Slate Culture Feed

Stefan Fatsis and Josh Levin are joined by the New Yorker’s Vinson Cunningham. They discuss Raheem Sterling and racism in English soccer, the 25th anniversary of the FOX-NFL alliance (with the Ringer’s Bryan Curtis), and Stephen Curry’s comments about the moon landing being a hoax. Raheem Sterling (2:26): How an Instagram post started a much-needed conversation about race, society, and soccer. Fox and the NFL (21:57): Rupert Murdoch’s $1.6 billion deal changed the network and pro football forever. What were the biggest repercussions and missed opportunities? Stephen Curry and the moon (39:10): Does Curry really believe that the moon landing was faked or was he just trying to go viral like Kyrie Irving?Afterballs(51:04): Vinson on the “modern NBA,” Stefan on the origin of the game ball, and Josh on Pat Summerall and House of Buggin’.This episode is brought to you by the following advertisers: SimpliSafe, protect your home today with twenty-four seven monitoring for just fifteen dollars a month, visit simplisafe.com/hangup.Helix, a new kind of DNA testing. Try today for a deep discount at helix.com/hangup.  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Think you know music? Quiz yourself with the latest episode of Hit Parade: The Bridge. This month, Host Chris Molanphy is joined by Jessica Goldstein, the culture editor at ThinkProgress and a journalist whose work has appeared in Vulture and The Washington Post, among other places. Her October article in Entertainment Weekly, “Britney Spears wanted to be a star: An oral history of '...Baby One More Time,'” was an inspiration for the November episode of Hit Parade. Chris is also joined by one listener contestant to play some music trivia, which is all about holiday music.If you’d like to be a contestant on an upcoming show, sign up for a Slate Plus membership here, and enter as a contestant here. You can also enter to play if you’re already a Slate Plus member. Want your question featured in an upcoming show? Email a voice memo to hitparade@slate.com.  Podcast production by T. J. Raphael. Additional support for this episode comes from Danielle Hewitt and Merritt Jacob.  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Julia Turner, Stephen Metcalf, and Dana Stevens discuss Ralph Breaks the Internet, the Netflix documentary Dogs and the use of cliches in speech and writing.  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Stefan Fatsis and Josh Levin are joined by NPR’s Gene Demby to discuss Heisman winner Kyler Murray’s impending choice between pro baseball and pro football, the Philadelphia 76ers’ chemistry issues with Jimmy Butler in the mix, and the NFL’s request for new punting proposals. Kyler Murray (2:30): Can the Oklahoma star play both football and baseball at the professional level? Should he try? Sixers (22:27): Joel Embiid is the face of the franchise. Jimmy Butler is a hyper-competitive star. Can they get along and lead Philadelphia to NBA glory? Punting (39:55): The NFL wants to “modernize” punting. What does that mean? And how can we help? Afterballs(49:01): Stefan on poet and baseball writer Tom Clark and Josh on Zach LaVine. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Vanessa never thought much about the immigration process until she fell in love with Freddy, whose legal status in the U.S. is now in jeopardy.Your year-end donation of $75 combined with the support of other listeners will really help us plan for the year to come. Donate now at deathsexmoney.org/donate. Every Wednesday we send out podcast listening recommendations, fascinating letters from our inbox and updates from the show in our weekly email newsletter. Sign up at deathsexmoney.org/newsletter.And follow the show on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram. Got a story to share? Email us any time at deathsexmoney@wnyc.org. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Julia Turner, Stephen Metcalf, and Dana Stevens discuss the film Support the Girls, the LeCarre TV adaptation Little Drummer Girl, and the saga of a writer at Thrillist who may or may not have killed a great burger joint.  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Stefan Fatsis and Josh Levin are joined by ThinkProgress’ Lindsay Gibbs to discuss the Kansas City Chiefs’ decision to cut Kareem Hunt. The New York Times’ Marc Tracy also joins to talk about Alabama’s comeback win in the SEC title game and Sports Illustrated’s Grant Wahl helps assess Gregg Berhalter, the new head coach of the U.S. men’s soccer team. Kareem Hunt (3:19): The NFL clearly screwed up its investigation into Hunt’s offseason incidents. But what’s a better way to investigate off-field conduct? Alabama (22:51): Backup quarterback Jalen Hurts led the Crimson Tide to victory. Should he be celebrated for his decision not to transfer? Gregg Berhalter (42:20): U.S. Soccer’s hiring process was awful, but how will Berhalter be as a coach? Afterballs (57:27): Stefan on Mongolian knuckle-bone shooting and Josh on the worst season ever by an NFL quarterback. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Slate Plus members get ad-free podcasts and bonus episodes of shows like Dear Prudence and Slow Burn. Sign up now to listen and support our work.Jennifer Aniston’s story had it all: Heartbreak, secrecy, sex, betrayal. But what it also had was a new kind of tabloid: Us Weekly and its copycats. Brad Pitt leaving Jennifer Aniston for Angelina Jolie would have been a huge Hollywood scandal no matter when it happened, but it became an even bigger one because it was turbocharged by these tabloids. Almost 15 years later, the tabloid In Touch ran an issue with the headline “Brad Stuns Jen! Marry Me again!” What is going on? How is it still going on? Why is it still going on? This is the last episode of Decoder Ring for 2018. See you in the new year.  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

From a very young age, Britney Spears seemed destined for stardom. The kid from Louisiana had landed a role on the revived Mickey Mouse Club and styled herself as a belter of power ballads. But to score her first No. 1 hit, Spears would team up with an introverted Swedish songwriter named Max Martin. He was trying to write American R&B and instead, through Britney and her high-school dance formations, created a new template for über–American teen-pop. This month, we go inside the Stockholm music factory—and its decades-long history, from ABBA to Ace of Base—that gave rise to a new generation of millennial pop, from the Backstreet Boys and *N Sync to Robyn and Taylor Swift. Email: hitparade@slate.com  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Julia Turner, Dana Stevens, and Stephen Metcalf discuss the Coen Bros. new film The Ballad of Buster Scruggs, HBO's Elena Ferrante adaptation My Brilliant Friend, and the art of adaptation.  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.