Slate Culture

This week on Care and Feeding, Zak, Lucy, and Elizabeth tackle a letter from a parent whose mornings are a nonstop battleground. What do you do when your kid just isn’t a morning person, and every transition out the door spirals into crankiness and chaos? The hosts share strategies for smoother starts to the day, and in triumphs and fails: a birthday party pulled off without a hitch, the joys (and wobbles) of re-learning to ride a bike, and back-to-school prep that actually went right. Join us on Facebook and email us at careandfeedingpod@slate.com to ask questions, share feedback, and suggest future topics. 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 an extra weekly grab-bag of content on the Plus Playground, an ad-free experience across the network, and support the work we do here on Care and Feeding. Sign up now at slate.com/careplus — or try it out on Apple Podcasts. Listen to Opportunity Gap wherever you get your podcasts: ⁠https://lnk.to/opportunitygapPS!careandfeeding⁠ [https://lnk.to/opportunitygapPS!careandfeeding] Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices [https://megaphone.fm/adchoices]

Candice Lim and Kate Lindsay explain what’s going on between the internet’s favorite sad girls, Ethel Cain and Lana Del Rey [https://slate.com/culture/2025/08/ethel-cain-lana-del-rey-beef-lyrics-jack-donoghue-song-waffle-house.html]. Where did their beef start and why is Peter Griffin involved? Then, they dive into a new TikTokker who dresses [https://www.tiktok.com/@_ashbyflorence_/video/7536704112822471991] up as the Lorax, does spot-on Ariana Grande impressions [https://www.tiktok.com/@mmcupcake0/video/7539275142195694903], and could be our next big comedian. But first, our favorite TikTok dolls [https://slate.com/podcasts/icymi/2025/07/why-is-sylvaniandrama-calico-critters-getting-sued] may finally start posting again. Get more of ICYMI with Slate Plus! Join for exclusive bonus episodes of ICYMI and ad-free listening on all your favorite Slate podcasts. Subscribe from the ICYMI show page on Apple Podcasts [https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/icymi/id1554115325] or Spotify [https://open.spotify.com/show/6bo1EK9sElQV8DqzO0HLac]. Or, visit slate.com/icymiplus [https://slate.com/podcast-plus?utm_medium=link&utm_campaign=plus_pod&utm_content=ICYMI&utm_source=show_notes] for access wherever you listen. 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]

This week’s episode journeys to dystopian corporate hellscapes present and future as Julia, Dana, and Steve dissect the horror and philosophical underpinnings of Alien: Earth, Noah Hawley’s new series adapting the Ridley Scott sci-fi masterpiece. Next, they set their course to Arlen, Texas where they’ll assess the return of Hank, Peggy, and Bobby in Mike Judge’s rebooted King of the Hill. Finally, they venture to Hollywood and greet its “new face” and the medical specialists who reconstructed it in their discussion of the Hollywood Reporter’s special issue on cosmetic surgery.  In an exclusive Slate Plus bonus episode, it’s time for lunch as they chat about Lauren Collins’s recent New Yorker piece “The Case for Lunch.” Email us your thoughts at culturefest@slate.com [culturefest@slate.com].  Podcast production by Benjamin Frisch. Production assistance by Daniel Hirsch. Endorsements: Dana: A request seeking a good book about the cultural impact of Napoleon. Steve: The poem “Empathy and New Year [https://writing.upenn.edu/epc/authors/schuyler/schuyler_empathy.html]” by James Schuyler. Julia: Crate diving into your own ancestry and visiting places significant to your family's history—Ancestry [https://www.ancestry.com/search/categories/uspri/] proves to be a useful tool to track down public records. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices [https://megaphone.fm/adchoices]

Safiya is one clumsy coffee spill away from catastrophe. A Gen Xer who hasn’t yet embraced the cloud, she stores thousands of digital files, documents, and photos on devices with maxed-out storage limits. On today’s episode, Carvell Wallace brings on Caitlin McGarry [https://www.nytimes.com/wirecutter/authors/caitlin-mcgarry/#contact], senior editor at Wirecutter [https://www.nytimes.com/wirecutter/]. Caitlin talks with Safiya about practical ways to delete and organize—and how we can all build healthier habits in our digital lives.  Ready to dive even deeper? Explore these resources:  How to Organize Your Digital Files [https://www.nytimes.com/wirecutter/guides/how-to-organize-your-digital-files/] Digital Clutter Can Be Overwhelming. Here’s How to Clean Up. [https://www.nytimes.com/2023/02/24/well/live/digital-clutter.html] Your Phone’s Camera Roll Is a Mess. Here’s How to Clean It Up. [https://www.nytimes.com/wirecutter/reviews/clean-organize-store-phone-photos/] How to Organize Desktop Apps [https://www.nytimes.com/wirecutter/guides/how-to-organize-desktop-apps/] Don’t Be a Digital Hoarder [https://www.nytimes.com/wirecutter/reviews/wirecutter-show-podcast-20250312-dont-be-a-digital-hoarder/] If you liked this episode, check out How To Be a Lazy Genius [https://slate.com/podcasts/how-to/2022/05/how-to-organize-your-home] and How To Rethink Screen Time [https://slate.com/podcasts/how-to/2024/09/how-to-rethink-screen-time] Do you have a problem that needs solving? Send us a note at howto@slate.com [howto@slate.com] or leave us a voicemail at 646-495-4001 and we might have you on the show. Subscribe for free on Apple [https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/how-to-with-charles-duhigg/id1469631127], Spotify [https://open.spotify.com/show/2sTpPBvpoGHZlDwgSKI7EZ?si=bD7WdR-vTjuCva13Wdn5qw], or wherever you listen. The show is produced by Rosemary Belson, with Kevin Bendis and Sophie Summergrad. Our technical director is Merritt Jacob and our supervising producer is Joel Meyer. Get more of How To! with Slate Plus! Join for exclusive bonus episodes of How To! and ad-free listening on all your favorite Slate podcasts. Subscribe from the How To! show page on Apple Podcasts [https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/how-to/id1469631127] or Spotify [https://open.spotify.com/show/2sTpPBvpoGHZlDwgSKI7EZ]. Or, visit slate.com/howtoplus [https://slate.com/podcast-plus?utm_medium=link&utm_campaign=plus_pod&utm_content=How_To&utm_source=episode_summary] for access wherever you listen. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices [https://megaphone.fm/adchoices]

Casey Johnston grew up in a family where being thin mattered. In college, the internet told her to eat 1,200 calories and do endless cardio if she wanted to lose weight. That habit followed her into her late twenties, until she came upon a Reddit post about weightlifting that changed her relationship to her body and just about everything else. Casey Johnston is the author of Physical Education: How I Escaped Diet Culture and Gained the Power of Lifting [https://www.caseyjohnston.website/my-work/a-physical-education], and she writes the substack, She’s a Beast [https://www.shesabeast.co/]. 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]