Slate Culture Feed

Ten years ago, the world was gearing up to welcome the first female president. Instead, Donald Trump’s surprise victory went on to alter America’s entire political landscape. It’s exactly what the people behind the Pussyhat Project feared. And yet, the pink knitted hat that took over the first of many Women’s Marches has gone on to become the opposite of the feminist symbol it was intended to be. Now, it’s a relic of white feminism, enacted at the expense of trans women and women of color. On today’s episode, host Kate Lindsay is joined by Anjali and Alison, the hosts of the Two Women Yelling About Knitting podcast, ahead of the Pussyhat’s ten-year anniversary to discuss what went wrong and what digital craftivism should look like. This podcast is produced by Vic Whitley-Berry, Daisy Rosario, and Kate Lindsay. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

To mark John Prine’s 80’s birthday, Anna catches up with his wife Fiona. Then we revisit Anna’s 2018 conversation with John, where he discussed his bestselling album Tree of Forgiveness. Podcast production by Cameron Drews.Right now, we’re running a deal on Death, Sex & Money Plus memberships! Sign up to get bonus episodes of DSM and ad-free listening on all your favorite Slate podcasts. Visit slate.com/dsmplus and use promo code DSM50 to get 50% off your membership – a full year of Death, Sex & Money Plus for $59. 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 email address, where you can reach us with voice memos, pep talks, questions, and critiques, is [email protected]. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The 1980s yielded a bumper crop of near-miss hits—songs that stalled out at No. 2, No. 11, or No. 41 during their original Billboard runs but were vindicated in the streaming era. The song that lent its title to a Molly Ringwald movie missed the Top 40—twice. Stevie Nicks missed the Top 10 with what is now her most beloved solo song. And Bruce Springsteen missed his only chance at a No. 1 song thanks to another ’80s icon.Today on Hit Parade: Chris Molanphy flashes back to the Reagan era to tally the greatest near-misses from Def Leppard, Huey Lewis, the Cars, Madonna, the Cure, Paula Abdul, Eddie Murphy, Prince and others.For more about near-miss hits, listen to Hit Parade’s episode on the near misses of the 1970s.Pssst! Do you love Hit Parade? Support what we do and help us absolutely crush it during Slate’s podcast pledge drive! For a limited time, you can join Slate Plus for 50 percent off and get bonus episodes of "The Bridge," ad-free listening across all your favorite Slate podcasts, and unlimited reading on Slate.com. Visit slate.com/hitparadeplus and use the promo code HIT50 to receive the discount AND get access wherever you listen. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

One of the many perks of subscribing to Decoder Ring Plus is access to every episode of Decoder Rings Back, our member-exclusive series where host Willa Paskin calls up a listener to answer their question about a cultural mystery directly. This week we’re offering a taste of the latest Decoder Rings Back, where Willa tries to clear up our listener Samantha’s culinary confusion: Why, of all spices in the world, is black pepper always on the dinner table, right there next to salt? It’s a delectable story that involves ancient Rome, Louis XIV, and Salem, Massachusetts. But to hear the whole thing, you’ll have to join Decoder Ring Plus. Now through October 16, you can get 50% off a year’s membership when you visit slate.com/decoderplus and enter the promo code DECODER50 at checkout. If you have any cultural mysteries you want us to decode, email us at [email protected] or leave a message on our hotline at (347) 460-7281. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

There are some controversies that can only happen on Threads. Discussions about mermaid trauma, for instance, or Pepsi having to apologize for their post about Wild Cherry. The platform is home to particularly unhinged users, but why? On today’s show, host Kate Lindsay is joined by creator, podcaster, and reluctant Threads lover Franchesca Ramsey to discuss why Threads got its reputation, and how it still manages to be the best alternative to Twitter.This podcast is produced by Vic Whitley-Berry, Daisy Rosario, and Kate Lindsay. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This year, Stavros Halkias released a stand-up special, appeared in the Anthony Bourdain biopic Tony, and continued his run on the hit Netflix show Tires. Despite the high points, he says this year has also been “torture.”This week on the show, Stavros breaks down why success and unhealthy habits go hand in hand for him. He also traces his upbringing in a working-class immigrant family in Baltimore, his experiences in therapy, and his growing aptitude for flirting with women. Podcast production by Cameron Drews. Right now, we’re running a deal on Death, Sex & Money Plus memberships! Sign up to get bonus episodes of DSM and ad-free listening on all your favorite Slate podcasts. Visit slate.com/dsmplus and use promo code DSM50 to get 50% off your membership – a full year of Death, Sex & Money Plus for $59. 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 email address, where you can reach us with voice memos, pep talks, questions, critiques, is [email protected]. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In the 1970s, Dolly Parton parlayed her Nashville success into megawatt pop-culture icon status—yet many of her familiar hits of the era barely scratched the Top 40. Parton finally crossed over at the turn of the ’80s by courting pop fans directly. Nearly five decades later, country music is ubiquitous on the pop charts, with Ella Langley’s “Choosin’ Texas” recently setting a record for most weeks at No. 1. On this installment of Hit Parade, Chris Molanphy examines the chart rules that limited Parton’s pop-chart potential, the trail she blazed for Langley and other country women, and why the Nashville sound is much more than just an island in the (digital) stream.For more about country to pop crossover stardom listen to Hit Parade’s episode on John Denver and Olivia Newton John and read Chris’s Slate column about Ella Langley’s chart dominance.Pssst! Do you love Hit Parade? Support what we do and help us absolutely crush it during Slate’s podcast pledge drive! For a limited time, you can join Slate Plus for 50 percent off.and get bonus episodes of "The Bridge," ad-free listening across all your favorite Slate podcasts, and unlimited reading on Slate.com. Visit slate.com/hitparadeplus and use the promo code HIT50 to receive the discount AND get access wherever you listen. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In the early 1970s, a jigsaw puzzle of a cheerful, young, naked, fat woman known only as “Bridget in the Buff” arrived in stores all over America. It was just the first of countless Bridget-related merchandise that would be sold around the world for the next decade: calendars, playing cards, coloring books, cookbooks, and much more. Bridget was everywhere. But who was she?In this episode of Decoder Ring, the real Bridget reveals all. Her name is Dawn Brooks, and she takes us through the unusual path that led her to pose nude for scores of popular products. How does it feel to be a gag gift—and now, an unlikely icon?Besides Dawn, you’ll hear from her friends Leslie Block Prip, Kathy McDermott, and John Emery; Herb Kavet, whose company created the “Bridget in the Buff” line of products; and Bridget admirers Laura Mazzuca Toops and Ginger Geralamo.Thank you to Brenda Oelbaum, and to Molly Brown and Olivia Dever from the Northeastern University Archives and Special Collections.This episode was written by Willa Paskin and produced by Evan Chung, our Supervising Producer. Decoder Ring is also produced by Max Freedman. Merritt Jacob is Senior Technical Director. If you have any cultural mysteries you want us to decode, email us at [email protected] or leave a message on our hotline at (347) 460-7281.Get more of Decoder Ring with Slate Plus! Join for exclusive bonus episodes of Decoder Ring and ad-free listening on all your favorite Slate podcasts. Subscribe from the Decoder Ring show page on Apple Podcasts or Spotify. Or, visit slate.com/decoderplus for access wherever you listen. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

A former Anthropic employee claimed AI would lead to the end of humanity, and soon. In the weeks since, the “whistleblower” has done a full press tour, with even Anthropic and OpenAI themselves seeming to cosign this claim. As a result, hysteria has ensued—and that’s exactly what these AI companies want. On today’s episode, host Kate Lindsay is joined by Better Offline host and #1 AI Hater Ed Zitron to debunk the doomsdayers, and explain why, exactly, these companies are so interested in the end of the world. This podcast is produced by Vic Whitley-Berry, Daisy Rosario, and Kate Lindsay. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Anna Blake started an OnlyFans account, not as a pleasure project, but to achieve some financial stability. When she found out she hated the work and made little money, her relationship to sex – and to money – had to change. This week on the show, she talks to Anna Sale about being homeschooled as a kid, having few job prospects as a young adult with a G.E.D., and the class conversation that she feels is missing from the discourse about sex work. You can read Anna Blake’s writing at nothingseriousbyannablake.substack.com, or you can follow her on TikTok at tiktok.com/@nerdnextdoorbabe. Podcast production by Cameron Drews. Right now, we’re running a deal on Death, Sex & Money Plus memberships! Sign up to get bonus episodes of DSM and ad-free listening on all your favorite Slate podcasts. Visit slate.com/dsmplus and use promo code DSM50 to get 50% off your membership – a full year of Death, Sex & Money Plus for $59.  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 email address, where you can reach us with voice memos, pep talks, questions, critiques, is [email protected]. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

How many apps does it take to raise a child in 2026? Not only are parents navigating countless WhatsApp groups and summer camp platforms, there’s also a whole world of Reels, subreddits, and Facebook groups filled with advice. Often, however, the answers just lead to more questions. On today’s episode, host Kate Lindsay is joined by What Next: TBD host Lizzie O’Leary to talk about the parenting side of the internet, and how understandable anxieties play out online. This podcast is produced by Vic Whitley-Berry, Daisy Rosario, and Kate Lindsay. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The pay-what-you-want business model is mostly found in museums and churches, but this week we’ll hear from entrepreneurs and artists who are implementing it in unlikely places. Guests include: Katie Bishop, owner of Principles G.I. Coffee House in Brooklyn, musician Jeff Rosenstock of Bomb the Music Industry!, and Aimé Nuñez, owner of Pegasus Creative Reuse in Dallas. We also hear from Shelle Santana, assistant professor of marketing at Bentley University, who studies the PWYW model and tells Anna why its success is so confusing to economists. Podcast production by Cameron Drews. Right now, we’re running a deal on Death, Sex & Money Plus memberships! Sign up to get bonus episodes of DSM and ad-free listening on all your favorite Slate podcasts. Visit slate.com/dsmplus and use promo code DSM50 to get 50% off your membership – a full year of Death, Sex & Money Plus for $59.  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 email address, where you can reach us with voice memos, pep talks, questions, critiques, is [email protected]. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.