Slate Culture

On today’s episode, hosts Candice Lim and Kate Lindsay are joined by Slate staff writer Luke Winkie, whose piece “Is This What It Takes to Beat Trump?” examines Gavin Newsom’s latest social media strategy: shitposting. The California governor has started tweeting in the style of Donald Trump to ridicule the president and promote his new redistricting effort in California. It’s also paving the way for a potential presidential campaign in 2028. But is his comedy cutting, or just cringe? Get more of ICYMI with Slate Plus! Join for exclusive bonus episodes of ICYMI and ad-free listening on all your favorite Slate podcasts. Subscribe from the ICYMI show page on Apple Podcasts or Spotify. Or, visit slate.com/icymiplus for access wherever you listen. This podcast is produced by Daisy Rosario, Vic Whitley-Berry, Candice Lim, and Kate Lindsay. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The playlists of dozens of high-level government officials and tech executives were suddenly broadcast to the world on a website called “the Panama Playlists.” But the information wasn’t taken by sophisticated hackers infiltrating any mainframes—it was all already publicly available. Guest: Mike Isaac, New York Times Silicon Valley correspondent.  Want more What Next TBD? Subscribe to Slate Plus to access ad-free listening to the whole What Next family and all your favorite Slate podcasts. Subscribe today on Apple Podcasts by clicking “Try Free” at the top of our show page. Sign up now at slate.com/whatnextplus to get access wherever you listen. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Sped-up voices. Wacky instruments. Songs about cavemen, bathtubs, bikinis, and mothers-in-law. From the dawn of rock ‘n’ roll through the 1970s—the age of streaking, CB radios, disco and King Tut—novelty songs could be chart-topping hits. But by the corporate ’80s, it was harder for goofballs to score hits on regimented radio playlists. Until one perm-headed, mustachioed, accordion-playing parodist who called himself “Weird” rebooted novelty hits for the new millennium.  In the second part of this encore episode of Hit Parade, Chris Molanphy explores the history of novelty hits on the charts. Podcast production by Justin D. Wright and Kevin Bendis. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This week on Care and Feeding, Zak, Lucy, and Elizabeth help a parent who is doing ‘extra’ parenting for one of her kids. She’s worried her other kid will feel resentful. The hosts have helpful strategies for balancing fairness while preserving your sanity.  In Triumphs and Fails: international moves, heartbreaking goodbyes, and a snack-money gremlin.  Join us on Facebook and email us at careandfeedingpod@slate.com to ask questions, share feedback, and suggest future topics. 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 an extra weekly grab-bag of content on the Plus Playground, an ad-free experience across the network, and support the work we do here on Care and Feeding. Sign up now at slate.com/careplus — or try it out on Apple Podcasts. Listen to Opportunity Gap wherever you get your podcasts: ⁠https://lnk.to/opportunitygapPS!careandfeeding⁠ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

On today’s episode, host Candice Lim tells Kate Lindsay about two recent BookTok conventions that went off the rails. While the first convention become known as the “Fyre Fest” of BookTok, the other faced troubling allegations of sexual assault against an employee. Is BookTok or social media to blame for how often attempts to bring a fandom together end up shattering the community apart?  Get more of ICYMI with Slate Plus! Join for exclusive bonus episodes of ICYMI and ad-free listening on all your favorite Slate podcasts. Subscribe from the ICYMI show page on Apple Podcasts or Spotify. Or, visit slate.com/icymiplus for access wherever you listen. This podcast is produced by Daisy Rosario, Vic Whitley-Berry, Candice Lim, and Kate Lindsay. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In 1982, the Jane Fonda Workout became the best-selling home video of all time. Over decades, it and its 22 follow ups would spawn a fitness empire, sell more than 17 million copies, and transform Fonda into a leg-warmer-clad exercise guru. And 40 years after its initial release, when the COVID pandemic hit, the workout had a moment yet again. People began doing it alone and on Zoom, tweeting about it, writing about it. So when Jane Fonda agreed to talk to us, we set out to do an episode about it—but it did not go as planned. On Part 1 of a special two-part Decoder Ring, originally released in 2020, we explore the decades-long relationship of Jane Fonda and Leni Cazden, a fraught friendship that birthed the VHS workout that changed the world. It’s a story of creation, fame, forgiveness, trauma, betrayal, survival, politics, and exercise. You’ll hear from Jane Fonda and Leni Cazden, the brain behind the workout, and Shelly McKenzie, author of Getting Physical: The Rise of Fitness Culture in America. In two weeks we’ll return with Part 2: the nitty gritty story of the bestselling VHS tape of all time. This episode was written by Willa Paskin. It was edited and produced by Benjamin Frisch. We had research assistance from Cleo Levin. Decoder Ring is produced by Katie Shepherd, Max Freedman, and Evan Chung, our supervising producer. Merritt Jacob is Senior Technical Director. If you have any cultural mysteries you want us to decode, email us at DecoderRing@slate.com, or leave a message on the Decoder RIng hotline at 347-460-7281. We love to hear any and all of your ideas for the show.  Sources for This Episode Burke, Carol. Camp All-American, Hanoi Jane, and the High-and-Tight, Beacon Press, 2005. Fonda, Jane. My Life So Far, Random House, 2005. Hershberger, Mary. Jane Fonda's War: A Political Biography of an Antiwar Icon, The New Press, 2005. Lembcke, Jerry. Hanoi Jane: War, Sex, and Fantasies of Betrayal, University of Massachusetts Press, 2010. McKenzie, Shelly. Getting Physical: The Rise of Fitness Culture in America, University Press of Kansas, 2013. Perlstein, Rick. Nixonland, Scribner, 2009. Rafferty, James Michael. “Politicising Stardom: Jane Fonda, IPC Films and Hollywood, 1977-1982,” Queen Mary University of London Dissertation, 2010. Get more of Decoder Ring with Slate Plus! Join for exclusive bonus episodes of Decoder Ring and ad-free listening on all your favorite Slate podcasts. Subscribe from the Decoder Ring show page on Apple Podcasts or Spotify. Or, visit slate.com/decoderplus for access wherever you listen. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

On this week’s show, Dana, Julia, and Steve are joined by special fourth guest host: Wesley Morris of the New York Times. The foursome wield their sharpest critical tools for a discussion of the horror hit Weapons. Whether the twisty thrill ride hits its intended target— and what exactly is said target— is up for debate. Next, they take up the latest Spike Lee joint Highest 2 Lowest which reunites the legendary director with Denzel Washington and riffs on an Akira Kurosawa classic. Finally, they examine the “Performative Male” trend popping up in TikTok, style sections, and costume contests around the globe. Is it an embodiment of real gendered anxiety or internet nonsense? In an exclusive Slate Plus bonus episode, the panel gets into all the shocks and surprises of Weapons’s finale in a spoiler-filled conversation. Email us your thoughts at culturefest@slate.com.  Podcast production by Benjamin Frisch. Production assistance by Daniel Hirsch. Endorsements Steve: Music by the jazz pianist Bobo Stenson, specifically his album Serenity. Julia: Wesley Morris’s stellar new culture podcast Cannonball, specifically the episode with Taffy Brodesser-Akner about And Just Like That. Wesley: Watching the great New York sporting event the US Open. If you can’t make it to Flushing Meadows, you can watch on ESPN or stream on Fubo, and shop the enviable merch at the US Open Store. Dana: Akira Kurosawa’s High and Low. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

When Kelly volunteered to be the head coach for his son’s baseball team, he was nervous. He had no formal training, but he knew he wanted his players to have equal playing time—and have fun. Which they did, until the yelling started and the season ended in a stunning loss (and quite a few tears). What can Kelly do better next season? In this encore episode of How To! from 2021, Amanda Ripley connects Kelly with Doug Lemov, author of Teach Like a Champion and The Coach’s Guide to Teaching. Doug shares some fantastic advice for commanding attention (and managing failure) that we can all learn from, on or off the field.  If you liked this episode, check out Congrats, You Won the Olympics. Now What? Do you have a question that requires Ted Lasso-grade inspiration? 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. This episode was produced by Derek John and Rosemary Belson. Get more of How To! with Slate Plus! Join for exclusive bonus episodes of How To! and ad-free listening on all your favorite Slate podcasts. Subscribe from the How To! show page on Apple Podcasts or Spotify. Or, visit slate.com/howtoplus for access wherever you listen. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

They say moving is one of life’s most stressful events. We asked for your stories about why you’re doing it. Plus, Heidi Reinberg was priced out of a Brooklyn neighborhood she loved. Where did she end up?  Death, Sex & Money is 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 email address, where you can reach us with voice memos, pep talks, questions, critiques, is deathsexmoney@slate.com.  __ Get 50% Off Monarch Money, the all-in-one financial tool at www.monarchmoney.com/DSM Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Hosts Alex Kirshner, Ben Lindbergh, and Lindsay Gibbs discuss ESPN’s new $30-a-month streaming service, and the media giant’s attempt to maintain a streaming service without cutting off its cable cash cow. The panel then welcomes the New Yorker staff writer Louisa Thomas to review the U.S. Open’s revamped mixed doubles event. They also weigh in on Anthony Richardson and the Colts’ decision to bench their young quarterback ahead of the regular season. On the bonus episode available exclusively for Slate Plus members, the hosts look at the Minnesota Lynx and Napheesa Colliers' return to WNBA dominance. ESPN Plus (4:19): The broadcaster’s bet on streaming. Mixed Doubles (22:10): The U.S. Open's newest competition was mostly a success. Anthony Richardson (41:47): Are NFL teams giving young quarterbacks enough of a shot? (Note: time codes are only accurate for Slate Plus members, who listen ad-free.) Get more Hang Up and Listen with Slate Plus! Join for weekly bonus episodes of Hang Up and Listen and ad-free listening on all your favorite Slate podcasts. Subscribe from the Hang Up and Listen show page on Apple Podcasts or Spotify, or visit slate.com/hangupplus for access wherever you listen. You can email us at hangup@slate.com. Podcast production and editing by Kevin Bendis, with production assistance from Patrick Fort. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices