Slate Culture Feed

When Miranda July entered her early forties, she noticed a grim feeling emerge. “It wasn't coming from me,” she said, “I guess it came from this lack of imagery, or stories, or even just basic medical information about what was going to happen next with my body.” The dearth of information and near absence of cultural mythology about perimenopause and menopause became the catalyst for her novel All Fours, which came out in May and quickly became a New York Times bestseller. In this episode, Miranda talks about the unease that inspired the book and speculates about what the future could look like if more people openly discussed this crucial chapter of life. We also hear from listeners who share their experiences with perimenopause and menopause. The interview with Miranda was recorded live in San Francisco for City Arts & Lectures.You can check out a great profile of Miranda, which is referenced in the episode, here: https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2024/05/20/miranda-july-profile  Podcast production by 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, or critiques, is deathsexmoney@slate.com. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Stefan Fatsis and Josh Levin discuss the Dream Team’s close calls on the road to gold, and the U.S. women’s basketball team’s narrow victory, too. They break down the quick overhaul of the U.S. women’s soccer team, which won its first gold medal since 2012. Finally, they assess whether the visually beautiful and athletically compelling Paris Games restored the Olympics’ luster.Basketball (4:12): The U.S. men and women survived gold-medal scares from host France.Soccer (19:25): The new-look U.S. women’s team topped Brazil for gold.Olympics roundup (34:58): Did Paris help the Games regain their mojo?(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 internet culture writer Steffi Cao, whose Substack recently started an advice column all about internet etiquette. On today’s episode, they’re answering reader questions such as: Should I report unhinged Facebook behavior? And should I get into political fights in the DMs?This podcast is produced by Se’era Spragley Ricks, Daisy Rosario and Candice Lim. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

For decades—literally since Woodstock—female musicians had battled music-industry perceptions that amassing too many of them, on the radio or on the road, was bad for business. And yet, by the ’90s, women were vital to the rise of alt-rock and hip-hop on the charts: from Suzanne Vega to Queen Latifah, Tracy Chapman to Sheryl Crow, Natalie Merchant to Missy Elliott.Sarah McLachlan harnessed this energy into an all-woman tour she dubbed Lilith Fair. Its string of sellouts from 1997 to ’99 affirmed women’s clout in the decade of grunge-and-gangsta. But the festival was also criticized for its narrow focus and for branding “women’s music” as a genre. More than two decades later, Hit Parade assesses the legacy of Lilith on the charts and on the road—how its performers, attendees and musical descendants are helping to ensure the future is female.Podcast production by Benjamin Frisch and Kevin Bendis. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Today, we’re revisiting one of our favorite episodes from this January about longform video essays.In this episode, Candice Lim is joined by Anisa Khalifa, a podcast producer and host of The Broadside from WUNC. They dissect the phenomenon surrounding video essays, which are not exactly new to YouTube, but finding a captivated audience in Gen-Z and millennial culture. From deep dives into The Hobbit to retellings of Greek mythology, the ability to analyze pop culture, cite sources and listen to spoken essays uninterrupted is creating the hunger for more longform content.This podcast is produced by Se’era Spragley Ricks, Daisy Rosario and Candice Lim. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

On this week’s show, it’s the return of a Cultfest favorite: The Annual Summer Strut Episode! As per tradition, the panel is joined by Slate’s pop music critic and chart analyst (and host of the podcast Hit Parade) Chris Molanphy to celebrate his tenth (!!) year of Summer Strutting —before the four dive into their favorite picks from this year’s massive playlist, populated with song recommendations from our lovely listeners. You can find the panel’s collective favorites here, at the Summer Strut ‘24 Shortlist. In addition, Dana, Julia, and Stephen, have also published their personal best-of lists. Brave listeners are welcome to explore the enormous original playlist here. In the exclusive Slate Plus segment, the panel breezes through two additional lightning rounds of Strut picks, including a very cool, pastiche track from the Avalanches called “Because I’m Me.” Email us at culturefest@slate.com. Podcast production by Jared Downing. Production assistance by Kat Hong.  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

When Angela first started working at a debt collection agency, she says she barely understood what her job was. "I was so completely awestruck that people didn't pay their bills," she told Anna in 2019, when this episode originally aired. Angela ended up working as a collector for 15 years, working her way up and getting monthly bonuses for getting people to pay up. But then, in 2018, she was accused of being part of a scheme to collect debt in unlawful ways, and was banned from the industry for life. Soon after she started racking up debt of her own, and got calls from bill collectors. At first, she said, she would pick up the phone when collectors called, just to critique them. "Now I just block the number and move on," she said. "I will eventually get them paid off and until I can, there is no point in wasting their time." Podcast production by Katie Bishop in 2019.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. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Morgan Campbell, Stefan Fatsis, and Josh Levin discuss Noah Lyles’ stunning win in the men’s 100 meters and Sha’Carri Richardson’s silver in the women’s. Slate’s Christina Cauterucci explains the controversy about the women boxers accused of failing a gender-eligibility test. Plus, Olympics potpourri, including NBC’s announcing fails, tennis genius, and archery thrills.100 meters (2:34): Noah Lyles nipped Jamaica’s Kishane Thompson in one of the most exciting races in Olympics history.Women’s boxing(17:41): Slate’s Christina Cauterucci on the culture-war furor around two women boxers.Olympics potpourri (34:48): NBC’s 100-meters and gymnastics fails, a scintillating men’s tennis final, and a golden arrow.(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 and Slate culture writer Nadira Goffe curate the internet’s best memes and moments from the 2024 Paris Olympics thus far. From the best Snoop Dogg moment to their favorite Olympic TikToker, they begin with the question on everyone’s mind: who’s winning the gold medal for best Olympic crush?This podcast is produced by Se’era Spragley Ricks, Daisy Rosario and Candice Lim, with production assistance by Jared Downing. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

On today’s episode, Candice Lim and Slate culture writer Nadira Goffe break down the allegations surrounding YouTuber and podcaster Cody Ko. In May, fellow YouTuber Tana Mongeau alleged that Ko had sex with her when she was 17 and he was 25. While covered by outlets such as Rolling Stone, the controversy did not pick up steam until commentary YouTuber D’Angelo Wallace posted a 15-minute video investigating Mongeau’s claims and mapping out Ko’s history of burying controversies.Since then, Ko has lost more than 300,000 subscribers and his podcast network claims he “will not be involved in the day-to-day operations” of their business. However, fans have lingering questions, such as: did Ko’s associates try to squash the controversy on Reddit? Why were Mongeau’s allegations not taken seriously the first time? And what happens when a commentary YouTuber espouses the rampant misogyny they so heavily criticize online?This podcast is produced by Se’era Spragley Ricks, Daisy Rosario and Candice Lim. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.