Culture Gabfest

On this week’s show, Slate’s Dan Kois sits in for Stephen Metcaff. The hosts discuss the new Mr. & Mrs. Smith-like film Black Bag, starring Cate Blanchett and Michael Fassbender. Then they dive into the “inconvenient” Hulu show Deli Boys. They end by discussing the legacy of Dave Eggers’ phenomenal memoir A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius. Endorsements: Dana: The television show A French Village Dan: Stone Yard Devotional by Charlotte Wood Julia: LATimes article “I'm a martini purist. Here's what is — and isn't — in the perfect classic cocktail.” by Bill Addison Podcast production and research by Vic Whitley-Berry. Email us at culturefest@slate.com. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

On this week’s show, we throw a flower-sprinkled dinner party for a space clone (personal beehive not included). Slate culture staff writer Nadira Goffe sits in for Dana, and the hosts discuss the new Bong Joon Ho film Mickey 17, followed by Meghan Markle's uncanny homemaking show With Love, Meghan on Netflix. Finally, we invite Slate writer Dan Kois to discuss his new cover story “How Giant White Houses Took Over America.” Endorsements: Julia: The Slate article “Cracking the Code” by Henry Grabar Steve: The New York Review essay “Angles of Approach” by Sally Rooney Nadira: Kelela’s album In The Blue Light Podcast production and research by Vic Whitley-Berry. Email us at culturefest@slate.com. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

On this week’s show, no amount of star power can save a “screamingly stupid show.” (Sorry, Robert De Niro et al.) With Sam Adams—Slate Senior Editor and Staff Writer—sitting in for Dana, the team talks about the Netflix political thriller series Zero Day. Then they remember the career of Gene Hackman and end with their thoughts about this Atlantic article on navigating optimism during times of crisis. Endorsements: Julia: Moist Peanut Butter Cake Recipe from Cakes By MK Steve: The savage suburbia of Helen Garner: ‘I wanted to dong Martin Amis with a bat’ by Sophie Elmhirst for The Guardian Sam: Doppelganger: A Trip into the Mirror World by Naomi Klein (Again! After Julia endorsed it last week.) Podcast production and research by Vic Whitley-Berry. Email us at culturefest@slate.com. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

On this week’s show, we preview the Oscars and Trump’s demolition throughout renowned institutions of art. Isaac Butler — author of The Method: How the Twentieth Century Learned to Act and host of the new Criterion Channel series, The Craft of Acting — sits in for Stephen Metcalf. First, the hosts discuss I’m Still Here and the continued addition of non-English speaking films getting some of the biggest Oscar buzz. Then we tackle the latest Trump shakeups at the National Endowment for the Arts and The Kennedy Center. Finally, Dana and Julia sit down with the CEO of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences Bill Kramer. Endorsements: Dana: The documentary Pictures of Ghosts (2023) Julia: Doppelganger: A Trip into the Mirror World by Naomi Klein, also discussed on Culture Gabfest in September 2023 Isaac: The film Z (1969), available on streaming Podcast production and research by Vic Whitley-Berry. Email us at culturefest@slate.com. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

On this week’s show, Slate Business and Tech reporter Nitish Pahwa sits in for Julia. The panel discusses Severance season 2 from Apple TV+. They then talk about the Oscar-nominated film No Other Land – a Palestinian documentary following a young activist fighting his community's mass expulsion by Israeli occupation. They end by discussing Nitish’s recent reporting on Buzzfeed’s upcoming AI-infused social media platform, BF Island. Endorsements: Dana: The Severance Podcast with Ben Stiller and Adam Scott Steve: The Children’s Bach by Helen Garner Nitish: Work by the late author Tom Robbins, particularly Jitterbug Perfume, who recently died at 92 Podcast production and research by Vic Whitley-Berry. Email us at culturefest@slate.com. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

On this week’s show, the hosts reflect on 50 years of music, culture, and comedy with the 50th anniversary of SNL and QuestLove’s new documentary Ladies & Gentlemen…50 Years of SNL Music. For that, the team is joined by Jason Zinoman, critic at large for culture at The New York Times. Then they discuss the Oscar-nominated animated film Flow – where we follow the adventures of an unlikely group of animals led by a curious black cat. Finally, Slate culture writer Nadira Goffe joins to talk about Kendrick Lamar’s “double whammy” of a Super Bowl halftime show. Read her article reflecting on the performance here. Note: Pardon the brief audio issues during the Kendrick Lamar conversation. In the exclusive Slate Plus segment, the panel invites Jason Zinoman back to discuss his article on standup comedy’s move to soften the punchline in exchange for a long, humor-infused setup. Email us at culturefest@slate.com. Endorsements: Dana: Henry IV playing at the Theatre for a New Audience in New York and K.D. Lang’s SNL performance of Johnny Get Angry in 1989 (audio only, as the video performance has been removed) or this other performance of the song (with visuals) on UK’s Channel Four from 1991 Julia: Vulture critic Craig Jenkins’ halftime show review – Kendrick Lamar Is Not Your Savior and Pom Pom maker Steve: Pope Francis’ letter to Vice President J.D. Vance Podcast production and research by Vic Whitley-Berry. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

On this week’s show, the hosts discuss Max’s new medical drama The Pitt – a show that we legally can’t call an ER reboot but does have Noah Wyle donning scrubs and handling the next bodily emergency yet again. Our regular hosts also discuss an article from the Intelligencer, The Cruel Kids’ Table about how young Republicans now feel empowered to bring cruelty back into public discourse. Finally, we welcome LA Film Critic Amy Nicholson to discuss the Oscar-nominated film September 5 about the hostage crisis during the 1972 Munich Olympics. Also, we’re looking for a new Production Assistant! To apply, send us an email introducing yourself and give two ideas for segments to culturegabfestassistant@gmail.com. In the exclusive Slate Plus segment, the panel tackles the biggest luminary question of the year: Do you use ‘The Big Light’? Email us at culturefest@slate.com. Endorsements: Dana: Just sort of a beautiful moment: Live wolf howls in Manitoba, Canada Julia: Branded in Memory | Signs.com / Draw Logos From Memory – Test your recall and see if you can recreate popular brand logos Steve: The Wired Starter Pack on bsky and Subscribe to Wired Podcast production and research by Vic Whitley-Berry. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

On this week’s show, Dan Kois sits in for Dana Stevens. First, the hosts discuss One of Them Days, a new buddy comedy starring Keke Palmer and SZA that’s quickly becoming a critical darling — and a box office success. Then, they dive into Asura, Japanese director Hirokazu Kore-eda’s Netflix show that’s about the dynamics between three sisters and is “totally uninterested in the rhythms of a TV show.” Finally, it’s time to explore the “manosphere.” The trio dissected a deftly reported package from Bloomberg, “The Second Trump Presidency, Brought to You by YouTubers.” Also, we’re looking for a new Production Assistant! Please send your resume and two ideas for segments to culturegabfestassistant@gmail.com. In the exclusive Slate Plus segment, the panel tackles modern TV title sequences and asks the age-old question: do you skip or play? This conversation was inspired by James Poniewozik’s article for The New York Times, “Why Do TV Title Sequences Have So Much… Stuff?” Email us at culturefest@slate.com. Endorsements: Dan: Playworld by Adam Ross. Julia: A cookbook by Ben Mims, Crumbs: Cookies and Sweets from Around the World. Steve: (1) Bar Merenda, a restaurant located right outside of Melbourne. (2) “For the Love of the World” by Daegan Miller for Poetry Foundation. Kat: Calmly Writer Online, a distraction-free text editor. Podcast production by Vic Whitley-Berry. Production assistance by Kat Hong. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

On this week’s show, the hosts dive into A Complete Unknown, director James Mangold’s surprisingly charming Bob Dylan biopic that’s all about fame and what it looks like to be adjacent to it. Then, the three explore Dick Wolf’s latest project: On Call, a half-hour cop procedural set in Long Beach, California that’s streaming on Prime Video. Finally, the trio remembers David Lynch, the iconic, singular filmmaker who passed away last week at the age of 78. In the exclusive Slate Plus segment, the panel goes electric themselves and responds to a listener question from Rob: “Would you reminisce about the most electric experience you’ve had consuming a piece of culture with other people?” Email us at culturefest@slate.com. Endorsements: Dana: The Soul of the Dance, a one-hour documentary about ballerina Ulyana Lopatkina. Julia: The Thursday Murder Club by Richard Osman. Alos, Julia is looking for nonfiction recommendations about Japan! Email her at culturefest@slate.com. Steve: Two Australia-related endorsements: (1) The Fatal Shore by Robert Hughes. (2) BUSH, a restaurant in Sydney’s Redfern neighborhood. Podcast production by Vic Whitley-Berry. Production assistance by Kat Hong. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

On this week’s show, Slate staff writer Nadira Goffe sits in for Stephen. First, the panel explores Babygirl and its kinks. The latest feature from Dutch writer-director Halina Reijn stars Nicole Kidman and Harris Dickinson, and is fascinated by sex (mostly, as a concept.) Then, the three puzzle over Nickel Boys and the film’s audacious use of first-person point-of-view in filmmaker RaMell Ross’ adaptation of Colson Whitehead’s Pulitzer Prize-winning novel, The Nickel Boys. Finally, what does a Hollywood smear campaign look like? The trio discusses the messy legal and PR conflict embroiling Blake Lively and former It Ends With Us co-star and director, Justin Baldoni. In the exclusive Slate Plus segment, the panel checks in with Julia and production assistant Kat, as they share their experiences of the L.A. wildfires. Email us at culturefest@slate.com. Endorsements: Nadira: Transa by Red Hot Org. Specifically, “Is It Cold In The Water” performed by Moses Sumney and ANOHNI. Julia: Niksa sleep masks. Dana: Exploring your local college radio stations. She likes WFUV (owned by Fordham University) and Columbia University’s WKCR. Podcast production by Vic Whitley-Berry. Production assistance by Kat Hong. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

On this week’s show, it’s an all-movie week! Isaac Butler — author of The Method: How the Twentieth Century Learned to Act and host of the new Criterion Channel series, The Craft of Acting — sits in for Stephen Metcalf. First, the panel explores The Brutalist, director Brady Corbet’s two-part epic following the life of László Tóth (Adrien Brody), a Hungarian-born Jewish architect who survives the Holocaust then emigrates to the United States. Then, the three unpack Carry-On, an action thriller set in Los Angeles International Airport. It’s a well-made film with a dumb concept, and smashed Netflix records over the holiday. Finally, it’s that time of year again: Dana leads the panel through Slate’s Movie Club 2024, a cherished tradition in which she chats with other critics over email about the year in cinema. (Read her first post, here.) In the exclusive Slate Plus segment, the all-movie theme continues, as the three spoil The Brutalist. Email us at culturefest@slate.com. Endorsements: Dana: Adaptation, directed by Spike Jonze and written by Charlie Kaufman. Julia: A two-part endorsement: (1) My Cousin Vinny and (2) the production design of Three Men and a Baby (that apartment!) Isaac: “Eat What You Kill,” a masterfully reported piece by J. David McSwane for ProPublica. Podcast production by Vic Whitley-Berry. Production assistance by Kat Hong. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

On this week’s show, it’s one of the Gabfest’s most cherished traditions: the yearly call-in show. Dana, Julia, and Stephen answer listen-submitted questions that run the gamut – can cooking for one be a joy? Should philosophy be studied more? And how did you make your most recent friend? In the exclusive Slate Plus segment, the panel dishes about pottery. Listener Dave asks: “what's your relationship to pottery? How do you drink your hot beverages in the morning or throughout the day? And then, is it okay to use an art object utilitarianly?” Oh, and the hosts have a lot to say. Email us at culturefest@slate.com. 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 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 Chayka’s piece for the New Yorker, “2024 Is the Year Creators Took Over,” and discusses a few who stand out, including Haliey Welch, a.k.a. the “Hawk Tuah” girl. In the exclusive Slate Plus segment, the panel travels down memory lane and discusses their history on stage: what roles they played, the reviews they received, and the first time someone had to flirt publicly. Email us at culturefest@slate.com. Endorsements: Dana: Defector! Particularly, this piece by Patrick Redford, “The Hawk Tuah Memecoin Rug Pull Is the Apotheosis of Bag Culture.” Julia: In the Culture Gabfest’s first rewind endorsement, a clip from Julia that she still stands by to this day: her riffing on The Clapper sound activated light switch. Steve: Brad Mehldau’s After Bach and After Bach II. 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 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 name, for example), does the film ever achieve lift-off? Then, the three rip Black Doves to shreds, Netflix’s latest espionage show starring Keira Knightly, Sarah Lancashire, and Ben Whishaw that has far too many plot holes to name (although, Stephen does try to.) Finally, the panel digs into the strange case of Luigi Mangione, the suspected shooter in the murder of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson — and the internet’s sardonic, if not jubilant, reaction to the fatal shooting. In the exclusive Slate Plus segment, the panel explores the celebrity look-alike contest: a puzzling and mildly delightful phenomenon that’s been sweeping the nation. (Read Nadira Goffe’s excellent reporting on the Timothée Chalamet tournament that started it all, here.) FINAL CALL: We are down to the final week! To submit your question for our annual call-in show (for inspiration, check out last year’s episode), please call (260) 337-8260 to leave us a voicemail, or record a voice note and email it to us at culturefest@slate.com. Or, email us at culturefest@slate.com if you just want to gab. Endorsements: Dana: The Year of Lear audiobook, written by James Shapiro and narrated by Robert Fass. Julia: Tree.fm — a project by Sounds of the Forest and aporee, where you can tune into forest soundscapes from around the world. Stephen: A cover of Richard and Linda Thompson’s “Down Where the Drunkards Roll,” performed by Loudon Wainwright III and Rufus Wainwright. Podcast production by Jared Downing. Production assistance by Kat Hong. Disclosure in Podcast Description: A Bond Account is a self-directed brokerage account with Public Investing, member FINRA/SIPC. Deposits into this account are used to purchase 10 investment-grade and high-yield bonds. As of 9/26/24, the average, annualized yield to worst (YTW) across the Bond Account is greater than 6%. A bond’s yield is a function of its market price, which can fluctuate; therefore, a bond’s YTW is not “locked in” until the bond is purchased, and your yield at time of purchase may be different from the yield shown here. The “locked in” YTW is not guaranteed; you may receive less than the YTW of the bonds in the Bond Account if you sell any of the bonds before maturity or if the issuer defaults on the bond. Public Investing charges a markup on each bond trade. See our Fee Schedule. Bond Accounts are not recommendations of individual bonds or default allocations. The bonds in the Bond Account have not been selected based on your needs or risk profile. See https://public.com/disclosures/bond-account to learn more. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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 traditional – predictable plot beats, an easy to understand moral viewpoint – but as a piece of culture, does it work? Is the film informative and incredibly ambitious? Or didactic and boring? Then, the panel unravels HBO’s Get Millie Black, a British crime drama set in Kingston, Jamaica. Created by Marlon James, the five-part detective series delivers a good, old-fashioned mystery (there’s corruption! Familial complications! Rich queer narratives! And way too much voiceover!) that reveals itself slowly, like peeling back the layers of an onion. Finally, can a “vibe” be copyrighted, in a world built on copying? The hosts pour over “Bad Influence,” a reported piece by The Verge about the groundbreaking legal case between two lifestyle influencers that has the potential to radically alter the online commerce industry. In the exclusive Slate Plus segment, the panel discusses movie credits and debates the merits of sitting through them. We are still taking questions for our annual call-in show! To submit your question, either leave us a voicemail at (260) 337-8260 or send us a voice note via email at culturefest@slate.com. Email us at culturefest@slate.com. Endorsements: Dan: The Mighty Quinn (1989), starring a very handsome Denzel Washington. June: Our Evenings by Alan Hollinghurst. Steve: A quote by Vladimir Nabokov. Podcast production by Jared Downing. Production assistance by Kat Hong. Disclosure in Podcast Description: A Bond Account is a self-directed brokerage account with Public Investing, member FINRA/SIPC. Deposits into this account are used to purchase 10 investment-grade and high-yield bonds. As of 9/26/24, the average, annualized yield to worst (YTW) across the Bond Account is greater than 6%. A bond’s yield is a function of its market price, which can fluctuate; therefore, a bond’s YTW is not “locked in” until the bond is purchased, and your yield at time of purchase may be different from the yield shown here. The “locked in” YTW is not guaranteed; you may receive less than the YTW of the bonds in the Bond Account if you sell any of the bonds before maturity or if the issuer defaults on the bond. Public Investing charges a markup on each bond trade. See our Fee Schedule. Bond Accounts are not recommendations of individual bonds or default allocations. The bonds in the Bond Account have not been selected based on your needs or risk profile. See https://public.com/disclosures/bond-account to learn more. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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 Wonderful Wizard of Oz) can feel overstuffed and exhausting, but as Dana puts it in her review, “it’s so buoyant it lifts both witches-to-be, along with the audience, into the stratosphere.” Then, the panel moves on to Gladiator II, the very belated follow-up to Ridley Scott’s 2000 Best Picture Winner. Which is… a really bad movie. No longer is the question “are you not entertained?", but “are men okay, actually?” The panel attempts to make sense of Scott’s “dismal retread” and debate whether Denzel Washington’s free reign over his character benefited the movie at large. Finally, Slate’s Dan Kois joins to discuss “The 25 Most Important Recipes of the Past 100 Years,” a wonderful and lovely mega package compiled by Kois and J. Bryan Lowder that explores the history of home cooking in America and how it’s changed over time. (Dan also cooked all 25 recipes, and then some, an epic saga which he chronicled.) In the exclusive Slate Plus segment, it’s the long-awaited Bluesky debate. Following the mass exodus from Twitter/X, the hosts discuss the pros and cons of migrating over to a new, remarkably similar, platform. We are still taking questions for our annual call-in show! To submit your question, either leave us a voicemail at (260) 337-8260 or send us a voice note via email at culturefest@slate.com. Email us at culturefest@slate.com. Endorsements: Dana: A recipe perfect for Thanksgiving: Laurie Colwin’s Creamed Spinach With Jalapeño Peppers. Julia: Opal, a screen time app that blocks distractions. Steve: “The Loudest, Brightest Thing” by Sam Huber for The New York Review. 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, 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 it with new meaning. Then, they unpack Emilia Pérez, an utterly captivating musical by writer-director Jacques Audiard that’s about gender transition, drug cartels, and becoming yourself. Finally, the trio discusses Carson the Magnificent, a new biography of the mysterious late-night pioneer that Isaac recently reviewed for The New Yorker. In the exclusive Slate Plus segment, the panel answers a listener question from James: “Are there cultural works that you fully intend to see or experience, but are waiting for an optimal way to do it?” Email us at culturefest@slate.com. Endorsements: Isaac: Blood Test by Charles Baxter. Julia: Zoe Saldaña in Center Stage. Steve: Alice Neel’s appearance on Johnny Carson’s Tonight Show in 1984. Podcast production by Jared Downing. Production assistance by Kat Hong. Disclosure in Podcast Description: A Bond Account is a self-directed brokerage account with Public Investing, member FINRA/SIPC. Deposits into this account are used to purchase 10 investment-grade and high-yield bonds. As of 9/26/24, the average, annualized yield to worst (YTW) across the Bond Account is greater than 6%. A bond’s yield is a function of its market price, which can fluctuate; therefore, a bond’s YTW is not “locked in” until the bond is purchased, and your yield at time of purchase may be different from the yield shown here. The “locked in” YTW is not guaranteed; you may receive less than the YTW of the bonds in the Bond Account if you sell any of the bonds before maturity or if the issuer defaults on the bond. Public Investing charges a markup on each bond trade. See our Fee Schedule. Bond Accounts are not recommendations of individual bonds or default allocations. The bonds in the Bond Account have not been selected based on your needs or risk profile. See https://public.com/disclosures/bond-account to learn more. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

On this week’s episode, the hosts tackle A‌ Real Pain, writer-director Jesse Eisenberg’s tale of two cousins (played by himself and Kieran Culkin) who travel to Poland to honor their late grandmother and, in the process, come to understand their family’s history through a new lens. Then, the three drop into the lush, sumptuous world of Like Water for Chocolate, Max’s new six-part limited series adapted from Laura Esquivel’s best-selling novel (which later became a critically acclaimed and internationally successful blockbuster.) Then finally, in a post 2024-election reality, do newsrooms still matter?‌ What role will journalists play over the next few years?‌ And can we solve the attention crisis in America?‌ Our panel discusses. In the exclusive Slate Plus segment, the panel dive into a simple, yet important question: How are you doing? Email us at culturefest@slate.com. Endorsements: Dana: On the Media’s latest episode, “The Manosphere Celebrates a Win. Plus, M. Gessen on How to Survive an Autocracy.” Julia: What better time than now to announce the results of the AMC Nicole Kidman poll! Steve: “Jessica Mitford’s Escape From Facism” by Noah McCormack. Podcast production by Jared Downing. Production assistance by Kat Hong. Disclosure in Podcast Description: A Bond Account is a self-directed brokerage account with Public Investing, member FINRA/SIPC. Deposits into this account are used to purchase 10 investment-grade and high-yield bonds. As of 9/26/24, the average, annualized yield to worst (YTW) across the Bond Account is greater than 6%. A bond’s yield is a function of its market price, which can fluctuate; therefore, a bond’s YTW is not “locked in” until the bond is purchased, and your yield at time of purchase may be different from the yield shown here. The “locked in” YTW is not guaranteed; you may receive less than the YTW of the bonds in the Bond Account if you sell any of the bonds before maturity or if the issuer defaults on the bond. Public Investing charges a markup on each bond trade. See our Fee Schedule. Bond Accounts are not recommendations of individual bonds or default allocations. The bonds in the Bond Account have not been selected based on your needs or risk profile. See https://public.com/disclosures/bond-account to learn more. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

On this week’s show, Extremely Musical Friend of the Pod (EMFOP)‌ Chris Molanphy joins to memorialize pop’s Renaissance Man, Quincy Jones, who passed away on November 3, 2024. The legendary producer worked with every star under the sun, including Ray Charles, Aretha Franklin, and Chaka Khan, and created the best-selling album in history. (“Thriller,” maybe you’ve heard of it?) Then, the trio mulls over Conclave, a sumptuous new film by director Edward Berger (All Quiet on the Western Front) about what happens when the Pope dies. It’s a fun, pulp-y romp, but does the movie have anything profound to say?‌ Finally, the panel considers Martha, a Netflix documentary about Martha Stewart’s rise to fame – and confronts all of lifestyle guru’s charms, mysteries, and borderline sociopathic tendencies. Mentioned in today’s episode:‌ Hit Parade’s “I Wanna Rock with Q“ series. Conclave review, written by Dana. In the exclusive Slate Plus bonus episode, the panel unpacks the most interesting part of Conclave:‌ that out-of-left-field plot twist. Email us at culturefest@slate.com. Endorsements: Dana:‌ Will &‌ Harper on Netflix. Steve:‌ Getting lost in “Songs of a Lost World,”‌ a new album by the Cure. Chris:‌ The podcast A Very Good Year. Julia:‌ Throwing a birthday for your house; commissioning a micro-history of your home. 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, Slate senior editor Rebecca Onion sits in for Julia Turner. First, the hosts examine Dahomey, an audacious new documentary by acclaimed filmmaker Mati Diop (Atlantics.)‌ With a one hour, eight minute run time, Dahomey is an incredibly rich text in a very small package, and contemplates the repatriation of 26 royal treasures plundered from the Kingdom of Dahomey as they journey back to their homeland, which now lies within the Republic of Benin. Then, the three dive into Netflix’s Death, Let Me Do My Special, a one-woman show performed and written by Rachel Bloom (Crazy Ex-Girlfriend.)‌ The special is perceptive, macabre, and whimsical, as Bloom reflects on the pandemic years and the loss of her close friend and collaborator, Adam Schlesinger. Finally, what is Mark Zuckerberg wearing?‌ That is the question Brendon Holder asks in a recent Substack essay and that is bewildering the panel. Is the Meta CEO simply trying to beat the dweeb allegations through oversized t-shirts and a boyish haircut? Or is there something more sinister going on here? In the exclusive Slate Plus segment, the panel discusses the role TV plays in their lives, inspired by a recent mega-article published by GQ, “How to Watch TV.” Email us at culturefest@slate.com. Endorsements: Dana:‌ The AOC‌ and Tim Walz Twitch stream, specifically, the moment when Walz calls Tony Hinchcliffe a “jackwad” following a racist comment. Rebecca:‌ The Voyage Home by Pat Parker. Stephen:‌ Todd Gitlin’s 2001 essay, “Unsafe in any state.” Podcast production by Jared Downing. Production assistance by Kat Hong.