As you may have heard in last week’s episode, the Culture Gabfest is hanging up its microphones after 18 years of cultural commentary. But before our final episode, we’ve still got much to discuss!

On this special guest-packed show, Steve, Dana, and Nadira Goffe have the power! That is the power to get into it with VSFOP Jamelle Bouie about Masters of the Universe, the latest attempt by Mattel to launch their own cinematic universe. They assess the state of IP-driven superhero movies and whether this newest entry—starring Nicholas Galitzine, as the buff, loin cloth-wearing He-Man, and Jared Leto, as the slightly lascivious Skeletor—is more than brand management.

Next, they turn to the wild, surreal revenge thriller Is God Is, written and directed by Aleshea Harris based on her stageplay. They talk about how this tale of twin sisters seeking vengeance fits into the growing pantheon of Black horror as well as the ancient canon of revenge tragedies.

Finally, and for the final time, it’s time to talk about Taylor Swift. In the wake of her newest release, the song “I Knew It, I Knew You” for the Toy Story 5 soundtrack, the gang assembles one more time to take up the long-simmering Tay debate. Jody Rosen and Julia jump on the call/enter the Thunderdome for this, of course. 

In a bonus episode for Slate Plus subscribers, the panel pours one out for the recently shuttered Hampshire College and reflects on the changing landscape of the liberal arts.

Endorsements

Dana: The interactive, Jazz-playing, transit-obsessed, single purpose website Train Jazz. (Hat tip once more to Rusty Foster's Today in Tabs.)

Nadira: The Black Film Archive which showcases Black films made from 1898 to 1999 currently streaming. Also, the year 2016 in music. 

Jody: For some Gabfest replacement therapy, watching academic lectures on YouTube such as the lectures of art historian John Walsh at Yale Art Galleries—including ones on Vincent Van Gogh and Dutch masters— and cultural historian Eric Lott on Racial Masquerade in America and Philippe Petit's legendary tightrope walk between the Twin Towers. 

Julia: Patrick Radden Keefe's new book London Falling and the song "Come Tomorrow" by Patti Scialfa.

Steve: Following up on last week’s endorsement, Steve can confirm that Disgrace by J.M. Coetzee is, in fact, good. Also recommended: Offshore by Penelope Fitzgerald.  

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Email us your thoughts at [email protected]. 

Podcast production by Benjamin Frisch. Production assistance by Daniel Hirsch.

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On today’s episode, host Kate Lindsay is joined by Rachel Karten, a social media consultant and the writer of Link In Bio. Storytimes and other caught-on-camera content frequently goes viral on social media, but now companies have started manufacturing their own skits to secretly advertise themselves. Countless “ambassadors” are telling the same fake stories all over TikTok, with links to brands in their bios but not disclosing that they are trying to get viewers to buy products. Even worse, people keep falling for it. The more we earnestly engage with these made-up scenarios, the more we push the secretly-sponsored content into people’s feeds. Will anyone stop them?

This podcast is produced by Vic Whitley-Berry, Daisy Rosario, and Kate Lindsay, with help from A.C. Valdez.

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Theo Baker was seventeen when he enrolled at Stanford and stumbled into one of the biggest stories on campus: academic misconduct allegations against the university's president. His reporting eventually forced the president out. In this episode, Theo talks about breaking that story, navigating backlash from classmates and faculty, and what he's learned about the ways Silicon Valley's culture of ambition and power shapes college life.

Theo’s book is How to Rule the World: An Education in Power at Stanford University 

Death, Sex & Money is now produced by Slate! To support us and our colleagues, please sign up for our membership program, Slate Plus! Members get ad-free podcasts, bonus content on lots of Slate shows, and full access to all the articles on Slate.com. Sign up today at slate.com/dsmplus.

And if you’re new to the show, welcome. We’re so glad you’re here. Find us and follow us on Instagram and you can find Anna’s newsletter at annasale.substack.com. Our new email address, where you can reach us with voice memos, pep talks, questions, critiques, is [email protected].

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On today’s episode, host Kate Lindsay is joined by writer Stephanie McNeal to discuss the internet phenomenon of “boy moms.” As an internet culture expert, and recent mother of a boy herself, Stephanie helps break down the reaction to a recent viral post from actress Jenny Mollen, who has publicly compared her sons to “toxic exes” and is already mourning losing them to their eventual marriages. But she is far from the only example of this trope on social media, and the more mothers fall into this trap, the more they legitimize a problematic dynamic.

This podcast is produced by Vic Whitley-Berry, Daisy Rosario, and Kate Lindsay.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week Steve, Dana, and Julia convene once again—this time with some big news. Also, they make a classic Gabfest episode. 

First up, it's the alienating fluorescent buzz, infinite carpeted sprawl, and liminal horror of Backrooms. The new release from A24 is directed by 20-year-old Kane Parsons based on his YouTube series which itself was inspired by deep internet lore and a viral piece of creepypasta. Does the uncanny maze of Backrooms go anywhere? They step into the labyrinth to find out. 

Next, they’re joined by Gabfest fave Leon Neyfakh to get into another parallel dimension: the world of OnlyFans. They discuss Leon’s new podcast about the ubiquitous platform OnlyFantasy—produced with comedian and OF creator Gracie Canaan.

Finally, it’s a conversation that’s as lively as… well, that’s the question. They take up a recent piece of data journalism in The Pudding analyzing the most common similes.

In a bonus episode, Carl Wilson joins the call (as well as a special endorsement segment) to talk taste. Specifically, they get into how discussions of taste have changed since Carl wrote authoritatively on it 18 years ago in his book Let’s Talk About Love: Why Other People Have Bad Taste.

Endorsements

Dana: The recent Zadie Smith essay in The New York Review of Books "Art for Our Sakes." 

Carl: The live album Happy Today by Jeff Parker and ETA IVtet as well as the anthology of poetry On Occasion: Poems for the People, with a special Canadian shoutout to the poem "Oh Americans" by Gary Barwin.

Julia: The tranquil, koi fish-rich, and very SoCal Self-Realization Fellowship Lake Shrine. Also, L.A. listeners should join the folks of L.A Material, Punch List, and New York Review of Architecture on June 7 for the event LACMA Therapy Session to process all their complicated feelings about the new David Geffen Galleries.

Steve: The band The Durutti Column as sampled in the Blood Orange song "The Field." Plus, Steve would love to know what listeners make of the author J.M. Coetzee, particularly his novel Disgrace.

(Also, make sure to subscribe to Carl's fantastic newsletter Crritic!)

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Email us your thoughts at [email protected]. 

Podcast production by Benjamin Frisch. Production assistance by Daniel Hirsch.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In Australia, no wedding or school dance is complete without the Nutbush, Australia’s unofficial national dance. The Nutbush – a simple line dance to the song “Nutbush City Limits,” by Ike and Tina Turner – has become as stereotypically Australian as kangaroos, boomerangs, and Vegemite.

And yet, hardly anyone outside of Australia even knows the Nutbush exists. Here at Decoder Ring, we certainly didn’t – until we started getting emails from Australians asking us to investigate its origins. How did an American song become the soundtrack for an Australian national tradition? Who invented the iconic steps, and why does every Australian know them?

Our producer Max Freedman put on his dancing shoes to get some answers. The global, century-spanning story of the Nutbush involves Australia, Tennessee, Denmark, primary schools, gay discos, and demonstrates that even the goofiest cultural touchstones can go surprisingly deep.

In this episode you’ll hear from culture journalists David Mack and Angus Kidman; Nutbush researchers Panizza Allmark and Jon Stratton; dance historians Erica Okamura and Richard Powers; Dr. Fiona Chatteur, Jeremy Santolin, and Brian Kerr.

This episode was written and produced by Max Freedman and edited by Evan Chung, our supervising producer. Merritt Jacob is Senior Technical Director.

If you have any cultural mysteries you want us to decode, email us at [email protected] or leave a message on our hotline at (347) 460-7281.

Get more of Decoder Ring with Slate Plus! Join for exclusive bonus episodes of Decoder Ring and ad-free listening on all your favorite Slate podcasts. Subscribe from the Decoder Ring show page on Apple Podcasts or Spotify. Or, visit slate.com/decoderplus for access wherever you listen.

Further Viewing

How to do ‘The Nutbush’ - Australian Line Dance 

Dancin’ the Madison on “The Buddy Deane Show” (1960)

Alley Cat Tutorial — Spark Physical Education

The Nutbush on Countdown (December 5, 1976)

Tina Turner — Nutbush City Limits, The Midnight Special (1973)

Tina Turner — Are You Breaking My Heart, Countdown (1980)

Tina Turner: How “The Best” Became Rugby League’s Anthem | ABC News

Tina Turner’s Electrifying 1993 NRL Grand Final Performance

Sources for This Episode

Allmark, Panizza, and Jon Stratton. “Doing the Nutbush: How Australia Got Its Very Own Line Dance.” Continuum: Journal of Media & Cultural Studies, vol. 39, no. 1, 2025, pp. 79–94.

Allmark, Panizza, and Jon Stratton. “The Nutbush Dance Reframed: Further Analysis Related to ‘Doing the Nutbush.’” Continuum: Journal of Media & Cultural Studies, vol. 39, no. 1, 2025, pp. 95–103.

Andrews, Shirley. Take Your Partners: Traditional Dancing in Australia. 3rd ed., Hyland House, 1979.

Bloomfield, Anne. “Health or Art? The Case for Dance in the Curriculum of British State Schools 1909–1919.” History of Education, vol. 36, no. 6, 2007, pp. 681–696.

Bloomfield, Anne. “The Quickening of the National Spirit: Cecil Sharp and the Pioneers of the Folk-Dance Revival in English State Schools (1900–26).” History of Education, vol. 30, no. 1, 2001, pp. 59–75.

Gbogbo, Mawunyo. “Tina Turner and Her Australian Connections: How The Best Became Rugby League’s Anthem and Why Is the Nutbush Mandatory at Gatherings?” ABC News, 24 May 2023.

Jones, Benjamin T. “Australian Politics Explainer: The White Australia Policy.” The Conversation, 9 Apr. 2017.

Kidman, Angus. “Tina Turner: How Australia Saved Her Career.” Angus Kidman, 13 Aug. 2023.

Meiners, Jeff. So We Can Dance? In Pursuit of an Inclusive Dance Curriculum for the Primary School Years in Australia. 2017. University of South Australia, Doctor of Education thesis.

Spencer, Eliza. “Australia and the Nutbush: The Quest for the Origin of a Cultural Phenomenon Goes On.” The Guardian, 5 May 2024.

Ward, Mary. “The Mysterious Allure of the Nutbush and Why the Dance Is Uniquely Australian.” Sydney Morning Herald, 25 May 2023.

Zhuang, Yan. “Australia Remembered Tina Turner with a Dance.” New York Times, 25 May 2023.

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On today’s episode, host Kate Lindsay is joined by Angelina Mazza whose recent piece in The New York Times details how publishers are “modernizing” previously published books like Pretty Little Liars and Are You There God? It’s Me, Margaret by replacing outdated references to pop culture and technology with artists like Billie Eilish and apps like TikTok. While publishers claim this is to keep younger readers engaged, others argue it’s not just patronizing, but also disrespectful to the art of storytelling. 

This podcast is produced by Vic Whitley-Berry, Daisy Rosario, and Kate Lindsay.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Romy Holland is a Berkeley mom whose meet-cute happened at a raucous sex party. That night she had sex with dozens of men, one of which would become her husband. In this episode, Romy talks about the party in question, from the sexy aspects to the much more awkward ones. Plus she talks about what new motherhood does to desire, and the unexpected emotional toll of an abortion that didn't go as planned.

Read Romy’s essay “What Nobody Told Me About Abortion“

And we first heard about Romy in the San Francisco Standard’s story “When A Gang Bang Becomes a Love Story“ 

Podcast production by Zoe Azulay

Death, Sex & Money is now produced by Slate! To support us and our colleagues, please sign up for our membership program, Slate Plus! Members get ad-free podcasts, bonus content on lots of Slate shows, and full access to all the articles on Slate.com. Sign up today at slate.com/dsmplus.

And if you’re new to the show, welcome. We’re so glad you’re here. Find us and follow us on Instagram and you can find Anna’s newsletter at annasale.substack.com. Our new email address, where you can reach us with voice memos, pep talks, questions, critiques, is [email protected].

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

On today’s episode, host Kate Lindsay is joined by Ed Zitron, host of the podcast Better Offline and a certified hater of AI. After yet another AI writing scandal, this time involving the 2026 Commonwealth Short Story prize, Kate and Ed take a closer look at tools like Pangram that claim to detect AI writing with 99% accuracy. But if we can’t ever be sure, then no one knows what’s true at all—and that’s exactly how these institutions like it. 

This podcast is produced by Vic Whitley-Berry, Daisy Rosario, and Kate Lindsay.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In 1979, Sister Sledge changed the sound of wedding receptions forever with “We Are Family.” Believe it or not, the Chic-penned banger never made it to No. 1. Steely Dan helped invent Yacht Rock with 1977’s jazzy bop “Peg.” (They would have loved it better if it had cracked the Top 10.) And in 1972, Elton John told a timeless tale of a blue-jean baby, “Tiny Dancer.” Casey Kasem never counted it down.

Today on Hit Parade: Chris Molanphy celebrates “near misses”—now-ubiquitous hits that missed the mark on the pop charts, stalling out at No. 2, No. 11, or No. 41. In this episode, Chris zooms in on near-misses from the 1970s, including songs from Paul McCartney, the Spinners, Jackson Browne, Cat Stevens, Diana Ross, and Michael Jackson.

Get more Hit Parade with Slate Plus! Join for bonus episodes of "The Bridge" and ad-free listening across all your favorite Slate podcasts. Subscribe directly from the Hit Parade show page on Apple Podcasts or Spotify. Or, visit slate.com/hitparadeplus to get access wherever you listen.

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This week, the OG three Steve, Dana, and Julia dig into the visually stuffed, Marxist smorgasbord that is Boots Riley’s latest film I Love Boosters. Starring Keke Palmer and Demi Moore, the candy-colored agitprop is about exploitation, the fashion world, shoplifting as class warfare, and— as they discuss—perhaps more than one movie can handle. 

Next they turn from Marx to Freud and analyze the critically adored reality TV phenomenon Couples Therapy, now entering its fifth season. Is the office of Dr. Orna Guralnik a site of transcendent psychological revelation or panoptic exploitation? They unpack.

Finally, they talk lingvo itself by way of a recent article in Harpers by Katie Thornton about the unlikely resurgence of interest in the artificial language Esperanto. 

In a bonus episode for Slate Plus subscribers, they answer a listener question about what long-running pieces of culture they’ve stuck with over years.

Ĝuu!

Endorsements

Dana: The book The Artificial Language Movement by Andrew Large about the centuries-long history of utopic language projects.

Julia: Lena Dunham’s memoir Famesick and Dialed.gg, the internet’s latest color perception test.

Steve: The music of the indie shoegaze band Slowdive—particularly the album Souvlaki—and the solo efforts of its frontman Neil Halstead—particularly the song “Witless or Wise” and the album Palindrome Hunches; check out Steve’s mega playlist for more.

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Email us your thoughts at [email protected]. 

Podcast production by Benjamin Frisch. Production assistance by Daniel Hirsch.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.