Slate Culture Feed

For the past week, while the violence between Israel and Palestine has escalated, a separate battle has accelerated on social media, one fought with rocket emojis and celebrities like Israeli actress Gal Gadot and Palestinian-American model Bella Hadid getting involved. If you don’t post, are you tacitly anti-Palestine? Anti-semitic? If you do post and you fumble some of your history, are you nothing but a hashtag activist? (What about if you get it right?) In this episode, Madison and Rachelle survey a week’s worth of controversial celebrity statements and the evolution of one particular viral infographic to ask who these memes and Instagram posts really serve and how to avoid the 2021 equivalent of posting black squares.Podcast production by Daniel Schroeder and Derek John.Support ICYMI and listen to the show with zero ads. Sign up to become a Slate Plus member for just $1 for your first month. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week Steve, Dana, and Julia discuss Netflix’s animated film The Mitchells vs. the Machines. Next, the panel dives into the cultural resonances of Jennifer Lopez and Ben Affleck aka “Bennifer.” Finally, the group is joined by Isaac Butler, co-host of Slate’s Working podcast, to talk about the latest Zoom version of Samuel Beckett’s Waiting for Godot.In Slate Plus, Isaac Butler joins the hosts to talk about the state of theater and what its reopening will look like in the coming months.Email us at culturefest@slate.comPodcast production by Cameron Drews. Production assistance by Rachael Allen.Outro music: "You Know What I Want" by Staffan CarlenEndorsementsDana: “The Trees” by Philip LarkinJulia: Uncanny Valley by Anna WienerSteve: “Arendt and Roth: An Uncanny Convergence” by Corey Robin and DeFazio’s Pizzeria in Troy, NYFurther Reading“What Everyone Forgot About Ben Affleck and Jennifer Lopez” by Heather Schwedel in Slate“Why is Bennifer 2.0 so exciting? Because last time, we screwed it up” by Meredith Blake in the LA TimesSlate Plus members get ad-free podcasts and a bonus segment in each episode of the Culture Gabfest. Sign up now at slate.com/cultureplus. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Joel Anderson and Josh Levin are joined by the New Yorker’s Vinson Cunningham to discuss the rise of the New York Knicks and the start of the NBA playoffs. The Athletic’s Chantel Jennings also joins to talk about the start of the WNBA season. Finally, Joe Drape of the New York Times assesses the case against racehorse trainer Bob Baffert.NBA (3:42): Does the Knicks’ return to non-terribleness matter? And what are the big storylines going into the playoffs?WNBA (24:42): The return of Sabrina Ionescu and other big news from the league’s opening weekend.Horse racing (42:58): Is the sport turning on Bob Baffert after yet another doping scandal?Afterball (58:39): Joel on Sam Houston State’s football championship.Slate Plus members get bonus segments and ad-free podcast feeds. Sign up now. Podcast production by Margaret Kelley. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

On today’s episode, Rachelle and Madison discuss the latest news about Chrissy Teigen and Courtney Stodden. Earlier this week, Stodden, who rose to fame as a teenager in the early 2010s after marrying middle-aged character actor Doug Hutchison, came forward saying that they had been harassed on Twitter by Teigen, who sent tweets wishing for their death. Teigen has since apologized, but this news highlighted the disgusting ways people used to talk about young girls on the internet, and how Teigen’s online presence has never been as kind and lovable as she wants you to believe.Podcast production by Daniel Schroeder and Derek John.Support ICYMI and listen to the show with zero ads. Sign up to become a Slate Plus member for just $1 for your first month. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

A self-described "fiery ball of ambition," Avery Trufelman of The Cut podcast wonders how she'll know whether or not she wants to have a kid.Are you new to our show? Welcome! Make sure you subscribe in your podcast player, and check out our Starter Kit. It's filled with our favorite episodes and with information about how to join our community. Follow us on Instagram, Twitter and Facebook. Support our work at deathsexmoney.org/donate. And sign up for our newsletter and we'll keep you up to date about what's happening behind the scenes at Death, Sex & Money. Subscribe today.  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Rachelle and Madison discuss Elon Musk’s episode of Saturday Night Live. Specifically they break down the ”Gen Z Hospital” sketch, where everybody seems to be speaking in internet slang, and the backlash to it. Rachelle explains how all the language used isn’t just from the internet or from Zoomers but from African-American Vernacular English (AAVE). This isn’t a new thing, of course—white Americans have been appropriating Black culture for as long as America has been around—but as this Paper magazine article by Rob Dozier points out, the internet has made it particularly easy for those words to lose their original context.Podcast Production by Daniel Schroeder and Derek John.Support ICYMI and listen to the show with zero ads. Sign up to become a Slate Plus member for just $1 for your first month. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week Steve, Dana, and Julia discuss Tina Fey’s new Peacock sitcom Girls5Eva. Then the panel dives into vaccine personalities—how did Pfizer really become the “status vax”? Finally, the group discusses Netflix film The Disciple with LA Times film critic Justin Chang.In Slate Plus, the panel talks about their relationship with cars, courtesy of a listener question. Email us your questions at culturefest@slate.comPodcast production by Jasmine Ellis and Asha Saluja. Production assistance by Rachael Allen.EndorsementsDana: Morning Ragas, Bombay 1965 by Nikhil BanerjeeJulia: Empire of Pain by Patrick Radden Keefe and “The Composer at the Frontier of Movie Music” by Jamie Fisher (and Nicholas Britell’s Culture Gabfest episode!)Steve: “Quintin Jones Is Not Innocent. But He Doesn’t Deserve to Die.” by Jonah M. Kessel, Suleika Jaouad, and Lindsay CrouseFurther Reading“Pfizer Snobs Are Wong. Johnson & Johnson Is the Coolest Vaccine.” by Dan Kois in Slate“How Pfizer Became the Status Vax” by Heather Schwedel in Slate“Review: ‘The Disciple’ is already one of the year’s best movies. Does Netflix know—or care?” by Justin Chang in the LA Times HostsStephen MetcalfDana StevensJulia TurnerSocial Media@slatecultfest on Twitterhttps://twitter.com/slatecultfest@slateculturepodcasts on Facebookhttps://www.facebook.com/slateculturepodcasts/ Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Joel Anderson, Stefan Fatsis, and Josh Levin talk about the upcoming NBA play-in tournament. They also discuss the latest brouhaha over violence in the National Hockey League and they assess NFL wide receiver DK Metcalf’s performance against pro sprinters. NBA (2:49): Why LeBron James hates the play-in games and most everyone else loves them. NHL (21:21): Does hockey have a cultural problem or a Tom Wilson problem? DK Metcalf (43:03): He didn’t come close to winning. He still proved something. Afterball (61:37): Josh on Armando Galarraga’s almost-perfect game, 10 years later.Slate Plus members get bonus segments and ad-free podcast feeds. Sign up now. Podcast production by Margaret Kelley Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

On today’s episode, Rachelle and Madison discuss Facebook upholding their ban of Donald Trump from their platform—sort of. Then they interview someone about their own experience getting banned: legal journalist Rachel Stone, who was banned from Twitter after she jokingly threatened the man who cautions you to take a break from scrolling through TikTok. Finally, the debut of our new segment Galaxy Brain, where we explore some of the wildest theories on the internet, starting with a listener email about the word cheugy.Podcast production by Daniel Schroeder and Derek John. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

I talk with my friend and colleague Noel King about getting comfortable with uncomfortable conversations in my personal life, and why she thinks my brain is a "little bit different."Are you new to our show? Welcome! Make sure you subscribe in your podcast player, and check out our Starter Kit. It's filled with our favorite episodes and with information about how to join our community. Hear more from Noel King on Death, Sex & Money, in the episode she reported about reparations to Chicago police torture victims, and in our conversation together about workplace harassment, including at WNYC. We're still collecting your stories about the hardest conversations you've ever had. Send us a a voice memo or an email: deathsexmoney@wnyc.org. Follow us on Instagram, Twitter and Facebook. Support our work at deathsexmoney.org/donate. And sign up for our newsletter and we'll keep you up to date about what's happening behind the scenes at Death, Sex & Money. Subscribe today.  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.