Slate Plus members get ad-free podcasts and bonus episodes of shows like Dear Prudence and Slow Burn. Sign up now to listen and support our work. How did the humble rubber duck become an icon of bath time? On this episode of Decoder Ring we talk to rubber duck experts, enthusiasts, and manufacturers to find out how the rubber duck evolved, why it's so appealing, and why there are thousands of them lost at sea. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Culture Gabfest

Decoder Ring: Rubber Duckie

‘Thirst In The Covid-19 Era’ could well be the title of this episode or an academic paper in the year 2050 — but we’re not doing that! No, we decided to dip into our inbox to take on some of the burning thirst queries from our wonderful listeners. It was a mailbag of… many tastes. Drabbles about musicians Raphael Saadiq and Hozier, Large Boy Adam Driver, and Lee Pace on a farm? Plus we did our best to provide alternative thirsts in a bumper Thirst Sommelier segment that covered tastes as diverse as Magnum PI and 90s era Ralph Fiennes. YOU’RE WELCOME. Slate Plus members get a bonus segment on Thirst Aid Kit each week. Sign up now to listen and support our show. In this week’s Slate Plus segment, we break down A Clean Plate, that is the significance of a man’s appetite in popular culture. From Cool Hand Luke to Phantom Thread, what does a man’s hunger tell us, if anything, about the type of person he is? Follow us on Twitter @ThirstAidKit. Our music is by Tanya Morgan. You can find show notes, gifs and so much more on our Tumblr at thirstaidkitpodcast.tumblr.com. Remember, you can send us your own (short) drabbles by emailing thirstaidkit@slate.com.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Thirst Aid Kit: Thirst Buckets Galore!

In this episode, host Julie Gurner talks to a fascinating mentor-mentee pair who have become successful collaborators in the culinary world: Chef and Restaurateur Gavin Kaysen and Executive Chef Chris Nye.  Gavin Kaysen is a two-time James Beard Award-winning chef and owner of Soigné Hospitality Group. When he was starting his career in New York City, Gavin worked under world-renowned chef Daniel Boulud who became his mentor. He went on to spend seven years as Boulud’s Executive Chef and Director of Culinary Operations. Gavin continued that tradition of mentorship with Chris Nye, who he met when Chris was working the line at Café Boulud. Today, Kaysen helps the next generation of young chefs as one of the founders of Ment’or, a leading nonprofit organization devoted to inspiring culinary excellence in young professionals.  Whether you’re paired up through a program or your partnership forms organically, a mentor-mentee relationship can be an invaluable professional asset. A mentor can be the guide who jumpstarts your ambition, sharpens your focus, and nudges you to take a risk. Alternately, a mentee can inspire an industry veteran with fresh perspectives and surprising insights. And like any relationship, success requires work, communication, and dedication from both parties.  Download and subscribe to The Relentless on Apple Podcasts, Stitcher, Spotify, TuneIn, Overcast, or wherever you listen. This paid podcast is produced by Slate Studios and Century 21 Real Estate. © 2020 Century 21 Real Estate LLC. All rights reserved. CENTURY 21®, the CENTURY 21 Logo and C21® are registered marks owned by Century 21 Real Estate LLC. Century 21 Real Estate LLC fully supports the principles of the Fair Housing Act and the Equal Opportunity Act. Each office is independently owned and operated. This material may contain suggestions and best practices that you may use at your discretion. The opinions expressed in this podcast are those of the individuals featured and not necessarily of Century 21 Real Estate. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Culture Gabfest: Viral Songs and Quarantine Culture

On the Spoiler Special podcast, Slate critics discuss movies, the occasional TV show, and, once in a blue moon, another podcast, in full spoiler-filled detail. This week, Slate Senior Editor Sam Adams is joined by Slate Staff Writer Rebecca Onion to spoil Contagion, Steven Soderbergh’s 2011 pandemic movie. Not dissimilar to the coronavirus, the fictional virus, MEV-1, started off transferring from infected animals to humans. MEV-1 infected Gwyneth Paltrow’s character on a work trip. Then she traveled back to the Midwest, spreading the virus. Can the institutions in charge find a vaccine before the virus decimates society?  You can read Rebecca Onion’s piece about the lessons to take from Contagion here. You can read Sam Adams’ interview with the screenwriter here.  Note: As the title indicates, this podcast contains spoilers galore. Email us at spoilers@slate.com. Slate Plus members get ad-free podcasts and access to exclusive shows like Dana Stevens’ classic movies podcast Flashback. Sign up now to listen and support our work. Podcast production by Rosemary Belson.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Spoiler Specials: Contagion

This week on the Culture Gabfest, Stephen Metcalf, Julia Turner, and guest host and Slate staff writer Dan Kois talk about Kelly Reichardt’s film First Cow. Next, they bring on Slate television critic Willa Paskin to discuss the latest episode of her podcast Decoder Ring, which dives into the real-life bookstore battle behind You’ve Got Mail. Finally, the panel dives into Molly Fischer’s feature in the Cut on the millennial aesthetic.  On the Slate Plus segment this week, the panel discusses the cancellation of Woody Allen’s memoir.  Podcast production by Jessamine Molli. Production assistance by Rachael Allen. Additional production help by Rosemary Belson. Outro Music: "Party All The Time" by Eddie Murphy Other items discussed on the show:  “I Made the Oily Cakes From First Cow,” by Dan Kois in Slate.  “Bookstores That Live Only in the Mind,” by Dan Kois in the New York Times. Endorsements Dan: The March Badness bracket of songs. Julia: Print out your cooking recipes. Steve: “Reading Richard Rorty in Tehran” by Samuel Thrope in the Nation.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Culture Gabfest: Cows and Capitalism

On the Spoiler Special podcast, Slate critics discuss movies, the occasional TV show, and, once in a blue moon, another podcast, in full spoiler-filled detail. This week, Forrest Wickman is joined by Sam Adams and Marissa Martinelli to discuss Onward. Ian and Barley Lightfoot are elf brothers in a modernized magical realm. On Ian’s birthday he receives a gift that will allow him and his older brother to bring back their father for a day. But the spell goes wrong and they are left with half a dad. Can Ian and Barley work together to find the Phoenix Gem and make their father whole before the day is over? You can read Sam Adams’ article about the movie’s “exclusively gay moment” here. Note: As the title indicates, spoilers galore. Email us at spoilers@slate.com. Slate Plus members get ad-free podcasts and access to exclusive shows like Dana Stevens’ classic movies podcast Flashback. Sign up now to listen and support our work. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Spoiler Specials: Onward

This week’s guest was once in her underwear on a billboard in Brooklyn, but that’s the least of her accomplishments. Writer and podcast host Ashley C. Ford joined us in the studio to talk about her most pressing Thirst Objects: Chris Pine, Sam Elliott, and Marshawn Lynch. Our conversation was full of laughs, “yeeks” (that’s buttcheeks to the rest of us), American beef, and how a healthy disregard for authority is super hot. It got so good that we decided to forgo Fanfic Wars for bonus thirsting you won’t want to miss. Slate Plus members get a bonus segment on Thirst Aid Kit each week. Sign up now to listen and support our show. In this week’s Slate Plus segment, we’re talking about the importance of physical touch. From parental hugs to romantic clutches, we discuss the significance of hands: their size and placement, how a grasp can signal tenderness or dominance, care and support. We also cover the delicate issue of cleanliness. Our music is by Tanya Morgan. You can find show notes, gifs, and so much more on our Tumblr at thirstaidkitpodcast.tumblr.com. Remember, you can send us your own (short) drabbles by emailing thirstaidkit@slate.com.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Thirst Aid Kit: Flooding the Basement with Ashley C. Ford

This week on the Culture Gabfest, Stephen Metcalf, Julia Turner, and guest host and Slate staff writer Dan Kois talk about the hit Netflix dating reality show Love Is Blind with Slate podcast producer Daniel Schroeder. Next, they discuss tomboys, jumping off of a recent New York Times op-ed. Finally, the panel takes on the coronavirus, analyzing the epidemic through various pieces of culture.  On the Slate Plus segment this week, the panel discusses a New York Times op-ed from an editor whose ex-boyfriend is now dating Lady Gaga.  Podcast production by Jessamine Molli. Production assistance by Rachael Allen. Additional production help by Rosemary Belson. Outro Music: 'Shattered & Hollow' by First Aid Kit Endorsements Dan: The graphic memoir Tomboy by Liz Prince. Pitchfork’s Sunday Reviews. Julia: The viral video where a camera falls from an airplane… Steve: “No Ghost in the Machine” by Mark Halpern in the American Scholar. The album Stay Gold by First Aid Kit. Hosts Stephen Metcalf Julia Turner Dan Kois Social Media @slatecultfest on Twitter https://twitter.com/slatecultfest @slateculturepodcasts on Facebook https://www.facebook.com/slateculturepodcasts/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Culture Gabfest: Is Love Blind?

The 1998 romantic comedy You've Got Mail starring Tom Hanks and Meg Ryan is about the brutal fight between an independent bookstore, The Shop Around the Corner, and Fox Books, an obvious Barnes & Noble stand-in. On this episode of Decoder Ring we explore the real life conflict that inspired the movie and displaced independent booksellers on the upper west side of Manhattan. This conflict illustrates how, for a brief time, Barnes & Noble was a symbol of predatory capitalism, only to be usurped by the uniting force at the heart of the film: the internet. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Decoder Ring: The Shop Around the Corner

Eight years after her passing—and 35 years after the release of her debut album—Whitney Houston is about to be inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Predictably, some rock fans have carped that Houston doesn’t belong in the Hall. But they are not the only ones who, historically, have complained about Houston’s bona fides. In the ’80s, at the apex of her success, black fans complained that Houston was courting white pop fans too eagerly, and forgetting her roots in gospel and R&B. On the charts, by contrast, Whitney Houston’s achievements are indisputable. But they also might be underrated. Houston’s chart records offer a window into exactly how she crossed over…and whether she deserved the backlash. In this episode, Chris Molanphy walks step by step through Whitney’s storied chart records—including a couple that have gone unheralded—that help explain why she was a seminal, singular figure among black female crossover stars, from Aretha and Diana to Beyoncé. Podcast production by Justin D. Wright. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Hit Parade: I'm Your Whitney Tonight Edition

Nichole is ill this week, but there could be no better Thirst Object to rouse her from her sickbed than Glasgow-born actor James McAvoy! We looked into McAvoy’s uncanny knack for matching intense vulnerability with deeply attractive stoicism to make for an irresistible presence. Whether he’s playing a defiant but insecure Cyrano on stage or coming into his own in roles in Atonement, Wanted, or the X-Men films, James slakes all thirsts: slender or bulked up, au naturel or putting on an accent, blockbuster or indie project. And we can’t seem to look away. Slate Plus members get a bonus segment on Thirst Aid Kit each week. Sign up now to listen and support our show. On Slate Plus, it’s another installment of Explain Yourself, in which we speak to Vulture staff writer and frequently outrageous thirsty tweeter Hunter Harris about the distinct (but entirely resistible to us!) allure of Adam Driver. In essence: he’s A Large Boy! And people—including Hunter—like Large Things. :eyes emoji: Our music is by Tanya Morgan. You can find show notes, gifs and so much more on our Tumblr at thirstaidkitpodcast.tumblr.com. Remember, you can send us your own (short) drabbles by emailing thirstaidkit@slate.com.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Thirst Aid Kit: We Love James McAvoy, That’ s All

This week on the Culture Gabfest, Stephen Metcalf, Julia Turner, and guest host and Slate staff writer Dan Kois talk about Céline Sciamma’s Portrait of a Lady on Fire. Next, they discuss Taylor Swift’s documentary Miss Americana. Finally, the panel dives into “garbage language” a.k.a corporate buzzwords—unnecessary or effective?  On the Slate Plus segment this week, the panel discusses a contentious subject—whether Leonardo DiCaprio was already a star before Titanic? Podcast production by Jessamine Molli. Production assistance by Rachael Allen. Additional production help by Rosemary Belson. Outro Music: 'The Man' by Taylor Swift Endorsements Dan: Reading Hilary Mantel’s Wolf Hall and Bring Up the Bodies before The Mirror & the Light, the third book in the trilogy, is released March 10.  Julia: Golden State by Ben H. Winters. Steve: “Reading Sade in the Age of Epstein” by Mitchell Abidor in The New York Review of Books.   Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Culture Gabfest: Portrait of Taylor on Fire

This is an episode of our advice show How To! with Charles Duhigg. Lorenzo is a dental student with big dreams—of becoming a rock star. Lorenzo plays a mean guitar at open mic night, but there’s one thing holding him back: He doesn’t know how to write his own songs. In this episode of How To!, we bring in master songwriter Ben Folds, former frontman of Ben Folds Five, and author of A Dream About Lightning Bugs: A Life of Music and Cheap Lessons. Many of those lessons are about how anyone can unlock their creativity. Ben breaks down his own music, and tinkers with Lorenzo’s attempt at writing a break-up song. He tells him to embrace cliché, then slip in something unexpected. Also, switch the first lyric with the second. Will it work? Do you have a problem that needs a creative solution? Send us a note at howto@slate.com. Slate Plus members get bonus segments and ad-free podcast feeds. Sign up now. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

How To!: Write the Perfect Breakup Song with Ben Folds

On the Spoiler Special podcast, Slate critics discuss movies, the occasional TV show, and, once in a blue moon, another podcast, in full spoiler-filled detail. This week, Marissa Martinelli and Heather Schwedel discuss Emma. Though certainly not the first adaptation of Jane Austen’s novel, director Autumn de Wilde’s film humanizes the familiar characters and departs at times from the source material to bring a certain freshness to this comedy. Will Emma’s meddling still result in matchmaking errors? How far does she have to go to right her wrongs? And what’s with the inopportune nosebleed? You can read Marissa Martinelli’s review here. Note: As the title indicates, spoilers galore. Email us at spoilers@slate.com. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Spoiler Specials: Emma.

New York Times critic Dwight Garner says “The Slate Culture Gabfest is one of the highlights of my week.” The award-winning Culturefest features Slate culture critics Stephen Metcalf, Dana Stevens, and Julia Turner debating the week in culture, from highbrow to pop.

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Culture Gabfest

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