Culture Gabfest - Stuck in the Backrooms Edition

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.

Decoder Ring - Tina Turner and the Dance That Conquered Australia

In Australia, no wedding or school dance is complete without the Nutbush, Australia’s unofficial national dance. The Nutbush – a simple line dance to the song “Nutbush City Limits,” by Ike and Tina Turner – has become as stereotypically Australian as kangaroos, boomerangs, and Vegemite. And yet, hardly anyone outside of Australia even knows the Nutbush exists. Here at Decoder Ring, we certainly didn’t – until we started getting emails from Australians asking us to investigate its origins. How did an American song become the soundtrack for an Australian national tradition? Who invented the iconic steps, and why does every Australian know them? Our producer Max Freedman put on his dancing shoes to get some answers. The global, century-spanning story of the Nutbush involves Australia, Tennessee, Denmark, primary schools, gay discos, and demonstrates that even the goofiest cultural touchstones can go surprisingly deep. In this episode you’ll hear from culture journalists David Mack [https://slate.com/author/david-mack] and Angus Kidman [https://anguskidman.show/2023/08/13/tina-turner-how-australia-saved-her-career/]; Nutbush researchers Panizza Allmark and Jon Stratton [https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/10304312.2024.2391789]; dance historians Erica Okamura [https://www.swedishcastle.com/] and Richard Powers [https://www.richardpowers.com/]; Dr. Fiona Chatteur, Jeremy Santolin, and Brian Kerr. This episode was written and produced by Max Freedman and edited by Evan Chung, our supervising producer. Merritt Jacob is Senior Technical Director. If you have any cultural mysteries you want us to decode, email us at DecoderRing@slate.com [DecoderRing@slate.com] or leave a message on our hotline at (347) 460-7281. Get more of Decoder Ring with Slate Plus! Join for exclusive bonus episodes of Decoder Ring and ad-free listening on all your favorite Slate podcasts. Subscribe from the Decoder Ring show page on Apple Podcasts [https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/decoder-ring/id1376577202] or Spotify [https://open.spotify.com/show/3vYNA0Ki5sUHnYC9QwQnKl]. 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] for access wherever you listen. Further Viewing How to do ‘The Nutbush’ - Australian Line Dance [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E8U9_j2Hy5o]  Dancin’ the Madison on “The Buddy Deane Show” (1960) [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iT_QNC6o24E] Alley Cat Tutorial — Spark Physical Education [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RBLL_wQlpdw] The Nutbush on Countdown (December 5, 1976) [https://vimeo.com/586111670/96edf89e3c] Tina Turner — Nutbush City Limits, The Midnight Special (1973) [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bpuf6AmQH4M] Tina Turner — Are You Breaking My Heart, Countdown (1980) [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gInG006w8ek] Tina Turner: How “The Best” Became Rugby League’s Anthem | ABC News [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H2eD9mXJ0Jg] Tina Turner’s Electrifying 1993 NRL Grand Final Performance [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N_3qfwLdndI] Sources for This Episode Allmark, Panizza, and Jon Stratton. “Doing the Nutbush: How Australia Got Its Very Own Line Dance.” [https://doi.org/10.1080/10304312.2024.2331796] Continuum: Journal of Media & Cultural Studies, vol. 39, no. 1, 2025, pp. 79–94. Allmark, Panizza, and Jon Stratton. “The Nutbush Dance Reframed: Further Analysis Related to ‘Doing the Nutbush.’” [https://doi.org/10.1080/10304312.2024.2391789] Continuum: Journal of Media & Cultural Studies, vol. 39, no. 1, 2025, pp. 95–103. Andrews, Shirley. Take Your Partners: Traditional Dancing in Australia. 3rd ed., Hyland House, 1979. Bloomfield, Anne. “Health or Art? The Case for Dance in the Curriculum of British State Schools 1909–1919.” [https://doi.org/10.1080/00467600701619754] History of Education, vol. 36, no. 6, 2007, pp. 681–696. Bloomfield, Anne. “The Quickening of the National Spirit: Cecil Sharp and the Pioneers of the Folk-Dance Revival in English State Schools (1900–26).” [https://doi.org/10.1080/00467600010002103] History of Education, vol. 30, no. 1, 2001, pp. 59–75. Gbogbo, Mawunyo. “Tina Turner and Her Australian Connections: How The Best Became Rugby League’s Anthem and Why Is the Nutbush Mandatory at Gatherings?” [https://www.abc.net.au/news/2023-05-25/tina-turner-australia-rugby-league-the-best-nutbush-obituary/102387886] ABC News, 24 May 2023. Jones, Benjamin T. “Australian Politics Explainer: The White Australia Policy.” [https://theconversation.com/australian-politics-explainer-the-white-australia-policy-74084] The Conversation, 9 Apr. 2017. Kidman, Angus. “Tina Turner: How Australia Saved Her Career.” [https://anguskidman.show/2023/08/13/tina-turner-how-australia-saved-her-career/] Angus Kidman, 13 Aug. 2023. Meiners, Jeff. So We Can Dance? In Pursuit of an Inclusive Dance Curriculum for the Primary School Years in Australia. 2017. University of South Australia, Doctor of Education thesis. Spencer, Eliza. “Australia and the Nutbush: The Quest for the Origin of a Cultural Phenomenon Goes On.” [https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2024/may/05/origins-of-the-nutbush-line-dance-australia-schools] The Guardian, 5 May 2024. Ward, Mary. “The Mysterious Allure of the Nutbush and Why the Dance Is Uniquely Australian.” [https://www.smh.com.au/lifestyle/life-and-relationships/schoolhouse-outhouse-the-mysterious-history-of-the-nutbush-20181115-p50g9n.html] Sydney Morning Herald, 25 May 2023. Zhuang, Yan. “Australia Remembered Tina Turner with a Dance.” [https://www.nytimes.com/2023/05/25/world/australia/australia-tina-turner-nutbush.html] New York Times, 25 May 2023. ---------------------------------------- Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy [https://acast.com/privacy] for more information.

ICYMI - Keep TikTok Out Of Our Favorite YA Books

On today’s episode, host Kate Lindsay is joined by Angelina Mazza whose recent piece in The New York Times [https://www.nytimes.com/2026/05/27/books/why-is-tiktok-in-this-book-from-2006.html] details how publishers are “modernizing” previously published books like Pretty Little Liars and Are You There God? It’s Me, Margaret by replacing outdated references to pop culture and technology with artists like Billie Eilish and apps like TikTok. While publishers claim this is to keep younger readers engaged, others argue it’s not just patronizing, but also disrespectful to the art of storytelling.  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.

Death, Sex & Money - A Sex Party Love Story

Romy Holland is a Berkeley mom whose meet-cute happened at a raucous sex party. That night she had sex with dozens of men, one of which would become her husband. In this episode, Romy talks about the party in question, from the sexy aspects to the much more awkward ones. Plus she talks about what new motherhood does to desire, and the unexpected emotional toll of an abortion that didn't go as planned. Read Romy’s essay “What Nobody Told Me About Abortion [https://romyholland.substack.com/p/what-nobody-told-me-about-abortion]“ And we first heard about Romy in the San Francisco Standard’s story “When A Gang Bang Becomes a Love Story [https://sfstandard.com/2025/10/05/gang-bang-baby-love-story/]“  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. ---------------------------------------- Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy [https://acast.com/privacy] for more information.

ICYMI - AI Detectors Won’t Save Us

On today’s episode, host Kate Lindsay is joined by Ed Zitron, host of the podcast Better Offline [https://www.betteroffline.com/] and a certified hater of AI. After yet another AI writing scandal, this time involving the 2026 Commonwealth Short Story prize, Kate and Ed take a closer look at tools like Pangram that claim to detect AI writing with 99% accuracy. But if we can’t ever be sure, then no one knows what’s true at all—and that’s exactly how these institutions like it.  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.