Culture Gabfest

Slate’s critics debate the week in culture, from highbrow to pop.

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About the Show

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 “Where’d You Go, Jar Jar Binks?” Edition

Slate’s Culture Gabfest on Where’d You Go, Bernadette, A Black Lady Sketch Show, and Slate’s list of the 25 most important characters of the past 25 years.

Culture Gabfest “Super-Abled” Edition

Slate’s Culture Gabfest on The Nightingale, The Boys, and Toni Morrison.

The Culture Gabfest “Best in Blow” Edition

Slate’s Culture Gabfest on The Farewell, Blown Away, and the legacy of Hal Prince.

The Culture Gabfest “Gunfight at the O.K. Career” Edition

Slate’s Culture Gabfest on Once Upon a Time in Hollywood, Netflix’s The Great Hack, and chronic Lyme disease.

The Culture Gabfest “Uncanny Savannah” Edition

Slate’s Culture Gabfest on The Lion King, TikTok, and The Loudest Voice.

The Culture Gabfest “Cruel Angel’s Thesis” Edition

Slate’s Culture Gabfest on Peterloo, Neon Genesis Evangelion, and the legacy of Mad magazine.

The Culture Gabfest “Fetch the Mallets” Edition

Slate’s Culture Gabfest on Midsommar, João Gilberto, and the end of life hacking.

The Culture Gabfest “Summer Strut 2019” Edition

Slate’s Culture Gabfest on this year’s candidates for song of the summer and our annual Summer Strut playlist.

The Culture Gabfest “Exploding Birkins” Edition

Slate’s Culture Gabfest on The Good Fight, the Universal Music Group fire, and Sally Rooney’s Normal People.

The Culture Gabfest “You Don’t Get to Hate It” Edition

Slate’s Culture Gabfest on Big Little Lies, The Last Black Man in San Francisco, and The Sims 4.

The Culture Gabfest “Live on the High Line” Edition

Slate’s Culture Gabfest on Late Night, Dr. John, and Glenda Jackson’s King Lear.

The Culture Gabfest “All This Science I Don’t Understand” Edition

Slate’s Culture Gabfest on Rocketman, Chernobyl, and Running From Cops.

The Culture Gabfest “Barbie Body Dream Sequence” Edition

Slate’s Culture Gabfest on Booksmart, Who Wants to Be a Millionaire, and Flashback.

The Culture Gabfest “Fourth Wall of the Fourth Wall” Edition

Slate’s Culture Gabfest on John Wick: Chapter 3—Parabellum, Fleabag, and the New York Times’ package on Gen X.

The Culture Gabfest “Oh, Oops, Ha, or Hmmm” Edition

Slate’s Culture Gabfest on Long Shot, Dead to Me, and the state of camp in 2019.

The Culture Gabfest “Taking Up Space” Edition

Slate’s Culture Gabfest on Knock Down the House, Tuca & Bertie, and Vampire Weekend’s Father of the Bride.

The Culture Gabfest “De-Snappening” Edition

Slate’s Culture Gabfest on Avengers: Endgame, Fosse/Verdon, and the fight between Hollywood screenwriters and their agents.

The Culture Gabfest “Harm to Ongoing Matter” Edition

Slate’s Culture Gabfest on Homecoming, The Twilight Zone, and the Mueller report as literature.

The Culture Gabfest “Free Rein on Some Gargoyles” Edition

Slate’s Culture Gabfest on the Notre Dame fire, Missing Link, and “Old Town Road.”

“Notre Dame Is a Living Building”

The great fire at Notre Dame will eventually become just as much a part of the cathedral’s history as Viollet-le-Duc’s statues or the stained-glass windows.