Hosts Alex Kirshner , Ben Lindbergh , and Lindsay Gibbs talk about the death of a legend: Rickey Henderson. Then, they dig into the end of the NCAA women’s volleyball tournament and the sport’s growth. The panel also discusses the shenanigans taking place as Tampa Bay-area authorities consider building a new ballpark. Finally, Alex delivers an Afterball on the first round of the College Football Playoff and explains why most games suck, actually. On the bonus episode available exclusively for Sl...
Dec 24, 2024•1 hr 3 min
Candice Lim is joined by Slate culture writer Nadira Goffe to count down their top internet moments of the year. Did Eric Adams make the list? What about Jack Schlossberg’s thirst-trapping , political correspondent arc? Which divorces are we still thinking (and hurting ) about? On today’s episode, ICYMI is ruminating on the year of the Paris Olympics , Kate Middleton , and PopCrave’s most stunning faves. This podcast is produced by Alexandra Botti, Daisy Rosario and Candice Lim, with production ...
Dec 21, 2024•49 min
On this week’s show, the hosts indulge in the cozy pleasures of A Man on the Inside , a six-part Netflix series from showrunner and feel-good sitcom vet Michael Schur. Ted Danson stars as a grieving retired professor who is offered the chance to start life anew – and goes undercover inside a San Francisco retirement home. Then, the trio dives into The Seed of the Sacred Fig , Iranian director Mohammad Rasoulof’s most daring — and most dangerous — film yet. Finally, the panel considers Kyle Chayk...
Dec 18, 2024•1 hr 3 min
Candice Lim is joined by Slate culture writer Nadira Goffe to host the inaugural ICYMI Fancam Awards, where they recognize their favorite fan edits and fancam editors of the year. But first, they’re bringing in one of their favorite editors of all time, Emma B. Videos , to discuss her viral Challengers edit, the work that goes into being a prolific fancam maker, and why Twitter keeps taking these masterpieces down. This podcast is produced by Alexandra Botti, Daisy Rosario, and Candice Lim. Host...
Dec 18, 2024•49 min
It’s our annual mailbag episode! We get a lot of wonderful reader emails suggesting topics for the show — and at the end of the year we try to answer some of them. This year, we’re tackling four fascinating questions. Why do grocery stores keep live lobsters in tanks, unlike any other animal? How did candy get rebranded as “fruit snacks” when fruit is already a snack? Whatever happened to perfumed ads in magazines? And what was the waterbed all about? We’ll get an answer from the waterbed’s inve...
Dec 18, 2024•46 min
Ten years ago, Chaz Ebert talked to us about grief and loss as she was mourning the 2013 death of her husband, movie critic Roger Ebert. Her deep sense of connection to Roger continued after he was gone, including, she described, hearing his voice and feeling like they were still in conversation. When Chaz talked about this a decade ago, though, she was skittish about sharing too much about their ongoing communication, nervous that it would sound too out there. No longer. When we talked just a f...
Dec 17, 2024•42 min
Hosts Alex Kirshner , Ben Lindbergh , and Lindsay Gibbs talk about Bill Belichick and how one of the winningest NFL coaches of all time transitions to college football as UNC’s head coach. The panel also discusses the NBA Cup and the recent Bills-Lions slugfest. Finally Ben delivers an Afterball on Catfish Hunter and the history of deferred salary payments across sports. On the bonus episode available exclusively for Slate Plus members, the hosts talk about this year’s Heisman Trophy winner Trav...
Dec 17, 2024•1 hr 12 min
Candice Lim is joined by Slate writers Luke Winkie and Nitish Pahwa to cover the biggest internet stories ICYMI missed this year: from the investigation that may affect your For You Page, to a certain Silicon Valley founder’s unexpected fashion choices . Plus, the panel reveals their internet regrets for 2024. This podcast is produced by Alexandra Botti, Daisy Rosario and Candice Lim with production assistance from Cameron Drews. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information....
Dec 14, 2024•28 min
That damned jingle! In that infernal commercial trying to sell you cars, sneakers, soda, gum! Can’t get it out of your head? Well, what if we made it longer, had a famous singer perform it, and put it on the radio? How would you like it then? A surprising number of hits across chart history got their start in advertisements: the Carpenters song that was originally a promo for a California bank. The ’70s country-pop smash by a character who didn’t exist, and was selling you sliced bread. The Stin...
Dec 13, 2024•54 min•Ep. 221
Candice Lim is joined by Waste or Taste host Jill Mapes to recap TikTok's year of music and give an unranked list of their favorite songs and sounds. They’re breaking down what makes a good TikTok sound, which mainstream artists won the platform this year, and asking: who is ian ? This podcast is produced by Alexandra Botti, Daisy Rosario, and Candice Lim. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information....
Dec 11, 2024•39 min
On this week’s show, the hosts chew over Nightbitch , Marielle Heller’s ( Queen’s Gambit, Can You Ever Forgive Me, The Diary of a Teenage Girl, MacGruber ), fourth feature film. Amy Adam stars as “Mother,” a former artist who has given up her creative pursuits to care for her infant son full-time — a transition so taxing, that she begins dissociating and transforming into a dog at night. And while there’s a lot to like here (it’s an adaptation of Rachel Yonder’s magical realism novel of the same...
Dec 11, 2024•55 min
On election night, while many voters across the country were focused on who would win the presidency, a growing number of Americans were watching the returns with another question in mind: will I win or lose money? That’s because, just weeks before November 5th, a judge ruled that for the first time in almost a century Americans could bet large amounts of money on the outcome of political races. In this episode, we talk to two people who made big bets: Mike, a Latino Democrat who bet $10,000 on ...
Dec 10, 2024•35 min
Hosts Alex Kirshner , Ben Lindbergh , and Lindsay Gibbs discuss Juan Soto’s earth-shatteringly large contract with the New York Mets. They also talk about Lewis Hamilton’s last ride for Mercedes before he moves to team Ferrari, and Igor Shesterkin’s unprecedented new deal with the New York Rangers. For Afterballs, Alex breaks down some of the controversy within college football’s first 12-team playoff. On the bonus episode, available exclusively for Slate Plus members, the hosts discuss expansio...
Dec 10, 2024•1 hr 5 min
On today’s episode, Candice Lim is joined by Impersonal Foul writer Madeline Hill and Power Plays journalist Lindsay Gibbs to cover the biggest moments of sports that happened online this year. From witnessing historic moments at the Paris Olympics, to the phenomenon that was women’s basketball, the internet has a way of picking up the little moments you don’t see in a stadium and making major waves about them. Today, they’ll take a look back at the harrowing, nail-biting and historic stories th...
Dec 07, 2024•44 min
The mullet, the love-to-hate-it hairstyle, is as associated with the 1980’s as Ronald Reagan, junk bonds, and breakdancing. But in at least one major way, we are suffering from a collective case of false memory syndrome. In this episode we track the rise and fall of the mullet, and also the lexical quandary at its heart: Who named the mullet? We learn how David Bowie, hockey players, the Oxford English Dictionary, the Beastie Boys, a mysterious Reddit user named Topsmate, and a group called Anno...
Dec 04, 2024•47 min
On this week’s show, Slate experts June Thomas (author of A Place of Our Own: Six Spaces That Shaped Queer Women's Culture ) and Dan Kois (author of Hampton Heights: One Harrowing Night in the Most Haunted Neighborhood in Milwaukee, Wisconsin ) fill in for Dana and Julia. First, the trio tackles Blitz , director Steve McQueen’s new film about the German bombings of London during World War II, which stars Saoirse Ronan, Harris Dickinson, and randomly, Paul Weller. For a McQueen movie, it’s quite ...
Dec 04, 2024•55 min
Candice Lim is joined by internet culture writer Steffi Cao ( It’s Steffi ) to answer some very special, holiday-specific internet questions from her readers, such as: should I block my boyfriend’s aunt on Instagram? And how do I battle Facebook conspiracy theories at the dinner table? This podcast is produced by Se’era Spragley Ricks, Daisy Rosario and Candice Lim, with production assistance from Alexandra Botti. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information....
Dec 04, 2024•41 min
When actor and performer Jeff Hiller first tried improv comedy, he was instantly amazing at it. Jeff is an excellent listener. He’s also accommodating, flexible, and undeniably hilarious. This week on the show, Jeff discusses his role on the critically acclaimed HBO series Somebody, Somewhere and the personal quirks and qualities that have made him such a funny and talented performer. Mentioned in the episode: -Jeff’s conversation with his husband Neil on the podcast She’s a Talker . -Anna’s int...
Dec 03, 2024•52 min
Hosts Alex Kirshner , Ben Lindbergh , and Lindsay Gibbs discuss Iga Swiatek’s and Janik Sinner's doping allegations and the huge implications for international tennis. They also get into this past weekend’s college football chaos and Saquon Barkley and Derek Henry’s running back revival. For Afterballs, Lindsay Gibbs examines the tragic passing of Alabama A&M linebacker Medrick Burnett Jr. after a recent head injury. On the bonus episode, available exclusively for Slate Plus members, the hos...
Dec 03, 2024•1 hr 11 min
Candice Lim is joined by Read Max writer Max Read, whose Substack hit a new high this year when he coined the term “ Zynternet ” and its connection to “ Hawk Tuah girl .” Prior to Substack, Read was the editor-in-chief of Gawker, and on today’s episode, he speaks about the stories he regrets publishing, his relationship with The X-Files fandoms, and his golden rules for engaging online. This podcast is produced by Se’era Spragley Ricks, Daisy Rosario and Candice Lim, with production assistance f...
Nov 30, 2024•37 min
You know her honorific: Queen of Soul. And heavy is the head that wears the crown. In her lifetime, Aretha Franklin didn’t just want to be revered. She wanted hits. But Franklin made pop come to her, not the other way around. When showtunes and standards didn’t work in the ’60s, Aretha switched to gritty R&B and gospel harmonies—and started topping the charts. When she recorded a live album in a church in the ’70s, it became her best-seller. When the MTV era changed the game in the ’80s, she...
Nov 29, 2024•52 min•Ep. 219
On this week’s show, the hosts consider ‘Glicked’ (or is it ‘Wadiator’? ‘Gladicked?’), the Wicked and Gladiator II double feature that promised to be this year’s ‘Barbenheimer.’ But did it deliver? Or even come close? First, the trio inspects Wicked , which won the weekend by a long shot (and broke a few records along the way.) At times, director Jon M. Chu’s film adaptation of the famed Broadway musical (which is, itself, an adaptation of a series of novels inspired by Frank Baum’s The Wonderfu...
Nov 27, 2024•55 min
On today’s episode, Candice Lim is joined by Vox’s Alex Abad-Santos and The Atlantic’s Allegra Frank to celebrate ICYMI’s fourth annual Friendsgiving episode. They run down the internet moments that made them laugh out loud this year, such as the highs and lows of ClubChalamet , the Madame Web of it all, and horny TikToks. This podcast is produced by Se’era Spragley Ricks, Daisy Rosario and Candice Lim, with production assistance from Alexandra Botti. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for m...
Nov 27, 2024•44 min
When is it time to go no contact? In this episode, we talk to four listeners who have recently become estranged from loved ones. This episode was originally aired in 2022, and is part of a three-part series on estrangement. You can listen to the other episodes here: Estrangement Purgatory - Our episode about the contemplation stages of estrangement with a listener named Brian who is considering leaving his religious community. Estrangement’s Alternate Endings - What does long term estrangement l...
Nov 26, 2024•45 min
Hosts Alex Kirshner , Lindsay Gibbs , and Ben Lindbergh chat about Rafael Nadal’s legacy as one of the all-time tennis greats. They also discuss the NWSL championship which Lindsay attended, the last days of ESPN’s Around the Horn . This week’s Afterball is from Ben, in which he compares the terms of sports commissioners and Supreme Court justices. On the bonus episode available exclusively for Slate Plus subscribers, the panel breaks down the new women’s basketball league, Unrivaled . Nadal (3:...
Nov 26, 2024•1 hr 14 min
Candice Lim is joined by Wall Street Journal reporter Ann-Marie Alcántara to discuss #KindleTok ’s rise among millennials and Gen-Z. 17 years ago, Amazon released the Kindle as a tech device that seemed to resonate as a nerdy, bookworm gadget. But it’s now become Tiktok’s must-have accessory to complete the cozy, girly pop lifestyle. With Black Friday coming up, ICYMI is breaking down the rise of the Kindle, the pushback on #KindleTok, and how the pandemic may have contributed to a new generatio...
Nov 23, 2024•36 min
In 1980, a variety show debuted on NBC called Pink Lady and Jeff . Its stars were a pair of Japanese pop idols known for catchy, choreographed dance numbers. Pink Lady was inescapable in Japan: selling millions of records, appearing on TV daily, and filling arenas. But their American TV show left audiences completely bewildered. Pink Lady and Jeff acquired legendary status as one of television’s most notorious bombs, a show that managed to kill off the entire variety show genre. Or at least—that...
Nov 20, 2024•57 min
On this week’s show, Isaac Butler (Supreme Friend of the Show and author of The Method: How the Twentieth Century Learned to Act ) sits in for Dana. First, the panel is quite verbose about Say Nothing , a limited series that takes place over four generations and is set during The Troubles in Northern Ireland. By dramatizing the real-life events recounted in Patrick Radden Keefe’s 2018 bestseller, the adapted limited series achieves something quite rare: enriching the original text and imbuing i...
Nov 20, 2024•59 min
Candice Lim is joined by Vox senior correspondent Rebecca Jennings to discuss what their timelines have looked like since the U.S. presidential election was called. From TikToks accusing men of entering their feminine era , to a surge of Americans posting about the 4B movement , they discuss how the dynamic between men and women has become increasingly regressive online, and what battles are yet to come. But first, Rebecca pitches the Netflix Christmas movie that’s even better than Hot Frosty . ...
Nov 20, 2024•40 min
Therapist Lauren LaRusso has spent the past few years learning everything she can about infidelity–why people have affairs, how to cope with an unfaithful spouse, and how to move forward with or without your partner after a betrayal. And she’s been sharing this wisdom with her 100,000 followers on Instagram. This week, Lauren explains why she approaches this topic with more curiosity than judgment, and she discusses the affair that happened in her own marriage that led her to become a trusted an...
Nov 19, 2024•50 min
