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What Next: Diddy’s Reckoning May 23, 2024

Show notes

Allegations about Sean “Diddy” Combs had been circulating, but it wasn’t until surveillance footage of the mogul assaulting his then-partner Cassie began circulating on social media, that his response changed from defensive to apologetic.

Guest: Sidney Madden, reporter for NPR Music and co-host of Louder Than a Riot.

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Podcast production by Elena Schwartz, Paige Osburn, Anna Phillips, Madeline Ducharme and Rob Gunther.

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Culture Gabfest: Can Babes Make Childbirth Funny? May 22, 2024

Show notes

On this week’s show, the hosts begin by reviewing Babes, Pamela Adlon’s (Better Things, Louie) directorial feature debut starring Ilana Glazer and Michelle Buteau. Through raunch-comedy and body horror, Babes explores childbirth and pregnancy through a refreshingly unromanticized lens, but does it succeed as a drama? Then, the three switch gears and turn to Interview With the Vampire, AMC’s Anne Rice adaptation that’s now in its second season. What a weird show! The series–starring Jacob Anderson as Louis de Pointe du Lac and Eric Bogosian as the titular cynical interviewer–brings the novel’s queer subtext to the surface, and is camp in every sense of the word. Finally, the trio is joined by Mikael Wood, the Los Angeles Times’ pop music critic to discuss Billie Eilish’s latest album, Hit Me Hard and Soft. (You can read Wood’s review here.) Produced with her brother Finneas, Hit Me Hard and Soft offers a new way of thinking about the 22-year-old, and features songs like “Birds of a Feather” and “Lunch,” a fun, lusty track about being into girls.

In the exclusive Slate Plus segment, the panel answers a question from long-time listener, James: “What things that you love have you been introduced to by advertising?”

Email us at culturefest@slate.com.

Endorsements:

Dana: This week’s endorsement comes with a brag: Dana’s daughter is going to Julliard! Through that, they discovered the wonderful documentary, Creating a Character: The Moni Yakim Legacy.

Julia: Two clarifications and an extremely sumptuous sweater recommendation. First, the fashion Substacks mentioned on a previous episode were I Want to be Her!, Girls of a Certain Age, and Blackbird Spyplane. Second, a wool sweater from Dana Lee Brown.

Stephen: The Time of the Last Persecution, an album by the English singer-songwriter Bill Fay, released in 1971.

Podcast production by Jessamine Molli. Production assistance by Kat Hong.

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Decoder Ring: Why Are We Still Using Fat Suits? May 22, 2024

Show notes

A fat suit is a custom-made costume with one goal: to make an actor appear fat without them actually having to be fat. It’s typically a unitard filled with mattress foam and other wiggly, jiggly bits—but it’s also so much more than that, an embodiment of all our cultural hang-ups about fatness. In today’s episode we’re going to consider the fat suit from all angles: how it’s made, how it’s changed, and why it continues to exist.

You’ll hear from Dawn Dininger, Royce Best, Amy Farrell, Hazel Cills, Mia Mask, and Matthew Mungle.

This episode was written and produced by Katie Shepherd. It was edited by Willa Paskin. Decoder Ring is also produced by Evan Chung and Max Freedman. Derek John is Executive Producer. Merritt Jacob is Senior Technical Director. We had mixing help from Kevin Bendis.

Special thank you to: Mike Marino, Jacqui Lucey, Gina Tonic, Kate Young, Barbara Miller and The Museum of the Moving Image.

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Well, Now | “As Little Regulation as Guns”: How Social Media Hurts Youth Mental Health May 22, 2024

Show notes

Youth mental health has hit a crisis point.

Just last year, U.S. Surgeon General Vivek Murthy released an advisory connecting young people’s use of social media with adverse mental health outcomes.

But Murthy and other public health leaders are fighting back, including New York City Health Commissioner Ashwin Vasan. He’s leading the charge against social media platforms like Meta, TikTok, Snapchat and YouTube through litigation and legislation.

On this week’s episode of Well, Now – holding social media companies accountable for the youth mental health crisis.

If you liked this episode, check out: Is it Burnout? Or, Do You Have a Busy Brain?

Well, Now is hosted by Kavita Patel, MD and Maya Feller, RD.

Podcast production by Vic Whitley-Berry with editorial oversight by Alicia Montgomery.

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

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Amicus: How Originalism Ate The Law: What We Can Do About It May 22, 2024

Show notes

In the third and final part of our How Originalism Ate the Law series, Dahlia Lithwick and Mark Joseph Stern are joined by Justice Todd Eddins of the Hawaii Supreme Court and Madiba Dennie, author of The Originalism Trap. Being trapped by originalism is a choice, one that judges, lawyers, and the American people do not have to accede to. Our expert panel offers ideas and action points for pushing back against a mode of constitutional interpretation that has had deadly consequences. And they answer questions from our listeners.

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What Next: Does Netanyahu Have an Exit Strategy? May 22, 2024

Show notes

Seven months into the war in Gaza, both the international community and many Israelis are demanding to know what Benjamin Netanyahu’s “day after” plan is. Observers are also wondering whether charges from the International Criminal Court will influence Israel’s approach—and whether the death of Iran’s president and foreign minister will change how Hamas fights.

Guest: Yair Rosenberg, staff writer at The Atlantic and author of the newsletter Deep Shtetl, about the intersection of politics, culture, and religion.

Podcast production by Elena Schwartz, Paige Osburn, Anna Phillips, Madeline Ducharme and Rob Gunther.

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Outward: Behind the Scenes of ‘Gays Against Briggs’ with Christina Cauterucci May 22, 2024

Show notes

This week Christina Cauterucci returns to Outward to talk with Bryan about her experience making ‘Slow Burn: Gays Against Briggs’ and diving into one of the most consequential civil rights battles in American history: the first-ever statewide vote on gay rights.

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ICYMI: The Aftermath of a Layoff May 22, 2024

Show notes

Candice Lim is joined by Yowei Shaw (former co-host of NPR’s Invisibilia) to discuss her new podcast Proxy, which takes listeners through the psychological aftermath of a layoff, starting with Shaw’s own layoff from NPR. In March 2023, the public radio institution laid off approximately 10 percent of its staff, resulting in the cancellation of four podcasts, including Invisibilia. Shaw, along with her team, was working on an upcoming season of the podcast when they were suddenly without jobs. More than a year later, Shaw is back with Proxy, which investigates layoff culture and asks questions like “Is there a good way to lay off employees?” and “Why did my HR representative smile when they laid me off?”

This podcast is produced by Se’era Spragley Ricks, Daisy Rosario, Candice Lim and Rachelle Hampton.

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Slow Burn: Gays Against Briggs - Ep. 1: A Hotbed of Homosexuality May 22, 2024

Show notes

In the 1970s, San Francisco became a welcoming home for tens of thousands of new gay residents—and a modern-day Sodom for the American right. With a moral panic sweeping across the United States, a Florida orange juice spokeswoman inspired an ambitious California politician to launch his own campaign against lesbians and gays—one that would change the course of U.S. history.

(If you—or anyone you know—are in crisis, contact the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline, anytime: Dial 988 or visit 988lifeline.org.)

Season 9 of Slow Burn was written and produced by Christina Cauterucci. Slow Burn is produced by Kelly Jones, Joel Meyer, and Sophie Summergrad.

Josh Levin is the editorial director of Slow Burn.

Derek John is Slate’s executive producer of narrative podcasts.

Susan Matthews is Slate’s executive editor.

Merritt Jacob is our senior technical director. We had engineering help from Patrick Fort and Madeline Ducharme.

Our theme music is composed by Alexis Cuadrado. Artwork by Ivylise Simones, based on an image of Silvana Nova and a poster designed by Larry Hermsen and the Too Much Graphics Collective.

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What Next: Is Killing a Protester Still a Crime? May 21, 2024

Show notes

Daniel Perry was sentenced to 25 years in prison for murdering Garrett Foster at a Black Lives Matter protest in 2020, but Texas Governor Greg Abbott just pardoned Perry and restored his rights, including the right to own and carry a gun.

Guest: Christopher Hooks, contributing editor at Texas Monthly.

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