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Decoder Ring: McGruff Takes a Bite Out of Crime Pt. 2 Oct 12, 2022

Show notes

McGruff the Crime Dog arrived on the scene at the dawn of the 1980s, just as a firehose of anti-drug PSAs was inundating the youth of America. These messages didn’t always work as intended—but they did work their way into the long term memories of the kids who heard them.

In the second episode of our two-part series on the weird world of PSAs and very special episodes, we look at how the McGruff Smart Kids Album influenced everything from straight-edge hardcore to a couple’s wedding playlist. We’ll hear from Sarah Hubbard, Dan Danger, Joseph Cappella, David Farber, Mike Hawes, Robin Nelson, Daisy Rosario, and Tatiana Peralta.

This podcast was written by Willa Paskin, who produces Decoder Ring with Katie Shepherd. This episode was edited by Jamie York. Derek John is Slate’s Sr. Supervising Producer of Narrative Podcasts. Merritt Jacob is Sr. Technical Director.

Thank you to Tatiana Peralta, Ari Merkin, Wendy Melillo, Dan McQuade, Dale Mantley, Larissa Zargeris, Dave Bledsoe, Larre Johnson, Duane Poole, Eric Greenberg, Charles and Karen Rosen, and Jennifer Holland, Orla Mejia, Andres Martinez and everyone else at the Rutgers library who helped me listen to some old cassette tapes.

A few things that were helpful in working on this piece: How McGruff and the Crying Indian Changed America: A History of Iconic Ad Council Campaigns by Wendy Melillo, Taking a Bite out of Crime: the Impact of the National Citizens Crime Prevention Media Campaign by Garrett J O’keefe and others, and “This McGruff Drug Album Might As Well Be By Weird Al,” by Dan McQuade for Defector Media. You can hear Daniel Danger’s McGruff cover album in it’s entirety or you can purchase it here. And lastly, if you are interested in hearing the full McGruff educational program or any of Puppet Productions productions they are available for purchase at puppetsinc.com, part of a company that Rob Nelson still runs.

If you have any cultural mysteries you want us to decode, email us at DecoderRing@slate.com

If you love the show and want to support us, consider joining Slate Plus. With Slate Plus you get ad-free podcasts, bonus episodes, and total access to all of Slate’s journalism.

Check out Remote Works here.

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Hang Up: Wembanyama Mania Oct 11, 2022

Show notes

Joel Anderson, Stefan Fatsis, and Josh Levin talk about the Warriors’ Draymond Green punching his teammate Jordan Poole. They also discuss 7-foot-4 basketball phenom Victor Wembanyama. Finally, the Athletic’s Steph Yang joins for a conversation about Sally Yates’ report on abuse in the National Women’s Soccer League.

Warriors (4:59): How should the team handle Draymond’s punch? Is he done in Golden State?

Wembanyama (28:24): Can the 18-year-old Frenchman possibly live up to all this hype?

Soccer abuse (49:09): What we learned from the report and what comes next.

Afterball (1:12:20): Stefan revisits cheating in chess and Scrabble.

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Working: Movie Poster Design, With Artist Drusilla Adeline Oct 09, 2022

Show notes

This week, host Karen Han talks to artist Drusilla Adeline, who works primarily as a movie poster and cover designer. Her work includes the poster for Armageddon Time, as well as the one for Bodies, Bodies, Bodies. She also designed the cover and other materials for the Criterion Collection’s edition of David Lynch’s The Elephant Man. In the interview, Drusilla breaks down her creative process and demystifies the art of movie poster and cover design.

After the interview, Karen and co-host June Thomas discuss some of Drusilla’s brainstorming techniques when she’s starting a new project. They also share some of their favorite movie posters.

In the exclusive Slate Plus segment, Drusilla talks about the movie posters that are currently hanging on her walls.

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.

Check out Remote Works here: https://link.chtbl.com/remoteworks?sid=podcast.WORKING

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ICYMI: The Bling Ring Wasn’t Possible Without the Internet Oct 08, 2022

Show notes

The early years of social media were a wild place where people weren’t really thinking about what they were posting, which is something the teenagers of the Bling Ring took advantage of when they started using celebrity gossip sites, Facebook, MySpace and Google Maps to target their famous victims. On today’s show, Rachelle is joined by Moises Mendez II to talk about the new Netflix documentary The Real Bling Ring: Hollywood Heist, which details this group’s tactics, crimes, and conflicting stories. Rachelle and Moises discuss how the internet played such an important role in these crimes, the chaos in the courtroom, and the desperation for attention these teens had.

This podcast is produced by Daniel Schroeder, Rachelle Hampton, and Daisy Rosario.

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A Word: Bleeding Heart on the Bayou Oct 07, 2022

Show notes

The new Interview With the Vampire television series is giving life to a whole new generation of fans who love the human monsters created by the late Anne Rice. On today’s episode of A Word, actor Jacob Anderson talks with Jason Johnson about his role as the reimagined blood sucker, and his career as a singer and sci-fi screen star.

Guest: Jacob Anderson

Podcast production by Yanii Evans

You can skip all the ads in A Word by joining Slate Plus. Sign up now at slate.com/awordplus for just $1 for your first month.

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The Waves: Why Are We Obsessed With Queens? Oct 06, 2022

Show notes

On this week’s episode of The Waves, Slate senior editor Rebecca Onion is joined by Slate contributing writer Imogen West-Knights to talk all about queens. From the daily news to Sunday nights on HBO, queens are everywhere right now. Rebecca and Imogen talk about the enduring appeal of shows like The Crown, House of the Dragon, Victoria, and more and what these representations are lacking.

In Slate Plus, is the modern iteration of Hillary Clinton still feminist?

Recommendations:

Rebecca: Dirty Dancing abortion fundraisers, like this one.

Imogen: Netflix’s Dahmer (in order to grapple with its lack of sensitivity)

Podcast production by Cheyna Roth with editorial oversight by Shannon Palus, Daisy Rosario, and Alicia Montgomery.

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

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Working: Pitching Fiction Oct 06, 2022

Show notes

On this edition of Working Overtime, hosts Isaac Butler and June Thomas reply to a listener who wants some advice on pitching fiction to literary magazines. For help, Isaac and June turn to J. Robert Lennon, a novelist and short story writer who is also the editor of EPOCH, the literary magazine associated with Cornell University. In the interview, Lennon describes the pitching process for EPOCH and explains what he and his colleagues are looking for when they review submissions. He also offers advice to anyone who might be considering pitching their fiction.

Do you have a question about creative work? Call us and leave a message at 304-933-9675, or email us at working@slate.com.

Podcast production by Kevin Bendis and Cameron Drews.

Check out Remote Works here: https://link.chtbl.com/remoteworks?sid=podcast.WORKING

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ICYMI: Why an Orthodox Jewish Boys Choir Is Going Viral Oct 05, 2022

Show notes

The Miami Boys Choir is currently having a moment on TikTok with videos of their performances going viral on the platform. On today’s episode, Rachelle and Daisy explain who the Miami Boys Choir is, why they’re based in Brooklyn and not Miami, and what’s so appealing about their songs. They also talk about Lena Dunham’s latest wild tweet, and why the revelation of anonymous YouTuber Dream’s face was such a big deal online.

This podcast is produced by Daniel Schroeder, Rachelle Hampton, and Daisy Rosario.

Subscribe to Slate Plus at slate.com/icymiplus

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Culture Gabfest: Heteronormative Nonsense Oct 05, 2022

Show notes

This week, the panel begins by discussing the moral quandaries surrounding Netflix’s newest hit Dahmer—Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story. Then, the panel breaks down the successes and failures of Billy Eichner’s gay romcom Bros. And finally, the panel lends their opinions on the trope of the wife guy, spurred on by Ned Fulmer’s (formerly of the Try Guys) recent adultery scandal.

In Slate Plus,the panel discusses society’s growing appetite for true crime.

Email us at culturefest@slate.com.

Endorsements

Dana: Pulling a Steve with a local endorsement: the new bookstore (offering new and used books) in Park Slope called Troubled Sleep.

Julia: The American Military Museum, aka Tankland, in El Monte, California. It has over 150 odd, decommissioned military vehicles jam-packed in a dusty parking lot which they used to provide for various film and entertainment productions. Also, if you make the trip then also stop at Burritos La Palma in El Monte.

Steve: From the 2022 Newport Folk Festival: singer-songwriter Brandi Carlile bringing legendary singer-songwriter Joni Mitchell back on stage for her first full set performance in decades.

Podcast production by Cameron Drews. Production assistance by Nadira Goffe.

Outro music is "If Only I Was a Poet" by Staffan Carlen.

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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Decoder Ring: McGruff Takes a Bite Out of Crime Pt. 1 Oct 04, 2022

Show notes

In the first of two episodes, we take a look at PSAs and their strange afterlife through the lens of a trench-coat wearing bloodhound and his bizarre, yet catchy anti-drug songs. We’ll talk to Dan Danger, Sherry Nemmers, Joseph Cappella, David Farber, Mike Hawes and Robin Nelson to discover how the McGruff Smart Kids Album came to exist in the first place.

This podcast was written by Willa Paskin. Decoder Ring is produced by Willa Paskin and Katie Shepherd. We had production help from Sam Kim.

Editing by Jamie York and Derek John, Slate’s Sr. Supervising Producer of Narrative Podcasts. Merritt Jacob is Sr. Technical Director.

Thank you to Wendy Melillo, Dan McQuade, Dale Mantley, Larissa Zargeris, Daisy Rosario, Drew Bledsoe, Larre Johnson, Duane Poole, Ari Merkin, Charles and Karen Rosen and Eric Greenberg.

If you have any cultural mysteries you want us to decode, email us at DecoderRing@slate.com

If you love the show and want to support us, consider joining Slate Plus. With Slate Plus you get ad-free podcasts, bonus episodes, and total access to all of Slate’s journalism.

Check out Remote Works here

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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