Slate Culture Feed

We asked you why you're not having sex—right now, or ever. These are your stories. How is the coronavirus impacting your life? How is it changing the way you think about your relationship to other people? Anna is taking your live calls this Friday, March 13, from 3-4pm Eastern (12-1pm Pacific) along with United States of Anxiety host Kai Wright. Call them up during that time at 844-745-8255. Support Death, Sex & Money by becoming a monthly sustaining member. Sign up now.Sign up for our newsletter by going to deathsexmoney.org/newsletter, and every Wednesday we'll send you behind-the-scenes updates, podcast listening recommendations, and some pretty incredible listener letters from our inbox.Follow our show on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram @deathsexmoney. Got a story to share? Email us any time at deathsexmoney@wnyc.org. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week on the Culture Gabfest, Stephen Metcalf, Julia Turner, and guest host and Slate staff writer Dan Kois talk about Kelly Reichardt’s film First Cow. Next, they bring on Slate television critic Willa Paskin to discuss the latest episode of her podcast Decoder Ring, which dives into the real-life bookstore battle behind You’ve Got Mail. Finally, the panel dives into Molly Fischer’s feature in the Cut on the millennial aesthetic. On the Slate Plus segment this week, the panel discusses the cancellation of Woody Allen’s memoir. Podcast production by Jessamine Molli. Production assistance by Rachael Allen. Additional production help by Rosemary Belson.Outro Music: "Party All The Time" by Eddie MurphyOther items discussed on the show: “I Made the Oily Cakes From First Cow,” by Dan Kois in Slate. “Bookstores That Live Only in the Mind,” by Dan Kois in the New York Times.EndorsementsDan: The March Badness bracket of songs.Julia: Print out your cooking recipes.Steve: “Reading Richard Rorty in Tehran” by Samuel Thrope in the Nation.  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Joel Anderson, Stefan Fatsis, and Josh Levin are joined by the Wall Street Journal’s Ben Cohen to talk about the latest on the coronavirus and sports. They also interview Cohen about his book The Hot Hand: The Mystery and Science of Streaks. Finally, they assess a chaotic week in New York professional basketball. Coronavirus (1:52): When will our sense of American exceptionalism end and reality set in? Hot hand (19:35): What the latest research tells us about the elusive “zone.” Knicks and Nets (39:24): James Dolan is beefing with Spike Lee and Brooklyn just fired its coach. Yowza. Afterballs (59:48): Stefan on team handball and Joel on Carl Crawford.Slate Plus members get a bonus segment on Hang Up and Listen each week, and no ads. Sign up now to listen and support our work. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

A listener talks about why he thought hiring sex workers could save his marriage⁠—while also knowing it could destroy it. We're looking for your stories about climate change, and about what happens when you take a minute to slow down and force yourself to focus on it. What do you think about? How do you feel? And then, what happens next? Send a voice memo to deathsexmoney@wnyc.org. Sign up for our newsletter by going to deathsexmoney.org/newsletter, and every Wednesday we'll send you behind-the-scenes updates, podcast listening recommendations, and some pretty incredible listener letters from our inbox.Follow our show on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram @deathsexmoney. Got a story to share? Email us any time at deathsexmoney@wnyc.org. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week on the Culture Gabfest, Stephen Metcalf, Julia Turner, and guest host and Slate staff writer Dan Kois talk about the hit Netflix dating reality show Love Is Blind with Slate podcast producer Daniel Schroeder. Next, they discuss tomboys, jumping off of a recent New York Times op-ed. Finally, the panel takes on the coronavirus, analyzing the epidemic through various pieces of culture. On the Slate Plus segment this week, the panel discusses a New York Times op-ed from an editor whose ex-boyfriend is now dating Lady Gaga. Podcast production by Jessamine Molli. Production assistance by Rachael Allen. Additional production help by Rosemary Belson.Outro Music: 'Shattered & Hollow' by First Aid KitEndorsementsDan: The graphic memoir Tomboy by Liz Prince.Pitchfork’s Sunday Reviews.Julia: The viral video where a camera falls from an airplane…Steve: “No Ghost in the Machine” by Mark Halpern in the American Scholar.The album Stay Gold by First Aid Kit.HostsStephen MetcalfJulia TurnerDan KoisSocial Media@slatecultfest on Twitterhttps://twitter.com/slatecultfest@slateculturepodcasts on Facebookhttps://www.facebook.com/slateculturepodcasts/ Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Joel Anderson, Stefan Fatsis, and Josh Levin talk about the rise of Zion Williamson. They also discuss the legends and myths of the NFL’s scouting combine and assess how the spread of the coronavirus will affect sports around the world. Zion (3:59): Understanding the might and charisma of the teenage NBA superstar. NFL combine (19:49): Is pro football’s annual scouting carnival actually useful as an evaluation tool? Coronavirus (36:08): How teams, leagues, and the Olympics might be affected.Afterballs (49:35): Stefan on a historic Penn collapse and Josh on a fateful kick over the uprights. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Slate Plus members get ad-free podcasts and bonus episodes of shows like Dear Prudence and Slow Burn. Sign up now to listen and support our work.The 1998 romantic comedy You've Got Mail starring Tom Hanks and Meg Ryan is about the brutal fight between an independent bookstore, The Shop Around the Corner, and Fox Books, an obvious Barnes & Noble stand-in. On this episode of Decoder Ring we explore the real life conflict that inspired the movie and displaced independent booksellers on the upper west side of Manhattan. This conflict illustrates how, for a brief time, Barnes & Noble was a symbol of predatory capitalism, only to be usurped by the uniting force at the heart of the film: the internet. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Eight years after her passing—and 35 years after the release of her debut album—Whitney Houston is about to be inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Predictably, some rock fans have carped that Houston doesn’t belong in the Hall. But they are not the only ones who, historically, have complained about Houston’s bona fides. In the ’80s, at the apex of her success, black fans complained that Houston was courting white pop fans too eagerly, and forgetting her roots in gospel and R&B.On the charts, by contrast, Whitney Houston’s achievements are indisputable. But they also might be underrated. Houston’s chart records offer a window into exactly how she crossed over…and whether she deserved the backlash. In this episode, Chris Molanphy walks step by step through Whitney’s storied chart records—including a couple that have gone unheralded—that help explain why she was a seminal, singular figure among black female crossover stars, from Aretha and Diana to Beyoncé.Podcast production by Justin D. Wright. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The comedian talks with me about what mental illness has taught her about managing money and allowing herself to be loved. Maria's new comedy special is called Weakness Is The Brand. Listen to This American Life episode 261 to hear more about the Gottmans, the husband and wife psychologists Maria has turned to for marriage advice.  If you or someone you love is at risk of suicide, please go to https://suicidepreventionlifeline.org/ to find resources and someone to talk to. Sign up for our newsletter by going to deathsexmoney.org/newsletter, and every Wednesday we'll send you behind-the-scenes updates, podcast listening recommendations, and some pretty incredible listener letters from our inbox.Follow our show on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram @deathsexmoney. Got a story to share? Email us any time at deathsexmoney@wnyc.org. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week on the Culture Gabfest, Stephen Metcalf, Julia Turner, and guest host and Slate staff writer Dan Kois talk about Céline Sciamma’s Portrait of a Lady on Fire. Next, they discuss Taylor Swift’s documentary Miss Americana. Finally, the panel dives into “garbage language” a.k.a corporate buzzwords—unnecessary or effective? On the Slate Plus segment this week, the panel discusses a contentious subject—whether Leonardo DiCaprio was already a star before Titanic?Podcast production by Jessamine Molli. Production assistance by Rachael Allen. Additional production help by Rosemary Belson.Outro Music: 'The Man' by Taylor SwiftEndorsementsDan: Reading Hilary Mantel’s Wolf Hall and Bring Up the Bodies before The Mirror & the Light, the third book in the trilogy, is released March 10. Julia: Golden State by Ben H. Winters.Steve: “Reading Sade in the Age of Epstein” by Mitchell Abidor in The New York Review of Books.  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.