Decoder Ring

Cracking cultural mysteries.

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About the Show

In each episode, host Willa Paskin takes a cultural question, object, or habit; examines its history; and tries to figure out what it means and why it matters.

Host

The Making of This Season

Host Willa Paskin talks about topics versus narratives, translating fabulists, and creating a soundscape for the world of Mae West.

The “Sex” Scandal That Made Mae West

Before she hit the big-screen, the sultry actress starred in a 1927 tabloid trial.

The First Alien Abductees

The alien abduction narrative started right here on Earth.

The Most Famous Poet No One Remembers

Searching for Rod McKuen.

The Mall Is Dead (Long Live the Mall)

For a supposedly dying place, the mall keeps hanging around.

How Decoder Ring Made This Season

Plus, an extended interview with writer and producer Damon Lindelof.

The Storytelling Craze

How storytelling became a product.

“We Got Ourselves a Convoy”

How a fake country star gave voice to frustrated truckers across America.

The Sideways Effect

How one movie changed American wine-drinking habits.

The Madness Behind “the Method”

Isaac Butler on how method acting became so widely misunderstood.

“F––k Everything, We’re Doing Five Blades”

The story of how razors came to have so many blades.

The Making of This Season

A behind-the-scenes chat with the Decoder Ring team.

Custer’s Revenge

The story of the worst video game of all time.

The Fame That Got Away

Three stories about fame … and one about monkeys.

Truly Tasteless Jokes

The story of how this astonishingly tasteless bestseller became ubiquitous is wrapped up in decades of free speech politics.

The Philosophy of Vampires

Presenting the vampire as metaphor.

You Just Lost the Game

Sorry!

The Alberta Rat War

How did the Canadian province become a rat-free paradise?

The Great Helga Hype

In 1986, painter Andrew Wyeth revealed a secret collection of provocative paintings implied to be the product of an affair. But the story was more complicated than it appeared.

The Making Of

Willa Paskin and Benjamin Frisch share behind-the-scenes stories of this season of Decoder Ring.