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Working: The Activism and Artistry of Joan E. Biren’s Photography Apr 04, 2021

Show notes

This week host June Thomas talks to the activist photographer Joan E. Biren, also known as JEB. In the interview, JEB discusses the creation, funding, and printing of her 1979 photobook Eye to Eye: Portraits of Lesbians, which was recently reissued by Anthology Editions. She also talks about the enduring legacy of the book and what it meant for lesbians to see themselves accurately represented in her work.

After the interview, June and co-host Isaac Butler reflect on JEB’s ability to create the art she wanted to see in the world.

In the exclusive Slate Plus segment, JEB explains why she doesn’t like words like capture and shoot to describe photography.

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 Dear Prudence—and you’ll be supporting the work we do here on Working. Sign up now to help support our work.

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ICYMI: What’s Really “Up” With That TikTok Dance Apr 03, 2021

Show notes

On the latest episode, hosts Rachelle Hampton and Madison Malone Kircher talk to the teens. Mya Johnson and Chris Cotter are two teen TikTok stars who created a dance challenge set to Cardi B’s No. 1 hit “Up.” Fellow TikTok creator Addison Rae appeared on The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon to perform their dance, along with seven other popular TikTok dances, without giving credit to any of the creators. A Twitter user tweeted a side-by-side video of Chris and Mya’s original choreography and Addison’s tepid Tonight Show performance, demonstrating just how watered down the moves had become.

Chris and Mya are here to discuss how the two first linked up, what they thought about Addison Rae’s performance, and the experience of watching their moves go viral without them.

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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Spoiler Specials: Barb and Star Go to Vista Del Mar Apr 02, 2021

Show notes

On the Spoiler Special 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’s movie critic Dana Stevens is joined by New Yorker staff writer Rachel Syme to spoil Barb and Star Go to Vista Del Mar, the new adventure-filled comedy by real life best friends and the writers who brought us Bridesmaids, Kristin Wiig and Annie Mumolo.

When lifelong best friends and roommates Barb (Annie Mumolo) and Star (Kristin Wiig) leave their Midwestern hometown for the first time ever, they embark on a vacation to Vista Del Mar, Florida. What starts out as a bit of harmless fun in the sun, quickly becomes the most unexpected, bizarre and even dangerous adventure of a lifetime for the pair. Will they ever be the same?

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

Email us at spoilers@slate.com.

Podcast production by Morgan Flannery.

Slate Plus members get ad-free podcasts and access to exclusive shows like Dana Stevens’ classic movies podcast Flashback. Sign up now to listen and support our work.

Hosts

Dana Stevens is a movie critic at Slate.

Rachel Syme is a staff writer at The New Yorker and you can read her review here.

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Hit Parade: Don’t Know Much About History, Part 2 Apr 02, 2021

Show notes

In Part 2 of this episode of Hit Parade, Chris Molanphy continues his analysis of the music of Sam Cooke. The Oscar-nominated film One Night in Miami… imagines the conversation between Cooke, Malcolm X, Cassius Clay and Jim Brown the night in 1964 they gathered to celebrate the soon-to-be Muhammad Ali’s heavyweight victory. Malcolm X challenges Sam Cooke to use his amazing voice to help “the struggle.” Little did he know Cooke had already recorded his civil‑rights masterpiece, “A Change Is Gonna Come.”

In his too-brief career—seven years as a gospel star, then seven more as a chart-conquering superstar—Sam Cooke took a remarkable journey: from the pathbreaking pop of “You Send Me,” to the wistful R&B of “(What a) Wonderful World,” to the yearning romance of “Bring It on Home to Me,” to—of course—the now-legendary “Change Is Gonna Come.” Meet the man who defined what soul music was and could be.

Hit Parade episodes are now split into two parts, released two weeks apart. For the full episode right now, sign up for Slate Plus and you'll also get The Bridge, our Trivia show and bonus deep dive. Click here for more info.

Podcast production by Asha Saluja.

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Culture Gabfest: Unreal World Mar 31, 2021

Show notes

This week Steve, Dana, and Julia discuss the film The Father, starring Anthony Hopkins. Next, the group is joined by Slate television critic Willa Paskin to talk about The Real World Homecoming: New York. Finally, the panel dives into the new secrets revealed by a Philip Roth biography.

In Slate Plus, Steve and Julia chat with Willa about the books, movies, or shows they've changed their minds about.

Podcast production by Cameron Drews. Production assistance by Rachael Allen.

Email the hosts at culturefest@slate.com

Endorsements

Dana: Bertrand Tavernier’s My Journey Through French Cinema

Julia: Her recent roadrunner sighting, the Atlantic podcast Floodlines, and I Capture the Castle

Steve: The Simpletons and Call My Agent!

Slate Plus members get a bonus segment in each episode of the Culture Gabfest and access to exclusive shows like Dana Stevens’ classic movies podcast Flashback. Sign up now to listen and support our work.

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ICYMI: Lil Nas X Is Going to Hell Mar 31, 2021

Show notes

On this episode of ICYMI, Slate’s new podcast about internet culture, hosts Rachelle Hampton and Madison Malone Kircher get lewd. (Sorry, Mrs. Hampton.) First, they read some erotica about the big, unstuck boat. Then, they explain why Lil Nas X’s supposedly shocking turn—stripping for the devil in his new video for “Montero” and selling “Satan Shoes” with blood in them—is really just the logical next step for the “Old Town Road” rapper.

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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Slate Money: Movies: The Devil Wears Prada Mar 30, 2021

Show notes

Welcome to Slate Money Goes to the Movies, a miniseries in which Felix Salmon, Anna Szymanski, and a different guest each week discuss popular business-themed movies.

This week, Felix and Anna are joined by Edmund Lee of The New York Times to talk about The Devil Wears Prada. They discuss the film’s dated depiction of the magazine and fashion industries, Andy’s judgey friends, and of course, the IRL Miranda Priestly, Anna Wintour.

Email: slatemoney@slate.com

Podcast production by Jessamine Molli.

Twitter: @felixsalmon, @Three_Guineas

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Working: How Zoe Kazan, Roxane Gay, and Alison Bechdel Dealt With a Year of COVID Mar 28, 2021

Show notes

This week June Thomas, Isaac Butler, and Rumaan Alam co-host a special episode about staying creative during a difficult year. First they talk about their own experiences in quarantine and how they managed to continue getting work done. Then they hear from other professional creative people like Zoe Kazan, Emma Straub, Jessica Winter, Taffy Brodesser-Akner, Alison Bechdel, Emily Gould, Roxane Gay, Chris Eigeman, Alex Winter, and Michael R. Jackson, who discuss the obstacles they faced over the past year and how they dealt with them.

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: Clubhouse Doesn't Want You to Hear This Mar 27, 2021

Show notes

On the second episode of ICYMI, Slate’s new podcast about internet culture, hosts Madison Malone Kircher and Rachelle Hampton take listeners on an all-access tour of Clubhouse, the invite-only audio app that already has millions of users, including everyone from Elon Musk and Drake to Oprah and Joe Rogan. Madison somehow ends up taking a shower with hundreds of other users? The app also doesn’t allow people to record and publish audio, so this episode will probably get us banned.

Then, they try a new segment that we’re calling High Speed Download, in which each of them must try to summarize all of the drama of a recent internet story in 60 seconds or less. This time: the sagas of relationship guru Derrick Jaxn and Jensen Karp, aka Cinnamon Toast Shrimp Guy.

Podcast production by Daniel Schroeder and Derek John.

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A Word: The Falcon and the Rise of Black Superheroes Mar 26, 2021

Show notes

The Falcon and the Winter Soldier is the latest example of Black characters taking on the mantle of comic book superheroes. On this week’s episode of A Word, Jason Johnson is joined by professor and award-winning comic book artist John Jennings. They discuss the importance of Black characters winning more power in comic books, and why Black superheroes still have to deal with microaggressions and overt racism.

Guest: John Jennings, a professor of Media and Culture Studies at the University of California Riverside and an award-winning comic book artist.

Podcast production by Ahyiana Angel and Jasmine Ellis

You can skip all the ads in A Word by joining Slate Plus. Sign up now for just $1 for your first month. Click here for more info.

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