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.
1
Slate Plus Exclusive: The Making of This Season
1 min
2
The Mailbag Episode
From kids menus to succulents to the chicken that crossed the road, we answer your questions.
34 min
3
Encore: ‘You’ve Got Mail’ Got It Wrong
Who's afraid of... Barnes & Noble? The now quaint conflict that inspired the 1998 romantic comedy.
36 min
4
Cellino & Barnes, Injury Attorneys, 800-888-8888
Cellino and Barnes became the literal poster-men for personal injury advertising.
35 min
5
How Preppy Became Streetwear
Ralph Lauren’s modern Ivy style was remixed by ’Lo-Heads.
32 min
6
The New Age Hit Machine
How a PBS pledge drive turned Yanni and John Tesh into rock stars.
24 min
7
The Butt and the Bustle
It may be old-fashioned, but the bustle still has a lot to tell us about race, sex and power.
41 min
8
The Truth About #TheDress
An unassuming photo of a party dress showed how seeing is believing.
32 min
9
Fall 2022 Teaser
Decoder Ring's upcoming season.
1 min
10
McGruff Takes a Bite Out of Crime Pt. 2
Did a trench-coat wearing dog’s catchy anti-drug anthems actually work?
42 min
11
McGruff Takes a Bite Out of Crime Pt. 1
The unlikely origins of the trench-coat wearing bloodhound who tackled personal safety, guns and drugs.
32 min
12
Slate Plus Exclusive: The Making of This Season
1 min
13
The “Sex” Scandal That Made Mae West
Before she hit the big-screen, the sultry actress starred in a 1927 tabloid trial.
41 min
14
The First Alien Abductees
The alien abduction narrative started right here on Earth.
36 min
15
The Most Famous Poet No One Remembers
Searching for Rod McKuen.
43 min
16
The Mall is Dead (Long Live the Mall)
For a supposedly dying place, the mall keeps hanging around.
40 min
17
Summer 2022 Teaser
Decoder Ring's upcoming season.
1 min
18
The Storytelling Craze
How storytelling became a product.
35 min
19
“We Got Ourselves a Convoy”
How a fake country star gave voice to frustrated truckers across America.
29 min
20
The Sideways Effect
How one movie changed Americans’ wine drinking habits.
33 min
21
The Madness Behind ‘The Method’
Isaac Butler on how method acting became so widely misunderstood.
42 min
22
“F--k Everything, We're Doing Five Blades”
The story of how razors came to have so many blades.
36 min
23
Spring 2022 Teaser
Decoder Ring's upcoming season
1 min
24
Custer's Revenge
Custer's Revenge is widely considered one of the worst video games ever made.
41 min
25
The Fame That Got Away
Today on Decoder Ring: Three stories about fame, and one about monkeys.
37 min