Slate Culture Feed

On this week’s show, the panel begins by dissecting Mr. & Mrs. Smith, the episodic remake of Brangelina’s 2005 espionage film. The Prime Video series stars Donald Glover and Maya Erskine as the titular Smiths, spies who become “married” as a part of the job, and explores partnership in the gig economy in a quieter, smaller, and less glamorous version of the original. Then, they review The Color Purple, a movie-musical adapted from Alice Walker’s seminal novel. The film stars Fantasia Barrino and Taraji P. Henson, as well as Danielle Brooks, who was nominated for Best Supporting Actress for her role as Sofia. Finally, it’s the viral scam that rocked the internet: “The Day I Put $50,000 in a Shoe Box and Handed It to a Stranger” is a first-hand account written by The Cut’s financial-advice columnist, Charlotte Cowles, about the time she fell for an Amazon scam call. Our panel reviews the piece and explores its ethics. In the exclusive Slate Plus segment, Julia discusses her big life changes, including a new fellowship at USC Annenberg School for Communication and Journalism. Email us at culturefest@slate.com. Outro music: “Pull Me Out” by Mike StringerEndorsements:Dana: Dance Life on Prime Video, a five-episode series that follows the students at Brent Street Academy, the southern hemisphere’s most prestigious dance academy. Julia: The Hobonichi Techo Planner Book, a planner that’s descended from the heavens. The book uses thin and light yet durable paper and employs the same thread-stitch binding as a dictionary, allowing it to lay flat open for glorious, comfortable writing. Steve: A two-part endorsement: Listen to his playlist of cover songs, Let’s Dance, while making hand-made pasta with a Marcato hand-crank machine. Podcast production by Jared Downing. Production assistance by Kat Hong. HostsDana Stephens, Julia Turner, Stephen Metcalf Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Joel Anderson, Stefan Fatsis, and Josh Levin discuss whether the NBA All-Star Game is fixable. They also talk about whether Fanatics and Nike are destroying the sports uniform. Finally, writer Abraham Josephine Riesman joins to explain the allegations against wrestling impresario Vince McMahon and why they matter. All-Star Game (3:16): What can the league do to revive what used to be a showcase event? Uniforms (22:53): Baseball players say their new clothes are the pits. What happened? McMahon (42:37): What’s next for pro wrestling and the man who’s controlled it for decades? Afterball (1:01:43): Josh on the time the mayor of San Francisco insulted the 49ers’ backup quarterback. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Rachelle Hampton and Candice Lim catch up on the latest stories churning the Taylor Swift media machine, from her lawyers sending a cease and desist letter to a college student, to her possibly leading a groundbreaking case against AI deepfakes. Then, they break down the backlash surrounding Emily Mariko, who was criticized by her followers for selling out — and shelling out — a tote bag.This podcast is produced by Se’era Spragley Ricks, Daisy Rosario, Candice Lim and Rachelle Hampton. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

On this week’s show, the panel returns to 1985 and reviews The Greatest Night in Pop, Netflix’s star-studded documentary about how “We Are the World” (a charity single performed by USA for Africa, a supergroup comprised of the most popular artists not only of the time, but arguably, ever) came to be and the legendary night it was recorded. Although it features cameos from Michael Jackson, Lionel Richie, Diana Ross, Paul Simon, Tina Turner, Cyndi Lauper, and more, the documentary manages to be quite modest in its ambition. Then, the three discuss Rustin, director George C. Wolfe’s biopic about Bayard Rustin, an advisor to Martin Luther King Jr. whose legacy has often been glossed over. Rustin stars a fantastic Colman Domingo as its titular lead and is a celebratory example of the importance of telling gay/queer stories with queer creatives above and below the line of production. Finally, it’s the Slate True-Crime Canon! Cheyna Roth, contributor to the Canon and author of Between Two Wars: A True Crime Collection: Mysterious Disappearances, High-Profile Heists, Baffling Murders, and More joins to break down the monstrous endeavor. (Roth’s other book is Cold Cases: A True Crime Collection)In the exclusive Slate Plus segment, the panel discusses Super Bowl LVIII and analyzes the advertisements, Usher’s half-time performance, and the Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce love story at the center of it all. Email us at culturefest@slate.com. Outro music: "Self Made Woman" by Katharine AppletonEndorsements:Dana: Her perfect plane movie, Dumb Money, which features a superstar cast that’s always in-sync. Julia: Small Mercies by Dennis Lehane, an “all-consuming tale of revenge, family love, festering hate, and insidious power, set against one of the most tumultuous episodes in Boston’s history.” Steve: A liquidus piano album by Mary Lou Williams, Zodiac Suite. The 1945 album seamlessly mixes classical and jazz influences throughout 12 pieces, each named for a different astrological sign. Podcast production by Jared Downing. Production assistance by Kat Hong. HostsDana Stephens, Julia Turner, Stephen Metcalf Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Candice Lim is joined by dating culture researcher Lakshmi Rengarajan and culture writer Kate Lindsay to discuss the past, present and future of dating apps. Online dating has been around since the days of dial-up. But apps like Tinder disrupted the market and changed the way we’ve dated for the past decade. Recently, there’s been several trends emerging, from Gen-Z abandoning the apps to baby boomers finding love later in life. So are we witnessing the death of dating apps or have they integrated themselves so deeply into our lives that we can’t live without them?This podcast is produced by Se’era Spragley Ricks, Daisy Rosario, Candice Lim and Rachelle Hampton. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The eerie similarity of coffee shops all over the world was so confounding to Kyle Chayka that it led him to write the new book Filterworld: How Algorithms Are Flattening Culture. In today’s episode, Kyle’s going to walk us through the recent history of the cafe, to help us see how digital behavior is altering a physical space hundreds of years older than the internet itself, and how those changes are happening everywhere—it’s just easier to see them when they’re spelled out in latte art.This episode was written by Willa Paskin and produced by Katie Shepherd. Decoder Ring is produced by Willa Paskin, Katie Shepherd and Evan Chung. Derek John is Executive Producer. Merritt Jacob is Senior Technical Director. Special thanks to Ben Frisch and Patrick Fort. If you haven’t yet, please subscribe and rate our feed in Apple Podcasts or wherever you get your podcasts. And even better, tell your friends.If you’re a fan of the show, please sign up for Slate Plus. Members get to listen to Decoder Ring and all other Slate podcasts without any ads and have total access to Slate’s website. Your support is also crucial to our work. Go to Slate.com/decoderplus to join Slate Plus today.  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Joel Anderson, Stefan Fatsis, and Josh Levin discuss the Chiefs’ Super Bowl win over the 49ers, the performances of Patrick Mahomes and Brock Purdy, and how the new overtime rules played out. CNBC’s Alex Sherman also comes on to explain whether a new multi-network streaming deal will change how we watch sports. How the Chiefs won (3:41): This Mahomes guy is pretty good. Overtime (20:07): Did the 49ers screw up by taking the ball first? Streaming (35:47): What you need to know about the new service and the future of sports TV. Afterball (51:49): Stefan on the Chiefs’ legendary Black scout Lloyd Wells. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

On today’s show, Rachelle makes her triumphant return. She’s joined by A.W. Ohlheiser, a senior technology reporter and editor at Vox, who recently wrote about the complicated lives and deaths of TikTok’s illness influencers. As Ohlheiser wrote, “These stories — whether held in an archive of personal letters, a widely discussed lecture, or on the For You pages of millions — are all shaped by the expectations of the ‘well.’ Turning sickness into content can get views. And just like any content, not all people, or illnesses, have an equal chance of going viral.”But first, Candice fills Rachelle in on what she’s missed online during her time off.This podcast is produced by Se’era Spragley Ricks, Daisy Rosario, Candice Lim and Rachelle Hampton. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Barbra Streisand: star of stage and screen. Oscar-winner, film director and TV producer. Culture warrior and meme generator.Yes, all that—but don’t get it twisted: Barbra’s legend rests in her catalog of hit songs—and that voice.Even as culture vultures consume her recent doorstop of a memoir My Name Is Barbra, what’s getting overlooked are Streisand’s awesome musical benchmarks, especially on the Billboard charts. All of those records Taylor Swift has been setting on the album chart, and Billie Eilish on the Grammys? Babs got there first.At a time when rock was ascendant and showtunes were on the wane, Streisand set her own pop agenda, scoring brassy hits that weren’t trendy but topped the charts anyway. She became a pop star, Broadway legend and box-office commander practically simultaneously.Join Chris Molanphy as he tells the story of the original Queen of All Media and explains how she racked up all those hits your mom loved (be honest, you know them too) and made “memories, like the corners of [your] mind.” Trust us: It’ll be like buttah.Podcast production by Kevin Bendis. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

We’re back with a new batch of cultural mysteries! This year, we’re putting out more new episodes—like many more of them. We’ll be diving down a new rabbit hole every two weeks all year long. Starting with a question hiding in plain sight: why do so many coffee shops look the same? We’re also heading back to the early 1990s to ask if you can successfully sell a soda by celebrating that it’s just… OK?You can hear these episodes and more on Decoder Ring — now in your feed every two weeks beginning Feb. 14. Make sure to follow us so you never miss an episode. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.