Decoder Ring
Decoder Ring is the show about cracking cultural mysteries. In each episode, host Willa Paskin takes a cultural question, object, or habit; examines its history; and tries to figure out what it means and why it matters.
Get more of Decoder Ring with Slate Plus! Join for exclusive bonus episodes of Decoder Ring and ad-free listening on all your favorite Slate podcasts. Subscribe from the Decoder Ring show page on Apple Podcasts or Spotify. Or, visit slate.com/decoderplus for access wherever you listen.
26
If You Give a Mouse a Cookie… Will He Want a We...
How a popular children’s book got caught up in the culture wars.
33 min
27
Chuck E. Cheese Pizza War (Encore)
In the 1980s, two restaurant chains duked it out to become the preeminent robot pizza arcade.
45 min
28
The Hysteria Over Mass Hysteria
It’s all in your head. Or is it?
33 min
29
Standing Up for Sitting Down
Sitting has, once again, stepped into the spotlight as a kind of villain.
35 min
30
The Secret Life of Lawn Ornaments
Gnomes, flamingos, and lawn jockeys—every garden decoration has a message for us.
44 min
31
Stuffed Animals Gone Wild
American kids and parents can’t get enough of creatures that make teddy bears seem impossibly quaint.
36 min
32
Sex, Lies, and Hockey Pucks
How a salacious rumor about the Vancouver Canucks has haunted one woman for 30 years.
33 min
33
Captain Planet to the Rescue
In 1990, the environmental superhero Captain Planet swooped onto TV screens.
39 min
34
Why Are We Still Using Fat Suits?
The fat suit is so much more than prosthetics. It’s an embodiment of all our cultural hang-ups about fatness.
32 min
35
How the Jalapeño Lost Its Heat
For more than a century, Americans have been obsessed with Mexican food – and changed it.
29 min
36
From ‘The Last Archive’: Building an Automatic ...
53 min
37
Making Real Music for a Fake Band
The Broadway show ‘Stereophonic’ on how to construct the sound of the ’70s.
37 min
38
Can the “Bookazine” Save Magazines?
Why is there a magazine all about Robert Redford in the CVS checkout lane?
33 min
39
Andrew Wyeth's Secret Nudes (Encore)
Why did America’s favorite artist hide 240 pieces of artwork from his wife?
50 min
40
Why Stylists Rule the Red Carpet
Avery Trufelman and Melissa Rivers on what the fashion police hath wrought.
38 min
41
The Gen X Soda That Was Just "OK"
Thirty years ago, OK Soda arrived in select stores and offered up a fizzy irony.
39 min
42
Why Do So Many Coffee Shops Look the Same?
Algorithms are shaping our world, even down to latte art.
29 min
43
2024 Teaser
1 min
44
The Forgotten Video Game About Slavery
In 1992, the company behind The Oregon Trail tried to simulate Black history. It did not go well.
43 min
45
The Dating Manual Unlike Any Other
The Rules became a controversial bestseller and sparked instant debate. But was the advice any good?
33 min
46
Mailbag: The Recorder, Limos, and “Baby on Boar...
We answer your questions about the ubiquitous musical instrument, ‘80s automotive luxury, and more.
36 min
47
When Art Pranksters Invaded Melrose Place
In the mid-1990s, an artist collective smuggled its provocative work onto the set of the hit TV show.
37 min
48
The Fast Decline of the Slow Dance
The rise and fall of an awkward rite of passage.
41 min
49
Fall 2023 Teaser
1 min
50
Think Catchphrases Are Dead? Eat My Shorts.
Bless up: It’s a whole episode about “Doh!”, “Dealbreaker!” and “Did I do that?”
36 min