Culture Gabfest
New York Times critic Dwight Garner says “The Slate Culture Gabfest is one of the highlights of my week.” The award-winning Culturefest features critics Stephen Metcalf, Dana Stevens, and Julia Turner debating the week in culture, from highbrow to pop. For more of Slate’s culture podcasts, check out the Slate Culture feed.
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301
Our Poetry Is Bad
Dana Stevens, Julia Turner, and Stephen Metcalf discuss the new Netflix streamer American Factory, Lana Del Ray's new album with Slate's Carl Wilson, and talk to Dana about her recent residency at a nunnery in Idaho.
61 min
302
Stinker Thinker
Stephen Metcalf and June Thomas are joined by a rotating third chair including Julia Turner, Heather Schwedel, and Benjamin Frisch to discuss Showtime's On Becoming a God In Central Florida, ESPN's The Sterling Affairs, and Taylor Swift's new album, Lover.
59 min
303
Will You Be There For Me?
58 min
304
Where'd You Go, Jar Jar Binks?
June Thomas, Benjamin Frisch, and Rachelle Hampton discuss Richard Linklater's Where'd You Go Bernadette, HBO's A Black Lady Sketch Show, and Slate's list of the 25 most important characters of the past 25 Years with Forrest Wickman.
59 min
305
Culture Gabfest: Super-Abled
Stephen Metcalf, Aisha Harris, and Gabriel Roth discuss Jennifer Kent's new film The Nightingale, Amazon's streaming show The Boys, and the work of Toni Morrison with Sarah J. Jackson, professor at the Annenberg School for Communication at the University of Pennsylvania.
56 min
306
Best in Blow
Stephen Metcalf, Julia Turner, and Dana Stevens discuss the new film The Farewell, Netflix's glass-blowing show Blown Away, and the life of legendary theater director Hal Prince with Isaac Butler.
57 min
307
Gunfight at the O.K. Career
Stephen Metcalf, Dana Stevens, and Julia Turner discuss Tarantino's Once Upon a Time In Hollywood, Netflix's The Great Hack documentary, and a piece about chronic lyme disease in The Cut.
61 min
308
Uncanny Savannah
Stephen Metcalf, Julia Turner, and Dana Stevens discuss the new version of Disney's The Lion King with the New York Times's Aisha Harris, the social media app TikTok with Slate's Daniel Schroeder, and the TV series about Roger Ailes, The Loudest Voice.
57 min
309
Cruel Angel's Thesis
Stephen Metcalf, Dana Stevens, and Julia Turner discuss the film Peterloo, the newly-streaming classic anime Neon Genesis Evangelion with Slate's Benjamin Frisch, and the legacy of Mad Magazine with Slate's Dan Kois.
62 min
310
Fetch the Mallet
Julia Turner, Dana Stevens, and Stephen Metcalf discuss the film Midsommar, the life and work of the bossa nova progenitor João Gilberto with critic Nate Chinen, and the end of life-hacking with Slate's Laura Miller.
60 min
311
Summer Strut 2019
Julia Turner, Stephen Metcalf, and Dana Stevens are joined by Chris Molanphy to discuss the song of the summer and our annual summer strut playlist. You can find our full playlist on Spotify, as well as a shortlist of songs selected on the show.
63 min
312
Culture Gabfest: Exploding Birkins
Dana Stevens, Julia Turner, and Stephen Metcalf discuss The Day the Music Burned with Jody Rosen, about the massive loss of master tapes from historically important record labels due to fire, then CBS's The Good Fight with Vulture's Mark Harris, and Sally Rooney's novel Normal People.
66 min
313
Culture Gabfest: You Don't Get to Hate It
Stephen Metcalf, Willa Paskin, and Marissa Martinelli discuss Big Little Lies season two, the movie The Last Black Man in San Francisco, and The Sims 4, with Slate's Dawnthea Price.
55 min
314
Culture Gabfest: Live From the High Line Edition
The Culture Gabfest is live from The High Line in New York City to discuss the movie Late Night with Inkoo Kang, the life and work of Dr. John with Chris Molanphy, and King Lear with Isaac Butler.
59 min
315
Culture Gabfest: All This Science I Don't Under...
Dana Stevens and Stephen Metcalf are joined by a rotating third chair of Slatesters to discuss Rocketman with Forrest Wickman, HBO's Chernobyl with Sam Adams, and the podcast Headlon: Running From COPS with Inkoo Kang.
59 min
316
Culture Gabfest: Barbie Body Dream Sequence Edi...
Stephen Metcalf, Julia Turner, and Dana Stevens discuss the movie Booksmart, what it's like to lose 250 thousand dollars on Who Wants to Be a Millionaire on the occasion of its cancelation with Slate's Justin Peters, and Dana's new podcast Flashback with K. Austin Collins.
59 min
317
Culture Gabfest: Fourth Wall of the Fourth Wall...
Dana Stevens, Julia Turner, and Stephen Metcalf discuss the new, third film in the John Wick saga, the second season of Amazon's Fleabag, and the New York Times package on Generation X and the concept of generations as a useful metric.
55 min
318
Culture Gabfest: Oh, Oops, Ha, or Hmmm Edition
Julia Turner, Stephen Metcalf, and Dana Stevens discuss the movie Long Shot, Netflix's new series Dead to Me, and the legacy of camp and the MET Gala with Slate's Bryan Lowder.
61 min
319
Culture Gabfest: Taking Up Space Edition
Julia Turner, Stephen Metcalf, and Isaac Butler discuss the new documentary Knock Down the House about women competing in Democratic primaries, the new animated sitcom Tuca and Bertie, and then Father of the Bride, the new album from Vampire Weekend with critic Carl Wilson.
52 min
320
De-snappening Edition
Julia Turner, Stephen Metcalf, and Dana Stevens discuss Avengers: Endgame with Marvel-ologist Jamelle Bouie, the FX series Fosse/Verdon, and the dispute between Hollywood writers and agents with the screenwriter and Scriptnotes co-host John August.
62 min
321
Harm to Ongoing Matters Edition
Stephen Metcalf, Dana Stephens, and the New York Times' Aisha Harris discuss Beyonce's Homecoming documentary, Jordan Peele's new Twilight Zone, and the Mueller Report at literature with Marie Claire's Karen Schwartz.
62 min
322
Free Rein on Some Gargoyles Edition
Dana Stevens, Stephen Metcalf, and Dan Kois discuss the fire at Notre Dame cathedral with New Yorker staff writer Lauren Collins, the new animated film Missing Link, and the saga of country/hip hop mega-hit Old Town Road with Slate's Chris Molanphy.
65 min
323
Energy Vampire Edition
Stephen Metcalf, Julia Turner, and Dana Stevens discuss the stunning film Diane, FX's What We Do in the Shadows, and the debut album by Billy Eilish: WHEN WE ALL FALL ASLEEP, WHERE DO WE GO?.
56 min
324
St. Louis Style Edition
Julia Turner and Dana Stevens are joined by The Atlantic film critic and co-host of the Blank Check podcast David Sims to discuss Tim Burton's remake of Dumbo, the life and work of Agnès Varda, and the social media kerfuffle over "St. Louis style" sliced bagels.
59 min
325
Talkin’ Traz Edition
Julia Turner, Dana Stevens, and Willa Paskin discuss Jordan Peele's new film Us, Hulu's comedy series Shrill, and the bestselling book Dreyer's English with the author, Benjamin Dreyer.
60 min