Slate Culture

On this episode: Zak, Elizabeth and Lucy answer a letter about parenting a kid through a toxic relationship… and more specifically, a girlfriend’s toxic mom. Our letter-writer is trying to balance respecting her son’s first serious relationship with wanting to protect him from some really nasty behavior. And after that, of course, we’ll circle up for a round of triumphs and fails. Join us on Facebook [https://www.facebook.com/share/g/1ExZ5atkpG/] and email us at careandfeedingpod@slate.com to ask us new questions, tell us what you thought of today’s show, and give us ideas about what we should talk about in future episodes. You can also call our phone line: (646) 357-9318. If you enjoy this show, please consider signing up for Slate Plus. Slate Plus members get to hang out with us on the Plus Playground every week for a whole additional grab-bag of content — and you’ll get an ad-free experience across the network. And you’ll also be supporting the work we do here on Care and Feeding. Sign up now at slate.com/careplus [http://slate.com/careplus] – or try it out on Apple Podcasts. Podcast produced by Maura Currie. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices [https://megaphone.fm/adchoices]

Candice Lim and Kate Lindsay run through the lows of Coachella, before breaking down a lawsuit against one of the festival’s most visible e-commerce brands, Revolve. Earlier this month, Revolve was hit with a $50 million class-action lawsuit [https://www.latimes.com/business/story/2025-04-15/revolve-clothing-faces-lawsuit-influencers-marketing-scheme] accusing them of deceiving more than 1 million customers using social media marketing tactics. The lead plaintiff named three influencers as co-defendants, saying they didn’t disclose that Revolve paid them for sponsored posts and had she known the posts were sponsored, she would not have purchased clothing from them. Does this case have merit, which past influencers have gotten in trouble for similar mistakes, and what does it say about our sponcon literacy today? This podcast is produced by Vic Whitley-Berry, Daisy Rosario, Candice Lim, and Kate Lindsay. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices [https://megaphone.fm/adchoices]

On this week’s show, Julia, Stephen, and Dana are together and talk about Sinners with Slate Culture Writer Nadira Goffe.  Then, they talk about a new animated series from Ramy Youssef called #1 Happy Family USA. Finally, they take a listener's suggestion and listen to a few episodes of the new podcast, Good Hang with Amy Poehler.  In the exclusive Slate Plus segment, Nadira rejoins the panel to go deep on Sinners.  Email us at culturefest@slate.com [culturefest@slate.com]. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices [https://megaphone.fm/adchoices]

Chicken Soup for the Soul was the brainchild of two motivational speakers who preach the New Thought belief system known as the Law of Attraction. For more than 30 years, the self-help series has compiled reader-submitted stories about kindness, courage, and perseverance into easily digestible books aimed at almost every conceivable demographic: Chicken Soup for the Teenage Soul, Chicken Soup for the Grandma’s Soul, Chicken Soup for the Golfer’s Soul, and on and on. Since 1993, these books have sold more than 500 million copies worldwide, becoming the best-selling non-fiction book series of all time. But in recent years, the company has become many other things that seem lightyears away from inspirational publishing: a line of packaged foods, a DVD kiosk retailer, and a meme stock. In this episode, with the help of journalist Amanda Chicago Lewis [https://www.businessinsider.com/chicken-soup-for-soul-decline-of-americas-most-influential-brands-2024-3], we tell the story of how this feel-good brand went from comfort food to junk. This episode was written by Willa Paskin and Max Freedman and produced by Max. It was edited by Evan Chung, Decoder Ring’s supervising producer. Our show is also produced by Katie Shepherd. Merritt Jacob is Senior Technical Director. Special thanks to Rachel Strom. If you have any cultural mysteries you want us to decode, please email us at DecoderRing@slate.com [DecoderRing@slate.com], or leave a message on our hotline at 347-460-7281. Want more Decoder Ring? Subscribe to Slate Plus to unlock exclusive bonus episodes. Plus, you’ll access ad-free listening across all your favorite Slate podcasts. Subscribe now on Apple Podcasts by clicking “Try Free” at the top of the Decoder Ring [https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/decoder-ring/id1376577202] show page. Or, visit slate.com/decoderplus [https://slate.com/podcast-plus?utm_medium=link&utm_campaign=plus_pod&utm_content=Decoder_Ring&utm_source=episode_summary] to get access wherever you listen. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices [https://megaphone.fm/adchoices]

To fly a plane, pilots must prove to the Federal Aviation Administration that they’re physically and mentally fit. But when it comes to mental health, the rules are complicated and, some say, outdated. Pilots who need antidepressants are limited to a short list of approved medications and must take a mandatory six-month leave. Even common diagnoses like anxiety or depression can trigger reviews that could ground them. The F.A.A.’s rules are born out of desire to keep the public safe, but in this episode we talk to pilots, aspiring pilots, and medical aviation professionals about their unintended consequence: incentivizing people to stay quiet about their mental health issues. Read: Why Airline Pilots Feel Pushed to Hide Their Mental Illness  [https://www.nytimes.com/2025/03/18/magazine/airline-pilot-mental-health.html] Podcast production by Zoe Azulay. 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. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices [https://megaphone.fm/adchoices]