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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The Culture Gabfest: Romeo had Juliet Edition (...
Slate critics Stephen Metcalf, Julia Turner and Dana Stevens discuss Rock 'n' Roll great Lou Reed, Shakespeare and the effect of the internet on poetry. Show notes at www.slate.com/culturefest.
This version corrects the quiet audio of the original.
54 min
577
The Culture Gabfest: Radiators and Bassoons Edi...
Slate critics Stephen Metcalf, Julia Turner and Dana Stevens discuss director Steve McQueen's new film, 12 Years a Slave, Alec Baldwin's move to TV talk show host and podcast Welcome to Night Vale. Show notes at www.slate.com/culturefest.
52 min
578
The Culture Gabfest: We're Not Here to Fish Edi...
Slate critics Stephen Metcalf, Julia Turner and Dana Stevens discuss the Tom Hanks thriller Captain Phillips, the SAT's essay section, and Alice Munro's Nobel Prize. Show page at www.slate.com/culturefest.
47 min
579
The Culture Gabfest: Watch Out for the Dildo Ed...
Slate critics Stephen Metcalf, Julia Turner and Dana Stevens discuss the Sandra Bullock/George Clooney movie Gravity, the new Showtime series Masters of Sex, and the evolution of cool.
45 min
580
The Culture Gabfest: Bitchery and Butchery Edition
Slate critics Stephen Metcalf, Julia Turner and Dana Stevens discuss the hip-hop artist Drake's new album “Nothing Was the Same,” the merits and downsides of hatchet-job books reviews, and the redesign of Apple's iOS7.
52 min
581
The Culture Gabfest: Live from Brooklyn Edition
Slate critics Stephen Metcalf, Julia Turner and Dana Stevens discuss the Nicole Holofcener film "Enough Said" and Brooklyn as a global brand, plus New York Times contributor Chris Suellentrop guests for a discussion of video games as art and Grand Theft Auto V. Watch video of the hosts playing Grand Theft Auto and get other show links on the .
68 min
582
The Culture Gabfest: Can Someone Show Me How to...
Slate critics Dana Stevens, Julia Turner and Stephen Metcalf take calls from listeners on a wide range of topics, and Julia realizes just how much she loves a mouse who's also an architect.
47 min
583
The Culture Gabfest: Log-Toting Salinger Edition
Slate critics Stephen Metcalf, Dana Stevens, and Julia Turner discuss the new film "Salinger" and the state of The Onion, plus Adam Sternbergh of the New York Times guests to talk about what constitutes popularity today. Get show links .
46 min
584
The Culture Gabfest: Working Class Slag from a ...
Slate critics Stephen Metcalf, Dana Stevens, and John Swansburg discuss the Joe Swanberg film "Drinking Buddies," Laura Helmuth's piece on the impact of longevity on humanity, and Simon Doonan's new book on his life. Get show links .
45 min
585
The Culture Gabfest: Flirting with Vomit Edition
Slate critics Julia Turner, John Swansburg, June Thomas and Aisha Harris discuss the Edgar Wright film "The World's End," Miley Cyrus' performance at the MTV Video Music Awards, and love and terror in amusement parks. Get show links .
45 min
586
The Culture Gabfest: In A World Without Steve a...
Slate critics Julia Turner, David Haglund, and Seth Stevenson discuss the romantic comedy "In A World," the New York Times' longform multimedia piece "The Jockey," and Robin Thicke's "Blurred Lines." Get show links .
55 min
587
The Culture Gabfest: 2013 Summer Strut Edition
Slate critics Stephen Metcalf, Dana Stevens and Julia Turner discuss Larry David's new HBO movie "Clear History," the problem of sexual harassment in university philosophy departments, and this year's summer strut playlist. Show links are .
47 min
588
The Culture Gabfest: Take It to the Bridge Edition
Slate critics Stephen Metcalf, Dana Stevens and Julia Turner discuss the new film "The Spectacular Now," the FX show "The Bridge," and nature and role of melody. Get show links .
48 min
589
The Culture Gabfest: "It Was a Dark and Stormy ...
Slate critics Stephen Metcalf, Dana Stevens, and Julia Turner discuss Woody Allen's surprise box office hit Blue Jasmine, the overt racism on the reality show Big Brother, and the drawing power in fiction of a good opening line.
Show notes at www.slate.com/culturefest.
48 min
590
The Culture Gabfest: The Duchess Has a Vagina E...
Slate critics Stephen Metcalf, Dana Stevens, and Julia Turner discuss the new Netflix show "Orange Is the New Black" and the documentary "The Art of Killing," and Simon Doonan joins them to talk about the British royal baby phenomenon. Find show links .
41 min
591
The Culture Gabfest: Initiate Neural Handshake ...
Slate critics Stephen Metcalf, Dana Stevens, and Julia Turner discuss the Guillermo del Toro film "Pacific Rim," the new Comedy Central show "Drunk History," and John Tierney's New York Times piece on nostalgia. Plus, Steve's wife Koethi Zan stops by to talk about her debut novel, "The Never List." Visit for links and additional info.
45 min
592
The Culture Gabfest: Mini Goth Dumbo Edition
Slate critics Dana Stevens, Julia Turner and Stephen Metcalf discuss the MTV show "Catfish," Frank Rich's column on the NSA and privacy, and Dana's tirade against flip flops.
54 min
593
The Culture Gabfest: Do Bert and Ernie Get it O...
Slate's Dana Stevens, June Thomas and David Haglund discuss the New Yorker cover celebrating the defeat of DOMA, Pedro Almodóvar's latest film "I'm So Excited" and the new Showtime series "Ray Donovan" For links and more, head to: slate.com/culturefest
47 min
594
The Culture Gabfest: Steak All the Way Through ...
Slate's own Stephen Metcalf, Dana Stevens and June Thomas discuss the nature of the celebrity apology, the new CBS show "Under the Dome," and debate the end of the humanities. Show notes at:
42 min
595
The Culture Gabfest: The "Hurry Up with My Damn...
Slate's culture critics Stephen Metcalf, Dana Stevens, and June Thomas discuss Kanye West's "Yeezus" with Forrest Wickman and Zack Snyder's "Man of Steel" with Glen Weldon. Also, they weigh the virtues of ambivalence. Show notes at www.slate.com/culturefest.
42 min
596
The Culture Gabfest: The Selfie Duckface Edition
Slate's culture critics Stephen Metcalf and June Thomas are joined by Nina Rastogi to discuss "Game of Thrones" (warning: spoilers), Joss Whedon's adaptation of "Much Ado About Nothing", and the phenomenon of the "Selfie."
Show notes at
40 min
597
The Culture Gabfest: Bondage Trousers Edition
Dana Stevens and June Thomas discuss the new show "Graceland" with Meredith Blake, The "Punk: Chaos to Couture" exhibit at the Met with Simon Doonan and hating cultural objects with Slate's Carl Wilson.
50 min
598
The Culture Gabfest: Palatial Kitsch Edition
Slate's own Dana Stevens, June Thomas and David Haglund discuss "Before Midnight," the new HBO Liberace biopic "Behind the Candelabra" and unpack the bluster around likeable characters in fiction.
51 min
599
The Culture Gabfest: Prog Bots Into Darkness Ed...
Stephen Metcalf, Dana Stevens and June Thomas talk "Star Trek" with Matt Yglesias, discuss the new Daft Punk album "Random Access Memories" and debate the mind-numbing qualities of Google glass.
42 min
600
The Culture Gabfest: Luhrmania Edition
Stephen Metcalf, Dana Stevens and June Thomas discuss Baz Luhrmann's "The Great Gatsby," Marc Maron's new IFC series "Maron" with David Haglund and get to the bottom of Time Magazine's Millennials trend piece.
50 min