Slate Culture Feed

In 2021, we released an episode called The Weight of Love, where listeners shared stories about weight, body size, and how those factors affect their romantic relationships. Fast-forward to 2024, and weight loss drugs like Ozempic and Wegovy have complicated these issues even further. This week, listeners share stories and questions about dating, romance, sex, and self-love in the Ozempic era, and we’ve assembled a panel of experts to respond. Ronald Young Jr. is the host of Weight For It, a podcast about the conversations that we tend to avoid when it comes to our bodies. Anna Holmes wrote about her experience with the weight loss drug Mounjaro for Slate (and she is also executive producer for the exciting new podcast, The Wonder of Stevie). Jill Lewis is a body-positive therapist based in Atlanta. You can follow her on Instagram @jlewistherapy. Podcast production by Zoe Azulay and Cameron Drews. 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 deathsexmoney@slate.com.Ad Disclosure in Podcast Description: A Bond Account is a self-directed brokerage account with Public Investing, member FINRA/SIPC. Deposits into this account are used to purchase 10 investment-grade and high-yield bonds. As of 9/26/24, the average, annualized yield to worst (YTW) across the Bond Account is greater than 6%. A bond’s yield is a function of its market price, which can fluctuate; therefore, a bond’s YTW is not “locked in” until the bond is purchased, and your yield at time of purchase may be different from the yield shown here. The “locked in” YTW is not guaranteed; you may receive less than the YTW of the bonds in the Bond Account if you sell any of the bonds before maturity or if the issuer defaults on the bond. Public Investing charges a markup on each bond trade. See our Fee Schedule. Bond Accounts are not recommendations of individual bonds or default allocations. The bonds in the Bond Account have not been selected based on your needs or risk profile. See https://public.com/disclosures/bond-account to learn more. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Hosts Alex Kirshner, and Ben Lindbergh are joined by Matt Brown of Extra Points for a discussion of how unified Republican control of the government could allow the NCAA to roll back college athletes’ newly won empowerment. They also talk about the NFL’s international aspirations, possible MLB off-season moves, plus a baseball-crosswords Afterballs. On the Bonus episode, available exclusively for Slate Plus members, Ben and Alex chat about MLS and Lionel Messi’s first playoffs.Trump and the NCAA (2:49): How college sports may welcome more conservative legislation.The NFL Abroad (27:33): How much does the rest of the world really love Football?The Juan Soto Sweepstakes (46:49): Where will the generational hitter land?Afterballs (1:08:03): Ben Lindbergh on the prevalence of baseball in crosswords.(Note: time codes are only accurate for Slate Plus members, who listen ad free.)Want more Hang Up and Listen? Subscribe to Slate Plus to immediately unlock weekly bonus episodes. Plus, you’ll access ad-free listening across all your favorite Slate podcasts. Subscribe now on Apple Podcasts by clicking “Try Free” at the top of our show page, or visit slate.com/hangupplus to get access wherever you listen. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Candice Lim is joined by Slate’s business and tech writer Nitish Pahwa, to discuss the internet history of Derek Guy, better known as @DieWorkwear on Twitter. Back in 2022, Elon Musk acquired Twitter, leading to major consequences for everyone’s timelines. One of those consequences was the unexpected boosting of Derek Guy, which led to his Twitter account reaching more than 1 million followers. Pahwa interviewed Guy back in 2023, and he returns to ICYMI to talk about Guy’s persona on the phone vs. online, and how the menswear pundit capitalized on becoming the Twitter guy we love to hate.This podcast is produced by Se’era Spragley Ricks, Daisy Rosario and Candice Lim, with production assistance from Alexandra Botti and Kat Hong. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

On this week’s show, Extremely Musical Friend of the Pod (EMFOP)‌ Chris Molanphy joins to memorialize pop’s Renaissance Man, Quincy Jones, who passed away on November 3, 2024. The legendary producer worked with every star under the sun, including Ray Charles, Aretha Franklin, and Chaka Khan, and created the best-selling album in history. (“Thriller,” maybe you’ve heard of it?)Then, the trio mulls over Conclave, a sumptuous new film by director Edward Berger (All Quiet on the Western Front) about what happens when the Pope dies. It’s a fun, pulp-y romp, but does the movie have anything profound to say?‌ Finally, the panel considers Martha, a Netflix documentary about Martha Stewart’s rise to fame – and confronts all of lifestyle guru’s charms, mysteries, and borderline sociopathic tendencies.Mentioned in today’s episode:‌Hit Parade’s “I Wanna Rock with Q“ series.Conclave review, written by Dana.In the exclusive Slate Plus bonus episode, the panel unpacks the most interesting part of Conclave:‌ that out-of-left-field plot twist.Email us at culturefest@slate.com. Endorsements:Dana:‌ Will &‌ Harper on Netflix.Steve:‌ Getting lost in “Songs of a Lost World,”‌ a new album by the Cure.Chris:‌ The podcast A Very Good Year.Julia:‌ Throwing a birthday for your house; commissioning a micro-history of your home.Podcast production by Jared Downing. Production assistance by Kat Hong. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

On today’s episode, Candice Lim is joined by Slate culture writer Nadira Goffe to share their favorite TikToks, tweets, and internet icons of late. They’ll discuss construction workers going viral and the newest Abbott Elementary guest star to inspire fan edits galore. But first, they discuss the peculiarity of People Magazine’s Sexiest Man Alive rollout and which categories caused the most confusion online.This podcast is produced by Se’era Spragley Ricks, Daisy Rosario and Candice Lim, with production assistance from Alexandra Botti. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The fear that the Earth could be destroyed by a killer asteroid is an anxiety that pops up all the time in fiction and is grounded in fact. But funnily enough—actually being pancaked by a giant space rock? Not something you need to spend a whole lot of time worrying about! And that’s because a bunch of NASA scientists and engineers are already worried about it for us. In this episode, science journalist Dr. Robin George Andrews tells us the story of NASA’s first-ever mission to defend the planet, which is the subject of his new book, How to Kill an Asteroid.This episode was written and produced by Sofie Kodner. It was edited by Willa Paskin and Evan Chung. Decoder Ring is produced by Willa Paskin, Evan Chung, Max Freedman and Katie Shepherd, with help from Sofie Kodner. Derek John is Executive Producer. Merritt Jacob is Senior Technical Director.If you have any cultural mysteries you want us to decode, email us at DecoderRing@slate.comWant more Decoder Ring? Subscribe to Slate Plus to unlock exclusive bonus episodes. Plus, you’ll access ad-free listening across all your favorite Slate podcasts. Subscribe now on Apple Podcasts by clicking “Try Free” at the top of the Decoder Ring show page. Or, visit slate.com/decoderplus to get access wherever you listen. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

From an early age, Alynda Segarra saw the people they loved grind it out in an American system that offered them little reward. Their father, a musician and Vietnam War veteran, suffered from PTSD, and their aunt and uncle, with whom they lived, were stretched beyond their means. Alynda decided they would take a different path: drop out of school, hop trains, and form a band. "I just thought I should take a bunch of risks in [my family's] honor," Alynda told Anna.In 2024, Hurray for the Riff Raff released their ninth album, The Past Is Still Alive, and it explores that early period of risk-taking and leaving home. In this episode, Alynda talks to Anna about how writing the album, plus the recent death of their father, made them reconsider family dynamics, joy, and what it means to be free.You can read their newsletter, Resist Psychic Death, here. There’s a playlist of the songs in our episode here. Podcast production by Zoe AzulayDeath, 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. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Hosts Alex Kirshner, Lindsay Gibbs, and Ben Lindbergh talk about the dominant Dodgers, why NCAA coaches are hiring lobbyists, election gambling, and the return of Afterballs! On the Bonus episode exclusively for Slate Plus members, the hosts get into esports, and gaming star FAKER's fifth League of Legends World Championship.World Series (4:47): The Dodgers were good. The Yankees were bad.Olympic Sports (19:23): a group of collegiate Olympic sports coaching associations hired lobbying firm FGS Global.Election Betting (35:58): The potential ramifications of sportsbooks hosting presidential election bets.Afterballs (48:29): Lindsay Gibbs on WTA Finals and Saudi Arabia(Note: time codes are only accurate for Slate Plus members, who listen ad free.)Disclosure in Podcast Description: A Bond Account is a self-directed brokerage account with Public Investing, member FINRA/SIPC. Deposits into this account are used to purchase 10 investment-grade and high-yield bonds. As of 9/26/24, the average, annualized yield to worst (YTW) across the Bond Account is greater than 6%. A bond’s yield is a function of its market price, which can fluctuate; therefore, a bond’s YTW is not “locked in” until the bond is purchased, and your yield at time of purchase may be different from the yield shown here. The “locked in” YTW is not guaranteed; you may receive less than the YTW of the bonds in the Bond Account if you sell any of the bonds before maturity or if the issuer defaults on the bond. Public Investing charges a markup on each bond trade. See our Fee Schedule. Bond Accounts are not recommendations of individual bonds or default allocations. The bonds in the Bond Account have not been selected based on your needs or risk profile. See https://public.com/disclosures/bond-account to learn more. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Candice Lim is joined by Pop Culture Debate Club host Ronald Young Jr. to reveal their favorite fictional presidents of film, television, and the internet. Twitter, Tumblr, and Facebook were historically platforms rife with presidential meme content. Since the 2016 election, however, there seems to have been a shift in the way the internet talks — or doesn’t talk — about the commander-in-chief. On today’s episode, ICYMI is recollecting the best rom-com presidents, the best action hero presidents, and the TikTok presidential ship that will never, ever die down.This podcast is produced by Se’era Spragley Ricks, Daisy Rosario and Candice Lim, with production assistance from Alexandra Botti. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Candice Lim and Slate culture writer Nadira Goffe dissect the drama surrounding country singer Zach Bryan and his breakup with Barstool Sports personality Brianna “Chickenfry” LaPaglia. On October 22, Bryan announced via Instagram Story that he had split from LaPaglia, which did not surprise certain corners of Reddit who had been discussing alleged Raya profiles and recent ominous podcast comments. But multiple online communities were praying for the downfall of this relationship, asking: How much of this celebration is warranted, and how should an online figure react when people openly await their demise? But first, Nadira details her reporting from the Timothée Chalamet look-alike contest this past weekend.This podcast is produced by Se’era Spragley Ricks, Daisy Rosario and Candice Lim, with production assistance from Alexandra Botti and Kat Hong. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.