Culture Gabfest - One Last Taylor Swift Throwdown Edition

Culture Gabfest - One Last Taylor Swift Throwdown Edition

As you may have heard in last week’s episode, the Culture Gabfest is hanging up its microphones after 18 years of cultural commentary. But before our final episode, we’ve still got much to discuss! On this special guest-packed show, Steve, Dana, and Nadira Goffe have the power! That is the power to get into it with VSFOP Jamelle Bouie about Masters of the Universe, the latest attempt by Mattel to launch their own cinematic universe. They assess the state of IP-driven superhero movies and whether this newest entry—starring Nicholas Galitzine, as the buff, loin cloth-wearing He-Man, and Jared Leto, as the slightly lascivious Skeletor—is more than brand management. Next, they turn to the wild, surreal revenge thriller Is God Is, written and directed by Aleshea Harris based on her stageplay. They talk about how this tale of twin sisters seeking vengeance fits into the growing pantheon of Black horror as well as the ancient canon of revenge tragedies. Finally, and for the final time, it’s time to talk about Taylor Swift. In the wake of her newest release, the song “I Knew It, I Knew You” for the Toy Story 5 soundtrack, the gang assembles one more time to take up the long-simmering Tay debate. Jody Rosen and Julia jump on the call/enter the Thunderdome for this, of course.  In a bonus episode for Slate Plus subscribers, the panel pours one out for the recently shuttered Hampshire College and reflects on the changing landscape of the liberal arts. Endorsements Dana: The interactive, Jazz-playing, transit-obsessed, single purpose website Train Jazz [https://www.trainjazz.com/]. (Hat tip once more to Rusty Foster's Today in Tabs [https://www.todayintabs.com/].) Nadira: The Black Film Archive [https://blackfilmarchive.com/] which showcases Black films made from 1898 to 1999 currently streaming. Also, the year 2016 in music [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2016_in_American_music].  Jody: For some Gabfest replacement therapy, watching academic lectures on YouTube such as the lectures of art historian John Walsh at Yale Art Galleries—including ones on Vincent Van Gogh [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I16OHKFlSrA&list=PLqJmQZgy9f_d7fmz6wgcckukGgVC0P87s] and Dutch masters [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8Lr-shFTXRU&list=PLqJmQZgy9f_cqxAiJ76qDJA98xJkgagN1]— and cultural historian Eric Lott on Racial Masquerade in America [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dvBnJ8jEPZE] and Philippe Petit's legendary tightrope walk between the Twin Towers [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qqw4Ddfptms].  Julia: Patrick Radden Keefe's new book London Falling [https://bookshop.org/p/books/london-falling-a-mysterious-death-in-a-gilded-city-and-a-family-s-search-for-truth-patrick-radden-keefe/3ae558d23df98afa?ean=9780385548533&next=t] and the song "Come Tomorrow [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q8mY4iWGEmU]" by Patti Scialfa. Steve: Following up on last week’s endorsement, Steve can confirm that Disgrace [https://bookshop.org/p/books/schande-professor-of-general-literature-j-m-coetzee/6286f7775f67e19c?ean=9780140296402&next=t] by J.M. Coetzee is, in fact, good. Also recommended: Offshore [https://bookshop.org/p/books/offshore-a-novel-penelope-fitzgerald/b41c8e8bac03dd6d?ean=9780544361515&next=t] by Penelope Fitzgerald.   -- Email us your thoughts at culturefest@slate.com [culturefest@slate.com].  Podcast production by Benjamin Frisch. Production assistance by Daniel Hirsch. ---------------------------------------- Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy [https://acast.com/privacy] for more information.

ICYMI - You Keep Falling For Secret Ads

On today’s episode, host Kate Lindsay is joined by Rachel Karten [https://milkkarten.com/], a social media consultant and the writer of Link In Bio [https://www.linkinbio.news/]. Storytimes and other caught-on-camera content frequently goes viral on social media, but now companies have started manufacturing their own skits to secretly advertise themselves. Countless “ambassadors” are telling the same fake stories all over TikTok, with links to brands in their bios but not disclosing that they are trying to get viewers to buy products. Even worse, people keep falling for it. The more we earnestly engage with these made-up scenarios, the more we push the secretly-sponsored content into people’s feeds. Will anyone stop them? This podcast is produced by Vic Whitley-Berry, Daisy Rosario, and Kate Lindsay, with help from A.C. Valdez. ---------------------------------------- Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy [https://acast.com/privacy] for more information.

Death, Sex & Money - Something Rotten at Stanford

Theo Baker was seventeen when he enrolled at Stanford and stumbled into one of the biggest stories on campus: academic misconduct allegations against the university's president. His reporting eventually forced the president out. In this episode, Theo talks about breaking that story, navigating backlash from classmates and faculty, and what he's learned about the ways Silicon Valley's culture of ambition and power shapes college life. Theo’s book is How to Rule the World: An Education in Power at Stanford University  [https://theobaker.info/book] Death, Sex & Money is now produced by Slate! To support us and our colleagues, please sign up for our membership program, Slate Plus [http://slate.com/dsmplus]! Members get ad-free podcasts, bonus content on lots of Slate shows, and full access to all the articles on Slate.com. Sign up today at slate.com/dsmplus [http://slate.com/dsmplus]. And if you’re new to the show, welcome. We’re so glad you’re here. Find us and follow us on Instagram [https://www.instagram.com/deathsexmoney/?hl=en] and you can find Anna’s newsletter at annasale.substack.com. Our new email address, where you can reach us with voice memos, pep talks, questions, critiques, is deathsexmoney@slate.com. ---------------------------------------- Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy [https://acast.com/privacy] for more information.

ICYMI - Beware The Boy Mom

On today’s episode, host Kate Lindsay is joined by writer Stephanie McNeal [https://stephaniemcneal.com/] to discuss the internet phenomenon of “boy moms.” As an internet culture expert, and recent mother of a boy herself, Stephanie helps break down the reaction to a recent viral post [https://www.reddit.com/r/Fauxmoi/comments/1tu1l2m/jenny_mollen_bizarre_facebook_post_she_posted/]from actress Jenny Mollen, who has publicly compared her sons to “toxic exes” and is already mourning losing them to their eventual marriages. But she is far from the only example of this trope on social media, and the more mothers fall into this trap, the more they legitimize a problematic dynamic. This podcast is produced by Vic Whitley-Berry, Daisy Rosario, and Kate Lindsay. ---------------------------------------- Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy [https://acast.com/privacy] for more information.

Culture Gabfest - Stuck in the Backrooms Edition

This week Steve, Dana, and Julia convene once again—this time with some big news. Also, they make a classic Gabfest episode.  First up, it's the alienating fluorescent buzz, infinite carpeted sprawl, and liminal horror of Backrooms. The new release from A24 is directed by 20-year-old Kane Parsons based on his YouTube series which itself was inspired by deep internet lore and a viral piece of creepypasta. Does the uncanny maze of Backrooms go anywhere? They step into the labyrinth to find out.  Next, they’re joined by Gabfest fave Leon Neyfakh to get into another parallel dimension: the world of OnlyFans. They discuss Leon’s new podcast about the ubiquitous platform OnlyFantasy [https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/onlyfantasy/id1692238236]—produced with comedian and OF creator Gracie Canaan. Finally, it’s a conversation that’s as lively as… well, that’s the question. They take up a recent piece of data journalism in The Pudding analyzing the most common similes [https://pudding.cool/2026/05/similes/]. In a bonus episode, Carl Wilson joins the call (as well as a special endorsement segment) to talk taste. Specifically, they get into how discussions of taste have changed since Carl wrote authoritatively on it 18 years ago in his book Let’s Talk About Love: Why Other People Have Bad Taste [https://bookshop.org/p/books/let-s-talk-about-love-why-other-people-have-such-bad-taste-carl-wilson/f5cf72ef46f6d822?ean=9781441166777&next=t]. Endorsements Dana: The recent Zadie Smith essay in The New York Review of Books "Art for Our Sakes [https://www.nybooks.com/articles/2026/06/11/art-for-our-sakes-zadie-smith/]."  Carl: The live album Happy Today [https://music.apple.com/us/album/happy-today-feat-anna-butterss-jay-bellerose-josh-johnson/1885022834] by Jeff Parker and ETA IVtet as well as the anthology of poetry On Occasion: Poems for the People [https://bookshop.org/p/books/on-occasion-poems-for-the-people-sina-queyras/16975218c7e4534f?ean=9781552455227&next=t], with a special Canadian shoutout to the poem "Oh Americans [https://garybarwin.substack.com/p/oh-americans]" by Gary Barwin. Julia: The tranquil, koi fish-rich, and very SoCal Self-Realization Fellowship Lake Shrine [https://lakeshrine.org/]. Also, L.A. listeners should join the folks of L.A Material, Punch List, and New York Review of Architecture on June 7 for the event LACMA Therapy Session [https://luma.com/5ysm82a3] to process all their complicated feelings about the new David Geffen Galleries. Steve: The band The Durutti Column [https://music.apple.com/us/artist/the-durutti-column/6558311] as sampled in the Blood Orange song "The Field [https://music.apple.com/us/album/the-field-feat-the-durutti-column-tariq-al-sabir/1821897447?i=1821897448]." Plus, Steve would love to know what listeners make of the author J.M. Coetzee, particularly his novel Disgrace [https://bookshop.org/p/books/schande-professor-of-general-literature-j-m-coetzee/6286f7775f67e19c?ean=9780140296402&next=t]. (Also, make sure to subscribe to Carl's fantastic newsletter Crritic! [https://carlwilson.substack.com/]) -- Email us your thoughts at culturefest@slate.com [culturefest@slate.com].  Podcast production by Benjamin Frisch. Production assistance by Daniel Hirsch. ---------------------------------------- Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy [https://acast.com/privacy] for more information.