Slate Culture

To celebrate the end of awards season, Candice Lim and Kate Lindsay pay tribute to the true heroes behind Hollywood’s most talented stars: their fan accounts. While Club Chalamet’s lore is deep enough to deserve its own biopic, a number of internet moments and figures were responsible for the success—and downfall—of this year’s nominees. The pair explain it all, and the creator behind fuckyeahdanielradcliffe.tumblr.com is finally unmasked…This podcast is produced by Alexandra Botti, Daisy Rosario, Candice Lim, and Kate Lindsay. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Guest Prudie Kristen Meinzer is joined by writer and YouTube essayist Princess Weekes. Together, they answer questions about reconciling with a daughter after a huge fight, navigating toxic inlaws and making boundaries with selfish parents.Want more Dear Prudence? Subscribe to Slate Plus to immediately unlock weekly bonus episodes. Plus, you’ll access ad-free listening across all your favorite Slate podcasts. Subscribe now on Apple Podcasts by clicking “Try Free” at the top of our show page. Or, visit slate.com/prudie-plus to get access wherever you listen.This week’s podcast is produced by Maura Currie, Vic Whitley-Berry, and Daisy Rosario. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In the late 1980s, the English synth-pop duo Pet Shop Boys dominated the U.K. pop charts and staged an invasion of the American charts. Years later, founding member Neil Tennant dubbed this streak of creative and commercial supremacy the group’s “imperial phase”—a term that eventually caught on among music critics and pop fans.So, what does it take for an artist to achieve imperial dominance? Why might Fleetwood Mac in the 1970s or The Weeknd in the 2010s qualify, while Cher or Lizzo don’t quite fit the bill? Are there rules for imperial phases?Hit Parade’s Chris Molanphy says yes—he’s got chart rules for determining when an artist is at peak imperiality. And he says Madonna’s late ’80s streak of hits might be the ultimate imperial phase.Join Chris as he dissects the most regal artists across the decades, defining what makes them imperial—and he walks hit by hit through Madonna’s biggest phase, which may remain unmatched.Podcast production by Kevin Bendis. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

On this episode: Elizabeth, Lucy and Zak are talking about estrangement. We got a really thoughtful question from a listener whose four-year-old is starting to ask questions about why one of his grandparents isn’t in the picture. And with kids that age, the questions just keep coming… even on topics like this, that are really hard to explain.Elizabeth recommended the following resources:  A Family Is A Family Is A Family by Sara O’Leary  The Not So Friendly Friend: How to Set Boundaries for Healthy Friendships by Christina Furnival Adult Children of Emotionally Immature Parents by Lindsay Gibson  The Estranged Heart And after that discussion, we’ll of course circle up for a round of triumphs and fails — and we’ll also share some amazing thoughts you shared about going to DC.Join us on Facebook and email us at careandfeedingpod@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. You can also call our phone line: (646) 357-9318.If you enjoy this show, please consider signing up for Slate Plus. Slate Plus members get to hang out with us on the Plus Playground every week for a whole additional grab-bag of content — and you’ll get an ad-free experience across the network. And you’ll also be supporting the work we do here on Care and Feeding. Sign up now at slate.com/careplus – or try it out on Apple Podcasts.Podcast produced by Maura Currie.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In 1972, Jerry Lewis—the actor and filmmaker known for slapstick comedies like The Nutty Professor—took the biggest risk of his career when he decided to make a drama called The Day The Clown Cried, about a circus clown who ends up in Auschwitz. This could have been a landmark as one of the first portrayals of the Holocaust in American cinema. Instead, it became a different kind of landmark: allegedly, one of the worst movies ever.The Day The Clown Cried was never released, and only a handful of people have ever seen it. But the unbelievable concept alone has been enough to make this lost movie a holy grail for curious film buffs. In this episode of Decoder Ring, producer Max Freedman traces how The Day The Clown Cried became such a legendary disaster, why it’s impossible to see, and whether it actually deserves its rotten reputation.You’ll hear from comedian Patton Oswalt; Shawn Levy, author of King of Comedy: The Life and Art of Jerry Lewis; Henry Gonshak, author of Hollywood and the Holocaust; Chuck Denton, whose father Charles co-wrote The Day The Clown Cried; and Jean-Michel Frodon, film critic at slate.fr.If you have any cultural mysteries you want us to decode, email us at DecoderRing@slate.com. Or you can also call us now at our new Decoder Ring hotline at 347-460-7281. We’d love to hear any and all of your ideas for the show.Want more Decoder Ring? Subscribe to Slate Plus to unlock exclusive bonus episodes. Plus, you’ll access ad-free listening across all your favorite Slate podcasts. Subscribe now on Apple Podcasts by clicking “Try Free” at the top of the Decoder Ring show page. Or, visit slate.com/decoderplus to get access wherever you listen. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

On this week’s show, we preview the Oscars and Trump’s demolition throughout renowned institutions of art.Isaac Butler — author of The Method: How the Twentieth Century Learned to Act and host of the new Criterion Channel series, The Craft of Acting — sits in for Stephen Metcalf.First, the hosts discuss I’m Still Here and the continued addition of non-English speaking films getting some of the biggest Oscar buzz. Then we tackle the latest Trump shakeups at the National Endowment for the Arts and The Kennedy Center. Finally, Dana and Julia sit down with the CEO of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences Bill Kramer.Endorsements:Dana: The documentary Pictures of Ghosts (2023)Julia: Doppelganger: A Trip into the Mirror World by Naomi Klein, also discussed on Culture Gabfest in September 2023Isaac: The film Z (1969), available on streamingPodcast production and research by Vic Whitley-Berry. Email us at culturefest@slate.com. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Kate Lindsay and Candice Lim break down YouTuber Ethan Klein’s attack on Fauxmoi and why public figures are starting to fire back at snark pages. Earlier this month, Klein’s wife Hila became a topic of discussion on Fauxmoi, a popular celebrity subreddit, after she posted an Instagram story that claimed a potential collaboration fell apart due to anti-semitism. Posts of problematic behavior and language the Kleins have exhibited on camera soon flooded the subreddit, calling out the podcasters for their past controversies. Since then, Ethan has used his platform to threaten multiple subreddits and seemingly gear up to come after Fauxmoi with lawyers. The Kleins’ battle against Fauxmoi begs the question: can you sue a subreddit for defamation? And should snark pages prepare for public figures to fight back?This podcast is produced by Alexandra Botti, Daisy Rosario, Candice Lim, and Kate Lindsay. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Bryan Lowder sits down with journalist Nico Lang to discuss their recent article for Slate It Was Never About Protecting Kids on Trump’s Executive Order restricting gender-affirming care for minors. They examine how the administration is using “child protection” rhetoric as a cover for anti-trans policies, the real-world impact on trans youth and their families, and the history of this political strategy. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

May’s father nearly lost $4,000 to an online scam. How can she protect him from future fraud? On this episode of How To!, Courtney Martin brings on Kathy Stokes, director of fraud prevention programs at AARP. She also runs their Fraud Watch Network. Kathy helps May rethink how she’s talking to her parents about cyber scams—she explains steps that everyone can take to avoid becoming a crime victim.If you or someone you know has been the victim of cyber fraud, you can contact AARP’s helpline at 877-908-3360.Liked this episode? heck out: How To Beat Hackers at Their Own Game and How To Steal Back Your IdentityDo you have a problem that needs solving? Send us a note at howto@slate.com or leave us a voicemail at 646-495-4001 and we might have you on the show. Subscribe for free on Apple, Spotify or wherever you listen.How To’s supervising producer is Joel Meyer. The show is produced by Rosemary Belson, with Kevin Bendis. Want more How To!? Subscribe to Slate Plus to unlock exclusive bonus episodes. Plus, you’ll access ad-free listening across all your favorite Slate podcasts. Subscribe now on Apple Podcasts by clicking “Try Free” at the top of the How To! show page. Or, visit slate.com/howtoplus to get access wherever you listen. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

When comedian Chelsea Devantez began writing her memoir, she knew exactly where to start: with a teenage relationship that spiraled into domestic violence. But when she submitted her draft, lawyers informed her she legally couldn't name her abuser or detail what happened."I threw the book in the trash for a few months," Chelsea recalls. After consulting friends and family, she decided to continue writing with a new approach. "Instead of telling my story, I would try to tell the story of how our systems are set up to silence."In this episode, Chelsea and Anna also discuss how a complex PTSD diagnosis helped explain puzzling personality traits, friendship breakups, family secrets, and navigating a male-dominated, rich kid comedy scene.Chelsea Devantez’s memoir is called I Shouldn't Be Telling You This: (But I'm Going to Anyway), and she has a podcast called Glamorous Trash: A Celebrity Memoir Podcast. Podcast production by Zoe Azulay and Andrew Dunn.Death, Sex & Money is now produced by Slate! To support us and our colleagues, please sign up for our membership program, Slate Plus! Members get ad-free podcasts, bonus content on lots of Slate shows, and full access to all the articles on Slate.com. Sign up today at slate.com/dsmplus.And if you’re new to the show, welcome. We’re so glad you’re here. Find us and follow us on Instagram and you can find Anna’s newsletter at annasale.substack.com. Our new email address, where you can reach us with voice memos, pep talks, questions, critiques, is deathsexmoney@slate.com. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices