Slate Culture Feed

Josh Levin and Stefan Fatsis are joined by Jessica Luther to discuss Ohio State’s decision not to fire its football coach Urban Meyer; Stefan talks to John Branch about competitive Rubik’s cube solving; and the hosts play two of their favorite Slate Plus segments from 2018, on the perils of co-ed sports and Chinese NBA nicknames.Ohio State (2:53): What does it say about college football that Ohio State chose to suspend, but not fire, Urban Meyer for his failure to do much of anything about domestic abuse allegations against an assistant coach?Speedcubing (21:35): John Branch talks about the subculture of speedcubing, his son’s fascination with the Rubik’s cube, and the autistic teenager who can twirl a cube faster than anyone in the world.Co-ed sports (40:10): Slate’s Christina Cauterucci joins to discuss the lessons she learned as a 9-year-old girl on a co-ed soccer team.Chinese NBA nicknames (56:10):Stefan and Mike Pesca discuss their favorites. 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.Paper dolls were a ubiquitous part of children’s lives for decades, and then mostly disappeared. David Wolfe was a boy growing up in the 1950’s, with paper dolls as his primary means of accessing a world of glamour and beauty that he didn’t see at home in Ohio. He’d go on to a career in fashion, guided by his paper dolls, just as paper dolls were falling out of fashion themselves, replaced by Barbies and other plastic dolls. This episode is about paper dolls, and their surprising connections to fashion, nostalgia, queerness, and David’s extraordinary career. Producer Benjamin Frisch co-hosts the show to explore the story.  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Nick Offerman is famous for playing the most macho man on TV, but in real life, he says he has "all the colors inside."This week, we're also asking for your stories about sexually transmitted infections. Send us a voice memo or email, to deathsexmoney@wnyc.orgSubscribe to our weekly email newsletter! Every Wednesday we send out podcast listening recommendations, fascinating letters from our inbox and updates from the show. Sign up at deathsexmoney.org/newsletter.And follow the show on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram. Got a story to share? Email us any time at deathsexmoney@wnyc.org. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Stefan Fatsis and Josh Levin are joined by The Root’s Damon Young to discuss Jalen Ramsey, Jarvis Landry, and the state of NFL trash talk. They also talk about major rule changes in college basketball, and the Athletic’s Dana O’Neil joins to assess the future of UMBC basketball. NFL trash talk (1:52): Jalen Ramsey gave his honest opinion about a handful of NFL quarterbacks. Should more players adopt his approach? And is Jarvis Landry’s rant what the Cleveland Browns needed? College basketball (24:04): Are the NCAA’s moves to allow players to sign with agents and to test the waters of the NBA draft a step in the right direction? UMBC (38:08): The No. 16 seed made history by beating No. 1 Virginia in the NCAA tournamentT Where can the Retrievers go from here? Afterballs (56:25): Stefan on plaques in the Baseball Hall of Fame, Josh on Marge Schott, and Damon on Zion Williamson. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In 1998, Madonna was at a career crossroads. After dominating the ’80s with hits like “Like a Virgin” and “Open Your Heart,” she spent the first half of the ’90s wavering between roles as a provocateur (Erotica, Sex) and adult-contemporary balladeer (“I’ll Remember,” “Take a Bow”). That’s when she took a sharp left turn, working with producers and deejays in the burgeoning electronica scene. If it even was a scene: The very term “electronica” was a music-business confection, and by 1997 it was more hype than hit. But the result of Madonna’s experiment—her acclaimed ’98 album Ray of Light—was not only one of her biggest smashes ever. It also helped turn electronic music into viable pop. Email: hitparade@slate.com   Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Stefan Fatsis and Josh Levin are joined by Slate’s Jim Newell to discuss Tiger Woods’ near-win at the PGA Championship, SB Nation’s Spencer Hall talks about toxic college football cultures, and ESPN’s Sam Miller assesses the effectiveness of shifts in baseball. PGA (2:15): Brooks Koepka won the PGA Championship, but all eyes were on runner-up Tiger Woods. Is Tiger really back? And will Koepka finally get his time in the spotlight? College football (20:25): Has DJ Durkin coached his last game at Maryland? And why are we only hearing about the program’s abusive culture now? Defensive shifts (42:25): Shifts have been around for decades, but their use has skyrocketed in recent years. How effective are they? And do they suppress offense or boost it? Afterballs (58:19): Stefan on a recent Scrabble triumph and Josh on a teenage pole-vaulting prodigy. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Comedian Chris Garcia lost his dad to Alzheimer's last year. Now, he's turning his grief into conversations with other comedians for a new project from WNYC studios—and we're bringing you an early listen.WNYC Studios wants to know what you think about this pilot—go to deathsexmoney.org/pilot to tell us!Subscribe to our weekly email newsletter! Every Wednesday we send out podcast listening recommendations, fascinating letters from our inbox and updates from the show. Sign up at deathsexmoney.org/newsletter.And follow the show on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram. Got a story to share? Email us any time at deathsexmoney@wnyc.org. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Josh Levin is joined by Deadspin’s Laura Wagner and the New Yorker’s Vinson Cunningham to talk about Urban Meyer’s possible ouster at Ohio State, Pro Football Hall of Fame inductees Terrell Owens and Ray Lewis, and the NFL’s new helmet rule.Urban Meyer (1:40): Ohio State has placed its head coach on administrative leave. Does that signal a societal shift in how institutions handle domestic violence?Pro Football Hall of Fame (23:36): Terrell Owens’ solo ceremony was a strange spectacle. So was Ray Lewis’ long speech in Canton, Ohio. What should we make of both players’ performances on stage and in their careers?Helmet rule (40:10): Will the NFL’s new ban on leading with the head change the game or will the league forget about enforcing it once the regular season begins?Afterballs (49:39): Laura stumps for the demise of five-set tennis matches, Vinson revels in watching NBA players destroy small children, and Josh describes the joys of the 2016 Classic Tetris World Championship. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Live from the airwaves of WRNT, the 50,000 watt scorching (yet fictitious) voice of Boston sports radio….it’s The Dougie and The Donk Show. On today’s episode we take a trip to a fantastical football universe. A new TV special about a notorious 2001 Patriots game asks a lot of crazy questions. Like what if quarterback Drew Bledsoe, the hero of Pats Nation, had been pulled and replaced by benchwarmer Tom Brady? And what if Bill Belichick took over for the Big Tuna? It’s a bunch of malarkey but we’ll give our guest Steve Kornacki a chance to explain before The Donk destroys him. And as always, we’ll take your calls. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Ceci and Miracle talk about what's happened since Miracle ran into one of her Bumble matches making out with her middle school teacher, and Ceci shares a big update.Subscribe to our weekly email newsletter! Every Wednesday we send out podcast listening recommendations, fascinating letters from our inbox and updates from the show. Sign up at deathsexmoney.org/newsletter.And follow the show on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram. Got a story to share? Email us any time at deathsexmoney@wnyc.org. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.