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Working: Home Staging With a Pop of Color Nov 12, 2023

Show notes

This week, guest-host Kristen Meinzer talks to Nikki Watson, a home staging expert who founded The Design Quad, one of the biggest home staging companies in the country. In the interview, Nikki explains what a home stager does and how it’s different from the work of an interior designer. She also discusses trends in the industry, like the “monochromatic” color palettes, and her ability to evoke emotions with her staging.

After the interview, Kristen and co-host Isaac Butler talk more about trends and how to think about them in your work.

In the exclusive Slate Plus segment, Nikki shares her biggest home staging pet peeves.

Send your questions about creativity and any other feedback to working@slate.com or give us a call at (304) 933-9675.

Podcast production by Cameron Drews.

If you enjoy this show, please consider signing up for Slate Plus. Slate Plus members get an ad-free experience across the network and exclusive content on many shows—you’ll also be supporting the work we do here on Working. Sign up now at slate.com/workingplus to help support our work.

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ICYMI: Restaurant Wars: Keith Lee vs. Atlanta Nov 11, 2023

Show notes

In this episode, Rachelle and Candice map out what happened when TikTok food personality Keith Lee traveled to Atlanta and ignited a culinary controversy. Lee is a former MMA fighter-turned-influencer who has been taking food tours around the country, ranking their cuisine and posting his reviews on TikTok. He was tasting restaurants in Atlanta when the itinerary took a turn for the worst: badly-reviewed establishments were fighting back online, one restaurant started receiving death threats, and even Cardi B had something to say. So how did a humble TikTok food critic become a lightning rod for such fierce (and dangerous) culinary criticism?

This podcast is produced by Se’era Spragley Ricks, Daisy Rosario, Candice Lim and Rachelle Hampton.

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Hit Parade: Ride ’til I Can’t No More Edition Part 1 Nov 11, 2023

Show notes

When it crash-landed on the charts in 2019, Lil Nas X’s “Old Town Road” felt new and old at the same time: a savvy, TikTok-fueled viral hit that summarized a century of cross-cultural collisions between R&B, rap and country. It was also unexpectedly huge—a record 19 weeks at No. 1 on the Hot 100—and controversial, as Billboard magazine pulled the song from its Hot Country Songs chart, prompting a reckoning on race and the very definition of country music.

“Old Town Road” wasn’t just a reckoning—it was a culmination. As a hard-to-categorize hit, it called back to cross-genre experiments by everyone from Ray Charles and the Rappin’ Duke to Bubba Sparxxx and even Jason Aldean. As a viral smash, its antecedents date back to “The Twist,” right through “Crank That (Soulja Boy)” and “Harlem Shake.”

In honor of his new book Old Town Road (now in bookstores!) join Chris Molanphy as he walks through the many predecessors to “Old Town Road” and explains why can’t nobody tell Lil Nas X nothin’.

Podcast production by Kevin Bendis.

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A Word: Black Voters, Blue Waves? Nov 10, 2023

Show notes

Despite dismal poll numbers for President Biden, the off-year elections brought big wins for Democrats around the country, including in red states. Kentucky’s Democratic Governor Andy Beshear beat Black Republican Daniel Cameron to retain his seat, while Ohio voters supported legalized marijuana and abortion rights, in defiance of the state’s GOP leaders. On today’s episode of A Word, Jason Johnson is joined by Brandon Tensley, national political reporter for Capital B News, to talk about the role of Black voters in Democratic victories, and what it all could mean for the 2024 general elections.

Guest: Brandon Tensley, national political reporter for Capital B 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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The Waves: The Golden Bachelor Recap - The Women Tell All and Mince No Words Nov 10, 2023

Show notes

On this week’s episode of The Waves, we get the first Women Tell All episode of The Golden Bachelor. Waves recap co-hosts Cheyna Roth and Laura Stassi have some thoughts for Gerry.

Podcast production by Vic Whitley-Berry and Cheyna Roth with editorial oversight by Daisy Rosario and Alicia Montgomery.

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

If you enjoy this show, please consider signing up for Slate Plus. Slate Plus members get an ad-free experience across the network and exclusive content on many shows—you’ll also be supporting the work we do here on The Waves. Sign up now at slate.com/thewavesplus to help support our work.

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Dear Prudence: My Coworker Keeps Kissing Me on the Cheek. Help! Nov 10, 2023

Show notes

In this episode, Alison Green (author of Ask a Manager) joins Prudie (Jenée Desmond-Harris) to answer letters about workplace dilemmas: what to do when you can’t stop crying at the office, whether it makes sense to share an autism diagnosis with your team, and PDA with a colleague.

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.

Podcast production by Se’era Spragley Ricks and Daisy Rosario, with help from Maura Currie.

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The Waves: How to Be a Woman in Music Nov 09, 2023

Show notes

On this week’s episode of The Waves, what’s it like to be an indie musician? Slate senior producer Cheyna Roth is joined by singer and songwriter Dessa. They dig into her newest album and how she has benefited from and been hurt by being a woman in the music industry. Later in the show they explore the breakup song - and all the gendered expectations that go along with writing one.

In Slate Plus: What do a dentist, neuroscientists, and puppeteers all have in common? They’ve worked with Dessa.

If you liked this episode, check out: Penis Politics

Podcast production by Cheyna Roth and Vic Whitley-Berry with editorial oversight by Daisy Rosario and Alicia Montgomery.

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

Slate Plus members get bonus segments and ad-free podcast feeds. Sign up now at slate.com/thewavesplus.

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Outward: Jeopardy Champion Amy Schneider Nov 08, 2023

Show notes

This week, Christina Cauterucci, Jules Gill-Peterson, and Bryan Lowder talk with Jeopardy! winner and trans trailblazer Amy Schneider about her bold new memoir In The Form of a Question. Amy won $1.3 million after a 40 day winning streak in 2021, the longest streak for a woman in the show’s history. In this episode, Amy talks about the decision to be herself on her historical Jeopardy! run and why it felt important to not skip the tarot, drugs, and ‘messiness’ in her new memoir.

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Decoder Ring: The Dating Manual Unlike Any Other Nov 08, 2023

Show notes

From the moment it was released in 1995, The Rules was controversial.. Some people loved it—and swore that the dating manual’s throwback advice helped them land a husband. Others thought it was retrograde hogwash that flew in the face of decades of feminist progress. The resulting brouhaha turned the book into a cultural phenomenon. In this episode, Slate’s Heather Schwedel explores where The Rules came from, how it became so popular, and why its list of 35 commandments continue to be so sticky—whether we like it or not.

Decoder Ring is produced by Willa Paskin and Katie Shepherd. This episode was edited by Willa Paskin. Derek John is executive producer. Joel Meyer is senior editor/producer. Merritt Jacob is our senior technical director.

We’d like to to thank Benjamin Frisch, Rachel O'Neill, Penny Love, Heather Fain, Elif Batuman, Laura Banks, Marlene Velasquez-Sedito, Leigh Anderson, Caroline Smith. We also want to mention two sources that were really helpful: Labour of Love by Moira Weigel, a paper called Shrinking Violets and Caspar Milquetoasts by Patricia McDaniel

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Culture Gabfest: Does Voice-Over Kill the Killer? Nov 08, 2023

Show notes

This week, the panel is joined first by Isaac Butler, co-host of Slate’s Working podcast and author of The Method: How the Twentieth Century Learned to Act, to debate the merits of David Fincher’s The Killer and whether the director’s latest “thriller” (which stars Michael Fassbender) is a masterful example of craft or simply a logic-free time-suck. Then, Dana, Julia, and Stephen explore the world of Letterboxd, the self-proclaimed “Goodreads of movies” that may be the only positive social media platform left. Finally, the trio is joined by Extreme Friend of the Pod Chris Molanphy to discuss his wonderful new book, Old Town Road, which considers Lil Nas X's debut single as pop artifact, chart phenomenon, and cultural watershed.

In the exclusive Slate Plus segment, the panel asks: what’s the deal with long movies? Are today’s films getting longer or is it just a figment of our imagination?

Email us at culturefest@slate.com.

Endorsements:

Dana: A hometown endorsement of Slate’s excellent coverage of the Sam Bankman-Fried trial, specifically a piece by Nitish Pahwa entitled “The Days the Chips Fell,” which chronicles what Pahwa witnessed in the courtroom the day Bankman-Fried was found guilty.

Julia: The Last Waltz, Martin Scorsese’s iconic 1978 concert documentary that captures the Band’s legendary farewell performance in San Francisco. It depicts a very specific image of the male rockstar era, highlighting both the vanity and vulnerability of its stars. Dana also wrote about The Last Waltz for Slate in 2012!

Stephen: Taken by the retro-feel of The Holdovers’ trailer, Stephen endorses the song featured in it, “Silver Joy” by Damien Jurado.

Outro music: “Go Slow” by Daniel Fridell

Podcast production by Cameron Drews. Production assistance by Kat Hong.

If you enjoy this show, please consider signing up for Slate Plus. Slate Plus members get an ad-free experience across the network and exclusive content on many shows. You’ll also be supporting the work we do here on the Culture Gabfest. Sign up now at Slate.com/cultureplus to help support our work.

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