Stuck in the Backrooms Edition

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. Need to set up your Slate Plus feed? If you subscribed through Slate.com, check out our FAQ [https://slate.com/podcastfaqs#plusbenefits] at slate.com/podcastfaqs for easy instructions. Members subscribed via Apple Podcasts get automatic access—no setup required. ---------------------------------------- Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy [https://acast.com/privacy] for more information.

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. Need to set up your Slate Plus feed? If you subscribed through Slate.com, check out our FAQ [https://slate.com/podcastfaqs#plusbenefits] at slate.com/podcastfaqs for easy instructions. Members subscribed via Apple Podcasts get automatic access—no setup required. ---------------------------------------- Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy [https://acast.com/privacy] for more information.

I Love Boosters Heightens the Contradictions Edition

This week, the OG three Steve, Dana, and Julia dig into the visually stuffed, Marxist smorgasbord that is Boots Riley’s latest film I Love Boosters. Starring Keke Palmer and Demi Moore, the candy-colored agitprop is about exploitation, the fashion world, shoplifting as class warfare, and— as they discuss—perhaps more than one movie can handle.  Next they turn from Marx to Freud and analyze the critically adored reality TV phenomenon Couples Therapy, now entering its fifth season. Is the office of Dr. Orna Guralnik a site of transcendent psychological revelation or panoptic exploitation? They unpack. Finally, they talk lingvo itself by way of a recent article in Harpers by Katie Thornton [https://harpers.org/archive/2026/06/love-language-katie-thornton-esperanto/] about the unlikely resurgence of interest in the artificial language Esperanto.  In a bonus episode for Slate Plus subscribers, they answer a listener question about what long-running pieces of culture they’ve stuck with over years. Ĝuu! Endorsements Dana: The book The Artificial Language Movement [https://www.abebooks.com/9780631154877/Artificial-Language-Movement-Large-Andrew-0631154876/plp] by Andrew Large about the centuries-long history of utopic language projects. Julia: Lena Dunham’s memoir Famesick [https://bookshop.org/p/books/famesick-a-memoir-lena-dunham/051a699f988a479a?ean=9780593129326&next=t] and Dialed.gg [http://dialed.gg], the internet’s latest color perception test. Steve: The music of the indie shoegaze band Slowdive—particularly the album Souvlaki [https://open.spotify.com/album/4i21O3uVh5palcfFhCjlT7?si=ON6QAmsBStW_ippYKoZuig]—and the solo efforts of its frontman Neil Halstead—particularly the song “Witless or Wise” [https://open.spotify.com/track/7nQDSyEeO2pZOjRmOkTzLD?si=87c52bac77574620] and the album Palindrome Hunches [https://open.spotify.com/album/6nWn2IqFMPLfo5fEi42XOe?si=Bt2O8G1_ScqqLQxmN78XhA]; check out Steve’s mega playlist for more [https://open.spotify.com/playlist/453gxQVv3s8pzCTXahnjlw?si=cac23533443d43d9]. --- Email us your thoughts at culturefest@slate.com [culturefest@slate.com].  Podcast production by Benjamin Frisch. Production assistance by Daniel Hirsch. Need to set up your Slate Plus feed? If you subscribed through Slate.com, check out our FAQ [https://slate.com/podcastfaqs#plusbenefits] at slate.com/podcastfaqs for easy instructions. Members subscribed via Apple Podcasts get automatic access—no setup required. ---------------------------------------- Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy [https://acast.com/privacy] for more information.

You’re My Obsession Edition

This week, we’ve got an all-guest-host panel with Gabfest faves Isaac Butler, Sam Adams, and June Thomas guiding the discourse… straight to hell. In this case, hell is the romantic relationships depicted in the buzzy indie horror Obsession. This rom-com/horror mashup—marking Curry Barker’s impressive feature directorial debut—deals with questions of codependency and consent. But the real question: is Obsession worth the online obsession?  Next, they turn their gaze to the spooky titular island of Widow’s Bay and discuss the new series starring Matthew Rhys in another horror/comedy genre experiment. Finally, they debate whether most kids’ books are “crud?” Or really, is the recent online furor over comments in children’s book creator Mac Barnett’s new book Make Believe: On Telling Stories to Children merited? In a bonus episode for Slate Plus subscribers, the gang gather over the topic of book clubs. Endorsements June: Get In: The Inside Story of Labor Under Starmer [https://bookshop.org/p/books/get-in-the-inside-story-of-labour-under-starmer-patrick-maguire/22216577?ean=9781847928375&next=t]by Patrick Maguire and Gabriel Pogrund, a detailed and readable analysis of Keir Starmer's unlikely rise to power. Sam: The latest film of indie, animated short auteur Don Hertzfeldt "Paper Trail [https://vimeo.com/ondemand/papertrail2026]."   Isaac: The novel The Oppermanns [https://bookshop.org/p/books/the-oppermanns-lion-feuchtwanger/df8bf5e685ddeec4?ean=9781946022332&next=t], a family saga by Lion Feuchtwanger written in real time during Hitler’s rise. (And, as a bonus peek into Feuchtwanger's post-war milieu, check out Salka Viertel’s autobiography The Kindness of Strangers [https://bookshop.org/p/books/the-kindness-of-strangers-salka-viertel/440451ee508ff016?ean=9781681372747&next=t].) -- Email us your thoughts at culturefest@slate.com [culturefest@slate.com].  Podcast production by Benjamin Frisch. Production assistance by Daniel Hirsch. Need to set up your Slate Plus feed? If you subscribed through Slate.com, check out our FAQ [https://slate.com/podcastfaqs#plusbenefits] at slate.com/podcastfaqs for easy instructions. Members subscribed via Apple Podcasts get automatic access—no setup required. ---------------------------------------- Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy [https://acast.com/privacy] for more information.

Lord of the Sheep Edition

On this week’s show, our panel of Dana, Steve, and Sam Adams are on the case. The case: is the movie Sheep Detectives a real movie and is it any good? The answer: it’s a star-studded cozy murder mystery based on a best-selling book about ungulate sleuths… and yeah, it might just be the surprise word-of-mouth delight of the season.   Next, they take up the proverbial conch shell to assess Lord of Flies, the new Netflix limited series adaptation of William Golding’s classic novel from the creator of Adolescence. Finally, they’re joined by longtime Slate book reviewer Laura Miller who understandably has some thoughts and feelings about the recent piece by New York Times book critic Dwight Garner “Where Have All the Book Reviews Gone? [https://www.nytimes.com/2026/04/27/books/review/ai-book-reviews.html]” In an exclusive bonus episode for Slate Plus subscribers, Laura sticks around to report back from her viewing of the strange mess that is the new Animal Farm adaptation. Endorsements Laura: The new book by philosopher and polymath C. Thi Nguyen The Score: How To Stop Playing Somebody Else’s Game [https://bookshop.org/p/books/the-score-how-to-stop-playing-somebody-else-s-game-c-thi-nguyen/10cacf42dab73bd5?ean=9780593655658&next=t].  Steve: The music of the Brazilian recording artist Sessa [https://open.spotify.com/artist/6ijeN3MhwnbRfo86gH5McZ?si=w4gRdLi2R3GoulZ25Gu6Qg] and the chamber music piece Quartet for the End of Time [https://open.spotify.com/album/7rC6IrCzShnanTdT87w1JT?si=I_7x0WkqQzOi6OUiRrf1rQ] by Olivier Messiaen. Sam: The Wager: A Tale of Shipwreck, Mutiny and Murder [https://bookshop.org/p/books/the-wager-a-tale-of-shipwreck-mutiny-and-murder-david-grann/b1f2a00fc56cba78?ean=9780307742490&next=t] by David Grann. Dana: The audiobook Patrick Stewart Performs the Complete Sonnets of William Shakespeare [https://www.simonandschuster.com/books/Patrick-Stewart-Performs-the-Complete-Sonnets-of-William-Shakespeare/William-Shakespeare/9781668108444].  -- Email us your thoughts at culturefest@slate.com [culturefest@slate.com].  Podcast production by Benjamin Frisch. Production assistance by Daniel Hirsch. Need to set up your Slate Plus feed? If you subscribed through Slate.com, check out our FAQ [https://slate.com/podcastfaqs#plusbenefits] at slate.com/podcastfaqs for easy instructions. Members subscribed via Apple Podcasts get automatic access—no setup required. ---------------------------------------- Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy [https://acast.com/privacy] for more information.