Slate Culture Feed

Latest Episodes:

Working: Our Creative New Year's Resolutions for 2022 Jan 02, 2022

Show notes

This week, hosts June Thomas, Isaac Butler, and Karen Han share their creative New Year’s Resolutions for 2022. Then they look back at their goals for 2021 and discuss what they accomplished and where they had trouble. They also check in with former host Rumaan Alam, who shares an update on his 2021 resolutions.

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.

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

ICYMI: Encore: You’re Using “Woke” Wrong Jan 01, 2022

Show notes

From “woke bae” to “woke-a-cola,” the word woke has taken the internet and mainstream media by storm. But how many people who use the word actually know what it means? On today’s episode, Rachelle and Madison (but, really, mostly Rachelle) explain the decades-old origins of the word, and how its meaning has evolved as it’s gone from being sung as a call to “stay woke” by the likes of Erykah Badu and Childish Gambino to being wielded as a slur by the likes of Mike Huckabee.

Podcast production by Daniel Schroeder, Derek John, and Jasmine Ellis.

This episode was originally published on June 19, 2021.

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

Hit Parade: Chestnut Roasters, Part 2 Dec 31, 2021

Show notes

In part 2 of this holiday episode of Hit Parade, Chris Molanphy dives deep into radio, streaming and Billboard chart data of some your favorite holiday hitmakers to compare their long legacies to the majority-merry ways they are consumed today. And none has been more condensed by Christmas than another artist who was once famous enough to go by her first name: Brenda. A ’60s chart dominator and double–Hall of Famer, Brenda Lee is now mostly known for that tune about Christmas tree rockin’. How did the legendary “Little Miss Dynamite” become Santa’s little helper? And will she ever pass Mariah and go back to No. 1?

Podcast production by Asha Saluja.

Sign up for Slate Plus now to get episodes in one installment as soon as they're out. You'll also get The Bridge, our trivia show and bonus deep dive. Click here for more info.

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

The Waves: “It Was and Is Horrible” Dec 30, 2021

Show notes

On this week’s episode of The Waves, former hosts Christina Cauterucci, Nichole Perkins and Marcia Chatelain return for a special reunion. They haven't been on the microphones together since the pandemic started, and they have a lot to discuss. They cover the nighttime doula Twitter fight, thoughts on the generational battles that are raging, how race plays a role in nostalgia, and the horrors of dating during the pandemic.

In Slate Plus: Is gift giving sexist?

Recommendations:

Christina: Sheertex tights

Nichole: Candles, especially from Brooklyn Candle Studio and Posh Candle Company.

Marcia: Checking out interesting children’s books like Julián Is a Mermaid, by Jessica Love.

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

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

ICYMI: Goodbye to All That 2021 Internet Dec 29, 2021

Show notes

It’s the final episode of the year, and a chance to look back at all the ways the internet has gone wrong in 2021. On today’s show, Rachelle and Madison invite Tracy Clayton and Josh Gwynn, hosts of the podcast Back Issue, to join them as they discuss all the trends, memes, and moments of 2021 internet that have no place cropping back up in 2022.

Podcast production by Daniel Schroeder and Derek John.

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

Culture Gabfest: Annual Call-In Show: 2021 Dec 29, 2021

Show notes

This week, Steve, Dana, and Julia tackle some listener questions in our annual call-in show. Topics include: favorite pieces of art, culture their children introduced them to, and previous years’ endorsements that have become staples in the panel’s lives.

In Slate Plus, the panel continues to field some stellar listener questions.

Email us at culturefest@slate.com.

There are no endorsements this week, but here are links to some of the things mentioned in the episode:

Here’s Julia’s former (Dana approved) Cooks Illustrated blueberry muffin recipe endorsement that’s sourced from The New Best Recipe. Here’s her current favorite blueberry muffin recipe. Dana’s suggestions for content that might help with grief features Francois Couperin’s Leçons de Ténèbres. Some songs Steve would like played at his funeral include: Everything but the Girl’s cover of Captain Beefheart’s “My Head Is My Only House Unless It Rains;” Nina Simone’s version of “Who Knows Where the Time Goes;” Charles Mingus’s “Myself When I Am Real;” and The Go-Between’s “Cattle and Cane.” Julia’s picks include: Felix Mendelssohn’s “Op. 62 No.3” and Superchunk’s “Me & You & Jackie Mittoo.” Here’s Dana’s Spotify playlist of her picks.

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

Outro music is "Lonely Calling" by Arc De Soleil.

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.

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

Working: A Special Creative Advice Episode Dec 26, 2021

Show notes

This week, hosts June Thomas, Isaac Butler, and Karen Han help each other to overcome creative roadblocks and discuss some of their favorite pieces of creative wisdom. But first, they make a big announcement about future episodes of Working.

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.

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

ICYMI: Is Martha Stewart an Instagram Scammer? Dec 25, 2021

Show notes

Martha Stewart loves to tell people on Instagram about the products she likes, but these posts look suspiciously like ads. On today’s episode, Madison and Rachelle scroll through Martha’s feed to look at all the things she raves about, talk about why she might be breaking the rules, and discuss how the social media advertising guidelines are much more flexible than we realize.

Podcast production by Daniel Schroeder and Derek John.

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

Spoiler Specials: The Matrix Resurrections Dec 24, 2021

Show notes

On the Spoiler Specials podcast, Slate critics discuss movies, the occasional TV show, and, once in a blue moon, another podcast, in full spoiler-filled detail. This week, Slate movie critic Dana Stevens is joined by Vox editor-at-large and co-creator of the podcast Arden, Emily VanDerWerff.

Twenty years after the events of The Matrix Revolutions, Thomas Anderson, also known as Neo (Keanu Reeves) is once again confronted with a decision to forgo his ordinary life and open his mind to The Matrix.

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

Slate is having a holiday sale! For a limited time, we’re offering our annual Slate Plus membership at $25 off for your first year. With Slate Plus, you can 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. And if you’re already a member, consider giving the gift of Plus to a fellow Slate fan and they’ll receive all the benefits of membership."

Email us at spoilers@slate.com.

Podcast production by Asha Saluja with help from June Thomas

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

A Word: Black Christmas Movie Bonanza Dec 24, 2021

Show notes

It’s the holiday season, which means it’s time to press play on your favorite Christmas movies. On today’s episode of A Word, Jason Johnson is joined by essayist and pop culture critic Rebecca Theodore-Vachon to talk about what really makes a Black Christmas movie, and which classics they recommend.

Guest: Rebecca Theodore-Vachon, essayist, pop culture critic, and host of The Spectrum Lounge podcast.

Podcast production by Jasmine Ellis

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.

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

Our TOPPODCAST Picks

Follow Us

Stay Connected

Related Podcasts

Links

Stay Connected