American Fiction, Oscar Contender?

On this week’s episode, the panel is first joined by Slate’s music critic, Carl Wilson, to puzzle over The Tortured Poets Department, Taylor Swift’s much-anticipated 11th studio album. Stuffed with 31 tracks, the two-part album is a departure from the billionaire pop star’s otherwise perfectly crafted oeuvre: it’s messy and drippy, and at times, manic and frenetic. Is this secretly a cry for help? And more importantly, when did she find the time to record this thing? Then, the three explore Fallout, a post-apocalyptic drama series adapted from the extremely popular role-playing video game of the same name. Executive produced by Jonathan Nolan (Westworld, Person of Interest) and streaming on Prime Video, Fallout certainly achieves a high level of immersive world-building, but do the stories and characters fare the same? Finally, Becca Rothfeld, the Washington Post’s non-fiction book critic, joins to discuss her triumphant first book, All Things Are Too Small: Essays in Praise of Excess, in which she rebukes the culture’s affinity for minimalism and makes the case for living in a maximalist world.  In the exclusive Slate Plus segment, it’s part two of the Ambition versus Contentment discussion (courtesy of a listener question from Gretel): How should a parent approach cultivating ambition in a child, if at all? The hosts discuss.  Email us at [email protected].  Outro music: "Ruins (Instrumental Version)" by Origo Endorsements: Dana: The Teacher’s Lounge, a film by German-Turkish director Ilker Çatak. It was a Best International Film nominee at the 96th Academy Awards. (Also, Ebertfest in Champaign, Illinois!) Julia: Kristen Wiig’s Jumanji sketch on Saturday Night Live, inspired by Dana.  Stephen: The British band Jungle, introduced to him by his daughter. A few favorite songs: “Back on 74,” “Dominoes,” and “All of the Time.”  Podcast production by Jared Downing. Production assistance by Kat Hong.  Hosts Dana Stevens, Julia Turner, Stephen Metcalf Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

On this week’s show, Slate culture writer (and Very, Very Good Friend of the Show, a.k.a. VVGFOP) Nadira Goffe sits in for Dana Stevens. The three begin with Civil War, writer-director Alex Garland’s (Ex Machina, Annihilation, Men) dystopian travelog starring Kirsten Dunst, Cailee Spaeny, and Wagner Moura that imagines a burned out, bombed out America in the throes of a raging internal conflict. But who is fighting whom? Our panel discusses. Then, they examine Jerrod Carmichael Reality Show, an eight-part series on Max depicting a very different civil war. Here, the exemplary sit-down stand-up comedian goes to war with himself, his public image, and the very nature of “reality.” It’s “Seinfeld meets reality TV meets Sylvia Plath,” and is a painfully naked confessional that begs the question: “Is Jerrod Carmichael trolling us?” (Read Nadira’s fantastic piece, “Who Did People Think Jerrod Carmichael Is?” Finally, the trio turns to “gaslighting,” the pop psychology term up for debate in Leslie Jamison’s essay for The New Yorker, “So You Think You’ve Been Gaslit.” Merriam-Webster’s Word of the Year in 2022, is “gaslighting” a handy term used to describe harmful behavior? Or has “gaslighting” become so ubiquitous, it’s lost all meaning? The panel gets into it.  In the exclusive Slate Plus segment, the hosts explore stuffed animals (including but not limited to: Squishmallows, Jelly Cats, and “lovies”), the difference between a blanket and blankie, and the joys of embracing one’s inner child, inspired by Valerie Trapp’s essay for The Atlantic, “Welcome to Kidulthood.”  Email us at [email protected].  Outro music: "200 Dont's" by Conditional Endorsements: Nadira: (1) The Wiz revival on Broadway.  (2) Costco!  (3) Willow Smith’s new song, “b i g f e e l i n g s” off of her upcoming album, empathogen.  Julia: G. T. Karber’s book of puzzles, Murdle: 100 Simple to Impossible Mysteries to Solve Using Logic, Skill, and the Power of Deduction. “It’s a cross between an LSAT logic puzzle and a murder mystery.”  Stephen: Becca Rothfeld’s debut essay collection, All Things Are Too Small: Essays in Praise of Excess. (Becca will be on the show next week to discuss! For extra credit, grab a copy of her book and come prepared.) Podcast production by Jared Downing. Production assistance by Kat Hong.  Hosts Nadira Goffe, Julia Turner, Stephen Metcalf Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

On this week’s show, the panel is first joined by Slate business and culture writer Nitish Pahwa to discuss Monkey Man, Dev Patel’s dazzling but muddled directorial debut. The ultra-violent action flick stars Patel as Kid, a young man who works his way into a secret brothel for the super rich, hell-bent on finding the police chief who murdered his mother and exacting his revenge. It’s clearly a political statement of a film, rife with references to real-world controversies and corrupt political, religious, and pedagogical practices (all of which Nitish covers in his piece for Slate, “Monkey Man Has a Bold New Vision”). Then, the three jump into Ripley, a new eight-part Netflix series based on Patricia Highsmith’s master novel, The Talented Mr. Ripley, starring 47-year-old Andrew “Hot Priest” Scott as the titular seductive psychopath. Directed by Steven Zaillian (The Night Of, Schindler’s List, All the King’s Men) and with cinematography by Robert Elswith (Boogie Nights, There Will Be Blood, Good Night, and Good Luck), the series is shot in spectacular black-and-white and co-stars Dakota Fanning as Marge Sherwood and Johnny Flynn as Dickie Greenleaf. Finally, Julia Louis-Dreyfus (of Veep, Saturday Night Live, and Seinfeld fame, obviously) has a podcast, Wiser Than Me, which just entered its second season. On it, she interviews iconic older women like Jane Fonda, Carol Burnett, Bonnie Raitt, and Sally Field about the wisdom they’ve accrued and asks the question: “Well, how should I live?” While the show doesn’t fully avoid the pitfalls of the celebrity interview, secrets and things emerge within the course of a conversation and the framework itself gets to the very core of human existence.  In the exclusive Slate Plus segment, the panel answers a fittingly existential question from listener Gretel: “Wondering how you, high achievers all, balance ambition with contentment. Do you consider yourselves competitive or is your drive innate? I vacillate between pushing myself harder, striving to achieve more, and being grateful for what I have and where I am. Is contentment a noble endgame in your opinions?” Email us at [email protected].  Outro music: “Bollywood Star” by Jhukane Bada. Endorsements: Dana: Andrew Scott’s performance as Hamlet in 2017. (The full three-hour production can be watched on YouTube.)  Julia: Worn: A People’s History of Clothing by Sofi Thanhauser. An absolutely beautiful and fascinating book about the centrality of textile production throughout history.  Stephen: “Lowell, Plath, and Sexton in the Same Room” by Steve Moyer for the National Endowment for the Humanities (Spring 2024, Volume 45.)  Podcast production by Jared Downing. Production assistance by Kat Hong.  Hosts Dana Stephens, Julia Turner, Stephen Metcalf Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

On this week’s show, the panel is first joined by Slate culture writer (and the Gabfest’s Senior Beyoncé Correspondent) Nadira Goffe to dissect Beyoncé’s latest album, Cowboy Carter. Released on March 29th, Cowboy Carter is a 27-track behemoth with a country soul, packed with archival footage and songs that span multiple genres. To call it a country album would be too simplistic, so we’ll stick with Queen Bey’s own words: Cowboy Carter is a Beyoncé album. Then, the three jump into Do Not Expect Too Much From the End of the World, an avant-garde film from Romanian director Radu Jude that perfectly captures life in the 21st century. Finally, the trio examine Steve! (martin): a documentary in 2 pieces, a new two-part series directed by Morgan Neville (Will You Be My Neighbor?), which analyzes the legendary Steve Martin, an inscrutable human being and American icon.  In the exclusive Slate Plus segment, the panel discusses their personal relationships to hotels.  Email us at [email protected].  Outro music: "I Can Still Dance" by Tigerblood Jewel Endorsements: Dana: Critic Nicolas Rapold’s interview with Radu Jude, the director of Do Not Expect Much From the End of the World, on his podcast, The Last Thing I Saw. It’s a great companion piece to listen to after watching the film.    Julia: The Fraud by Zadie Smith, a historical novel set in Victorian England. If you’ve read this book and have strong feelings, please email Julia at [email protected] to dissect the work and discuss.  Stephen: Penelope Fitzgerald, the Booker Prize-winning novelist, poet, and essayist. Specifically, her 1995 novel, the Blue Flower.  Podcast production by Jared Downing. Production assistance by Kat Hong.  Hosts Dana Stephens, Julia Turner, Stephen Metcalf Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

On this week's show, Slate’s Dan Kois (author of Vintage Contemporaries, How to Be a Family, The World Only Spins Forward, and Facing Future) sits in for Julia Turner. The panel first begins with a reboot: In 1999, when Jon Stewart took over, rather indifferently, the helm of Comedy Central’s The Daily Show, he changed the media landscape with his comedic chops, serious outrage, and penchant for pointing out politicians' hypocrisies. He’s since left and returned back to the show (which he hosts once a week), but how effective are he and his trademark bag of tricks in 2024? We discuss. Then, the three dive into Problemista, writer-director-star Julio Torres’ first feature film that can only be described as “a lot.” Torres (Los Espookys, My Favorite Shapes, Saturday Night Live) plays Alejandro, a sweet but naive aspiring Salvadoran toymaker who must navigate the Kafka-esque purgatory known as the U.S. immigration system. He meets Elizabeth, played by Tilda Swinton, a nightmare boss with fuschia-colored hair and a looming presence that often overwhelms the film… but perhaps that’s exactly what it needs? Finally, the trio is joined by The Sporkful host Dan Pashman to discuss his cookbook, Anything’s Pastable: 81 Inventive Pasta Recipes for Saucy People. In 2021, Pashman created the cascatelli, a new pasta shape that went viral, with Time calling it “one of the best inventions of the year.” Anything’s Pastable aims to revolutionize our concept of what pasta sauces can be, with recipes for unique and non-traditional dishes like “Kimchi Carbonara” and “Cacio e Pepe e Chili Crisp.”  In the exclusive Slate Plus segment, the panel explores Dana’s book review, “Rejecting the Binary” for Slate. She reviews American philosopher and theorist Judith Butler’s latest book–the first of theirs published with a nonacademic press–Who’s Afraid of Gender. Butler served as Dana’s dissertation adviser at the University of California in the late 1990s.  Email us at [email protected].  Outro music: “Funny Jam” by Gloria Tells. Endorsements: Dana: A feat of artistry and interpretation, nineteen-year-old American Ilia Malinin’s free skate to the Succession theme (composed, of course, by Nicholas Britell). Malinin scored a record 227.79, winning his first world title and executed the best collection of jumps in one program in figure skating history.  Dan: The Big Ears Festival held in Knoxville, Tennessee.  Stephen: Falling into a Cat Stevens rabbit hole. He recommends starting with “The First Cut is the Deepest” and Stevens’ 2014 Tiny Desk performance.  Podcast production by Jared Downing. Production assistance by Kat Hong.    Hosts Dana Stephens, Dan Kois, Stephen Metcalf Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

On this week’s show, Slate culture writers Nadira Goffe and Dan Kois fill in for Julia and Stephen. First up, the panel dissects Love Lies Bleeding with What’s Next producer Madeline Ducharme. Writer-director Rose Glass’ second feature stars Kristen Stewart and Katy O’Brian as beefed up, star-crossed lovers, in a twisted and gory love story about two unhealthily enmeshed women. (You can read Madeline Ducharme and Christina Cauterucci’s detailed review of the sex scenes in Love Lies Bleeding here!) Then, the trio explores The Regime, a weird and tonally bizarre Max limited series by showrunner Will Tracy (The Menu, Succession), in which Kate Winslet–in a commanding performance–plays the fictional dictator of an unnamed European country. Finally, can a book published posthumously do more harm than good? The panel discusses renowned author Gabríel Garcia Márquez’s latest novella, Until August, which was published ten years after his death–and without his consent.  In the exclusive Slate Plus segment, Nadira, Dan, and Dana chew over the rise and fall of food trends, inspired by Kim Severson’s piece for The New York Times, “The Coolest Menu Item at the Moment Is… Cabbage?”  Recipes mentioned by Dan:  Gilgeori Toast (Korean Street Toast with Cabbage and Egg) by Darun Kwak for The New York Times.  Vegan Bunny Chow by Meera Sodha for The Guardian.  Somen Salad by Sheldon Simeon. Email us at [email protected].  Outro music: "Funk Wife Punk Life" by L. M. Styles Endorsements: Dana: Extreme Friend of the Pod (EFOP) Isaac Butler’s Substack, Complete Works. Specifically, his most recent post: “It Ain’t Me, Babe: Complicity and consequences, from sitcoms to Gaza.”  Nadira: Two albums – World Wide Whack by Philadelphia rapper, Tierra Whack, and Brittany Howard’s What Now. Dan: Radiant: The Life and Line of Keith Haring by Brad Gooch. A beautiful chronicle of the artist’s life.  Podcast production by Jared Downing. Production assistance by Kat Hong.  Hosts Dana Stephens, Nadira Goffe, Dan Kois Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

On this week’s show, the panel is first joined by Mark Harris, cultural historian and the author of Pictures at a Revolution: Five Movies and the Birth of the New Hollywood, to discuss the 96th Academy Awards: a fun, glitzy return to form filled with surprisingly political moments. Then, the three review FX’s Shōgun, a massive epic set in 17th century Japan that many are calling “the new Game of Thrones.” But does it live up to the hype? Finally, the trio examines “Behind F1’s Velvet Curtain,” Kate Wagner’s spellbinding 5,000-word piece about the world of Formula 1 racing that Road & Track published then promptly yanked from the internet without explanation. Although Wagner’s piece is no longer live on Road & Track, you can still read it on Wayback Machine’s internet archive. In the exclusive Slate Plus segment, Mark Harris returns to talk about his New York Times essay, “How Bad Can It Get for Hollywood?” which details what we can expect from movies in 2024 (spoiler alert: it’s not looking good).  Email us at [email protected].  Outro music: “8-Bit Hop” by Ash Sculptures Endorsements: Dana: HINT.FM’s Wind Map, which illustrates “the delicate tracery of wind flowing over the US.”  Julia: Tejal Rao’s recipe for Kale Sauce Pasta, adapted from Joshua McFadden.    Steve: “What Physicists Have Been Missing” by theoretical physicist Sabine Hossenfelder.  Podcast production by Jared Downing. Production assistance by Kat Hong. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

On this week’s show, the panel returns to Arrakis! First up, the trio reviews Dune: Part Two, the (as the title suggests) second part of Denis Villeneuve’s adaptation of Frank Herbert’s 1965 science fiction epic. In it, Timothée Chalamet plays Paul Atreides, the supposed “messiah” of Arrakis, a hostile desert planet rich in spice, in a fantastic feat of world building and worm-riding. Then, they examine God Save Texas, a three-part docu-series streaming on Max that follows three Texan filmmakers (Richard Linklakter, Alex Stapleton, and Iliana Sosa) as they return to their respective hometowns and chronicle the state’s complex history with the prison system, oil business, and border laws. Finally, the panel is joined by Paul Schnee, an acclaimed casting director whose credits include Spotlight, Winter’s Bone, and The Help, to discuss the Academy Awards’ most recent addition: an Oscar for Casting.  In the exclusive Slate Plus segment, the panel answers a listener question from Eliot: What are some pieces of culture that your children have introduced to you?  Email us at [email protected].  Outro music: “Last Sunday” by OTE Endorsements: Dana: Werner Herzog’s 2011 documentary, Into the Abyss. The film examines America’s capital punishment system.  Julia: The Lady and the Tramp, which is still great and bizarre, and somehow, makes the dogs… hot?  Steve: Australian novelist Helen Garner’s 2014 non-fiction book The House of Grief, which follows a man and his broken life, a community wracked by tragedy, and the long and torturous road to closure.  Podcast production by Jared Downing. Production assistance by Kat Hong.  Hosts Dana Stephens, Julia Turner, Stephen Metcalf Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

On this week’s show, the panel is first joined by Wesley Morris, New York Times’ critic at large, to dissect This Is Me… Now: A Love Story, Jennifer Lopez’s bizarre, nutty, yet utterly delicious self-funded vanity project that cost the singer $20 million to produce. (Wesley wrote a brilliant piece about it for the Times.) Then, the three explore 20 Days in Mariupol, the Oscar-nominated documentary by Ukrainian journalist Mstyslav Chernov that depicts the atrocities of the Russia-Ukraine war through on-the-ground footage and harrowing accounts of civilians. Finally, in a new oral history of the Village Voice, entitled The Freaks Came Out to Write: The Definitive History of the Village Voice, the Radical Paper That Changed American Culture, author Tricia Romano tells the iconic alt-weekly newspaper’s history through 200 interviews with its legendary writers, editors, and photographers. We discuss. In the exclusive Slate Plus segment, we share an impromptu conversation between the hosts and Wesley Morris. Email us at [email protected].  Outro music: "Zero Gravity" by ELFL Endorsements: Cameron: Longtime Culture Gabfest producer, Cameron Drews, is moving onto his next project but came on one last time to endorse! He endorses movie theater subscriptions and is a big fan of Alamo Drafthouse’s season pass.  Dana: The Criterion Channel’s new “Gothic Noir” series.  Julia: An algorithm-recommended bop, UNTZ UNTZ by Inji.  Steve: The Milk Carton Kids’ cover of Pink Floyd’s “Wish You Were Here” and a performance of their song, “All of the Time in the World to Kill,” featuring some lovely on-stage banter.  Podcast production by Jared Downing. Production assistance by Kat Hong.  Hosts Dana Stephens, Julia Turner, Stephen Metcalf Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

On this week’s show, the panel begins by dissecting Mr. & Mrs. Smith, the episodic remake of Brangelina’s 2005 espionage film. The Prime Video series stars Donald Glover and Maya Erskine as the titular Smiths, spies who become “married” as a part of the job, and explores partnership in the gig economy in a quieter, smaller, and less glamorous version of the original. Then, they review The Color Purple, a movie-musical adapted from Alice Walker’s seminal novel. The film stars Fantasia Barrino and Taraji P. Henson, as well as Danielle Brooks, who was nominated for Best Supporting Actress for her role as Sofia. Finally, it’s the viral scam that rocked the internet: “The Day I Put $50,000 in a Shoe Box and Handed It to a Stranger” is a first-hand account written by The Cut’s financial-advice columnist, Charlotte Cowles, about the time she fell for an Amazon scam call. Our panel reviews the piece and explores its ethics.  In the exclusive Slate Plus segment, Julia discusses her big life changes, including a new fellowship at USC Annenberg School for Communication and Journalism.  Email us at [email protected].  Outro music: “Pull Me Out” by Mike Stringer Endorsements: Dana: Dance Life on Prime Video, a five-episode series that follows the students at Brent Street Academy, the southern hemisphere’s most prestigious dance academy.  Julia: The Hobonichi Techo Planner Book, a planner that’s descended from the heavens. The book uses thin and light yet durable paper and employs the same thread-stitch binding as a dictionary, allowing it to lay flat open for glorious, comfortable writing.  Steve: A two-part endorsement: Listen to his playlist of cover songs, Let’s Dance, while making hand-made pasta with a Marcato hand-crank machine.  Podcast production by Jared Downing. Production assistance by Kat Hong.  Hosts Dana Stephens, Julia Turner, Stephen Metcalf Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices