Slate Culture Feed

On today’s show, Rachelle is joined by Slate staff writer Nitish Pahwa for a mailbag episode. The two answer questions about Jojo Siwa’s rumored pregnancy, the fate of the music industry after an AI-generated Drake song went viral and the most recent instance of internet vigilantism.This podcast is produced by Se’era Spragley Ricks, Rachelle Hampton and Daisy Rosario. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Stefan Fatsis and Josh Levin are joined by Slate’s Jack Hamilton to talk about Draymond Green, Dillon Brooks, and NBA villainy. Chicago White Sox announcer Jason Benetti also joins to discuss how to call a baseball game in the pitch-clock era. Finally, Talia Barrington comes on for a conversation about same-sex pairs in figure skating. NBA villains (3:01): The basketball playoffs need bad guys. Jason Benetti (24:39): “We are covering a different sport now.” Same-sex pairs (47:10): Is figure skating ready for a monumental change? Afterball (1:05:24): Stefan on the Athletics’ long history of threatening to move. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

On today’s episode, Rachelle is joined by Alex Sujong Laughlin, a supervising producer and co-owner of Defector Media where she makes the podcast, Normal Gossip. Alex and Rachelle dive deep into the age-old debate over concert spoilers, a debate that’s been turbo-charged by TikTok where over 80 million people watched the first two nights of Taylor Swift's "Eras" The ease of finding a livestream of some of the most expensive concerts in the world raises the question: why go to a concert when you can go on TikTok?This podcast is produced by Se’era Spragley Ricks, Rachelle Hampton and Daisy Rosario. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week, Slate’s Sam Adams joins Dana and Stephen to talk about auteur Ari Aster’s newest film, Beau is Afraid. Then they discuss the new Hulu limited series, Tiny Beautiful Things. Finally, they chat about the state of the music business as inspired by this recent article: https://www.thenation.com/article/society/music-industry-ipod/In Slate Plus, the panel goes deep into spoilers and specifics about Beau is Afraid. Email us at culturefest@slate.com.Endorsements: Dana: Sir John Soane’s Museum in London. Sam: The Voyager by Jenny LewisStephen: Multitudes by Feist, as well as the Feist and Kings of Convenience collaboration “Red Wing” (mislabeled as “Rewind” on YouTube). Podcast production by Cameron Drews. Production assistance by Yesica Balderrama.Outro music: "Did I Make You Wait" by Staffan CarlenSlate Plus members get ad-free podcasts, a bonus segment in each episode of the Culture Gabfest, full access to Slate's journalism on Slate.com, and more. Sign up now at slate.com/cultureplus. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

On today’s show, Rachelle is joined by Jonquilyn Hill, reporter and host of Vox’s politics and policy show The Weeds. The two take a deep dive into the most recent season of the Netflix reality dating show Love is Blind and how the internet has become the show’s shadow producer. They discuss Netflix’s attempt to muscle its way into the live-streaming market and the spectacular failure of the highly-anticipated live Love is Blind reunion on Sunday night.This podcast is produced by Se’era Spragley Ricks, Daisy Rosario and Rachelle Hampton.Make an impact this Earth Month by helping Macy’s on their mission to bring more parks to more people across the country. Go to macys.com/purpose to learn more. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Last week, we put on the proverbial raincoat and made like Columbo to investigate Peter Falk’s claim that he recorded a special Cold War message telling Romanians to “put down their guns.” This week, we’re back on the case, and what started out as a zany inquiry goes to some serious and surprising places.Part two of this caper, involves dubbers, propagandists, a couple of 90 year olds and the legacy of a brutal dictatorship. It’s a story about celebrity, diplomacy, memory, and the limitations of all three—and about the power of television not to get Romanians to put down their guns, as Falk would have it, but to pick them up.This podcast was written by Willa Paskin who produces Decoder Ring with Katie Shepherd. This episode was edited by Joel Meyer. Derek John is Slate’s executive producer of narrative podcasts. Merritt Jacob is senior technical director.Special thank you to Oana Godanu Kenworthy who was instrumental in figuring this all out as well as Andrada Lautaru who translated and worked with us from Romania.Thank you to: Andrei Codrescu, Cameron Gorman, Gabriel Roth, Ilinca Calugareanu, Harry Geisel, Elaine McDevitt, Michael Messenger, Gerald Krell, Ash Hawken, Tom Mullins, Jessica Leporin, Jerry Gruner and Marie Whalen.There’s a number of documentaries that were instrumental to reporting this episode: Videograms from a Revolution; Chuck Norris vs Communism; The Autobiography of Nicolae Ceausescu, The Rise and Fall of Ceausescu: and Whatever Happened to Blood Sweat and Tears. If you can’t get enough Columbo, make sure to listen to our previous two-parter on McGruff the crime dog, who was directly inspired by Peter Falk’s detective, and features a wild soundtrack.If you haven’t yet, please subscribe and rate our feed on Spotify, Apple Podcasts or wherever you get your podcasts. And even better, tell your friends.If you’re a fan of the show, we'd love for you to sign up for Slate Plus. Slate Plus members get to listen to Decoder Ring without any ads. Their support is also crucial to our work. So please go to www.slate.com/decoderplus to join Slate Plus today. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Stefan Fatsis and Josh Levin are joined by Defector’s Patrick Redford to talk about the Sacramento Kings’ first playoff win in 17 years. Defector’s Dave McKenna also joins to commemorate the (supposed) end of Dan Snyder’s ownership of the Washington Commanders. Finally, Sports Illustrated’s Jon Wertheim comes on to assess the WTA’s decision to return to China. Kings (3:21): What it felt and sounded like when Sacramento beat Golden State. Snyder (23:31): Will D.C. ever recover from his horrific tenure? WTA (45:47): Is women’s tennis choosing profit over principle? Afterball (1:07:47): Josh on a remarkable shift in American tennis. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

For the third installment of Internet Diaries, Rachelle is joined by 21-year-old cultural critic and internet essayist Rayne Fisher-Quann, who has amassed a devoted following on TikTok, Substack, Instagram and Twitter. The two discuss Fisher-Quann’s online work around leftism, feminism, mental illness, along with her ethics of posting and how she resists brandification even as her star continues to rise.This podcast is produced by Se’era Spragley Ricks, Rachelle Hampton and Daisy Rosario.Make an impact this Earth Month by helping Macy’s on their mission to bring more parks to more people across the country. Go to macys.com/purpose to learn more. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Before 1964, British bands couldn’t get anywhere on the U.S. charts. Then suddenly, after a certain Fab Four broke, they were everywhere. By 1965, they had locked down our Top 10.In 1981, a new generation of U.K. acts armed with synthesizers were largely shut out of the Hot 100 once again. But then a new video channel called MTV changed the game—helped by some very pretty men in dapper suits. By 1983, half of the U.S. Top 40 had a British accent.What did these two movements have in common, besides screaming fans and impressive hair? Join Chris Molanphy as he dissects these two bloodless coups that rebooted our hit parade. These Invasions were about as easy as a nuclear war.Podcast production by Kevin Bendis.Make an impact this Earth Month by helping Macy’s on their mission to bring more parks to more people across the country. Go to macys.com/purpose to learn more. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The writer talks about longing to fall in love, his life with mental illness, and why  adulthood is underrated. This episode originally aired in 2018, and contains a description of suicidal ideation. If you find yourself in a moment of crisis like John did and need to talk with someone, the National Suicide Prevention Hotline is 988. They're open 24/7—please ask for help.Did you know we have a weekly email newsletter for the Death, Sex & Money community? Every Wednesday we send out a note from Anna, fascinating listener 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 at deathsexmoney@wnyc.org. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.