The Culture Gabfest, "Thousands Ridicule Teen Singer" Edition
Listen to Slate's show about Netflix's entry into original programming, Rebecca Black's "worst song ever," and the proposed "right to be forgotten" on the Internet.
The Culture Gabfest has moved! Find new episodes here.
Listen to Culture Gabfest No. 131 with Stephen Metcalf, Dana Stevens 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.
In this week's Culture Gabfest, our critics Stephen Metcalf, Dana Stevens, and Julia Turner discuss Netflix's entry into original programming with David Fincher's House of Cards, Web sensation Rebecca Black's "worst song ever," "Friday," and the debate surrounding the European Union's proposed "right to be forgotten" on the Internet.
Here are some links to the things we discussed this week:
The purchase of David Fincher's upcoming series House of Cards by Netflix.
The Hollywood Reporter's assessment of Netflix and other video-on-demand services.
Farhad Manjoo on how Netflix could overwhelm America's bandwidth in Slate.
James Ledbetter wonders, "Why is everyone always writing off Netflix?" in Slate.
Previous Web television programs The Guild and Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along Blog.
The viral music video for Rebecca Black's "Friday" on YouTube.
Rebecca Black's interview on Good Morning America.
Parodies of "Friday" on YouTube.
The other music videos of studio-for-hire Ark Music Factory.
The dubious fame of Parks and Recreation horse "Little Sebastian."
Ezra Pound's Cantos.
The European Union's plan to uphold a "right to be forgotten."
EU Justice Commissioner Viviane Reding's complete speech about the proposed right.
Tessa Mayes' critique of the proposal in the Guardian.
John Milton's speech Areopagitica, on the freedom of expression.
Milan Kundera's The Book of Laughter and Forgetting.
Examples of the phrase "Go, little book" from Edmund Spenser and Robert Louis Stevenson.
The Culture Gabfest weekly endorsements:
Julia's pick: New York City restaurant Torrisi Italian Specialties in Nolita.
Dana's pick: British comedy series Garth Marenghi's Darkplace.
Steve's pick: Marxist political philosopher Gerald Allan Cohen, and specifically his book Self-Ownership, Freedom, and Equality and his eccentric videos on YouTube.
Outro: "Friday" by Rebecca Black.
You can e-mail us at culturefest@slate.com.
This podcast was produced by Jesse Baker and recorded by Krishnan Vasudevan. Our intern is Forrest Wickman.
Follow us on the new Culturefest Twitter feed. And please "Like" the Culture Gabfeston Facebook.