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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601
The Culture Gabfest: On Tenterhooks Edition
Slate critics Stephen Metcalf, Julia Turner and John Swansburg discuss the new Denzel Washington film "Flight," George Lucas selling Lucasfilm and the Star Wars franchise to Disney, and Twitter hashtags as poetry.
43 min
602
The Culture Gabfest: Frankenfest Edition
Slate critics Stephen Metcalf, Julia Turner, Jody Rosen and David Haglund discuss Twitter's role in Hurricane Sandy, the new ABC drama "Nashville," and Haglund's piece on Mormon intellectuals.
40 min
603
The Culture Gabfest: Why Did You Give Me That B...
Slate critics Stephen Metcalf, Dana Stevens and Julia Turner discuss the 40th anniversary of "Free to Be You and Me" with Slate's Dan Kois, Saturday Night Live's presidential debate parodies, and the website HeTexted.com.
49 min
604
The Culture Gabfest: I Did it for the Lulz Edition
Slate critics Stephen Metcalf, Dana Stevens and Julia Turner discuss the new Ben Affleck film "Argo" and the foodie institution "Cooks Illustrated," plus Gawker's Adrian Chen comes in to discuss his controversial piece on the social news site Reddit.
48 min
605
The Culture Gabfest: Ya Big MOOC Edition
Slate critics Stephen Metcalf, Dana Stevens and Julia Turner discuss the new film "Pitch Perfect," Family Guy creator Seth MacFarlane and his selection as Oscars host, and the growth of online university courses.
40 min
606
The Culture Gabfest: Stow Your Blunderbuss Edition
Slate critics Stephen Metcalf, Dana Stevens and Julia Turner discuss the new sci-fi thriller "Looper" and the 30th anniversary of the sitcom "Cheers," plus the economics of indie rock stardom with New York Magazine music critic Nitsuh Abebe.
49 min
607
The Culture Gabfest: Long Shoots of Goldenrod E...
Slate critics Stephen Metcalf, Dana Stevens and Julia Turner discuss the documentary "The Queen of Versailles," the new NBC show "Revolution," and the question of how best to appreciate the art of the past.
42 min
608
The Culture Gabfest: Get Thee Behind Me Satan E...
Slate critics Stephen Metcalf, Dana Stevens, and Julia Turner discuss P.T. Anderson's The Master, Hanna Rosin's new book The End of Men, and New York City's pending large soda ban.
42 min
609
The Culture Gabfest: Bringing a Gun to a Puppy ...
Slate critics Stephen Metcalf, Dana Stevens, John Dickerson, John Swansburg, and Farhad Manjoo discuss Bob Dylan's new album "Tempest," the 20th anniversary of the film "Sneakers", and a cheating scandal at Harvard.
40 min
610
The Culture Gabfest: Bengal Tiger Giving Birth ...
Slate critics Stephen Metcalf, Dana Stevens, Julia Turner, and June Thomas discuss early previews of the fall TV lineup, including The New Normal, The Mindy Project, and Animal Practice, plus Jonathan Chait's piece on Hollywood liberalism and the 50th anniversary of the Norton Anthology of English Literature.
38 min
611
The Culture Gabfest: "There Are Some Broke Down...
Slate critics Stephen Metcalf, Julia Turner and Dana Stevens discuss the TLC show "Here Comes Honey Boo Boo", the Mike Birbiglia / This American Life film "Sleepwalk with Me", and the phenomenon of viral video marriage proposals.
38 min
612
The Culture Gabfest: Tasty Medieval Cockentrice...
Slate critics Stephen Metcalf, Julia Turner and Dana Stevens discuss the re-release of Singin' in the Rain and its place in film history, Time Machine Chefs and food-centric reality TV, and the debate over whether critics should be more critical.
32 min
613
The Culture Gabfest: 25 Sex Moves He Secretly W...
Slate critics Julia Turner, Dana Stevens and John Swansburg discuss the death of Cosmo editor Helen Gurley Brown, the new film The Campaign starring Will Ferrell and Zach Galifianakis, and the merits of swimming in all its forms and venues.
43 min
614
The Culture Gabfest: Don't Look Down Edition
Slate critics Julia Turner, Dana Stevens and June Thomas discuss the 2012 Sight and Sound list of the top 50 films of all time, the dance drama Bunheads, and Jerry Seinfeld's new web series, "Comedians in Cars Getting Coffee."
37 min
615
Slate, The Culture Gabfest: Scary Mascot Edition
Slate critics Stephen Metcalf, Julia Turner and Dana Stevens discuss the rise and fall of journalist Jonah Lehrer. Next the gang is joined by Slate's own Seth Stevenson to talk Olympic mascots. And they round out the show with the new documentary about the Chinese artist Ai Weiwei: Never Sorry.
47 min
616
The Culture Gabfest: Batman and Robins Edition
Slate critics Stephen Metcalf, Julia Turner and Dana Stevens discuss "The Dark Knight Rises" and the shooting in Colorado, as well as Christian Marclay's art installation "The Clock." Plus Slate editor Laura Helmuth joins them to talk about birding, Jonathan Franzen, and the new HBO documentary "Birders: The Central Park Effect."
43 min
617
The Culture Gabfest: Utter Tosh Edition
Slate critics Stephen Metcalf, Julia Turner and Dana Stevens discuss the new USA series "Political Animals" starring Sigourney Weaver, the Daniel Tosh rape joke controversy, and Dana's lack of interest in all forms of games.
40 min
618
The Culture Gabfest: Summer Strut Edition
Slate critics Stephen Metcalf, Julia Turner and Dana Stevens discuss the new Charlie Sheen sitcom "Anger Management," Tim Kreider's New York Times op-ed on "The Busy Trap," and the listener-selected summer strut music playlist.
41 min
619
The Culture Gabfest: "I'll Have What She's Havi...
Slate critics Stephen Metcalf, Dana Stevens, Julia Turner, and June Thomas discuss the Steven Soderbergh film "Magic Mike," the death of writer/director Nora Ephron, and CNN's Anderson Cooper coming out.
43 min
620
The Culture Gabfest: Vamp Edition
Slate critics Stephen Metcalf, Dana Stevens, and Julia Turner discuss the new Pixar film "Brave," the new HBO series from Aaron Sorkin "Newsroom," and the death of the seminal film critic Andrew Sarris.
43 min
621
Culture Gabfest: Curb Appeal Edition
Slate critics Stephen Metcalf, Dana Stevens, and Julia Turner discuss the revelation that the reality show "House Hunters" is sometimes completely staged, Kathryn Bowers' new book about how humans and animals share many common diseases, and finally the viral, summer pop nugget "Call Me Maybe"
51 min
622
Slate Culture Gabfest: "Don't Drive Like My Bro...
Slate critics Stephen Metcalf, Julia Turner and John Swansburg discuss Ridley Scott's new blockbuster Prometheus, a recent article about a culture of abuse and secrecy at the prestigious Horace Mann Prep School, and the end of Car Talk's 25-year run on NPR.
42 min
623
The Culture Gabfest: "Movies on the Radio LIVE!...
Slate critics Stephen Metcalf, Dana Stevens, and Julia Turner host a live event with WQXR's David Garland to discuss music in film and are joined by prolific film composer Howard Shore.
66 min
624
Culture Gabfest: "Who Cares Who Killed Roger Ac...
Slate critics Stephen Metcalf, Dana Stevens, and Julia Turner discuss the difference between 'literary fiction' and 'genre fiction,' whether the app "The Atavist" is the magazine of the future, and what the New York Times wedding announcement section say about our culture.
41 min
625
The Culture Gabfest: I Thought We Really Made A...
Slate critics Stephen Metcalf, Dana Stevens, and Julia Turner discuss the legacy of Donna Summer, Robin Gibb and Disco, why Stephen loves The Bachelorette, and the cultural phenomenon of the commencement speech.
43 min