Slate Culture Feed

Latest Episodes:

Lend Me Your Ears: Julius Caesar Jun 15, 2018

Show notes

Lend Me Your Ears is a six-part podcast miniseries exploring how Shakespeare’s works have shaped our modern views on politics. Each month, host Isaac Butler will dig into a different Shakespeare play to explore how Shakespeare was responding to his current events, and how they map onto our own.

In this first episode, Lend Me Your Ears is looking at one of Shakespeare’s most accessible works: Julius Caesar. Why was the Bard so fascinated with the fall of the Roman Republic? Why do we tend to turn to this play when we worry about society’s future? How have contemporary theater makers reinvented Shakespeare’s version of the story for their audiences, especially in troubled political times?

Subscribe to Lend Me Your Ears on Apple Podcasts or wherever you get your podcasts.

Slate Plus members get a bonus episode of Lend Me Your Ears every month. Learn more at slate.com/shakespeare

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Spoiler Specials: Hereditary Jun 15, 2018

Show notes

Dana Stevens, Rachel Syme, and Lena Wilson spoil Hereditary.

Podcast production by Daniel Schroeder

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Elan Deficit Edition Jun 13, 2018

Show notes

Julia Turner, Dana Stevens, and Stephen Metcalf discuss the movie Ocean's 8, the theory and practice of Instagram Stories, and the legacy of Anthony Bourdain with the New Yorker's Helen Rosner.

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Spoiler Specials: Ocean's 8 Jun 08, 2018

Show notes

Marissa Martinelli, Aisha Harris, Inko Kang, and Carmen Russo spoil Ocean's 8.

Podcast production by Daniel Schroeder

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Secret Summer Getaway Edition Jun 06, 2018

Show notes

Dana Stevens, Julia Turner, and Stephen Metcalf are live at S&S Farm Brewery in Nassau, NY for a secret summer getaway show. They discuss the c-word, the film Book Club, and perform an impromptu book club with the audience on Phillip Roth's The Ghost Writer. Plus, music by Red Headed Stranger and Franz Nicolay.

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Decoder Ring: The Johnlock Conspiracy Jun 04, 2018

Show notes

Who gets to decide if Sherlock Holmes is gay? For over a century, fans of Sherlock Holmes have been analyzing, debating, and creating new texts with Arthur Conan Doyle’s characters. Decoder Ring explores the Johnlock Conspiracy, a fan theory about the BBC TV show Sherlock, positing the inevitability of a gay romance between Sherlock Holmes and Dr. John Watson. With interviews from historians, journalists, and fans at the heart of this controversial idea, this episode explores this theory, how it played out in the real world, and whether this kind of fandom is a meaningful way of interacting with fiction.

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Spoiler Specials: 13 Reasons Why Jun 01, 2018

Show notes

Marissa Martinelli, June Thomas, Veralyn Williams and Lena Wilson spoil 13 Reasons Why.

Podcast production by Daniel Schroeder

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Whiskey and Pepto Bismol Edition May 30, 2018

Show notes

Dana Stevens, Julia Turner, and Stephen Metcalf discuss the film First Reformed, the podcast My Favorite Murder with production assistant Daniel Schroeder, and the redemption of Tucker Max with Slate's Laura Bennett.

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Hit Parade: The Twerking and Chatrouletting Edition May 25, 2018

Show notes

Even before the launch of MTV, the music video has been making pop songs buzzworthy. And since the early ’80s, it has transformed also-rans into hitmakers—from the Buggles and Duran Duran to Peter Gabriel and a‑ha. But until the early 2010s, watching a video didn’t count on the Billboard charts. That all changed thanks to YouTube—and the biggest immediate beneficiary from the addition of video to the charts was a rising pop star, incubated on the Disney Channel, but looking to change her image. Miley Cyrus was born into hitmaking, line-dancing, multimedia royalty, and she used video titillation—and even the social site Chatroulette—to top the charts. But what did all that provocation mean for…y’know, the music? And how is video still making hits—including the song that’s No. 1 this very week in 2018? Chris Molanphy explains it all.

hitparade@slate.com

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Spoiler Specials: Solo: A Star Wars Story May 25, 2018

Show notes

Forrest Wickman, Marissa Martinelli, and Sam Adams spoil Solo: A Star Wars Story.

Podcast production by Daniel Schroeder.

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