Slate Culture Feed

Dwayne Betts committed a carjacking when he was 16 years old. For his mom, Gloria Hill, it was just the first in a series of events in her life involving a gun.Subscribe to our weekly email newsletter, if you haven't already. Every Wednesday we send out podcast listening recommendations, fascinating letters from our inbox and updates from the show. 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.

Josh Levin and Stefan Fatsis discuss the women’s NCAA tournament with Jere Longman and Kara Lawson. Patrick Fort also joins to talk about emergency hockey goalies, and they interview Jack Alexander and Bill Bunten about sports before Brown v. Board. NCAA Tournament (2:20): The New York Times’ Jere Longman and ESPN’s Kara Lawson come on the show for a conversation about the last three games of the women’s basketball tournament, all of which were decided at the buzzer.  Emergency Goalies (29:18): How did a full-time accountant end up playing goalie for the Chicago Blackhawks? Should baseball, football, and other sports have rules that allow non-professionals to suit up in an emergency? Sports Before School Desegregation (43:07): Jack Alexander played basketball for the all-black Ramblers. Bill Bunten played for the all-white Trojans. The two men reflect on sports before school desegregation, and how coaching legend Dean Smith helped integrate the Topeka High School basketball team. Afterballs(56:18):  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In 1998, Madonna was at a career crossroads. After dominating the ’80s with hits like “Like a Virgin” and “Open Your Heart,” she spent the first half of the ’90s wavering between roles as a provocateur (Erotica, Sex) and adult-contemporary balladeer (“I’ll Remember,” “Take a Bow”). That’s when she took a sharp left turn, working with producers and deejays in the burgeoning electronica scene. If it even was a scene: The very term “electronica” was a music-business confection, and by 1997 it was more hype than hit. But the result of Madonna’s experiment—her acclaimed ’98 album Ray of Light—was not only one of her biggest smashes ever. It also helped turn electronic music into viable pop. Email: hitparade@slate.com    Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Josh Levin, ESPN’s Joel Anderson, and NPR’s Gene Demby discuss March Madness. They also talk about the sports world’s response to the police killing of Stephon Clark and how Kevin Love and DeMar Derozan started a conversation about mental health. NCAA Tournament (2:00): Josh, Joel, and Gene examine Loyola-Chicago’s Cinderella run to the Final Four, Duke’s ouster in the Elite Eight, and whether any women’s team other than the UConn matters. Stephon Clark (24:00): The hosts assess the sports world’s response the police killing of an unarmed black man in Sacramento, how activism is different in the NBA and NFL, and what it means that Eric Reid hasn’t yet been signed by an NFL team. Mental health in sports (38:00): Will Kevin Love’s Players’ Tribune piece help change the way we talk about athletes and masculinity? Should Royce White get more credit for starting the conversation about sports and mental health? Afterballs (52:30):  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Thom Tran was grazed by a bullet four days into his deployment in Iraq in 2003. He's spent the last 15 years figuring out what that moment means for him going forward.Death, Sex & Money is talking about masculinity! If you identify as a man, we want to know: what's the most confusing thing about being a man right now? Email us: men@deathsexmoney.orgSubscribe to our weekly email newsletter, if you haven't already. Every Wednesday we send out podcast listening recommendations, fascinating letters from our inbox and updates from the show. 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.

Stefan Fatsis and Josh Levin are joined by the New York Times’ Marc Tracy to discuss UMBC. Deadspin’s Dom Cosentino comes on to talk about Kirk Cousins’ new contract. Plus: Dave Kindred on covering girls’ high school basketball. NCAA (1:27): Stefan, Josh, and Marc Tracy of the New York Times recap the first weekend of the NCAA men’s basketball tournament, including 16-seed UMBC’s historic win over 1-seed Virginia. Kirk Cousins (23:30): Stefan and Josh are joined by Dom Cosentino of Deadspin to discuss whether NFL players and agents will be emboldened by free-agent quarterback Kirk Cousins’ groundbreaking guaranteed contract with the Minnesota Vikings. Dave Kindred (40:06): After retiring home to Illinois seven years ago, Dave Kindred began covering the local girls’ basketball team for fun. Then his wife suffered a massive stroke. Dave talks about the experience with Stefan and Josh. Afterballs( 56:30):  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

When musician Johnny Solomon hit rock bottom, he turned to his mom for help. Now, as his mom's health declines, he and his wife—and bandmate—have moved in with her to reciprocate. Subscribe to our weekly email newsletter, if you haven't already. Every Wednesday we send out podcast listening recommendations, fascinating letters from our inbox and updates from the show. 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.

Josh Levin and Stefan Fatsis talk with Slate’s Ben Mathis-Lilley about the NCAA Tournament, Slate’s Jim Newell joins to talk about Tiger Woods’ comeback, and ESPN’s Kevin Arnovitz assesses the Toronto Raptors and Houston Rockets. March Madness (1:31):Slate’s Ben Mathis-Lilley chats with Josh and Stefan about how to be a college basketball fan without being a huge hypocrite. Plus: Can Penn become the first No. 16 seed to beat a No. 1 in the history of the men’s tournament? Tiger Woods (19:47):Slate’s golf correspondent Jim Newell analyzes Woods’ second-place finish at the Valspar Championship, discusses Woods’ strange vocabulary, and looks at whether golf courses should be more patriotic. Raptors and Rockets (35:01): Kevin Arnovitz joins for a conversation about the NBA’s (maybe) two best teams. Are Toronto and Houston for real, and what explains their regular-season success? Afterballs (52:00): Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Guest hosts Daniel Engber and David Epstein talk with Carl Bialik about robot line judges in tennis, Mike Pesca joins for a review of NBA tanking, and Florentina Hettinga discusses the science of the Paralympics. Robot umpires (1:47): Carl Bialik discusses the latest innovation in line-calling technology and how it might affect tennis. Tanking (18:25): Hang Up host emeritus Mike Pesca chats about why there’s more tanking than ever in the NBA and what might be done about it. Paralympics (36:09): Sports scientist Florentina Hettinga sheds light on debates over classification in the world of disability sports. Afterballs (45:39): Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Amy took a mail-in DNA test to find out more about her genealogy...and learned more than she bargained for.Help us build the Death, Sex & Money starter kit! Go to deathsexmoney.org/starterkit and tell us your favorite episodes of the show. We'll enter you in a raffle to win a Skype karaoke session with Anna!Did you know we have a weekly email newsletter for the Death, Sex & Money community? Every Wednesday we send out podcast listening recommendations, fascinating letters from our inbox and updates from the show. 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.