Slate Culture Feed

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.

In this week's Culture Gabfest, our critics discuss Barack Obama's inauguration, Hua Hsu’s Atlantic Montly piece on the end of white demographic dominance, Daniel Bergner’s NYT Magazine piece on the vexing question of female desire and the death of author John Updike. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this week's Culture Gabfest, our critics discuss the Golden Globe awards (and awards-season ennui), the long-delayed return of TV's pro-torture hit 24, and the Biggie Smalls biopic Notorious. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this week's Culture Gabfest, our critics Stephen Metcalf, Dana Stevens and June Thomas discuss Tom Cruise's role as a one-eyed Nazi in Valkyrie, Bruce Springsteen's exclusive deal with Wal-Mart, and the year in culture. 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 Leno and late night TV, the dire state of the publishing industry, and Hollywood's ultimate back-from-the-dead star, Mickey Rourke. 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 new movie Milk, Beyonce, and Black Friday. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this week's Culture Gabfest, our critics discuss the Malcolm Gladwell phenomenon, Michelle Obama's role as First Lady and Mom-in-Chief, and the post-Obama buzz kill of Prop 8. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this week’s Culture Gabfest, our critics discuss Obama, Obama, and Obama. What happened with the election, how the media covered it and what lies ahead for culture under future President Barack Obama. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this week’s Culture Gabfest, our critics discuss the catharsis they felt watching Oliver Stone's W., and revisit past Gabfest topics, including the ongoing Fey/Palin tragicomedy, Rachel Maddow's success and environmentalism after the financial crisis. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this week’s Culture Gabfest, our critics discuss the Nobel Prize for Literature's snub of American writers, Tina Fey's pitch-perfect imitation of Governor Palin, and the lack of interest in the recent trial of OJ Simpson. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this week’s Culture Gabfest, our critics discuss the financial meltdown, a trillion and counting, the ominous death of author David Foster Wallace, and more from that lovable comedy duo, Bill Gates and Jerry Seinfeld. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this week’s Culture Gabfest, our critics discuss the dissection of Sarah Palin's personal life in the tabloids, the new Rachel Maddow show on MSNBC and the hyper-quirky PC ad featuring heroes from yesteryear, Bill Gates and Jerry Seinfeld. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this week’s Culture Gabfest, our critics discuss the merits and frivolities of Mad Men, the odds that Tropic Thunder will revive Tom Cruise's career, and the new documentary film, Man On Wire. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this week's Culture Gabfest, our critics discuss the Beijing Olympics and "The Redeem Team," the too-famous-too-fast Seth Rogen and his new film, Pineapple Express, and the death of comedian Bernie Mac. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this week's Culture Gabfest, our critics discuss Joss Whedon's new web-only musical show "Dr. Horrible’s Sing-Along Blog," Starbucks' abrupt move to shutter a sizable number of its stores in the US and abroad, and Google's newest challenger in the search field, Ceil. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this week's Culture Gabfest, our critics discuss the new Batman movie The Dark Knight, the New Yorker Magazine's cover depicting Barack and Michelle Obama as anti-American Mujahideen, and the mysterious relationship between Madonna and Alex Rodriguez. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this week's Culture Gabfest, our critics discuss the re-release of Liz Phair's feminist indie rock masterpiece Exile in Guyville, the media’s semi-hysterical reaction to news of a "pregnancy pact" amongst teenage girls at a high school in Gloucester, MA, and the death of comedian George Carlin. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this week's Culture Gabfest, our critics discuss Vanity Fair's sprawling, dishy takedown of President Clinton, Sex and the City's boffo success in movie theatres, and the ear-splitting arrival of mixed martial artist Kimbo Slice on CBS. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Our critics discuss the counter-evolutionary nature of monogamy, the aesthetically promiscuous -- and recently departed -- artist Robert Rauschenberg, and Barack Obama's affinity for the work of novelist Philip Roth, the great bard of infidelity. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Slate's Culture Gabfest with Stephen Metcalf, Dana Stevens, and Julia Turner. In this week's Culture Gabfest, our critics discuss the rollout of the summer movie season, including the superhero movie Iron Man, Robert Downey Jr.'s nimble performance in it, Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this week's Culture Gabfest, our critics discuss the viability of personal virtue to solve global warming, the possible failure of personal virtue in the travel writing business and the utter failure of personal virtue inside Abu Ghraib prison. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The Slate Cultural Gabfest, with Stephen Metcalf, Dana Stevens, and Julia Turner. This week, our critics discuss Vogue magazine’s King Kong redux, Hillary’s millions, and the latest in nerd verite, the online sitcom, The Guild. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The Slate Cultural Gabfest, with Stephen Metcalf, John Swansburg and Meghan O'Rourke. Our critics discuss Obama’s big speech, Bear Stearns’ big meltdown, plus the deconstruction of the university English department. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The Slate Cultural Gabfest, with Stephen Metcalf, Dana Stevens, and John Swansburg. Our newest podcast feature returns just in time to take on the colossal fall from grace of New York governor Elliot Spitzer. Our critics also weigh in on famous fabulists, and a Web site so white, you'll need SPF 100 just to listen. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The Slate Cultural Gabfest, with Stephen Metcalf, Dana Stevens, and Julia Turner. We're back for another outing with Slate's cultural critics. This week they train their sights on the Oscars aftermath, the trouble with mocking Obama, and why young starlets should choose their photo shoots more carefully. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The popularity of Slate's Political Gabfest over the last two years has prompted us to try a variation on the theme: a Cultural Gabfest, featuring some of Slate's best critics batting around the week's cultural happenings. Our first edition features Stephen Metcalf, Dana Stevens, and Julia Turner. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.