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On this week’s show, the hosts begin by dissecting The Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes, the fourth chapter in the Apes franchise. Set “many generations” in the future, the latest installment (directed by Wes Ball and starring Owen Teague) is an undeniably well-crafted summer blockbuster – but does it achieve the level of complexity and thought its predecessors did? (Read Dana’s review for Slate for further analysis.) Then, it’s onto John Mulaney Presents: Everybody’s in LA, a six-part live Netflix special that aired during the streaming giant’s comedy festival. The conceit is thus: Netflix is a Joke attracts the best comedians in the world to LA, John Mulaney interviews them. But the final product is much stranger than that description, both a rejection and reinvention of the tired late-night talk show format, in which Mulaney interviews celebrities and non-celebrities, airs sketches, and delivers long monologues on the character of LA. Is Everybody’s in LA chaotic and sloppy, or a ragged delight? Our panel discusses. Finally, the trio is joined by Slate’s music critic, Carl Wilson, to eulogize the legendary musician and “producing engineer” (his preferred title) Steve Albini. Known for recording albums with Joanna Newsom, Nirvana, and the Pixies, among others, Albini considered himself a documentarian of sound and a technical expert, and brought his punk-rock ethic to everything he did. Read Steve Albini’s essay, “The Problem with Music” and his letter to Nirvana.In the exclusive Slate Plus segment, the panel discusses cultural arbitrage with Slate’s music critic, Carl Wilson, inspired by W. David Marx’s essay for The Atlantic, “The Diminishing Returns of Having Good Taste.” Email us at culturefest@slate.com. Endorsements:Dana: “Who’s Afraid of Judith Butler?” – a profile of the philosopher and gender theorist by Parul Sehgal for The New Yorker.Julia: “Espresso” by Sabrina Carpenter.Stephen: The delightful, catchy, and exuberant (with a tincture of melancholy) music of New Zealand band, Yumi Zuma. (Check out Steve’s playlist here.) Podcast production by Jared Downing. Production assistance by Kat Hong. HostsDana Stephens, Julia Turner, Stephen Metcalf Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week Bryan and Jules are joined by new contributor Mathew Rodriguez for a round of advice. They tackle who gets to use ‘they’, raising polite and inclusive kids, and help one listener navigate the aggressive gender politics of straight weddings. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The “Fama–French model” is a Nobel laureate-designed tool for predicting the stock market. It guides hundreds of billions in investments. The problem? Its numbers keep shifting. For this Money Talks, Felix Salmon chats with Planet Money host Mary Childs about her deep dive for Bloomberg into finance mathematics. They question the nature of investing, markets, and reality itself.If you enjoy this show, please consider signing up for Slate Plus. Slate Plus members get an ad-free experience across the network and an additional segment of our regular show every week. You’ll also be supporting the work we do here on Slate Money. Sign up now at slate.com/moneyplus to help support our work.Podcast production by Jared Downing and Cheyna Roth. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

What would it take for the Democrats to hold Joe Manchin’s crucial Senate seat in West Virginia?  Guest: Zach Shrewsbury, Democratic primary candidate for U.S. Senate in West Virginia. Want more What Next? Subscribe to Slate Plus to access ad-free listening to the whole What Next family and across 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. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Vivian’s eating disorder started in college. She meticulously tracked calories and the number on the scale. Once she graduated she became less rigid with food, but her fixation with numbers took a new form: budgeting and saving money. In this episode, Anna talks to Vivian about her long and complicated relationship to mental math, how tracking calories and paychecks has helped distract her from painful loss, and how she’s managing with her money anxieties now as she plans a wedding and prenup.Want to hear more about relationships and money? Check out an episode we made all about wedding costs last summer. And if you heard last week’s episode about a mobile health care clinic in rural Virginia, we have an important update from local reporting on the high levels of executive pay at the Health Wagon, which just prompted the Virginia legislature to cancel $800,000 of line item funding for the nonprofit. It's a developing story we'll be following.Podcast production by Zoe Azulay 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. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Joel Anderson and Josh Levin are joined by the Washington Post’s Ben Golilver to talk about the NBA’s conference semifinals. Jackie Powell of the Next also joins to preview all the big storylines leading into the most-anticipated WNBA season ever. Finally, one of the WNBA’s top draft picks in 2023, Maddy Siegrist, explains what the 2024 rookie class can expect in their first year as pros.NBA playoffs (3:29): The Nuggets aren’t dead yet and the Knicks are held together with duct tape. WNBA (21:25): Caitlin Clark’s debut, the Aces going for three in a row, and the rollout of charter flights. Siegrist (39:49): The second-year player for the Dallas Wings on adjusting to the WNBA.Afterball (56:22): Joel on the seeming demise of the Arena Football League.(Note: time codes are only accurate for Slate Plus members, who listen ad free.)Want more Hang Up and Listen? 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/hangupplus to get access wherever you listen. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

They’re suspicious of the 2020 election results, their donors, and each other. Now, the MAGA wing of the Michigan GOP is in control—and has kneecapped the state Republican party’s ability to fundraise, appoint leaders, and perform its most basic institutional functions. Guest: Ben Mathis-Lilley, Slate senior writerWant more What Next? Subscribe to Slate Plus to access ad-free listening to the whole What Next family and across 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.Podcast production by Elena Schwartz, Paige Osburn, Anna Phillips, Madeline Ducharme and Rob Gunther. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

On this episode: Zak, Jamilah and Elizabeth answer a question from our Slate Parenting Facebook group about the eternal struggle of the messy preteen bedroom. It seems like no matter what you do, there just keeps being stuff. Everywhere. So, we’ll offer some practical suggestions to help. We also dole out a round of recommendations — and then, for Slate Plus, we muse on how anyone expects anyone to manage a summer camp schedule.Elizabeth recommends: 2 Player Games: The Challenge (google play & app store) Zak recommends: Play Cafes like KidcadiaJamilah recommends: the Slate Parenting Facebook GroupJoin 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 an ad-free experience across the network and exclusive content on many shows—you’ll also be supporting the work we do here on Care and Feeding. Sign up now at slate.com/careplus to help support our work.Podcast produced by Maura Currie. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The ability to choose the sex of your child through IVF is banned in most of the world. In America, however, parents can—and do—for a price.Guest: Emi Nietfeld, writer and software engineer, author of “The Parents Who Want Daughters—and Daughters Only” for Slate.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. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this week’s essay, John discusses the Pomodoro Routine (among other productivity routines), why he especially needs a meditation pillow, and how a particular teacher captured his heart.   Notebook Entries:Notebook 75, pages 8 and 9. September 2021OReinstating the Pomodoro Routine…Starting Marshall again…Write Brice…Send Laura the larger project list…Work on budget to get accounts in orderMeditation pillow upstairs.Notebook 18. December 6, 2009InstapaperAlpha SmartRichard Hugo on poetryDegrees of Gray In Philipsburg.Notebook 18, page 105. June 4, 2011Visit to Mr. Mead. He was playing piano as we entered. [During our conversation, he asked]: do you find your work fulfilling? Do you have a close circle of friends? Questions about life and living it well…References:Getting Things Done - David AllenThe Seven Habits of Highly Effective People - Stephen Covey The Questions That Will Get Me Through the Pandemic - John Dickerson43 Folders - Merlin Mann The Hardest Job in the World - John DickersonEssays of E.B. White“Merlin Mann” - Tina Essmaker for The Great DisconnectMore about Ernest “Boots” Mead“Because Buying New Running Shoes is More Fun Than Actually Running” - Merlin Mann for 43 FoldersAtomic Habits - James ClearThe Creative Habit - Twyla TharpFree Agent Nation - Daniel Pink“Sharon Salzberg On: Openness, Not Believing the Stories You Tell Yourself, and Why the Most Powerful Tools Often Seem Stupid at First” - Ten Percent HappierWant to listen to Navel Gazing uninterrupted? Subscribe to Slate Plus to immediately unlock ad-free listening to Navel Gazing and all your other favorite Slate podcasts. Subscribe now on Apple Podcasts by clicking “Try Free” at the top of our show page. Or, visit slate.com/navelgazingplus to get access wherever you listen. Podcast production by Cheyna Roth.Email us at navelgazingpodcast@gmail.com Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.