Slate Culture Feed

Hit Parade is on a brief break, but if you need a daily dose of fascinating stories, check out History Daily. Host Lindsay Graham (the history guy! not the senator!) explores what happened "on this day in history," with a broad mix of politics, sports, technology, medicine, and much more. Chris recommends this episode about the genesis of MTV—including the forgotten role played by a former member of the Monkees.

Find History Daily's huge archive of quick-hit history at: https://www.historydaily.com/
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Donna Summer was a hit-maker for two decades and a dance floor deity for more than three. Her collaborations with Giorgio Moroder and Pete Bellotte were formative in dance, electronic, and rock music, influencing everyone from David Bowie and Blondie to Madonna and Moby. But the rock establishment was stinting in its appreciation—whether at Comiskey Park in Chicago in 1979 or the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in the 2000s.

In Part 2 of this encore episode from 2017, Chris Molanphy examines how Summer became the queen of disco … and then transcended that role altogether.

Get more Hit Parade with Slate Plus! Join for monthly early-access episodes, 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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Steve, Dana, and Julia convene once more for a rousing Gabfest. First up, it’s Mother Mary. David Lowery’s strange psychodrama centers on a pop star, played by Anne Hathaway, reuniting with her estranged friend and costume designer, played by Michaela Coel, and the menacing piece of red chiffon that haunts them both.

Next, they turn to another pair of mothers in Margo’s Got Money Troubles. The new series stars Elle Fanning as a new single mom— and Michelle Pfeiffer as her mom— who turns to OnlyFans to make ends meet.

Finally they welcome back Gabfest favorite Caity Weaver to dish on her epic quest to find the best free restaurant bread in America— as chronicled in her hilarious and insightful piece in The Atlantic.

In an exclusive bonus episode for Slate Plus subscribers, Julia shares a behind-the-scenes peek into the founding of her new local media startup L.A. Material.

Endorsements

Dana: The completely unscripted shows of The Improvised Shakespeare Company—on tour now.

Caity: The live album Sam Cooke at the Copa, especially the song "The Best Things in Life Are Free"—the best bread certainly is.

Julia: The sitcom The Fall and Rise of Reggie Dinkins which really hits its stride after a few episodes.

Steve: The novel The Go-Between by L.P. Hartley as well as Paul Buchanan, of the band The Blue Nile, covering David Bowie’s "Ashes to Ashes."

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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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Money is everywhere. Money influences just about everything. We think about money all the time. But how much do we really know about it? In this episode of Decoder Ring, we explore the obscure historical forces that make our money what it is and behave the way it does. We ask two simple-sounding questions with surprising answers: Why is our money called the dollar—and where are those dollars really coming from?

First, you’ll hear from Brendan Greeley, a veteran finance reporter turned economic historian, and author of the new book, The Almighty Dollar: 500 Years of the World’s Most Powerful Money. Then, we get help from Mark Blyth, a political economist at Brown University who teaches about the architecture and plumbing of global finance.

This episode was written by Willa Paskin and Max Freedman and produced by Max Freedman. Decoder Ring is also produced by Katie Shepherd and Supervising Producer Evan Chung. Merritt Jacob is our Senior Technical Director. Thank you to Lizzie O’Leary.

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.
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On today’s episode, host Kate Lindsay is joined by Slate senior writer Scaachi Koul to discuss the downfall of Katy Perry. Back in 2025, Scaachi wrote a feature about the singer’s descent from beloved pop star to internet meme, but a recent allegation of sexual assault from actress Ruby Rose has cast her legacy in a whole new light. But in revisiting Katy Perry’s past fifteen years, it turns out the real question is: Did Katy Perry change, or did we?

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