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Political Gabfest Reads: Race, Money and Fictional Life at the University of Arkansas Feb 17, 2024

Show notes

David Plotz talks with author Kiley Reid about her new book, Come & Get It. They discuss how money can work in the same way as language, writing realistic dialogue, and the things we can’t let go of.

Tweet us your questions @SlateGabfest or email us at gabfest@slate.com. (Messages could be quoted by name unless the writer stipulates otherwise.)

Podcast production by Cheyna Roth.

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ICYMI: The Turbulence of Air Force Taylor Feb 17, 2024

Show notes

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.

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Slate Money: America is Beating Everyone Feb 17, 2024

Show notes

This week, Felix Salmon, Emily Peck and Elizabeth Spiers explain why factories, energy, stimulus money, and immigration have helped the U.S. economy succeed where its rivals struggle. Also: The failed Universal Music deal that silenced Taylor Swift music on TikTok, and why a typo by Lyft was the scourge of after-hours traders. In the Plus segment: Why is chocolate chip ice cream so hard to find?

If you enjoy this show, please consider signing up for Slate Plus. Slate Plus members get an ad-free experience across the network and an additional segment of our show every week. You’ll also be supporting the work we do here on Slate Money. Sign up now at slate.com/moneyplus to help support our work.

Podcast production by Jared Downing and Cheyna Roth.

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A Word: Ghost in the Medical Machine Feb 16, 2024

Show notes

The promise of artificial intelligence in medicine is that it can reduce the influence of human error and bias in health care. But there’s growing concern that A.I. in medicine –as in other fields– can reflect the biases and lack of diversity among its creators. And that can have life threatening consequences for African American patients. On today’s episode of A Word, Jason Johnson is joined by Margo Snipe, a health reporter for CapitalB News. They discuss how A.I. can sometimes fuel medical racism, and reasons to hope that it can change.

Guest: Margo Snipe, health journalist for CapitalB News

Podcast production by Kristie Taiwo-Makanjuola

You can skip all the ads in A Word by joining Slate Plus. Sign up now at slate.com/awordplus for $15 for your first three months.

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Dear Prudence: How Do I Get Over Someone I Never Dated? Help! Feb 16, 2024

Show notes

In this episode, Jenna Wortham (Black Futures and Still Processing) joins Prudie (Jenée Desmond-Harris) to answer letters from readers about how to get over a crush, what to do about a fiancé’s sneaky candy bar habit, and how to cope when your best friend’s secret social media reveals that she’s an unapologetic bigot who hates pretty much everyone.

If you want more Dear Prudence, join Slate Plus, Slate’s membership program. Jenée answers an extra question every week, just for members.

Go to Slate.com/prudieplus to sign up. It’s just $15 for your first three months.

This podcast is produced by Se’era Spragley Ricks, Daisy Rosario, and Jenée Desmond-Harris, with help from Maura Currie.

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Decoder Ring: Why Do So Many Coffee Shops Look the Same? Feb 14, 2024

Show notes

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.

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Well, Now: What We Get Wrong About Love Feb 14, 2024

Show notes

On this week’s episode of Well, Now’s ditching the flowers and grand romantic gestures we often see on Valentine’s Day.

There’s tons of research about how loving relationships contribute to wellness, as well as how lacking those relationships can play a part in adverse health outcomes. But what if our entire understanding of love is misguided?

Kavita and Maya talk with relationship expert Dr. Sara Nasserzadeh about what she says are the six components for creating real, long-lasting intimate relationships. Her latest book is called Love By Design: Six Ingredients to Build a Lifetime of Love.

If you liked this episode, check out: What “Wellness” Is and Isn’t

Podcast production by Vic Whitley-Berry with editorial oversight by Alicia Montgomery.

Send your comments and recommendations on what to cover to wellnow@slate.com

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Outward: The Inherent Queerness of Poetry Feb 14, 2024

Show notes

This Valentine’s Day Poet Cyrée Jarelle Johnson is joined by Outward producer Palace Shaw to share poems and chat about the inherent queerness of poetry and romance. They get into disabled approaches to sex, the trope of the queer doppelganger date, and give some advice to all the queer lovers out there.

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ICYMI: The State of Dating Apps Feb 14, 2024

Show notes

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.

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Culture Gabfest: We’re Saving Our Own Lives Feb 14, 2024

Show notes

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 Appleton

Endorsements:

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.

Hosts

Dana Stephens, Julia Turner, Stephen Metcalf

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