It’s been nearly a decade since Rihanna released a studio album—and fans and critics alike have wondered when, if ever, a follow-up to 2016’s Anti might arrive. Which is ironic, because in her heyday, Rihanna was the most productive hitmaker on the charts.

Churning out at least one album a year in the late aughts and early ‘10s,  Rihanna’s approach to the charts was closer to early Motown or the Beatles than Beyoncé or Taylor. The result: the Barbadian pop deity scored more No. 1s than any 21st century artist, from “SOS” and “Umbrella” through “Diamonds” and “Work.” 

Join Chris Molanphy as he traces Rihanna’s journey from tropical tyro to commanding chart queen and explores how she found hits at a boundless pace.

Podcast production by Kevin Bendis.

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In this episode, Christina Cauterucci speaks with Zein Murib, Fordham professor and author of Terms of Exclusion: Rightful Citizenship Claims and the Construction of LGBT Political Identity, about the historical roots of the marginalization of trans and bi people in the gay rights movement. Zein, who recently wrote the Slate piece "Why Are Trans People Such an Easy Political Target? " breaks down how the movement’s focus on a narrow definition of identity left trans and bi people vulnerable to political attacks.

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It’s been nearly a decade since Rihanna released a studio album—and fans and critics alike have wondered when, if ever, a follow-up to 2016’s Anti might arrive. Which is ironic, because in her heyday, Rihanna was the most productive hitmaker on the charts.

Churning out at least one album a year in the late aughts and early ‘10s,  Rihanna’s approach to the charts was closer to early Motown or the Beatles than Beyoncé or Taylor. The result: the Barbadian pop deity scored more No. 1s than any 21st century artist, from “SOS” and “Umbrella” through “Diamonds” and “Work.” 

Join Chris Molanphy as he traces Rihanna’s journey from tropical tyro to commanding chart queen and explores how she found hits at a boundless pace.

Podcast production by Kevin Bendis.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

When you think of music in the 1960s, some groundbreaking artists probably come to mind: Bob Dylan, Jimi Hendrix and the Jefferson Airplane, for example. But the pop charts paint a very different picture of that decade, which embraced easy listening, groovy bubblegum, novelty and instrumental records—even a guitar-strumming Belgian nun. 

In other words, the soundtrack of the era was more like Mad Men and less like Forrest Gump.

Join Chris Molanphy as he unearths forgotten hits from Bobby Vinton, Kyu Sakamoto, Jeannie C. Riley, and other unlikely chart-toppers, on a still-strange trip through the ‘60s.

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In this episode of Outward, Jules Gill-Peterson sits down with Colby Gordon to talk about his new book, Glorious Bodies: Trans Theology and Renaissance Literature. Gordon digs into early modern religious texts that, instead of rejecting trans existence, actually provided ways to think about gender transformation—socially, surgically, and theologically. They explore what Shakespeare, Milton, and other writers had to say about gender, how history challenges today’s assumptions about transition, and why the right-wing war on trans people gets the past all wrong.

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David Plotz talks with author Adam Higginbotham about his new book, Challenger: A True Story of Heroism and Disaster on the Edge of Space. They discuss the feats of engineering that took place, the political cynicism and cost-cutting that played a role in the tragedy, the heroism and tragic loss of the people on board the shuttle, and more.   

Tweet us your questions @SlateGabfest or email us at [email protected]. (Messages could be quoted by name unless the writer stipulates otherwise.)

Podcast production by Cheyna Roth.

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When you think of music in the 1960s, some groundbreaking artists probably come to mind: Bob Dylan, Jimi Hendrix and the Jefferson Airplane, for example. But the pop charts paint a very different picture of that decade, which embraced easy listening, groovy bubblegum, novelty and instrumental records—even a guitar-strumming Belgian nun. 

In other words, the soundtrack of the era was more like Mad Men and less like Forrest Gump.

Join Chris Molanphy as he unearths forgotten hits from Bobby Vinton, Kyu Sakamoto, Jeannie C. Riley, and other unlikely chart-toppers, on a still-strange trip through the ‘60s.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

On this week’s show, we throw a flower-sprinkled dinner party for a space clone (personal beehive not included).

Slate culture staff writer Nadira Goffe sits in for Dana, and the hosts discuss the new Bong Joon Ho film Mickey 17, followed by Meghan Markle's uncanny homemaking show With Love, Meghan on Netflix. 

Finally, we invite Slate writer Dan Kois to discuss his new cover story “How Giant White Houses Took Over America.”

Endorsements:

Julia: The Slate article “Cracking the Code” by Henry Grabar

Steve: The New York Review essay “Angles of Approach” by Sally Rooney

Nadira: Kelela’s album In The Blue Light

Podcast production and research by Vic Whitley-Berry. Email us at [email protected].

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On this week’s show, no amount of star power can save a “screamingly stupid show.” (Sorry, Robert De Niro et al.) 

With Sam Adams—Slate Senior Editor and Staff Writer—sitting in for Dana, the team talks about the Netflix political thriller series Zero Day. Then they remember the career of Gene Hackman and end with their thoughts about this Atlantic article on navigating optimism during times of crisis.

Endorsements:

Julia: Moist Peanut Butter Cake Recipe from Cakes By MK

Steve: The savage suburbia of Helen Garner: ‘I wanted to dong Martin Amis with a bat’ by Sophie Elmhirst for The Guardian

Sam: Doppelganger: A Trip into the Mirror World by Naomi Klein (Again! After Julia endorsed it last week.)

Podcast production and research by Vic Whitley-Berry. Email us at [email protected].

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This week on Outward, host Christina Cauterucci talks to historian Rebecca Scofield about the new book, Slapping Leather: Queer Cowfolx at the Gay Rodeo. From rhinestone-studded chaps to the hard-won battles for inclusion, they explore how queer cowboys and cowgirls carved out space in the rodeo circuit, the gender politics at play in this community, and how the AIDS crisis shaped its trajectory. Plus, they dig into the current resurgence of cowboy aesthetics in queer culture and pop culture at large.

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In the late 1980s, the English synth-pop duo Pet Shop Boys dominated the U.K. pop charts and staged an invasion of the American charts. Years later, founding member Neil Tennant dubbed this streak of creative and commercial supremacy the group’s “imperial phase”—a term that eventually caught on among music critics and pop fans.

So, what does it take for an artist to achieve imperial dominance? Why might Fleetwood Mac in the 1970s or The Weeknd in the 2010s qualify, while Cher or Lizzo don’t quite fit the bill? Are there rules for imperial phases?

Hit Parade’s Chris Molanphy says yes—he’s got chart rules for determining when an artist is at peak imperiality. And he says Madonna’s late ’80s streak of hits might be the ultimate imperial phase.

Join Chris as he dissects the most regal artists across the decades, defining what makes them imperial—and he walks hit by hit through Madonna’s biggest phase, which may remain unmatched.

Podcast production by Kevin Bendis.

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