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.
1
The Red String Board Conspiracy
46 min
2
What the Cuck?!
How one genre of hardcore pornography pushed a new insult into the mainstream.
51 min
3
Why Do Actors Act Like They Can Sing?
57 min
4
Jane Fonda’s Workout, Part 2: Hanoi Jane’s VHS ...
How Jane Fonda created an industry.
48 min
5
Jane Fonda’s Workout, Part 1: Jane and Leni (En...
The relationship that changed exercise forever.
54 min
6
How to Hunt a Mammoth, and Other Experiments in...
Experimental archaeology is solving ancient mysteries that digging into dirt never could.
52 min
7
The Bad-Mouthing of British Teeth
46 min
8
Mailbag: Drug Names, Cow Abductions, and the “A...
Why aliens might take an interest in livestock, how pharmaceuticals get such wacky names, and more listener questions.
43 min
9
Introducing The Sporkful | Is Your Recipe Lying...
Why recipes are not always as quick and easy as they seem.
29 min
10
The White Noise Boom
There’s more white noise available than any one person could possibly need. And yet, more keeps coming.
48 min
11
The Boston Cinematic Universe
43 min
12
The Laff Box (Encore)
What happened to the laugh track?
31 min
13
The Glaring Problem with Headlights
Why car headlights have gotten so bright—and why they’re likely to stay that way.
39 min
14
Off-the-Wall Stories of Off-Label Use
47 min
15
How “Chicken Soup” Sold Its Soul
The self-help book series’s strange journey from best-seller to meme stock.
44 min
16
Spring Break Forever
How spring break became the party that never ends.
43 min
17
How Books About Things That Changed the World… ...
Whether it’s cod, kudzu, or nutmeg, authors love to claim their subjects shaped history. Did they really?
51 min
18
Truck Nutz (Encore)
Why would someone dangle plastic testicles from their bumper?
34 min
19
Jerry Lewis’ Lost Holocaust Clown Movie
How "The Day The Clown Cried" became notorious—and notoriously impossible to see.
52 min
20
The Scratch-Off Ticket’s Instant Win
Ian Coss shares how scratch-off tickets became a part of American life.
33 min
21
Jump, Jive and Fail: The ’90s Swing Craze
Why the swing revival sizzled and then fizzled almost as quickly as it started.
59 min
22
I am Tupperware, I Contain Multitudes
The storage container, a stealthy star of the modern home, started with Tupperware.
39 min
23
Introducing Planet Money: Can Money Buy Happiness?
Does more money mean fewer problems?
30 min
24
Mailbag: Fruit Snacks, Waterbeds, and Lobster T...
How fruity candy got a “healthful” rebrand, the rise and fall of the softest (and sexiest) bed, and more listener questions.
45 min
25
Mystery of the Mullet (Encore)
The history of the mullet is weirder than you think.
46 min