Slate Culture
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Episodes
September 27, 2025 • 52 mins
On today’s episode, hosts Candice Lim and Kate Lindsay are joined by Spitfire News writer Kat Tenbarge to discuss how reactions to Charlie Kirk’s death are prompting us to reexamine free speech. In her piece, “Is anyone going to defend free speech online?” she explains how this right has long been under threat. From legal challenges to biased algorithms, the internet is being censored right before our eyes—but there are still ways ...
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September 26, 2025 • 55 mins
In the rarefied world of smash pop singles, there are No. 1s—and there are No. 1 debuts. Entering Billboard’s Hot 100 at the top is one of the hardest tricks in music. In fact, it wasn’t possible in the U.S. until 1995. That’s when the record labels hacked the Hot 100 and figured out how to send new singles straight into the chart penthouse.
But scoring a No. 1 in Week One doesn’t mean it’s built to last. For every enduring hit l...
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September 25, 2025 • 63 mins
On this episode: Lucy, Zak, and Elizabeth mark Child Passenger Safety Week with a conversation about car seats. Child passenger safety technician Jamie Grayson joins to break down the basics: how to install correctly, when to switch stages, and the mistakes parents don’t even realize they’re making.
Here is the NHTSA car seat safety page.
Listen to our last episode with Jamie: Car Seat Safety Explained!
Then, in a round of trium...
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September 24, 2025 • 45 mins
Candice Lim and Kate Lindsay break down the drama between Vlogbrothers star Hank Green and the online knitting community. Earlier this month, Green posted an educational SciShow episode about the knitting community’s contribution to physics. What the SciShow team didn’t expect were almost 30-minute long reaction videos and accusations of belittling and misogyny. This saga has spurred apology TikToks, vows to knit simple socks, and ...
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September 24, 2025 • 61 mins
When an actor opens their mouth to sing in a movie, chances are high that the voice you hear will be their own. Even in music biopics, movie stars without much singing experience regularly go to great lengths to impersonate the most beloved vocalists of our time. Why not simply play Johnny Cash or Bruce Springsteen’s actual recordings, the reasons why we care about them in the first place? When the world is full of beautiful singin...
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September 24, 2025 • 61 mins
On this week’s episode, Julia and Dana are joined by Slate writer (and Philadelphia native) Nadira Goffe for a conversation rooted in Delaware County about Task, HBO’s new gritty crime drama from the creators of Mare of Easttown.
Next, the hosts give longtime listeners what they’ve been chirping for: a discussion of birding. Specifically, it’s a discussion about the dirtbag, gonzo, totally self-produced and independently released...
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September 23, 2025 • 45 mins
In this mailbag episode of How To!, we get an update from Elizabeth, the 43-year-old listener who contacted us for advice on her plan to have sex for the first time. Then, co-hosts Courtney Martin and Carvell Wallace get listeners’ takes on our most talked-about episodes of the year—and the staff holds an impromptu idea meeting for upcoming episodes.
Links Mentioned:
My Old Books
Do you have a problem that needs solving? Send u...
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September 23, 2025 • 63 mins
Over the past few months, we've been asking you to tell us stories about your beauty interventions. You told us about feeling caught between viewing appearance improvements as vanity and recognizing how much looking a certain way affects your relationships, career, and self-worth.
In this episode, Anna talks to listeners about their appearance choices: Asher, who spent $43,000 on plastic surgery and openly celebrates his investmen...
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September 22, 2025 • 66 mins
Hosts Alex Kirshner, Ben Lindbergh, and Lindsay Gibbs discuss the WNBA playoffs and the Indiana Fever's surprise success, despite an injured Caitlin Clark. They get into the uptick in long NFL field goals. Then they speak with managing editor of True Blue LA, Eric Stephen, about the career and retirement of Clayton Kershaw. For Afterballs, Ben recaps the final week of the MLB regular season and its nail-biting finishes.
On the bon...
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September 22, 2025 • 38 mins
On this episode: Lucy and Elizabeth are joined by guest host Rebecca Onion to dive into her and Dan Kois’ definitive list of the 25 best picture books of the last quarter century. Which modern stories have staying power? Which books belong beside the classics on your child’s shelf? The hosts debate and delight in the choices.
But first, they share their latest triumphs and fails: hiding snacks, an urgent care scare, and a deeply ...
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September 20, 2025 • 44 mins
On today’s episode, host Kate Lindsay is joined by sociologist and content creator Josh Lora, who goes by @tellthebeees on TikTok and Substack. In his viral piece, “The Mainstreaming of Loserdom,” Lora explores how a generation of people is becoming proudly anti-social, often in favor of staying home on their phones. While less and less people may be partying, they’re not exactly happy about it. Are we doomed to doomscroll, or can ...
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September 20, 2025 • 24 mins
Emily Bazelon talks with author and Yale professor Judith Resnik about her new book, Impermissible Punishments: How Prison Became a Problem for Democracy. They discuss the history of the prison system’s use of punishments like whipping, how the practice came to an end, and more.
Tweet us your questions @SlateGabfest or email us at gabfest@slate.com. (Messages could be quoted by name unless the writer stipulates otherwise.)
...
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September 19, 2025 • 35 mins
As the Charlie Kirk murder demonstrated, law enforcement, the government, and media all need more internet fluency. But their reactions in the wake of the murder don’t seem to be moving towards a better understanding.
Guest: Ryan Broderick, reporter on online culture, author of the newsletter Garbage Day.
Want more What Next TBD? Subscribe to Slate Plus to access ad-free listening to the whole What Next family and all your fa...
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September 18, 2025 • 35 mins
Reporter and former Care & Feeding host Aymann Ismail joins Elizabeth & Lucy to talk about how to approach conversations with kids about violence in the news. The hosts discuss ways to frame scary or divisive headlines, how to balance honesty with reassurance, and how parents can manage their own reactions while guiding kids through uncertain times. Plus, Lucy reflects on her own experience processing the past week’s difficult news...
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September 17, 2025 • 49 mins
On today’s episode, host Kate Lindsay is joined by Slate senior writer Ben Mathis-Lilley to say goodbye after eleven years at Slate. Ben was responsible for iconic stories like “Wouldn’t It Be Nice to Get Knocked Out Cold With a Shovel for Exactly Six Weeks and Five Days?”, and is known as the “funniest person in Slack” despite spending his days reporting on our terrifying political climate. How does Ben stay sane and positive onli...
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September 17, 2025 • 69 mins
On this week’s show, Steve and Dana are joined by guest host Dan Kois to turn the volume up to… well, how hard Spinal Tap II: The End Continues rocks is the question of the day. They debate the mockumentary sequel which reunites the original Tap gang for a surprisingly tender portrait of aged rock stars.
Next, they turn their icy gaze at the POV-shifting, soapy series The Girlfriend, starring Robin Wright and Olivia Cooke as the w...
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September 16, 2025 • 54 mins
Much of our common understanding of hypnosis has been gleaned from mind-control plots in Hollywood movies or hokey on-stage demonstrations. On this episode of How To!, Carvell Wallace brings on Stanford University psychiatrist and researcher Dr. David Spiegel to talk about what hypnosis is (and isn’t), as well as its potential to address stress, pain, and even athletic performance. Plus, with Carvell wrestling with an ongoing major...
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September 16, 2025 • 55 mins
When Megan Greenwell was 34 she landed a coveted job in journalism as the editor-in-chief of the sports and culture blog, Deadspin. Just over a year later a post about why she was resigning went viral – a private equity firm had bought Deadspin’s parent company, and was seeking "a quick cash-out rather than the growth that comes from a well-run business."
Her experience led her to spend six years investigating the industry for her...
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September 15, 2025 • 63 mins
Hosts Alex Kirshner, Ben Lindbergh, and Lindsay Gibbs discuss the beginning of the NFL season, and the Kansas City Chiefs’ 0-2 record; their worst start since 2014 when they last missed the playoffs. Has their aging lineup started to catch up to them? Plus, the return of tush-push discourse.
Next, the 38-year-old Sidney Crosby has played a whopping 20 seasons for the Penguins and is arguably the best player of his generation. But ...
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September 15, 2025 • 30 mins
A listener writes in about a toddler who loves bringing toys to the playground but rarely wants to share them. The hosts unpack why sharing is so tough at this age, how parents can set expectations, and their own philosophies on how kids—and adults—learn to share. Plus, check-ins: Lucy brings a delightfully funny Italian-American teen romance story to the table.
Join us on Facebook and email us at careandfeedingpod@slate.com to as...
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