Slate Culture Feed

In this week's Culture Gabfest, our critics Stephen Metcalf, Jody Rosen, Dana Stevens and Julia Turner discuss the singer song-writer Joanna Newsom, the new NBC show "The Marriage Ref" and ten rules for writing fiction. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this week's Culture Gabfest, our critics Stephen Metcalf, Dana Stevens and Julia Turner discuss this Esquire profile of film critic Roger Ebert, the new animated HBO incarnation of The Ricky Gervias Show, and ChatRoulette the international chat room that pairs you and your webcam with a total stranger. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this week's Culture Gabfest, our critics Stephen Metcalf, Jody Rosen, Dana Stevens and Julia Turner discuss "We Are the World" take two, singer-songwriter John Mayer's disturbing Playboy Interview and the start of the 2010 winter games. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this week's Culture Gabfest, our critics Stephen Metcalf, Seth Stevenson, Julia Turner and Dana Stevens discuss this years crop of Super Bowl ads, the HBO Temple Grandin biopic and The New York Times story on a killer karaoke Sinatra song. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this week's Culture Gabfest, our critics Stephen Metcalf, Meghan O'Rourke, Troy Patterson and Dana Stevens discuss Oscar nominations, death and mourning in American and the loss of author JD Salinger. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this week's Culture Gabfest, our critics Stephen Metcalf, Mike Pesca and Dana Stevens discuss the new Charles Darwin biopic Creation, liberal outrage and the airwaves and The New York Times hiding behind a pay wall. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this week's Culture Gabfest, our critics Troy Patterson, Dana Stephens and June Thomas discuss the Golden Globes, the Americanization of Mental Illness from the New York Times Magazine and the latest video to go viral from American Idol. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this week's Culture Gabfest, our critics Stephen Metcalf, Jody Rosen, Dana Stephens and Julia Turner discuss the fate of late night TV, the works of the late French director Eric Rohmer and twenty years of The Simpsons Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this week's Culture Gabfest, our critics Adam Gopnik, Stephen Metcalf, Dana Stephens and Julia Turner discuss sex and the American novel, the fate of magazines and van Gogh's ear. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this week's Culture Gabfest, our critics discuss the mistress of yuppie comedy Nancy Meyers latest film It’s Complicated, the loss of singer-songwriter Vic Chesnutt and predictions for the decade to come. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this week's Culture Gabfest, our critics Jessica Grose, Stephen Metcalf, Dana Stevens, June Thomas and Julia Turner discuss the best TV shows and films of the year and decade and the polluted waters of MTV's reality show Jersey Shore. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this week's Culture Gabfest, our critics Daniel Engber, Stephen Metcalf, Chris Suellentrop, Dana Stevens and Julia Turner discuss the whether you should see James Cameron's Avatar, women both in and absent in the film world and video games as art. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this week's Culture Gabfest, our critics Stephen Metcalf, Jody Rosen, Dana Stevens and Julia Turner discuss the decade of change in the music business, the art of selling out and the everlasting Facebook. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this week's Culture Gabfest, our critics Stephen Metcalf, Dana Stevens and Julia Turner discuss White House party crashers, the "decade from hell," and Eva Tanguay, the first rock star. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this week's Culture Gabfest, our critics discuss Bob Dylan’s Christmas CD Christmas in the Heart, the South African sprinter Caster Semenya and filmmaker Frederick Wiseman’s new documentary Le Danse. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this week's Culture Gabfest, our critics Stephen Metcalf, Dana Stevens, Julia Turner and guests Troy Patterson and Juliet Lapidos discuss what's so great about Lady Gaga anyway, filmmaker Wes Anderson's latest, and how to translate "nuclear waste" to society some 10,000 years from now. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this week's Culture Gabfest, our critics Stephen Metcalf, Dana Stevens and Julia Turner take on the film Precious, the novel Black Dogs (about the fall of communism) and the nauseating, exploitative menace otherwise known as cute. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this week's Culture Gabfest, our critics Stephen Metcalf, Dana Stevens, Julia Turner and guest June Thomas discuss ABC's new sitcom "Modern Family", Tad Friend's latest memoir and a hundred things a restaurant staffer should never do. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this week's Culture Gabfest, our critics discuss the new season of 30 Rock, the refund offer from Baby Einstein, and the genius – and crossover potential – of country music star Brad Paisley. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this week's Culture Gabfest, our critics discuss the media circus surrounding the Colorado “Balloon Boy,” the case for and against circumcision in New York Magazine, and the new documentary on the 40th anniversary of comedy troupe Monty Python. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this week's Culture Gabfest, our critics discuss Spike Jonze’s film adaptation of Maurice Sendak’s Where The Wild Things Are, the notion that comedians are starting to take aim at President Obama, and a series on obesity in America by Slate’s Daniel Engber Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this week's Culture Gabfest, our critics discuss the blackmail scandal surrounding David Letterman’s sexual relationship with some of his female employees, the New Yorker’s profile of Hollywood blogger Nikki Finke, and Conde Nast’s decision to shutter Gourmet Magazine Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this week's Culture Gabfest, our critics discuss Roman Polanski’s arrest in Switzerland and possible extradition to California for sentencing on a decades old sexual abuse case, the new Fox TV musical drama Glee, and the New York Times Magazine cover story on gay teenagers Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this week's Culture Gabfest, our critics discuss the recent spate of politicians (real and fictional) on TV, led by President Obama on Letterman; Jane Campion’s new film about John Keats and Fannie Brawne; and Neil Patrick Harris as Emmy Awards host with guest June Thomas Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this week's Culture Gabfest, our critics discuss Kanye West’s outburst at the VMAs and other recent examples of bad manners by celebrities; the new, prime-time, Jay Leno Show; and an exhibition of Claude Monet’s paintings of water lilies at New York’s Museum of Modern Art Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this week's Culture Gabfest, our critics Stephen Metcalf, Dana Stevens and Julia Turner chat about the release of the new digitally remastered Beatles box set, bellies on models and hipsters and the new Mike Judge film, "Extract." Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this week's Culture Gabfest Stephen Metcalf, Julia Turner, and Dana Stevens are joined by Slate's John Swansburg and Jody Rosen. Topics on deck include, Mad Men's Musical Episode, pop star Taylor Swift, and the new Vogue documentary "The September Issue." Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this week's Culture Gabfest, our critics discuss Quentin Tarantino’s new WWII fantasy, Inglourious Basterds, with special guest Ron Rosenbaum; the new, long-delayed, season of the fashion design reality series Project Runway; and the winning sketches of Steve. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this week's Culture Gabfest, our critics discuss Ponyo, the new film by Hayao Miyazaki, Japan’s master animator; the to do over Whole Foods CEO John Mackey’s opinion on health care reform; and the legacy of the late Les Paul, via the musings of three rock guitar gods. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this week's Culture Gabfest, our critics discuss the passing and the films of 80s auteur John Hughes, the distortion of rock concert ticket prices by forces corporate and renegade, and the rise of cultural tourism. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this week's Culture Gabfest, our critics discuss Meryl Streep’s new movie about Julia Child, Julie & Julia; Amazon’s beloved, vexing Kindle e-reader; and Josh Levin’s new series on Slate about the end of America. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this week's Culture Gabfest, our critics discuss the arrival of Judd Apatow’s third movie, Funny People; the rapid disappearance of the music magazine; and the controversies over some of the new psychological disorders that might be included in the DSM-V. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this week's Culture Gabfest, our critics discuss the 40th anniversary of the Apollo 11 moon landing, New York Times restaurant critic Frank Bruni’s struggle with bulimia, and the glut of nominations for the 61st Emmy Awards. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this week's Culture Gabfest, our critics discuss Bruno, the confrontational new comedy from Sacha Baron Cohen; the links between Goldman Sachs and each of the major financial bubbles of the last 80 years; and a new book on the decline of French food and wine by Slate’s Mike Steinberger. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this week's Culture Gabfest, our critics discuss the memorial service for Michael Jackson, Michael Mann’s new depression-era bank robber movie Public Enemies, and the various uses they’ve found for the website UrbanDictionary.com. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this week's Culture Gabfest, our critics discuss the recent spate of celebrity deaths, starting with Michael Jackson and the lesser lights – Farrah Fawcett, Ed McMahon and Billy Mays – eclipsed by his passing, the way obituaries have changed in the internet era, and what makes a good obit. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this week's Culture Gabfest, our critics discuss Woody Allen’s new film Whatever Works, the HBO vampire drama True Blood, and A Vindication of Love, Cristina Nehring’s defense of swooning passion. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this week's Culture Gabfest, our critics discuss Twitter’s role in the post-election protests in Iran, nostalgia for a grittier New York City, and Times Square’s pedestrian makeover. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this week's Culture Gabfest, our critics discuss Stephen Colbert’s trip to Baghdad and his guest editorship of Newsweek, the Tony awards and the year in Broadway an, and the end of General Motors (and American car culture?) as we know it. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this week's Culture Gabfest, our critics (plus guest gabber Troy Patterson) discuss Conan O’Brien’s first night as the host of the Tonight Show, the reality show/tabloid phenomenon Jon & Kate Plus 8, and UP, from non-stop hit factory Pixar. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this week's Culture Gabfest, our critics discuss the return (er, relapse?) of the rapper Eminem, whether working with your hands is the new outlet for cultural elitism, and the forthcoming memoir by former Kennedy intern/lover Mimi Beardsley Alford. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this week's Culture Gabfest, our critics discuss the end (and future) of the network television season, the Maureen Dowd plagiarism scandal, and the idea of happiness as explored by a 70 year-old Harvard psychology study. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this week's Culture Gabfest, our critics discuss the new Star Trek movie directed by J.J. Abrams, Wanda Sykes’s routine at the White House Correspondents’ dinner, and the new line of upscale McCafé coffee drinks at McDonald’s. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this week's Culture Gabfest, our critics discuss the use of so-called neuro-enhancing drugs to aid study or work, the plight of the embattled-but-seemingly-safe-for-now newspaper the Boston Globe, and which upcoming summer movies they’re most looking forward to (or looking forward to hating). Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this week's Culture Gabfest, our critics discuss their adventures in the world of Twitter, the new HBO feature adaptation of the documentary Grey Gardens, and the surprising web obsession with the gifted but plain singer Susan Boyle. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this week's Culture Gabfest, our critics discuss the new film Sugar and A.O. Scott's (flawed?) concept of Neo-Neo Realism, Levi Johnston's interview on the Tyra Banks show, and the war between sugar and high fructose corn syrup. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this week's Culture Gabfest, our critics discuss Paul Rudd and Jason Segal's bromance in the new movie I Love You, Man, the implications of the Obamas' vegetable garden, and the minor duststorm kicked up over off-the-record media chatroom JournoList. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this week's Culture Gabfest, our critics discuss the new movie version of the classic graphic novel Watchmen, a new book on the canon of female American writers called A Jury of Her Peers by Elaine Showalter, and a tween-style makeover for kiddie cartoon hero Dora the Explorer. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this week's Culture Gabfest, our critics Stephen Metcalf, Dana Stevens, and Julia Turner discuss the Academy Awards, Rick Santelli's rant, the Octomom, and the backlash over a juice carton. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this week's Culture Gabfest, our critics discuss New York Yankee Alex Rodriguez's admission that he used a banned substance while playing for the Texas Rangers, the proposed $500,000 salary cap for executives of publicly held banks that might benefit from the newest round of bailouts, the "25 Random Things About Me" frenzy on Facebook, and the Grammys. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.