallas collapse is completeDisney vs. YouTube (26:12): What was behind the recent clash of the streamersWemby (42:52): The rise of the unguardable?(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 hangup@slate.com.Podcast production and editing by Kevin Bendis, with production assistance from Patrick Fort. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

On today’s episode host Kate Lindsay is joined by writer and content creator Josh Lora, who also goes by TellTheBees. Josh’s Substack essay, Boyfriendland, was cited in the viral Vogue article written by Chanté Joseph, “Is Having a Boyfriend Embarrassing Now?” Many women are hiding their boyfriends online, or losing followers if they hard-launch. Some go as far as to say having a boyfriend “feels republican.” Is this heterofatalism gone too far, or a long-overdue correction to the patriarchy?This podcast is produced by Daisy Rosario, Vic Whitley-Berry, and Kate Lindsay. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In a new, very special Death, Sex & Money and Slate Money crossover, Felix Salmon and Anna Sale are once again joined by Felix’s financial advisor Adrianna Adams from Domain Money to talk about…parents. They dig into the emotions of trying to take care of your aging parents while also growing your own wealth, the importance of setting goals, and how to deal with aging children AND aging parents at the same time. For a visual experience, you can watch this episode on YouTube.Podcast production by Cheyna Roth. Video production by Micah Phillips.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 deathsexmoney@slate.com. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

When you hear the term “superproducer,” names like George Martin, Quincy Jones, Max Martin, Pharrell Williams or Missy Elliott might come to mind. But … Robert “Mutt” Lange? Probably not. Yet Lange was by some measures the biggest hitmaker—the producer of more top-selling albums than any of those better-known producers.The South African studio wiz crafted the arena-rock sound of AC/DC and Def Leppard. Then, Lange transformed the Cars, Billy Ocean, Bryan Adams, and Shania Twain into fist-pumping stadium-fillers, too.Join Chris Molanphy as he traces Mutt Lange’s legacy of loud—and his uncanny success on the pop charts. He poured sugar on every hit.Podcast production by Kevin Bendis.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. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.