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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26
Trump Goes on Down to South Park Edition
On this week’s show: the retrofuturism of Fantastic Four: First Steps, the global phenomenon that is KPop Demon Hunters, and the politically explosive premiere of the new season of South Park.
57 min
27
Colbert is Cancelled Edition
This week on the show it’s Ari Aster’s Eddington, the new documentary Billy Joel: And So It Goes, and the alarming cancellation of The Late Show with Stephen Colbert.
59 min
28
Woke Superman Saves the Box Office Edition
This week, the panel joins the cultural discourse surrounding the new Superman, determines if Too Much is enough, and shares their experience at Viola’s Room, the new immersive theater piece from the creators of Sleep No More.
56 min
29
Sorry, Straight White Male Novelist Edition
This week, the panel wrangle with the tricky to pin down yet compelling traumedy Sorry, Baby, the documentary Dear Ms.: A Revolution in Print, and the life and death of the straight white male novelist (as eulogized in a recent New York Times piece).
56 min
30
Brad Pitt’s Victory Lap Edition
This week, the panel powers up their engines for the racing blockbuster F1: The Movie, the British game show Taskmaster, and the New York Times’s 100 Best Movies of the 21st Century interactive feature.
58 min
31
Daddygang Rage Virus Edition
This week, the panel unspool all the allegorical viscera of 28 Years Later, the Alex Cooper documentary Call Her Alex, and Haim’s new album I quit.
58 min
32
Can Materialists Revive the Rom-com Edition
58 min
33
Pee Wee’s Big Documentary Edition
This week, the panel considers the two-part documentary Pee-wee As Himself, the Owen Wilson golf comedy Stick, and is joined by journalist Caity Weaver to discuss her recent Mark Twain-inspired travelogue to Paris.
56 min
34
The Creator of Succession Takes on the Broligar...
On this week’s episode, the panel checks out the newest offering from Succession creator Jesse Armstrong called Mountainhead, Amazon Prime’s new series Overcompensating, and the strange state of PR, inspired by an article on new media.
57 min
35
Tom Cruise Nearly Died So You Would Like this M...
On this week’s episode, the panel reckons with Mission Impossible: The Final Reckoning, Netflix’s summery series Sirens, and Morgan Wallen’s new hit album I’m The Problem.
58 min
36
Can Tim Robinson Save Friendship Edition
55 min
37
The 3 Blake Lively Problem Edition
This week, the panel digs into the Blake Lively, Anna Kendrick noir-comedy Another Simple Favor, the new ballet series Étoile, and the surprise selection of the first American pope.
49 min
38
Refeed: Annual Call-In Show 2024
This week, the hosts answer listener-submitted questions!
62 min
39
Andor is a Star Wars Series That Actually Feels...
This week, the panel digs into the second season of Andor, the remake of The Wedding Banquet, and the discovery of a new color, olo.
62 min
40
Is Sinners Hollywood’s Salvation?
The hosts go deep with Slate’s Nadira Goffe on Ryan Coogler’s latest, Sinners.
64 min
41
Putting the Asinine in Astronaut
This week, the hosts discuss Your Friends and Neighbors, A Minecraft Movie, and the All-Female Blue Origin Flight
64 min
42
Dying for Sex and Living in Malls
This week, the hosts discuss Dying for Sex, Secret Mall Apartment, and the new Lucy Dacus album Forever Is a Feeling.
55 min
43
Seth Rogen’s Love/Hate Letter to Hollywood
This week, the hosts discuss The Studio, Eephus, and Sunrise On The Reaping.
67 min
44
Netflix’s Incel Tragedy Adolescence
This week, the hosts discuss Adolescence, Lady Gaga’s latest album MAYHEM, and Trump’s continued assault on public universities to remove DEI programs.
66 min
45
Cate Blanchett Is a Sexy Super Spy
This week, the hosts discuss Black Bag, Deli Boys, and the enduring legacy of Dave Eggers’ memoir A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius.
64 min
46
Meghan Markle Sprinkles Potpourri on You
This week, the hosts discuss Mickey 17, Netflix’s With Love, Meghan, and the plague of the white homes.
67 min
47
Zero Day Makes Robert De Niro a Befuddled Presi...
This week, the hosts discuss Zero Day, remembering Gene Hackman, and how to engage with optimism during times of crisis.
63 min
48
The Oscars Go Streaming
This week, the hosts discuss I’m Still Here, Trump’s disruptions at the National Endowment for the Arts and the Kennedy Center, and an exclusive interview with Oscars CEO Bill Kramer.
66 min
49
Congratulations! You Finally Got Your Severance.
This week, the hosts discuss the return of Severance, the Oscar-nominated Palestinian film No Other Land, and Buzzfeed’s new social media platform BF Island.
55 min
50
The SNL 50th Anniversary Industrial Complex
This week, the hosts discuss SNL’s 50th anniversary, Flow, and Kendrick Lamar’s Super Bowl halftime performance.
70 min