Slate Culture

In this episode, Jenée is joined by Brittany Luse — the host of NPR’s It’s Been a Minute. Together, they answer questions from a reader distraught that their fiance won’t stop publishing smutty fiction about real-life historical figures, another unsure what to do after her husband stole a $500 bottle of wine from their friends’ dinner party, a spooked listener who can’t get over how much she looks like her boyfriend’s dead wife, and a daughter trying to break it to her mom that her choice to live child-free isn’t a result of some unknown childhood trauma. Want more Dear Prudence? Subscribe to Slate Plus to immediately unlock weekly bonus episodes. Plus, you’ll access ad-free listening across all your favorite Slate podcasts. Subscribe now on Apple Podcasts by clicking “Try Free” at the top of our show page. Or, visit slate.com/prudie-plus to get access wherever you listen. This week’s podcast is produced by Jenée Desmond Harris, Maura Currie, and Daisy Rosario, with special thanks to Anuli Ononye and Cameron Drews. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

On this episode: Zak, Elizabeth and Lucy help a listener decide whether she’s done having kids. No pressure, right? But seriously: this listener has three little boys and is weighing the possibility of a fourth kid. There’s more love for her and her husband to give… but they’re also feeling burnt out. So how do you decide what to do? After that, of course, we’ll circle up for a round of triumphs and fails. Join us on Facebook and email us at careandfeedingpod@slate.com to ask us new questions, tell us what you thought of today’s show, and give us ideas about what we should talk about in future episodes. You can also call our phone line: (646) 357-9318. If you enjoy this show, please consider signing up for Slate Plus. Slate Plus members get to hang out with us on the Plus Playground every week for a whole additional grab-bag of content — and you’ll get an ad-free experience across the network. And you’ll also be supporting the work we do here on Care and Feeding. Sign up now at slate.com/careplus – or try it out on Apple Podcasts. Podcast produced by Maura Currie. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

How Donald Trump is attempting to shape the arts to his own liking, from installing himself as head of the Kennedy Center to canceling grants from the National Endowment for the Arts, throwing organizations and projects of all sizes into uncertainty and chaos. Guests: Alisa Solomon, director of the Arts & Culture concentration at the Columbia Journalism School Katy Waldman, staff writer for the New Yorker. Want more What Next? Subscribe to Slate Plus to access ad-free listening to the whole What Next family and across all your favorite Slate podcasts. Subscribe today on Apple Podcasts by clicking “Try Free” at the top of our show page. Sign up now at slate.com/whatnextplus to get access wherever you listen. Podcast production by Ethan Oberman, Isabel Angell, Elena Schwartz, Paige Osburn, Anna Phillips, Madeline Ducharme and Rob Gunther. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Kate Lindsay and Candice Lim check in with the “Caveman Skincare” method and they pour one out for Skype. Then, they dive into the internet controversy surrounding a TikTok running influencer and White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt. Kate Mackz is the host of a TikTok series called The Running Interview Show where she jogs with celebrities. Last week, Mackz — who up until this point, did not discuss politics much on her page — interviewed Leavitt for the series and it ended up creating a huge controversy. ICYMI breaks down Kate and Karoline’s video and why this collaboration was a possible failed attempt at being apolitical. This podcast is produced by Vic Whitley-Berry, Daisy Rosario, Candice Lim, and Kate Lindsay. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Products often tell you exactly how they’re intended to be used. But why leave it at that? As a culture, we have long had a knack for finding ingenious, off-label uses for things. In this episode, we take a close look at a few examples of products that are ostensibly meant for one thing, but are better known for something else entirely. We explore Q-tips, which we are explicitly told not to put into our ears; the Hitachi Magic Wand, the iconic sex toy marketed as a body massager; the musical washboard; and the children’s electrolyte solution Pedialyte that many adults swear by as a hangover cure. You’ll hear from Hallie Lieberman, author of Buzz: A Stimulating History of the Sex Toy; Jacqui Barnett of the Columbus Washboard Company; Christopher Wilson, curator and chair of the Division of Home and Community Life at the Smithsonian; musician and educator Súle Greg Wilson; zydeco musicians C.J. Chenier and Steve Nash; Shaughnessy Bishop-Stall, author of Hungover: The Morning After and One Man’s Quest for the Cure; as well as writers Roberto Ferdman, Dan Brooks, and Kaitlyn Tiffany. Decoder Ring is produced by Willa Paskin, Max Freedman, Katie Shepherd, and Evan Chung, Decoder Ring’s supervising producer. We had additional production from Sofie Kodner. Merritt Jacob is Senior Technical Director. Special thanks to Kate Sloan, Dr. Carol Queen, Bryony Cole, Amber Singer, Molly Born, Laura Selikson, and Nell McShane Wulfhart. If you have any cultural mysteries you want us to decode, please email us at DecoderRing@slate.com, or leave a message on our hotline at 347-460-7281. Sources for This Episode Bishop-Stall, Shaughnessy. Hungover: The Morning After and One Man’s Quest for the Cure, Penguin, 2018. Brooks, Dan. “Letter of Recommendation: Pedialyte,” New York Times Magazine, Jan. 26, 2017. Comella, Lynn. Vibrator Nation: How Feminist Sex-Toy Stores Changed the Business of Pleasure, Duke University Press, 2017. Dodson, Betty. “Having Sex with Machines: The Return of the Electric Vibrator,” Dodson and Ross, June 9, 2010. Feran, Tim. “Pedialyte Is Not Just For Kids,” Columbus Dispatch, July 19, 2015. Ferdman, Roberto A. “The strange life of Q-tips, the most bizarre thing people buy,” Washington Post, Jan. 20, 2016. Kushner, David. “Inside Orgasmatron,” Village Voice, March 26, 1999. Lieberman, Hallie. Buzz: A Stimulating History of the Sex Toy, Pegasus Books, 2017. Lieberman, Hallie. “Selling Sex Toys: Marketing and the Meaning of Vibrators in Early Twentieth-Century America,” Enterprise & Society, June 2016. Russel, Ruth. “Hangover Remedies? I’ll Drink to That!,” Idaho Statesman, Jan. 1, 1978. Sloan, Kate. Making Magic, 2024. Tiffany, Kaitlyn. “How Pedialyte got Pedialit,” Vox, Sep. 10, 2018. Williams, Dell. “The Roots of the Garden,” Journal of Sex Research, August 1990. Wulfhart, Nell McShane. “The Best Hangover Cure,” Slate, Aug. 29, 2013. Want more Decoder Ring? Subscribe to Slate Plus to unlock exclusive bonus episodes. Plus, you’ll access ad-free listening across all your favorite Slate podcasts. Subscribe now on Apple Podcasts by clicking “Try Free” at the top of the Decoder Ring show page. Or, visit slate.com/decoderplus to get access wherever you listen. 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 gets into Lena Dunham's latest addition to the canon of "writers writing about moving out of New York." Email us at culturefest@slate.com. Podcast production by Jared Downing. Production assistance by Kat Hong and Palace Shaw. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Outward’s Bryan Lowder and Christina Cauterucci talk to Alden Jones, editor of the new anthology, Edge of the World. With essays from Alexander Chee, Daisy Hernández, Edmund White, and more, the collection makes clear that queer travel writing isn’t just overdue—it’s transformative. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

At least 10 percent of parents in the U.S. are disabled, but Andrea can’t seem to find parenting advice on disability and accessibility. On this episode of How To!, Carvell Wallace brings on Jessica Slice, author of the new book Unfit Parent: A Disabled Mother Challenges an Inaccessible World, to help Andrea reimagine parenthood. If you liked this episode check out: How To Date With a Disability and How To Become a Parent Overnight. Do you have a problem that needs solving? Send us a note at howto@slate.com or leave us a voicemail at 646-495-4001 and we might have you on the show. Subscribe for free on Apple, Spotify, or wherever you listen. The show is produced by Rosemary Belson, with Kevin Bendis. Our technical director is Merritt Jacob and our supervising producer is Joel Meyer. Want more How To!? Subscribe to Slate Plus to unlock exclusive bonus episodes. Plus, you’ll access ad-free listening across all your favorite Slate podcasts. Subscribe now on Apple Podcasts by clicking “Try Free” at the top of the How To! show page. Or, visit slate.com/howtoplus to get access wherever you listen. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Isabel Allende didn’t publish her first book until she was 39, after losing nearly everything in the wake of the Chilean military coup. More than four decades later, she’s become one of the most beloved Spanish-language authors, with over 80 million copies of her books sold worldwide. After political exile, writing books became Allende’s way of making sense of the world. She wrote through divorce, affairs, and moving across continents. But after the devastating loss of her daughter Paula, even writing felt impossible, until her mother urged her to begin again. “My mother knew that the only way for me to walk the tunnel of grief was writing,” she says. In this episode, Anna and Isabel talk about loss, late starts, and new beginnings. Isabel met her most recent husband, Roger, in her late 70s, “an age when most people are knitting for their great-grandchildren.” Allende’s newest novel, “My Name Is Emilia del Valle,” is out now. Death, Sex & Money is now produced by Slate! To support us and our colleagues, please sign up for our membership program, Slate Plus! 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. And if you’re new to the show, welcome. We’re so glad you’re here. Find us and follow us on Instagram 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. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Hosts Alex Kirshner, Lindsay Gibbs, and Ben Lindbergh talk about the NBA playoffs, where the Minnesota Timberwolves did a number on the Lakers. They explain why Bill Belichick and his girlfriend have become such a problem for the University of North Carolina. Finally, the Kentucky Derby and the return of the controversial trainer Bob Baffert. On the bonus episode, available exclusively to Slate plus members, the gang talks about the NHL playoffs and the Mikko Rantanen revenge tour. NBA Playoffs: 2:37 Bill Belichick: 26:36 Kentucky Derby: 40:41 (Note: time codes are only accurate for Slate Plus members, who listen ad-free.) Want more Hang Up and Listen? Subscribe to Slate Plus to immediately unlock weekly bonus episodes. Plus, you’ll access ad-free listening across all your favorite Slate podcasts. Subscribe now on Apple Podcasts by clicking “Try Free” at the top of our show page, or visit slate.com/hangupplus to get access wherever you listen. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

On this episode: Zak, Jamilah and producer Maura talk about how to navigate friendships with people who have more, or fewer, kids than you do. A member of the Slate Parenting Facebook group is wondering how it’s on her and her husband to plan everything… even though they have three kids, and a lot of their friends don’t have any. And then, we’ll circle up for a round of recommendations… and on Slate Plus, we’ll answer some frequently asked questions about how we make the show. If you’re not part of the Slate Plus community, we hope you’ll consider joining! Keep reading to learn how. Jamilah recommends: Curlfriends Maura recommends: A Roomba Zak recommends: Khan Academy Kids Join us on Facebook and email us at careandfeedingpod@slate.com to ask us new questions, tell us what you thought of today’s show, and give us ideas about what we should talk about in future episodes. You can also call our phone line: (646) 357-9318. If you enjoy this show, please consider signing up for Slate Plus. Slate Plus members get to hang out with us on the Plus Playground every week for a whole additional grab-bag of content — and you’ll get an ad-free experience across the network. And you’ll also be supporting the work we do here on Care and Feeding. Sign up now at slate.com/careplus – or try it out on Apple Podcasts. Podcast produced by Maura Currie. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

While J.K. Rowling celebrates a new UK ruling that classifies “women” as biologically female, casting for the upcoming HBO Max adaptation is underway. Which fans have stuck by the series despite the author’s views, and will others be able to resist the siren call of a brand new TV series? Candice Lim and Kate Lindsay welcome ICYMI’s new producer Vic Whitley-Berry to talk about their feelings of betrayal watching the creator of their childhood favorite series incessantly target trans people online and publicly back anti-trans campaigns. Then, we’re joined by pop culture expert and YouTuber Princess Weekes, who shares her experience helping readers “deconstruct” from the Harry Potter fandom. This podcast is produced by Daisy Rosario, Vic Whitley-Berry, Candice Lim, and Kate Lindsay. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In this episode, Jenée is joined by Daria Burke – an award winning business leader, board director, and author. Together, they answer questions from a listener unsure whether to invite their feuding friends to a party next month, a CPA figuring out how to climb the corporate ladder without a defined job title, a daughter contemplating hosting a sober Easter to account for her mother’s inappropriate drunk behavior, and a listener scared she might become de facto babysitter to her pregnant sister. Want more Dear Prudence? Subscribe to Slate Plus to immediately unlock weekly bonus episodes. Plus, you’ll access ad-free listening across all your favorite Slate podcasts. Subscribe now on Apple Podcasts by clicking “Try Free” at the top of our show page. Or, visit slate.com/prudie-plus to get access wherever you listen. This week’s podcast is produced by Jenée Desmond Harris, Maura Currie, and Daisy Rosario, with special thanks to Anuli Ononye and Cameron Drews. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

On this episode: Zak, Elizabeth and Jamilah answer a question about how to throw a birthday party for older kids. This member of the Slate Parenting Facebook community knows how to throw a good party for little kids… but teens are a whole different thing. So, we’ll offer up some suggestions for how to celebrate a quiet, nerdy 15-year-old. And after that, we’ll talk about some other frequently-asked birthday questions — and share what we think makes for a good birthday party for kids and parents alike. Join us on Facebook and email us at careandfeedingpod@slate.com to ask us new questions, tell us what you thought of today’s show, and give us ideas about what we should talk about in future episodes. You can also call our phone line: (646) 357-9318. If you enjoy this show, please consider signing up for Slate Plus. Slate Plus members get to hang out with us on the Plus Playground every week for a whole additional grab-bag of content — and you’ll get an ad-free experience across the network. And you’ll also be supporting the work we do here on Care and Feeding. Sign up now at slate.com/careplus – or try it out on Apple Podcasts. Podcast produced by Maura Currie. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Candice Lim and Kate Lindsay break down the drama surrounding an influencer’s new book that has kicked off a whole controversy before it’s even been released. Christina Najjar, better known as Tinx, has made a successful career as a TikTok influencer who doles out dating advice to her more than 1.5 million followers. Her new book is a summer beach read following an influencer who escapes to the Hamptons after getting canceled. But TikTok creators have been suspicious leading up to the book’s release because Tinx, up to this point, has identified as a straight woman, and her novel revolves around a queer romance. Additionally, some creators believe Tinx might’ve used a ghostwriter, who is a queer writer herself. Therefore, who gets to tell which stories in traditional publishing? And what is the specific betrayal some people feel when influencers use ghostwriters? This podcast is produced by Vic Whitley-Berry, Daisy Rosario, Candice Lim, and Kate Lindsay. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

On this week’s show, Julia Turner is joined by Slate’s own Dan Kois and Sam Adams. They start by talking about the second season of Andor, the Star Wars series that might have more in common with The Wire than The Mandalorian. Then, they talk about The Wedding Banquet, a remake of the Ang Lee classic. Finally, they get into the story of the discovery of a new color called olo. In the exclusive Slate Plus segment, Julia, Sam, and Dan answer a listener question about a piece of art that they appreciated more with age. Email us at culturefest@slate.com. Endorsements: Dan: While being on a quest for a new cookbook, but also struggling to find a cookbook that feels surprising, finally came across Third Culture Cooking: Classic Recipes for a New Generation by Zaynab Issa. Sam: David Thomas, frontman and only permanent member of the band Pere Ubu, died last week. To get into his work, start with the collection Terminal Tower: An Archival Collection. Also, check out this obit that Slatester Carl Wilson wrote for his newsletter. Julia: Colors Are Nice, a Little Golden Book that manages to capture Julia’s feeling about color. Podcast production by Palace Shaw. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Our series Living at Odds concludes with a special episode of Slate’s Death, Sex & Money. Host Anna Sale returns to her native West Virginia to talk with the state’s only full-time lobbyist for LGBTQ rights. Andrew Schneider of Fairness West Virginia has spent years cultivating working relationships with conservative allies in state and local government. Aided by those relationships, Andrew helped pass 20 local anti-discrimination ordinances across the conservative-leaning state. Now, those policy victories—and Andrew’s alliances—are facing dire challenges in an increasingly hostile political landscape. Plus: How To!’s Courtney Martin looks back at Living at Odds, a series about what holds us together when so much threatens to break us apart. If you enjoyed this series, check out: How To Get Things Done in a Divided Nation with Samantha Power or How To Harness Your Citizen Superpowers. Do you have a problem that needs solving? Send us a note at howto@slate.com or leave us a voicemail at 646-495-4001 and we might have you on the show. Subscribe for free on Apple, Spotify, or wherever you listen. This episode was produced by Anna Sale, with the Death, Sex & Money team: Zoe Azulay, Cameron Drews, Andrew Dunn, and Daisy Rosario. This series was produced by Maura Currie and Rosie Belson. How To’s technical director is Merritt Jacob and our supervising producer is Joel Meyer. Special thanks to The Hearthland Foundation, which provided funding for Living at Odds. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In West Virginia, Republicans hold one of the largest supermajorities in the country, and it’s growing. Just 11 Democrats — down from 14 last year — are in the 134-member Legislature. It's a political reality that isn't necessarily conducive to advancing LGBTQ rights. But that's Andrew Schneider's job. As head of Fairness West Virginia, Andrew has spent a decade as the only full-time lobbyist at the state capitol working on LGBTQ issues. His approach? Winning people over through listening rather than confrontation, a strategy he developed in college when he purposely chose a conservative campus to practice changing minds. "I quickly realized that if I sat back and let someone talk to me and did not jump in and judge, they would trust me and we could actually have a meaningful conversation where ultimately I could inject my views," Andrew said. In this episode we talk to Andrew, and political leaders in West Virginia whom he’s lobbied, about his relational approach to getting through issues that matter to him, and how that strategy is being tested in Donald Trump’s second term. This episode is part of a series we’re calling Living At Odds, you can hear the rest of the series in the Slate podcast How To! Death, Sex & Money is now produced by Slate! To support us and our colleagues, please sign up for our membership program, Slate Plus! 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. And if you’re new to the show, welcome. We’re so glad you’re here. Find us and follow us on Instagram 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. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Hosts Alex Kirshner, Lindsay Gibbs, and Ben Lindbergh talk about the NFL Draft and the media’s response leading up to its most shocking picks. Ben provides his April baseball rundown, and later, the panel is joined by The Entertainment Strategy Guy for an interview about major media buyers’ feelings about F1. On the bonus episode available exclusively for Slate Plus members, the panel discusses Nottingham Forest, the small but scrappy Premier League club vying for a Champions League spot. NFL Draft (4:23): Shedeur and the other major moves over the weekend MLB month one (23:50): Where does the season stand, thirty games in? F1 media problems (46:52): The motorsport’s ratings don’t match its asking price (Note: time codes are only accurate for Slate Plus members, who listen ad-free.) Want more Hang Up and Listen? Subscribe to Slate Plus to immediately unlock weekly bonus episodes. Plus, you’ll access ad-free listening across all your favorite Slate podcasts. Subscribe now on Apple Podcasts by clicking “Try Free” at the top of our show page, or visit slate.com/hangupplus to get access wherever you listen. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

On this episode: Zak, Elizabeth and Lucy take a question about how to handle birthday money. This parent’s son wants to buy some stuff in a video game, and while it feels like a waste… it IS also his money. So we’ll talk about whether this parent really needs to intervene. And then, we’ll circle up for a round of checkins… and on Slate Plus, we’ll vent about the end-of-the-school-year frenzy. If you’re not part of the Slate Plus community, we hope you’ll consider joining! Keep reading to learn how. Zak’s check-in: snark! Elizabeth’s check-in: we kept it together! Lucy’s check-in: calm (on the surface)! Join us on Facebook and email us at careandfeedingpod@slate.com to ask us new questions, tell us what you thought of today’s show, and give us ideas about what we should talk about in future episodes. You can also call our phone line: (646) 357-9318. If you enjoy this show, please consider signing up for Slate Plus. Slate Plus members get to hang out with us on the Plus Playground every week for a whole additional grab-bag of content — and you’ll get an ad-free experience across the network. And you’ll also be supporting the work we do here on Care and Feeding. Sign up now at slate.com/careplus – or try it out on Apple Podcasts. Podcast produced by Maura Currie. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices