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A Word: Lights, Camera, Revolution Nov 12, 2021

Show notes

Decades before Moonlight, Black Panther, or anything from Spike Lee, Black film artists worked through and around the studio system to bring their visions to the big screen. Now the Black Film Archive has brought together classics from 1915 to 1979. Its creator Maya Cade joins Jason Johnson on A Word to talk about the importance of African Americans connecting with movies from the past.

Guest: Maya Cade, creator of Black Film Archive and audience development specialist for the Criterion Collection

Podcast production by Jasmine Ellis

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The Waves: What the Debate Over ‘Pregnant People’ Is Really About Nov 11, 2021

Show notes

On this week’s episode of The Waves, Slate’s news director Susan Matthews talks with Slate writer and community manager Evan Urquhart about the phrase, “pregnant person.” What started as an effort to be inclusive of transgender men has devolved into an argument that at times has become transphobic. Susan and Evan unpack what’s going on with this “debate,” and, later in the show, get into more productive ways to be a trans ally, the perils of the health care system, and how to better include trans and nonbinary people in coversations about them.

In Slate Plus, Evan and Susan talk about the Torrey Peters novel, Detransition Baby.

Additional Reading:

“Words for Every Body” by Ray Briggs and B R George

“Should feminists talk about ‘pregnant people’?” by Jennie Kermode

“You Can Still Say ‘Woman’ But You Shouldn’t Stop There” by Irin Carmon

“BIPOC or POC? Equity or Equality? The Debate Over Language on the Left” by Amy Harmon

“Healthcare avoidance due to anticipated discrimination among transgender people: A call to create trans-affirmative environments” by Luisa Kcomt, Kevin M. Gorey, Betty Jo Barrett, Sean Esteban McCabe

Recommendations:

Susan: Kiese Laymon’s book Heavy and Laymon’s The Ezra Klein Show interview with Tressie McMillan Cotton.

Evan: The “best game of 2021” Inscription and Metroid Dread for the Nintendo Switch.

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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ICYMI: The Life Hacks They Don’t Want You to Know About Nov 10, 2021

Show notes

Companies don’t want you to know this, but there are lots of helpful tips hidden in plain sight, you just have to be willing to read the fine print. On the show today, Madison and Rachelle talk about all the terms of service secrets TikToker Erika Kullberg has been sharing with her followers, whether these tricks actually work, and exactly who might have to deal with our return and exchange demands.

Podcast production by Daniel Schroeder 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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Culture Gabfest: Eternals Return of the Same Nov 10, 2021

Show notes

This week, Steve and Dana are joined byNew York Times columnist and Slate graduate Jamelle Bouie. First, the panel discusses Marvel’s most recent big picture, Eternals—which Dana reviewed for Slate. Next, the panel gives an update on their feelings about HBO’s hit TV show Succession, which is currently in its third season. Finally, the panel explores the controversy involving Critical Race Theory.

In Slate Plus, the panel discusses Jamelle’s new podcast Unclear and Present Danger.

Email us at culturefest@slate.com.

Endorsements

Dana: Something small, but in hopes to find the entire thing: this 2 minute clip of Welsh actor Michael Sheen performing a segment of Welsh poet Dylan Thomas’s drama Under Milk Wood.

Jamelle: Norman Jewison’s classic 1987film Moonstruck, starring Cher and Nicolas Cage, which is currently in the Criterion Collection.

Steve: A slightly odd endorsement of a book review. Peter Salmon’s article for Prospect Magazine, titled “Boo to the Boo-Hurrahs: how four Oxford women transformed philosophy,” is a review of Benjamin J. B. Lipscomb’s novel The Women Are Up to Something: How Elizabeth Anscombe, Philippa Foot, Mary Midgley, and Iris Murdoch Revolutionized Ethics. The book and review discuss the female-led movement to take on the male consensus in philosophy during the 1930s and ‘40s which saw the world as value free.

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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Decoder Ring: The Great Helga Hype Nov 09, 2021

Show notes

In the summer of 1986, both Time Magazine and Newsweek ran blockbuster cover stories on the same subject: a secret cache of provocative, intimate paintings by Andrew Wyeth, one of America's most famous artists. These paintings were completed over fifteen years and all featured the same, often-nude model named Helga, and had been hidden from his wife and the public for 15 years. The implication was obvious: Wyeth had been having an affair with this woman. But just as the story was breaking in Time and Newsweek, it began to unravel, and something even stranger and more complex emerged.

On this episode we examine the story of these secret paintings, the backlash to that story, and question if, maybe, that backlash was itself overdrawn. This is the first episode of our winter season. If you love the show and want to support us, consider joining Slate Plus. With Slate Plus you can get ad free podcasts, bonus episodes, and much more.

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Slate Money Succession: “Goons and Stooges and Rough-Jacks” Nov 08, 2021

Show notes

Slate Money is obsessed with Succession, HBO's wonderful drama about the lives of the superrich Roy family. So, every Monday, we'll be discussing the previous night's episode with spoiler-filled glee. For Episode 4, Felix Salmon and Emily Peck are joined byMichael Mechanic, author of Jackpot: How the Super-Rich Really Live – and How Their Wealth Harms Us All to talk about the arrival of Adrian Brody, trying to kill your father with the sun, and how true to life Succession really is.

Podcast production by Cheyna Roth.

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Working: Cartoonist Dami Lee on Freelancing, Pitching, and Generating Ideas Nov 07, 2021

Show notes

This week, in her first episode as co-host of Working, Karen Han interviews cartoonist Dami Lee. In the interview, Dami talks about her resistance to art school and her early strategy of pursuing art “on the side.” Then she discusses her current career as a freelance cartoonist, her webcomic As Per Usual, and her book Be Everything at Once: Tales of a Cartoonist Lady Person.

After the interview, Karen and co-host Isaac Butler discuss the difficulties of pitching work as a freelancer.

In the exclusive Slate Plus segment, Dami talks about her work translating comics from Korean to English.

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 Spon-Con Video That Accidentally Captures the State of Tech Nov 06, 2021

Show notes

Earlier this month, Mark Zuckerberg announced that Facebook was rebranding to become Meta, shifting the company’s focus away from the single social media platform to some sort of amorphous, “embodied internet” concept. Khabane Lame, TikTok’s second biggest star right now, got tapped to do some spon-con for the rebrand, appearing in a video alongside Zuckerberg on Instagram. On today’s episode, Rachelle and Madison discuss who Lame’s rise to TikTok fame, why Facebook grabbed him for their publicity campaign, and how this might all just be a distraction from some rather unsavory news inside the Facebook Papers.

If you would like to learn more about the Facebook Papers, check out:

”The Nationalism of Facebook,” by Siva Vaidhyanathan in Slate

The What Next TBD episode, “Will the Facebook Whistleblower Make a Difference?”

The What Next episode, “How Long Can Mark Zuckerberg Be King?”

Podcast production by Daniel Schroeder 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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The Waves: Daddy Love Me! Breaking Down the Men and Women of Succession Nov 04, 2021

Show notes

On this week’s episode of The Waves, Slate Money Succession podcast host Emily Peck and Slate staff writer Lili Loofbourow talk about the men versus the women of HBO’s Succession. They start out by talking about the power struggles and anxieties facing the female characters, and debate whether Shiv Roy just sucks. Then they talk about men in this bro-y show, including all that toxic masculinity and the relationship between Greg and Tom.

In Slate Plus, this week’s “Is This Feminist” discussion is all about Seinfeld’s Elaine Benes.

Recommendations:

Lili: Using vintage gold nibbed fountain pens

Emily: The podcast “The Just Enough Family”

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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ICYMI: The Real Housewives of Social Media Nov 03, 2021

Show notes

As the Real Housewives of Potomac wraps its latest season, it’s clear how essential the cast’s social media presences are when trying to understand the dynamics at play on the show. On today’s episode, Rachelle and Madison talk to culture writer and critic Shamira Ibrahim about how the series has grown increasingly dependent on online drama, and how social media can be a useful tool for following the intricacies of race and class on display. They also explain the meme, “Let’s Go, Brandon.”

Podcast production by Daniel Schroeder 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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