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Culture Gabfest: Put Your Pants Back On May 25, 2022

Show notes

This week, the panel begins by discussing A24’s newest horror/thriller film from Alex Garland Men. Then, the panel jumps back in time with the reboot of Canadian comedy troupe Kids in the Hall. Finally, the panel is joined by contributing writer for the New York Times, Jody Rosen, to discuss his newest book Two Wheels Good: The History and Mystery of the Bicycle.

In Slate Plus, the panel spoils Men to get to the bottom of the horror mystery.

Email us at culturefest@slate.com.

Endorsements

Dana: This 10 year-old article from Jimmy Stamp for Smithsonian Magazine titled “The Long History of the Espresso Machine.”

Julia: From Jody’s early recommendation via Twitter: the Boston food-chain Tatte, which is expanding into DC.

Jody: New York Times Critic Jason Farago’s series Close Read, in which he does close analyses of works of art. In particular: his pieces on Berthe Morisot, Jasper Johns, and Chitarman’s “Shah Jahan on a Terrace.”

Steve: A deep-cut YouTube video of The Replacements’ “Friday Night is Killing Me” (Live).

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

Outro music is "Did I Make You Wait" by Staffan Carlen.

Slate 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.

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ICYMI: Oh No, Not Another Couch Guy May 25, 2022

Show notes

On today’s episode, it’s mailbag time! Rachelle and Madison answer listener questions on a very important Haley Kiyoko relationship status update, if the Apple Health app is also selling your biological data, and – shudder – whether there is a new Couch Guy. Plus, Madison herself has a very important question about resizing your jeans.

Mentioned in the Show:

“I’m the TikTok Couch Guy. Here’s What It Was Like Being Investigated on the Internet” by Robert McCoy

Podcast production by Daniel Schroeder, Derek John, and Cheyna Roth

Support ICYMI and listen to the show with zero ads. Sign up to become a Slate Plus member for just $1 for your first month.

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Hang Up: The Best College Football Feud Ever May 23, 2022

Show notes

Josh Levin and Stefan Fatsis are joined by Jack Hamilton to discuss the NBA playoffs and Patrick Beverley’s chaotic media appearances; by Alex Kirshner to talk about the war of words between Nick Saban and Jimbo Fisher; and by the Washington Post’s Molly Hensley-Clancy to assess U.S. Soccer’s landmark equal pay deal.

NBA (2:07): Will the conference finals get any better? And is Patrick Beverley telling the truth or spinning his own narrative?

Saban-Fisher (27:30): Where did this fight come from, and what’s it really about?

U.S. Soccer (48:53): The anatomy of a historic collective bargaining agreement.

Afterball (1:07:32): Stefan on the death of Roger Angell at age 101.

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Working: How Lez Zeppelin Guitarist Steph Paynes Channels Jimmy Page May 22, 2022

Show notes

This week, host Isaac Butler talks to Steph Paynes, founder and guitarist of Lez Zeppelin, an all-female group dedicated to the musical and performative stylings of Led Zeppelin. In the interview Steph explains why she doesn’t consider Lez Zeppelin to be a “tribute band.” Then she describes the challenge of mimicking some aspects of the legendary rock band while still being unique and expressive.

After the interview, Isaac and co-host June Thomas discuss Steph’s attention to detail and the raw sexuality of both Lez and Led Zeppelin.

In the exclusive Slate Plus segment, Steph tells the story of the time Jimmy Page showed up at one of Lez Zeppelin’s shows.

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 benefits like zero ads on any Slate podcast, bonus episodes of shows like Slow Burn and Big Mood, Little Mood—and you’ll be supporting the work we do here on Working. Sign up now at slate.com/workingplus.

Thanks Avast.com!

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ICYMI: The Trial That Ruined TikTok May 21, 2022

Show notes

While TikTok’s “For You” page is designed to get inside users’ heads—and only show them videos about their niche interests—certain trends and sounds on the app can become too big to avoid. On this week’s episode, Madison and guest host Moises Mendes II break down the disturbing ubiquity of TikToks making fun of the Depp v. Heard defamation trial. Then, they offer insight into the app’s newest dance craze and our strongest contender for 2022 song of the summer, Lizzo’s “About Damn Time.” Finally, they trace the origins of TikTok’s strangest earworm, the “Jiggle Jiggle” rap.

Podcast production by Madeline Ducharme and Derek John.

Support ICYMI and listen to the show with zero ads. Sign up to become a Slate Plus member for just $1 for your first month.

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Hit Parade: Flip It and Reverse It Part 1 May 21, 2022

Show notes

What was in the water in Virginia Beach? Starting in the ’90s and peaking in the ’00s, Pharrell Williams, Timothy “Timbaland” Mosley and Missy Elliott—friends and family from the Tidewater Region—made nerdy pop normal on the charts. Their productions whirred, gurgled, pinged and rumbled—the handiwork of studio geeks—while their lyrics embraced the freaky: Missy demanding that you work it…Pharrell declaring he’s a hustler, baby…Timbaland bringing sexy back.

Join host Chris Molanphy as he explains how these three supa-dupa fly Virginia Beach geniuses helped us get our freak on. For over two decades, they never left you without a dope beat to step to.

Podcast production by Kevin Bendis.

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Working: Choosing Between Multiple Creative Projects May 19, 2022

Show notes

On this edition of Working Overtime, hosts June Thomas and Karen Han hear from a listener who can’t decide which creative project to move forward with. First, they discuss how to evaluate a project’s potential for success. Then they imagine what it would be like to choose between projects if money weren’t a factor.

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

Podcast production by Kevin Bendis and Cameron Drews.

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The Waves: What Reality TV Says About Us May 19, 2022

Show notes

On this week’s episode of The Waves, historian and original Waves host, Marcia Chatelain is joined by sociologist Danielle Lindemann to talk all things reality TV. They discuss Danielle’s new book, True Story: What Reality TV Says About Us and why we don’t take reality television as seriously as we should. Later in the show they talk about why women are more successful at monetizing their reality TV brand and how the genre takes us on a tour of the class system.

In Slate Plus: Is The Bachelorette feminist?

Recommendations:

Marcia: The True Crime Obsessed podcast, Let the Women Do the Work

Danielle: The Netflix series Selling Sunset

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

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

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Outward: Prisons in Queer History and Pop Culture May 18, 2022

Show notes

This month Bryan, Christina, and Jules explore the intersection of queer life and incarceration. How has America’s prison-loving penal system shaped our history and present, and how does that experience get channeled—or not—into the culture we make and consume? The hosts are joined by Hugh Ryan, author of the new book The Women’s House of Detention: A Queer History of a Forgotten Prison, which uses one infamous mid-century institution in New York’s Greenwich Village to return the overlooked lives of incarcerated women and transmasculine folks to our collective story, and to make a stirring case for prison abolition as a queer issue. Then they discuss how prison shows up in pop culture—and whether they’re entirely comfortable with those fantasies.

Items discussed in the show:

Selling Sunset

Two recent articles on phalloplasty: “How Ben Got His Penis,” by Jamie Lauren Keiles in the New York Times, and “My Penis Myself,” by Gabriel Mac in New York

Original Plumbing

“Madison Cawthorn Thrusting His Naked Body on Another Man’s Face Doesn’t Tell Us Much About His ‘Gayness,’ ” by Bryan in Slate

Not Gay: Sex Between Straight White Men, by Jane Ward

The Women’s House of Detention: A Queer History of a Forgotten Prison, by Hugh Ryan

When Brooklyn Was Queer, by Hugh Ryan

Huey P. Newton’s 1970 speech on the women’s liberation and gay liberation movements

Chained Heat 2

Orange Is the New Black

Gay Agenda

Christina: Great Freedom

Jules: The Vice series Transnational

Bryan: From Gay to Z: A Queer Compendium, by Justin Elizabeth Sayres

This podcast was produced by June Thomas.

Please send feedback, topic ideas, and advice questions to outwardpodcast@slate.com.

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ICYMI: Tumblr’s “This Is White Privilege” Stays Ahead of Its Time May 18, 2022

Show notes

In this episode, Rachelle Hampton and Madison Malone Kircher speak with Dion Beary, a writer and online community builder who founded the Tumblr blog This Is White Privilege. They talk with Beary about where that blog began, its impact on online discourse, and why he stepped away.

Podcast production by Daniel Schroeder and Derek John.

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