Culture Gabfest

On this week’s show, the hosts begin by reviewing Bad Monkey, a breezy new crime drama on Apple TV+ starring Vince Vaughn as a former police officer turned health inspector. It’s everything a summer show should be: laid-back, easy on the eyes, and set in warm, sunny Florida. Then, speaking of returns, the panel turns back the clock and tackles Homicide:‌ Life on the Street, a groundbreaking cop show that debuted in 1993 and is now available to stream on Peacock. Finally, the trio considers A.I. in the arts, inspired by Curtis Sittenfeld’s guest essay for The New York Times:‌ “An Experiment in Lust, Regret and Kissing.”‌In the exclusive Slate Plus segment, the panel discusses the experience of dropping your children off at college. Email us at culturefest@slate.com. Endorsements:Dana: Close Your Eyes, a film written and directed by Victor Erice. Julia: Romantic Comedy by Curtis Sittenfeld. Steve: The entire state of California. Podcast production by Jared Downing. Production assistance by Kat Hong.HostsDana Stephens, Julia Turner, Stephen Metcalf Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In this discussion, Rebecca Onion, a pop culture expert, and Jenny Zhang, an influential writer, dive into the HBO series Industry and its growing viewership. They compare it to Succession, tackling the show's character dynamics and corporate themes. The conversation also shifts to the new Alien film, Alien: Romulus, dissecting its narrative and belonging to the xenomorph legacy. Additionally, the duo explores the impact of beauty culture on tweens, examining societal pressures and shifting beauty standards in the age of social media.

On this week’s show, June Thomas (author of A Place of Our Own: Six Spaces That Shaped Queer Women’s Culture) and Dan Kois (author of Hampton Heights) fill in for Dana and Stephen. First, the panel tackles It Ends With Us starring Blake Lively and Justin Baldoni (the latter also directed and produced the film.) It’s a big, glossy melodrama laced with a domestic violence plot, and is the first film adaptation of BookTok star author Colleen Hoover. Then, the three explore Time Bandits, a new television show from Jermaine Clement, Iain Morris, and Taika Watiti starring, among others, a sublime Lisa Kudrow. The Apple TV+ series is based on Terry Gilliam’s 1981 film of the same name and follows a ragtag bunch of bandits as they thieve and travel through time. Finally, in light of its 20-year anniversary, the trio considers Yelp – does the crowd-sourcing review platform still hold power in 2024? This conversation was inspired by Jaya Saxena’s Eater piece, “Everybody Gets a Star.”On this week’s exclusive Slate Plus bonus episode, the panel goes on the hunt for the wonderful, elusive “perfect cracker.”Email us at culturefest@slate.com. Endorsements:JUNE: A very well-reviewed book from two years ago: Katheine Rundell’s Super-Infinite: The Transformations of John Donne.DAN: The Ministry for the Future: A Novel by Kim Stanley Robinson.JULIA: First Class Tailors on Wilshire Blvd., which boasts a 4.7 Star rating on Yelp.Podcast production by Jared Downing. Production assistance by Kat Hong. HostsJune Thomas, Dan Kois, Julia Turner Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Joining the discussion is Chris Molanphy, a pop music critic and chart analyst known for his insightful work on music podcasts. The conversation kicks off with a lively debate over the 'Song of the Summer,' featuring tracks from artists like Sabrina Carpenter and Morgan Wallen. They dissect the evolving music landscape, highlight the unique dynamics for women in the industry, and explore intriguing indie sounds, including the mystery of S-J's 'Seventeen.' Expect a nostalgic journey filled with playlists, personal connections, and cultural reflections.

On this week’s show, the panel is joined by Jamelle Bouie (New York Times Opinion columnist and Friend of the Pod) to discuss Deadpool & Wolverine, Marvel’s R-rated superhero flick starring Ryan Reynolds and Hugh Jackman that’s dominating at the box office. Then the four assess the onslaught of Kamala Harris memes sweeping the internet right now and the role social media will play in this year’s upcoming election. Finally, Julia, Dana, and Steve puzzle over Eno, a new documentary chronicling Brian Eno’s 50-year career as a visionary musician and artist that’s different every time it’s shown. Mentioned in this episode:  “Deadpool’s obnoxious gay panic humour is a tiresome schoolyard taunt” (Guy Lodge, The Guardian. July 26, 2024.) Upcoming screenings of Eno In the exclusive Slate Plus segment, the panel answers a listener question from Rob about assigned seating in movie theaters. Email us at culturefest@slate.com. Endorsements:Stephen: Team USA’s pommel horse stallion, Stephen Nedoroscik, and his flawless routine at the 2024 Olympics. Julia: An upcoming exhibit at the National Gallery of Art: “Paris 1874: The Impressionist Moment.”Dana: The Decameron on Netflix.  Podcast production by Jared Downing. Production assistance by Kat Hong. HostsDana Stephens, Julia Turner, Stephen Metcalf Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

On this week’s show, the panel gets swept up by Twisters, and begins by discussing director Lee Isaac Chung’s standalone sequel starring Glen Powell and Daisy Edgar-Jones. (For the record, the original 1996 disaster flick, Twister, is a near-perfect, Gabfest-approved comfort watch). Sure, Chung’s reboot isn’t as weird as the original, and the modern-day renderings of completely plausible natural disasters are alarming, but Twisters did what it was supposed to do: deliver a good, generic summer movie where Glen Powell can be, well, Glen Powell. (Read Dana’s review! And Sam Adam’s take on the film’s approach to climate change.) Then, the three dissect Sorry Not Sorry, a documentary from the New York Times that examines Louis C.K.'s public fall from grace in 2017 and the comic’s recent comeback, but disappointingly offers little new insight. Finally, the trio tackles gambling and its increasing presence in modern life, inspired by an essay by Christine Emba for The Atlantic. “Suddenly, gambling seems to be everywhere,” Emba writes. “This sort of vice creep, a societal normalization of what used to be seen as unsavory habits—gambling, smoking marijuana, watching porn—is accelerated by people’s addiction to devices, in this case giving casual bettors the tools to become compulsive wagerers and easing the way for gambling to become a constant part of life.” In the exclusive Slate Plus segment, the panel discusses a recent New York Times interactive and dives deep into their relationships with the grocery store.Email us at culturefest@slate.com.Endorsements:Dana: Inspired by today’s gambling segment, Dana endorses Owning Mahowny, director Richard Kwietniowski 2003 film based on the true story of a Toronto bank employee (played by Phillip Seymour Hoffman) who embezzled more than $10 million to feed his gambling addiction. Julia: An open call! Please send Julia your recommendations for great children’s books that discuss the weather or the changing seasons to culturefest@slate.com. (And read Tap the Magic Tree by Christie Matheson!)Stephen: “One Hundred Famous Views of Edo,” a set of 118 woodblocks by 19th century Japanese landscape master Utagawa Hiroshige, which is currently on display at the Brooklyn Museum through August 4th. Podcast production by Jared Downing. Production assistance by Kat Hong. HostsDana Stephens, Julia Turner, Stephen Metcalf Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

On this week’s show, the panel begins by dissecting Longlegs, director Osgood Perkin’s viral horror movie starring Nicolas Cage that’s sweeping the box office. Aided by a clever marketing campaign, Longlegs is undoubtedly the summer’s “you gotta see it” horror flick, but does the Silence of the Lambs copycat live up to the hype? Then, the three jump (or is it herkie?) into Greg Whiteley’s latest docuseries, America’s Sweethearts: Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders, which follows the Texan squad from auditions through the grueling NFL season, revealing a quietly devastating portrait of worker exploitation and modern femininity along the way. Finally, the trio is joined by Slate critic Laura Miller to parse through an extreme controversy in the literary world: Last week, Alice Munro’s daughter, Andrea Skinner, published an Op-Ed in the Toronto Star detailing the sexual abuse she suffered as a young girl at the hands of her stepfather – abuse that the Nobel Prize-winning author had known about, but chose to ignore. (Read Laura’s essay for Slate; check out the Star’s reported piece.)In the exclusive Slate Plus segment, the panel rips into Longlegs and all of its glorious plot holes in a classic spoiler special. Email us at culturefest@slate.com. Endorsements:Stephen: Dodie Smith’s I Capture the Castle and this essay by Anna Leskiewicz for The New York Review: “The Small-Girl’s Proust.”Dana: In honor of Shelley Duvall (who passed away last week), a two-part endorsement: (1) Austin Film Society’s tribute to Duvall, which premiered at the 2020 Texas Film Awards. (2) Watching a Shelley Duvall movie that’s new to you! (Dana suggests Brewster McCloud directed by Robert Altman.)Julia: A special Scandi-Candy report: (1) Norway’s national candy, Kvikk Lunsj, which carries the reputation of a Snickers bar in that part of the world and sports the Fjellvettreglene (Norwegian for “the mountain code”) on the wrapper’s back. (2) Fredag Slik, or “Friday sweets,” a Danish tradition where families head to the candy store together at the end of the week.Podcast production by Jared Downing. Production assistance by Kat Hong. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Guest June Thomas discusses the self-awareness of TV show 'The Bear' and reviews the film 'Fancy Dance'. The hosts explore their relationships with apps and address listener questions on staying open to new experiences. Plus, they share cultural endorsements and reflections on recent elections and poetry readings.

On this week’s show, Dan Kois (author of Vintage Contemporaries and the upcoming Hampton Heights) and Laura Miller (Slate’s books and culture columnist and author of The Magician’s Book) fill in for Julia and Dana. The panel is first joined by Carl Wilson, Slate’s music critic and the author of Let’s Talk About Love, to parse through I Am: Celine Dion, a new documentary on Prime Video. Directed by Oscar-nominated director Irene Taylor, I Am: Celine Dion chronicles the French Canadian singer’s private battle with Stiff Person Syndrome, an illness that has stripped away Dion’s ability to sing – and with it, her identity. Then, the three explore A Family Affair, Netflix’s wish fulfillment rom-com for middle-aged women starring Zac Efron, Joey King, and Nicole Kidman (plus a whole lot of Plasticine.) Finally, they dive into the world of aesthetics, inspired by Erin Schwartz’s essay for The Cut, “In Defense of Calling Everything an Aesthetic.” In the exclusive Slate Plus segment, the panel looks into “The Vexing Problem of the ‘Medium Friend’” by Lisa Miller for The New York Times. Email us at culturefest@slate.com. Endorsements:Dan: All Fours by Miranda July. Laura: The Ministry of Time by Kaliane Bradley. Stephen: “Art and Memory” by Julian Barnes for London Review of Books. Podcast production by Jared Downing. Production assistance by Kat Hong.  HostsStephen Metcalf, Dan Kois, Laura Miller Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

On this week’s show, Isaac Butler (co-host of Slate’s Working podcast and the author of The Method: How the Twentieth Century Learned to Act) sits in for Julia Turner. The panel first turns their attention to Ren Faire, HBO’s three-part documentary chronicling the surreal power struggle at the heart of America’s largest renaissance festival. Director Lance Oppenheim (Spermworld, Some Kind of Heaven) presents an extraordinary window into the fantastical world, capturing a very specific moment in late-stage capitalism in which society returns to feudalism. Then, the three inspect Janet Planet, Pulitzer Prize-winning American playwright Annie Baker’s film debut. Like Baker’s theater work, Janet Planet–a loosely autobiographical tale revolving around an 11-year-old girl named Lacy (played by Zoe Ziegler) and her mother, Janet (played by Julianne Nicholson)–pushes naturalism to the extreme, an approach that some critics love and others, some even on this very panel, abhor. Finally, the great Canadian actor Donald Sutherland died this past week at the age of 88. His career spanned over six decades, but his immense talents weren’t always immediately obvious. To honor Sutherland and his body of work, each host re-watched a favorite film of theirs: Don’t Look Now, Invasion of the Body Snatchers, and Six Degrees of Separation. In the exclusive Slate Plus segment, the panel reflects on their relationship to giving and receiving criticism, inspired by Arthur C. Brooks’s article for The Atlantic, “How to Take–And Give–Criticism Well.”Email us at culturefest@slate.com. It’s the last week to submit songs for Summer Strut! The final deadline is July 1st. Send your struttiest songs to culturefest@slate.com. Endorsements:Stephen: I, Claudius and Claudius the God by Robert Graves. Isaac: Any Person Is the Only Self: Essays by Elisa Gabbert.Dana: Inspired by Janet Planet: The Roche’s 1979 self-titled album and specifically, “Hammond Song.”Podcast production by Jared Downing. Production assistance by Kat Hong.  HostsDana Stephens, Isaac Butler, Stephen Metcalf Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices