Culture Gabfest
Slate’s critics debate the week in culture, from highbrow to pop.
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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One Oscar After Another Edition
On this week’s show, our panel gab about the new Pixar joint Hoppers, the limited series DTF St. Louis, and the 2026 Oscars.
Bonus: Experiencing Ego Death with Michael Pollan’s A World Appears
How do you deconstruct the self? Michael Pollan says cultivate a “don’t know mind.”
Elvis Has Entered the Building Edition
On this week’s show, the hosts take a look at the documentary EPiC: Elvis Presley in Concert, the new sitcom The Fall and Rise of Reggie Dinkins, and the phenomenon of the posthumous celebrity interview.
Bonus: Who Should Win the First Ever Casting Oscar?
Debating the best cast film of 2026.
The Creator of Derry Girls Is Back Edition
On this week’s show the panel dive into the comedy mystery How to Get to Heaven from Belfast, the sci-fi action movie Good Luck, Have Fun, Don’t Die, and a recent Slate essay about owning a gun.
Bonus: No Comfortable Reading Positions
Cracking a book might just crack your spine.
Bad Bunny Spikes the Football Edition
On this week’s show the panel breaks down Bad Bunny’s Super Bowl Halftime Show, the film If I Had Legs I’d Kick You, and the unlikely appeal of the podcast The Rest Is History.
Bonus: Assessing the 2026 Super Bowl Ads
Madison Avenue’s big night was a big letdown.
The Boss Responds to Minneapolis Edition
On this week’s show, the panel takes up Jafar Panahi’s film It Was Just an Accident, the documentary series Mel Brooks: The 99 Year Old Man!, and the state of protest music in 2026.
Bonus: Remembering Catherine O’Hara
Pouring out a glass of Herb Ertlinger’s fruit wine for the late, truly great Catherine O’Hara.
Game of Thrones Buddy Comedy Edition
On this week’s show, the panel decodes The Secret Agent, A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms, and a Vulture article about a professor getting college students to finish books.
Bonus: The Life-Changing Magic of Stacking Wood
Laura Miller shares her tricks for making the perfect Holzhausen.
Sydney Sweeney’s Box Office Triumph Edition
On this week’s show, our panel revels in The Housemaid and The Testament of Ann Lee and interviews all-star book agent Alia Hanna Habib.
Bonus: Writing the U.S. History Pop Culture Syllabus
The hosts bring pop culture to the classroom in response to a listener question.
Is the Warner Brothers Deal the End of Cinema Edition?
On this week’s show, the panel talks about the film Jay Kelly, the filmed stage show Merrily We Roll Along, and the story of the Warner Brothers acquisition.
Bonus: Culture Gabfest Recaps: Pluribus - Episode 7
The hosts discuss gaps that must be crossed—physical and psychic— in the episode “The Gap.”
