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Spoiler Specials: Halloween Ends Oct 14, 2022

Show notes

This week, Slate's Sam Adams and Jeffrey Bloomer spoil the 13th entry in the Halloween franchise, the alleged final showdown between Jamie Lee Curtis's Laurie Strode and Michael Myers. Note: as the title implies, the podcast contains spoilers galore.

Email us at spoilers@slate.com.

Podcast production by Kristie Taiwo-Makanjuola

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A Word: How Tech Can Help—or Harm—Racial Justice Oct 14, 2022

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From Ferguson to Minneapolis, protests against racist policing have been catalyzed by videos of the brutality being spread on social media. On today’s A Word, Jason Johnson sits down with Dr. Ruha Benjamin to talk about her book, Viral Justice: How We Grow the World We Want, and where social sciences and technology intersect.

Guest: Ruha Benjamin

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.

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Political Gabfest: Clarence Thomas Is A Prince Fan Oct 13, 2022

Show notes

This week, David Plotz, Emily Bazelon, and John Dickerson LA’s racism & redistricting scandal, the Andy Warhol copyright case at the Supreme Court, and developments in Putin’s war on Ukraine.

Here are some notes and references from this week’s show:

Anne Applebaum for The Atlantic: “Putin’s Newest Annexation Is Dire for Russia Too”

Anne Applebaum for The Atlantic: “The Kremlin Must Be in Crisis”

They Might Be Giants - Gab On (Theme to the Slate Political Gabfest)

Here are this week’s chatters:

John: The Cormac McCarthy Journal

Emily: The Fight for Privacy: Protecting Dignity, Identity, and Love in the Digital Age, by Danielle Keats Citron; The Other Side of Prospect: A Story of Violence, Injustice, and the American City, by Nicholas Dawidoff

David: David chattered about dining outside in Texas.

Listener chatter from Lara Lowenstein: The Mountain Dogs

For this week’s Slate Plus bonus segment Emily, David, and John interview John Flansburgh and John Linnell of They Might Be Giants about their work and the Gabfest’s new theme song.

Tweet us your questions and chatters @SlateGabfest or email us at gabfest@slate.com. (Messages may be quoted by name unless the writer stipulates otherwise.)

Podcast production by Cheyna Roth.

Research by Bridgette Dunlap.

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Mom & Dad: Car Seat Scared Straight Oct 13, 2022

Show notes

On this episode: Elizabeth, Zak, and Dan answer a question from a dad who is so frustrated with trying to get his squirming, shrieking kids in their car seats that sometimes… the kids win and he drives them unbuckled. Now he’s wondering if he should continue the car seat battle or if there’s a happy medium where the kids are safe and he’s calm enough to pilot the car.

Then on Slate Plus, they discuss the latest automated baby gear: strollers!

If you enjoy this show, please consider signing up for Slate Plus. Slate Plus members get an ad-free experience across the network and exclusive content on many shows—you’ll also be supporting the work we do here on Mom and Dad are Fighting. Sign up now at slate.com/momanddadplus to help support our work.

Join us on Facebook and email us at momanddad@slate.com to ask us new questions, tell us what you thought of today’s show, and give us ideas about what we should talk about in future episodes.

Podcast produced by Rosemary Belson and Kristie Taiwo-Makanjuola.

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What Next: How Bad Is the Economy Going to Get? Oct 13, 2022

Show notes

With inflation up and unemployment down, the Federal Reserve is raising interest rates and signaling that they’re willing to risk a lot to stall the rising price of everything. But is Jerome Powell doing too much—or is he already too late to avoid a painful recession?

Guest: Jordan Weissmann, senior editor at Slate reporting on economics, politics, and public policy.

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 Amicus—and you’ll be supporting the work we do here on What Next. Sign up now at slate.com/whatnextplus to help support our work.

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The Waves: Why the Law Cares About Your Sex Oct 13, 2022

Show notes

On this week’s episode of The Waves, Slate homepage editor Sol Werthan sits down with trans rights activist and author, Paisley Currah. They discuss Paisley’s new book, Sex Is As Sex Does and discuss why “male” and “female” are used as a legal and social classifier. And why, even for cis people who identify with the gender binary, that might not be the right way to go.

In Slate Plus, Sol and Paisley talk about the politicization of trans kids.

Podcast production by Cheyna Roth with editorial oversight by Shannon Palus, Daisy Rosario and Alicia Montgomery.

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

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Culture Gabfest: Mansplaining Marilyn Oct 12, 2022

Show notes

This week, the panel begins by going Blonde as they dive into Andrew Dominik’s Marilyn Monroe biopic on Netflix. Then, the panel continues by chipping in on the reboot discussion, specifically through the lens of Hulu’s new show (you guessed it) Reboot. Finally, Slate’s music critic, Carl Wilson, joins the panel to explain the legacy of the late country music titan Loretta Lynn.

In Slate Plus,the panel discusses the on-going smear campaigns against cities and urban spaces—inspired by Henry Grabar’s Slate article titled “Fear City.”

Email us at culturefest@slate.com.

Endorsements

Dana: The 2006 movie The TV Set, directed by Jake Kasdan and starring Reboot’s Judy Greer, Sigourney Weaver, and David Duchovny.

Julia: A cookbook called Snacking Cakes: Simple Treats for Anytime Cravings: A Baking Book by Yossy Arefi.

Steve: Remembering the great French philosopher Bruno Latour who spent his work trying to explain how empirical statements come to be.

Podcast production by Yanii Evans. Production assistance by Nadira Goffe.

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ICYMI: The Internet Is an Invisible Force Oct 12, 2022

Show notes

On today’s show, Rachelle is joined by Kia Miakka Natisse and Yowei Shaw, the hosts of NPR’s Invisibilia podcast. They discuss how they found themselves in the hosting chairs, the ways they spend their own time online, and the places podcasting and influencing intersect.

This podcast is produced by Daniel Schroeder, Rachelle Hampton, and Daisy Rosario.

Subscribe to Slate Plus at slate.com/icymiplus

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What Next: How Is Herschel Walker Still in This? Oct 12, 2022

Show notes

Herschel Walker’s campaign for the U.S. Senate has been rocky to say the least, with revelations of heretofore-unmentioned children, accusations of domestic abuse, and multiple abortions paid for by the aggressively pro-life candidate. Yet the race remains close with Reverend Raphael Warnock—and the outcome could determine which party controls the Senate.

Guest: Greg Bluestein, political reporter at the Atlanta Journal-Constitution.

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 What Next. Sign up now at slate.com/whatnextplus to help support our work.

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Decoder Ring: McGruff Takes a Bite Out of Crime Pt. 2 Oct 12, 2022

Show notes

McGruff the Crime Dog arrived on the scene at the dawn of the 1980s, just as a firehose of anti-drug PSAs was inundating the youth of America. These messages didn’t always work as intended—but they did work their way into the long term memories of the kids who heard them.

In the second episode of our two-part series on the weird world of PSAs and very special episodes, we look at how the McGruff Smart Kids Album influenced everything from straight-edge hardcore to a couple’s wedding playlist. We’ll hear from Sarah Hubbard, Dan Danger, Joseph Cappella, David Farber, Mike Hawes, Robin Nelson, Daisy Rosario, and Tatiana Peralta.

This podcast was written by Willa Paskin, who produces Decoder Ring with Katie Shepherd. This episode was edited by Jamie York. Derek John is Slate’s Sr. Supervising Producer of Narrative Podcasts. Merritt Jacob is Sr. Technical Director.

Thank you to Tatiana Peralta, Ari Merkin, Wendy Melillo, Dan McQuade, Dale Mantley, Larissa Zargeris, Dave Bledsoe, Larre Johnson, Duane Poole, Eric Greenberg, Charles and Karen Rosen, and Jennifer Holland, Orla Mejia, Andres Martinez and everyone else at the Rutgers library who helped me listen to some old cassette tapes.

A few things that were helpful in working on this piece: How McGruff and the Crying Indian Changed America: A History of Iconic Ad Council Campaigns by Wendy Melillo, Taking a Bite out of Crime: the Impact of the National Citizens Crime Prevention Media Campaign by Garrett J O’keefe and others, and “This McGruff Drug Album Might As Well Be By Weird Al,” by Dan McQuade for Defector Media. You can hear Daniel Danger’s McGruff cover album in it’s entirety or you can purchase it here. And lastly, if you are interested in hearing the full McGruff educational program or any of Puppet Productions productions they are available for purchase at puppetsinc.com, part of a company that Rob Nelson still runs.

If you have any cultural mysteries you want us to decode, email us at DecoderRing@slate.com

If you love the show and want to support us, consider joining Slate Plus. With Slate Plus you get ad-free podcasts, bonus episodes, and total access to all of Slate’s journalism.

Check out Remote Works here.

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