Slate Culture Feed

Josh Levin, ESPN’s Joel Anderson, and NPR’s Gene Demby discuss March Madness. They also talk about the sports world’s response to the police killing of Stephon Clark and how Kevin Love and DeMar Derozan started a conversation about mental health. NCAA Tournament (2:00): Josh, Joel, and Gene examine Loyola-Chicago’s Cinderella run to the Final Four, Duke’s ouster in the Elite Eight, and whether any women’s team other than the UConn matters. Stephon Clark (24:00): The hosts assess the sports world’s response the police killing of an unarmed black man in Sacramento, how activism is different in the NBA and NFL, and what it means that Eric Reid hasn’t yet been signed by an NFL team. Mental health in sports (38:00): Will Kevin Love’s Players’ Tribune piece help change the way we talk about athletes and masculinity? Should Royce White get more credit for starting the conversation about sports and mental health? Afterballs (52:30):  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Thom Tran was grazed by a bullet four days into his deployment in Iraq in 2003. He's spent the last 15 years figuring out what that moment means for him going forward.Death, Sex & Money is talking about masculinity! If you identify as a man, we want to know: what's the most confusing thing about being a man right now? Email us: men@deathsexmoney.orgSubscribe to our weekly email newsletter, if you haven't already. 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 New York Times’ Marc Tracy to discuss UMBC. Deadspin’s Dom Cosentino comes on to talk about Kirk Cousins’ new contract. Plus: Dave Kindred on covering girls’ high school basketball. NCAA (1:27): Stefan, Josh, and Marc Tracy of the New York Times recap the first weekend of the NCAA men’s basketball tournament, including 16-seed UMBC’s historic win over 1-seed Virginia. Kirk Cousins (23:30): Stefan and Josh are joined by Dom Cosentino of Deadspin to discuss whether NFL players and agents will be emboldened by free-agent quarterback Kirk Cousins’ groundbreaking guaranteed contract with the Minnesota Vikings. Dave Kindred (40:06): After retiring home to Illinois seven years ago, Dave Kindred began covering the local girls’ basketball team for fun. Then his wife suffered a massive stroke. Dave talks about the experience with Stefan and Josh. Afterballs( 56:30):  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

When musician Johnny Solomon hit rock bottom, he turned to his mom for help. Now, as his mom's health declines, he and his wife—and bandmate—have moved in with her to reciprocate. Subscribe to our weekly email newsletter, if you haven't already. 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 and Stefan Fatsis talk with Slate’s Ben Mathis-Lilley about the NCAA Tournament, Slate’s Jim Newell joins to talk about Tiger Woods’ comeback, and ESPN’s Kevin Arnovitz assesses the Toronto Raptors and Houston Rockets. March Madness (1:31):Slate’s Ben Mathis-Lilley chats with Josh and Stefan about how to be a college basketball fan without being a huge hypocrite. Plus: Can Penn become the first No. 16 seed to beat a No. 1 in the history of the men’s tournament? Tiger Woods (19:47):Slate’s golf correspondent Jim Newell analyzes Woods’ second-place finish at the Valspar Championship, discusses Woods’ strange vocabulary, and looks at whether golf courses should be more patriotic. Raptors and Rockets (35:01): Kevin Arnovitz joins for a conversation about the NBA’s (maybe) two best teams. Are Toronto and Houston for real, and what explains their regular-season success? Afterballs (52:00): Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Guest hosts Daniel Engber and David Epstein talk with Carl Bialik about robot line judges in tennis, Mike Pesca joins for a review of NBA tanking, and Florentina Hettinga discusses the science of the Paralympics. Robot umpires (1:47): Carl Bialik discusses the latest innovation in line-calling technology and how it might affect tennis. Tanking (18:25): Hang Up host emeritus Mike Pesca chats about why there’s more tanking than ever in the NBA and what might be done about it. Paralympics (36:09): Sports scientist Florentina Hettinga sheds light on debates over classification in the world of disability sports. Afterballs (45:39): Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Amy took a mail-in DNA test to find out more about her genealogy...and learned more than she bargained for.Help us build the Death, Sex & Money starter kit! Go to deathsexmoney.org/starterkit and tell us your favorite episodes of the show. We'll enter you in a raffle to win a Skype karaoke session with Anna!Did you know we have a weekly email newsletter for the Death, Sex & Money community? 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 welcomes Slate’s Justin Peters and NBC Nordic skiing commentator Chad Salmela to recap the Winter Olympics. And journalist Ben Strauss and sports economist Andy Schwarz examine the government probe of NCAA basketball recruitment.Winter Olympics (1:42): Stefan and Justin Peters recap the final week of the Winter Olympics including the United States men’s curling team gold medal, Canada’s Olympic heartbreak, Mirai Nagasu’s post-skate comments, and more.  Chad Salmela (22:23): Stefan and Justin interview NBC commentator Chad Salmela, who called the dramatic finish of the first-ever American gold medal in cross-country skiing.NCAA Basketball (37:12): Ben Strauss and Andy Schwarz join Stefan to explain the latest developments in the FBI’s investigation into men’s college basketball.Afterballs (57:30) Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Watching this year’s Grammy Awards, it’s clear hip-hop is the dominant genre in popular music. But back in the ’80s, it was an influential but still underground style looking fora place on the charts and  some mainstream respect. That is, until Run-DMC met Aerosmith. This month, how some out-of-favor ’70s rockers teamed up with the top crew in rap to remake an old hit—in the process, opening lanes for a trio of punks-turned-MCs, and a witty hip-hop lothario. We’re still feeling the reverberations today.  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The actor and writer is having a big year—but it took a lot of work, patience, and some financial help from her mom to get here.Check out the newest addition to our Opportunity Costs series: our class pride and shame website! See what your fellow listeners feel pride and shame about when it comes to their current class status, and add your feelings to the mix. Did you know we have a weekly email newsletter for the Death, Sex & Money community? 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.