The Culture Gabfest, "Church of High Modernism and Puppies" Edition
Listen to Slate's show about MoMA's "Abstract Expressionist New York," John Adams' Nixon in China at the Met, and the Westminster Dog Show.
The Culture Gabfest has moved! Find new episodes here.
Listen to Culture Gabfest No. 126 with Justin Davidson, Fred Kaplan, Stephen Metcalf, Dana Stevens, John Swansburg, and Julia Turner by clicking the arrow on the audio player below:
You can also download the program here, or you can subscribe to the weekly Culture Gabfest podcast feed via iTunes or directly with our RSS feed. Find the Culturefest Facebook page here. Leave us a note and see what other listeners have to say about the latest podcast.
Also, the Culture Gabfest is coming to Austin, Texas! The Culture Gabfest will record live from SXSW on Thursday, March 17, at noon CST. A SXSW badge will be required to attend the show, but fans of the Gabfest who are not attending SXSW can also watch the show live via simulcast online. A separate Austin gathering for Gabfesters and fans will also be announced soon. Please check back in the coming weeks for more details, and find us on the SXSW schedule here.
In this week's Culture Gabfest, our critics Stephen Metcalf, Dana Stevens, and Julia Turner are joined by Slatecolumnist Fred Kaplan to discuss the exhibition "Abstract Expressionist New York"at the Museum of Modern Art.They're then joined by New Yorkmagazine's music and architecture critic Justin Davidson to discuss John Adams' Nixon in China at the Metropolitan Opera. Finally, they're joined by Slate'sculture editor John Swansburg to discuss the Westminster Dog Show.
Here are some links to the things we discussed this week:
The official Web site for MoMA's ongoing exhibition "Abstract Expressionist New York."
Fred Kaplan's slide show on the exhibition in Slate.
A brief history of abstract expressionism.
American abstract expressionist painter Jackson Pollock.
The official Web site of Nixon in Chinaat the Metropolitan Opera.
Justin Davidson's review of the Met's Nixon in China in New York magazine.
Nixon in China composer John Adams.
Dance choreographer Mark Morris.
John Corigliano's opera The Ghosts of Versailles.
You can buy tickets to the encore HD broadcast of Nixon here.
The official Web site of the Westminster Dog Show.
John Swansburg on "the accidental poetry of American Kennel Club breed standards" in Slate.
Martin Kihn on the tricky situation of the American Kennel Club in Slate.
The British Kennel Club's revised breed standards.
Who's the Boss? actress Judith Light.
Dogs in snoods.
The Culture Gabfest weekly endorsements:
Dana's pick: Susan Sarandon, Geena Davis, and writer Callie Khouri's commentary track on the new 20th-anniversary Blu-ray edition of Thelma & Louise (which she reviewed here).
Julia's pick: The 1940 romantic comedy The Shop Around the Corner.
John's pick: Thomas Mann's essay "Herr und Hund" ("A Man and His Dog").
Steve's pick: Montreal bar Bily Kun.
Outro: "Fido, Your Leash Is Too Long" by The Magnetic Fields.
You can e-mail us at culturefest@slate.com.
This podcast was produced by Jesse Baker. Our intern is Forrest Wickman.
Follow us on the new Culturefest Twitter feed. And please Like the Culture Gabfeston Facebook. Like Slate on Facebook. Follow us on Twitter.