Joel Anderson, Stefan Fatsis, and Josh Levin discuss the College Football Playoff and bowl game opt-outs. ESPN’s Mechelle Voepel also joins for a conversation about Becky Hammon, who chose to leave the NBA to become the head coach of the WNBA’s Las Vegas Aces. Finally, they talk about the life and legacy of John Madden. College football (3:33): What are the sport’s real issues and what problems are imaginary? Hammon (25:15): Why didn’t she get a shot to run an NBA team? Is going to the WNBA the ...
Jan 05, 2022•1 hr 25 min
From “woke bae” to “woke-a-cola,” the word woke has taken the internet and mainstream media by storm. But how many people who use the word actually know what it means? On today’s episode, Rachelle and Madison (but, really, mostly Rachelle) explain the decades-old origins of the word, and how its meaning has evolved as it’s gone from being sung as a call to “stay woke” by the likes of Erykah Badu and Childish Gambino to being wielded as a slur by the likes of Mike Huckabee. Podcast production by ...
Jan 01, 2022•27 min
In part 2 of this holiday episode of Hit Parade, Chris Molanphy dives deep into radio, streaming and Billboard chart data of some your favorite holiday hitmakers to compare their long legacies to the majority-merry ways they are consumed today. And none has been more condensed by Christmas than another artist who was once famous enough to go by her first name: Brenda. A ’60s chart dominator and double–Hall of Famer, Brenda Lee is now mostly known for that tune about Christmas tree rockin’. How d...
Dec 31, 2021•46 min•Ep. 115
"I want it, so I take it." A serial shoplifter explains why she steals, and how—and we hear about what's happened in her life since we first talked four years ago. Thanks to Tasbeeh Herwees for her help with this story. You can find Tasbeeh's article for GOOD Magazine about the shoplifting community on Tumblr here . To listen to our 2017 episode featuring your responses to Alice's story, click here . We have big fundraising goals to hit by the end of the year! Support Death, Sex & Money toda...
Dec 29, 2021•34 min•Ep. 330
It’s the final episode of the year, and a chance to look back at all the ways the internet has gone wrong in 2021. On today’s show, Rachelle and Madison invite Tracy Clayton and Josh Gwynn , hosts of the podcast Back Issue , to join them as they discuss all the trends, memes, and moments of 2021 internet that have no place cropping back up in 2022. Podcast production by Daniel Schroeder and Derek John. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information....
Dec 29, 2021•26 min
This week, Steve, Dana, and Julia tackle some listener questions in our annual call-in show. Topics include: favorite pieces of art, culture their children introduced them to, and previous years’ endorsements that have become staples in the panel’s lives. In Slate Plus, the panel continues to field some stellar listener questions. Email us at culturefest@slate.com . There are no endorsements this week, but here are links to some of the things mentioned in the episode: Here’s Julia’s former (Dana...
Dec 29, 2021•1 hr 12 min
Josh Levin and Joel Anderson are joined by ESPN’s Kevin Arnovitz to talk about Christmas Day in the NBA. Washington Post health reporter Dan Diamond also joins to discuss the past, present, and future of COVID in sports. Finally, Josh, Joel, and Stefan Fatsis interview Mitchell S. Jackson about his award-winning story on Ahmaud Arbery and running while Black. NBA (3:37): How did the Warriors and Suns leap to the top of the West? And how are teams dealing with all the positive tests? COVID (25:51...
Dec 27, 2021•1 hr 16 min
Martha Stewart loves to tell people on Instagram about the products she likes, but these posts look suspiciously like ads. On today’s episode, Madison and Rachelle scroll through Martha’s feed to look at all the things she raves about, talk about why she might be breaking the rules, and discuss how the social media advertising guidelines are much more flexible than we realize. Podcast production by Daniel Schroeder and Derek John. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information....
Dec 25, 2021•26 min
Custer's Revenge is widely considered one of the worst video games ever made. Originally released as part of a series of Swedish Erotica-branded adult games for the Atari 2600, Custer's Revenge involves moving a pixelated General Custer across the screen to rape an Indigenous woman tied to a post. It's unfathomably racist, sexist, and un-fun to play. Today on Decoder Ring we tell the story of how Custer's Revenge came to be, the people who protested it, and the even stranger story of how the who...
Dec 23, 2021•41 min
I share some of the advice, tools, movies, and TV shows that I savored in 2021. Looking for The Favorites File from Kendra Adachi? Find it here at The Lazy Genius Collective. If you're thinking about year-end giving, please consider donating to Death, Sex & Money. You'll be supporting the work we do here at the show, and the community we're building together. Donate now at deathsexmoney.org/donate . Sign up for our newsletter at deathsexmoney.org/newsletter , and every Wednesday we'll send y...
Dec 22, 2021•20 min•Ep. 329
Neopets, a kid-friendly site from the early 2000s that let users raise digital pets and play games with them, has fallen far from its peak popularity. The nostalgic luster of it also seems to be fading, following the site’s recent failed attempt at Neopet NFTs—not to mention its years-old, mostly broken user interface. On today’s show, Madison and Allegra look back at the happier times of Neopia past, discussing their early experiences on the site and exactly how it’s grown, or not, with the tim...
Dec 22, 2021•27 min
This week, the panel discusses Aaron Sorkin’s Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz biopic, Being the Ricardos . Next, the panel is joined by contributing writer for the New York Times, Jody Rosen, to make sense of Bruce Springsteen’s latest deal and the confusing world of music rights today. Finally, the panel is joined by Slate’s book critic Laura Miller to discuss her list of the best books ( and audiobooks! ) of 2021. In Slate Plus, the panel continues the discussion of music rights and how Taylor Swi...
Dec 22, 2021•59 min
Stefan Fatsis, Josh Levin, and Slate’s Ben Mathis-Lilley talk about COVID running rampant through every sports league, again. Next, they discuss the end of Urban Meyer’s very brief career as an NFL coach. Finally, Joshua Neuman joins Stefan and Josh for a conversation about Kenny Washington, who broke the NFL’s color barrier a year before Jackie Robinson broke Major League Baseball’s. COVID (3:13): How should leagues and teams respond to the next wave of the pandemic? Urban Meyer (22:37): Why di...
Dec 21, 2021•1 hr 10 min
This past week, Nancy Reagan trended for her alleged oral talents, and an orange cat named Jorts kept locking himself in a closet. On today’s episode, High Speed Downloads are back. Rachelle and Madison each deliver some rapid-fire information about Nancy Reagan’s blow job skills and why everyone is obsessed with Jorts the cat—and the woman who keeps slathering him in margarine. Then they speak to Kate Lindsay of the Embedded newsletter about how she got started with that project and her advice ...
Dec 18, 2021•25 min
Bing. Nat. Dean. John and Paul. Darlene. Mariah. Ariana. Musicians so famous, with so many classic hits, you don’t even need their last names. Now here are a few more, with fewer hits: Vince Guaraldi. José Feliciano. Donny Hathaway. The Waitresses. What do all of these acts have in common? Years from now, each of them may be known primarily for a single holiday chestnut. In fact, in the streaming era, some of them already are consumed largely in December. In this holiday episode of Hit Parade, C...
Dec 18, 2021•1 hr 1 min•Ep. 114
Your stories about how navigating weight and body size inside a relationship has sometimes made your partnerships stronger...and sometimes broken them apart. Are you subscribed to our newsletter? You should be! Every Wednesday, we send out podcast listening recommendations, your stories from our inbox, and behind-the-scenes updates from the show. Sign up at deathsexmoney.org/newsletter . Support Death, Sex & Money by becoming a monthly sustaining member. Sign up at deathsexmoney.org/donate ....
Dec 15, 2021•43 min•Ep. 328
On today’s episode, Rachelle and Madison are excited to share an episode from One Year: 1995, a Slate podcast focused on telling a series of stories from 1995, ones which we may have forgotten or that merit reexamination. In “The Spot,” producer Evan Chung tells the story of what can be best described as the first internet soap opera. “The Spot” follows a small group of creators who, through a series of interconnected blog posts, inspired one of the earliest instances of online fandom. It’s a st...
Dec 15, 2021•59 min
Dana Stevens and Stephen Metcalf are joined by Isaac Butler to discuss Steven Spielberg’s new adaptation of West Side Story . Then Slate staff writer Heather Schwedel stops by to talk about And Just Like That , the “next chapter” in the lives of the characters from Sex and the City . And finally, they debate Vulture’s list of the “ 101 Best New York Movies Set in the Greatest City in the World ” and add their own. Dana’s list: After Hours The Cameraman The Crowd Do the Right Thing Hester Street ...
Dec 15, 2021•58 min
Today on Decoder Ring: Three stories about fame, and one about monkeys. Are primates susceptible to celebrity endorsements? What does fame do to the mind of a famous person? Who were the famous tattooed ladies of the 1880s? And what's it like to be in a rising rock band, only to see everything fall apart over a beer commercial? If you love the show and want to support us, consider joining Slate Plus. With Slate Plus you can get ad free podcasts, bonus episodes, and much more. Hosted on Acast. Se...
Dec 14, 2021•38 min
Stefan Fatsis, Josh Levin, and Slate’s Alex Kirshner talk about the controversial ending to the Formula 1 season. Next, they examine the opening months of college sports’ name, image, and likeness era. Finally, Stefan and Josh are joined by author and chess champion Jennifer Shahade to assess Magnus Carlsen’s latest world title. Formula 1 (2:46): Who should’ve won the duel between Lewis Hamilton and Max Verstappen? NIL (22:55): How college athletes are capitalizing, and how it’s changing the gam...
Dec 13, 2021•1 hr 9 min
The ICYMI mailbag has started to get full so it’s time for another round of Read Receipts. On today’s episode, Rachelle and Madison answer some listener questions about why people are emptying out tubes of toothpaste on TikTok, whether there’s any similarity between Taylor Swift’s clue dropping and QAnon, and why there are so many possum memes on Instagram. Podcast production by Daniel Schroeder and Derek John. Support ICYMI and listen to the show with zero ads. Sign up to become a Slate Plus me...
Dec 11, 2021•24 min
Hi Hang Up and Listen listeners, we thought you'd be interested in this episode of What Next, Slate's daily news podcast. Enjoy! When Chinese tennis player Peng Shuai accused a former Chinese Vice Premier of rape, what came next was darkly predictable: the athlete disappeared from public view while the government scrubbed all mentions of her allegations and censored searches for her name. But few expected the Women’s Tennis Association to strike back, suspending all future tournaments in China a...
Dec 08, 2021•25 min
On today’s episode, Madison and Rachelle examine two strange new phenomena taking over TikTok. First, Madison explains why Chanel’s advent calendars have become the subject of an internet furor. Then, Rachelle explores Hinge’s new voice notes feature, discusses the voice notes that have gone viral on other platforms, and explains why this not have been the dating app’s brightest idea. Podcast production by Daniel Schroeder and Derek John. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more informati...
Dec 08, 2021•23 min
This week, Julia is back! First, the panel discusses Jane Campion’s big comeback, The Power of the Dog . Next, the panel wades through Peter Jackson’s eight hour-long Beatles docuseries Get Back . Finally, the panel discusses the rise of the gift guide and gift giving. In Slate Plus, Steve and Dana catch up with Julia and chat about how relationships with culture consumption can change. Email us at culturefest@slate.com . Endorsements Dana: The last movie Dana reviewed for Slate , Steven Spielbe...
Dec 08, 2021•1 hr
Note: This episode is about offensive material, and so contains explicit and offensive language. Truly Tasteless Jokes were a series of joke books that dominated the bestsellers list during the 1980s. An equal opportunity joke book: Truly Tasteless Jokes were collections of jokes ranging from Helen Keller, to dead babies, to sexist and racist jokes that from the vantage of 2021, seem entirely abject. For readers in the 1980’s though, these books were ubiquitous. On this episode we dig into the h...
Dec 07, 2021•44 min
Joel Anderson, Stefan Fatsis, and Josh Levin break down college football’s playoff match-ups and Brian Kelly’s move to LSU. Insider’s Bradford William Davis joins to discuss the baseball lockout and his piece on the sport using two different balls. Finally, a conversation about sports blowouts. College football (5:29): Does outsider Cincinnati have a chance against Alabama, Michigan, and Georgia? Baseball (27:22): Will the sport cancel games? And why did MLB have two different balls in circulati...
Dec 07, 2021•1 hr 14 min
Actors Anthony Ramos and Jasmine Cephas Jones, who became a beloved couple online after meeting during rehearsals for Hamilton , have reportedly ended their engagement. The reports of the breakup came soon after a TikToker posted a video about Ramos allegedly going into a strip club with a woman who was not his fiancée. On today’s episode, Rachelle and Madison get into the drama, unpack exactly what a wife guy is, and explain why people on social media seem so obsessed with uncovering infidelity...
Dec 04, 2021•25 min
In Part 2 of this episode, Chris Molanphy continues his analysis of how Cyndi Lauper, Aimee Mann, and The Bangles, three contemporary female acts with rock foundations and pop sensibilities, progressed out of their distinctive rock scenes and into the spotlight. They found critical and commercial acclaim and remain influential decades later, in a variety of media, from Hollywood to Broadway. What forces were they up against, and how did they fight to define themselves? Podcast production by Asha...
Dec 03, 2021•1 hr 14 min•Ep. 112
The Scottish actor and I talk about body image, celebrating aging, why he isn't in a monogamous marriage, and the joys of taking ecstasy. If you or a loved one needs support around an eating disorder, you can call or text the National Eating Disorders Association's helpline at (800) 931-2237. If you're not already subscribed to our newsletter, sign up! Every Wednesday, we send out podcast listening recommendations, your stories from our inbox, and behind-the-scenes updates from the show. Sign up...
Dec 01, 2021•27 min•Ep. 327
The subreddit r/TumblrInAction started out in the early 2010s as a place to mock the sorts of oversimplified social justice posts all over Tumblr, but it quickly became a breeding ground for online hate. On today’s episode, Rachelle and Allegra discuss their own history as Tumblr teens, the simplified and misguided ways Tumblr posts tried to share progressive ideology, and how the culture of one subset of Reddit forums that made fun of those posts eventually led to GamerGate and all sorts of onl...
Dec 01, 2021•26 min
