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Working: Author Malinda Lo on the Limits of the Young Adult Label Jan 23, 2022

Show notes

This week, host June Thomas talks to author Malinda Lo, whose book Last Night at the Telegraph Club won the National Book Award. In the interview, Malinda explains that she never intended to write books under the young adult label. She also digs into her writing process, which involves many drafts and inspirational mood music.

After the interview, June and co-host Isaac Butler discuss Malinda’s research process and her willingness to go down rabbit holes.

In the exclusive Slate Plus segment, Malinda talks about her use of Chinese languages in Last Night at the Telegraph Club.

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.

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ICYMI: The Real Story of “West Elm Caleb” Jan 22, 2022

Show notes

The name on every TikTokker’s lips is “West Elm Caleb,” a New York City twenty-something whose dating practices and history have come under major scrutiny, after women started posting videos about their negative experiences with him. Things quickly got out of control as more and more people got swept up in the gossipy drama. On today’s episode, Madison and Rachelle talk to some of the women who shared their own stories about dating Caleb online. Then, they discuss how this is a moment both about the power of women coming together to protect each other and the way that this collective’s motives can quickly turn south.

Podcast production by Daniel Schroeder and Derek John.

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Spoiler Specials: The Lost Daughter Jan 21, 2022

Show notes

On this week’s Spoiler Specials, Slate staffers Allegra Frank and Rebecca Onion spoil The Lost Daughter.

Leda Caruso (Olivia Colman) is a college professor on a sunny holiday in Greece. When she meets Nina (Dakota Johnson) and her young daughter on the beach, her observations prompt dark memories of her own early motherhood.

Note: As the title indicates, this podcast contains spoilers galore.

Produced by Asha Saluja and Jasmine Ellis.

To listen to Spoiler Specials and other Slate podcasts with zero ads, read unlimited articles on Slate.com, and support Slate's journalism, sign up for Slate Plus now.

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The Waves: Was the Women’s March Successful? Jan 20, 2022

Show notes

On this week’s episode of The Waves, Slate senior writer Christina Cauterucci looks back to the first Women’s March that took place on Jan. 21, 2017. She talks to New YorkMagazine’s Rebecca Traister about what the march accomplished for progressive organizing and the role protests can have going forward. Then she sits down with Angela Peoples, an activist and organizer who went to the march with a sign saying “White Women Voted for Trump”—and went viral.

In Slate Plus, Christina and Angela continue their conversation and talk about the connection between the Women’s March and the Black Lives Matter protests during the summer of 2020.

Podcast production by Cheyna Roth with editorial oversight by Susan Matthews and June Thomas.

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

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Outward: Counting Queers, Queering Sequels Jan 20, 2022

Show notes

Christina Cauterucci and Bryan Lowder welcome our new third co-host, Jules Gill-Peterson, and talk to author Dr. Kevin Guyan about his new book Queer Data. The crew then explores the trans storylines and general weirdness of And Just Like That, the “next chapter” in the Sex and the City universe, before adding more items to the Gay Agenda.

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ICYMI: How AIM Changed the Internet 4ever Jan 19, 2022

Show notes

AOL Instant Messenger launched 25 years ago, but at the time nobody understood exactly how important it would be in shaping the way we all interact online. On today’s show, Rachelle and Madison talk to AIM expert Caroline Moss about the early years of the platform, the playful shenanigans people got up to on there as teens, and how it led us to the world of always being online. Caroline hosts the podcast Gee Thanks, Just Bought It!

Podcast production by Daniel Schroeder and Derek John.

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Culture Gabfest: Crushing Responsibility Jan 19, 2022

Show notes

This week, the panel begins by pondering Maggie Gyllenhaal’s directorial debut, The Lost Daughter. Then, the panel gushes about the fresh workplace comedy Abbott Elementary. Finally, the panel discusses everyone's latest obsession: the word game Wordle.

In Slate Plus, the panel enters spoiler territory as they continue to puzzle out The Lost Daughter.

Email us at culturefest@slate.com.

Endorsements

Dana: An LA related endorsement: The Academy Museum (run by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences) which is mostly okay, but has a stellar show called The Path to Cinema: Highlights from the Richard Balzer Collection.

Julia: Potentially the first worthy piece of pandemic art: the Gary Shteyngart novel Our Country Friends, set in an upstate NY country home as friends gather to wait out the pandemic.

Steve: Israeli-born, Paris-based singer Keren Ann’s cover of “Hallelujah.” Also: a no longer on-the-fence, solid endorsement for HBO’s Succession.

Pre-order Dana’s book and buy a ticket to Dana and Isaac’s book event at The Strand (hosted by our very own Stephen Metcalf)!

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

Outro music is "Self Made Woman" by Katharine Appleton

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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Working: How the Alien Languages in “Foundation” Were Created Jan 16, 2022

Show notes

This week, host Isaac Butler talks to Fionnuala Murphy, an actor and linguist who invented multiple alien languages for Apple TV Plus’s series Foundation. In the interview, Fionnuala explains how she landed the job, which was her first ever foray into language creation. Then she breaks down the process of designing the languages based on information she could gather from the scripts and conversations with the Foundation team.

After the interview, Isaac and co-host Karen Han talk about their own relationships to language and discuss how patterns and structures, like those found in language, are crucial to their creative work.

In the exclusive Slate Plus segment, Isaac asks Fionnuala about her translation work. Then Fionnuala offers advice for people who are trying to better understand their own language.

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

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ICYMI: Why the Internet Is Abuzz About Yellowjackets Jan 15, 2022

Show notes

Yellowjackets is a new series on Showtime about a team of high school girls who, while on a flight to a soccer game, crash in the Canadian wilderness. It follows their struggle for survival and how that experience shaped those who made it out of the woods alive. On today’s show, Madison and Rachelle sing their own personal Yellowjackets praises, explain why it’s the latest addition to the Puzzle Box TV canon, and discuss how Reddit is the best place for fandom communities—like the one that’s quickly formed around the show. Plus, people think the Queen of England is dead?

Podcast production by Daniel Schroeder and Derek John.

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Hit Parade: Rock ’n Soul, Part 1 Jan 15, 2022

Show notes

Daryl Hall and John Oates: Their songs were earworms, their videos cheap and goofy. John Oates’s mustache and Daryl Hall’s mullet are relics of their time. And…for about five years, their crazy streak on the pop charts was comparable to Elvis, the Beatles and the Bee Gees.

They were also more cutting-edge than you may realize, essentially inventing their own form of cross-racial new wave after spending the ’70s trying everything: rock, R&B, folk, funk, even disco. At their Imperial peak in the early ’80s, Hall and Oates commanded the pop, soul and dance charts while still getting played on rock stations. And decades later, when the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame ignored them, it was Black artists—rappers and soul fans—who pushed them in.

Join Chris Molanphy for a dissection of the Philly duo who invented “rock ’n soul” and made their dreams come true.

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Podcast production by Asha Saluja.

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