The Culture Gabfest, “I Want My Happy Ending” Edition
Listen to Slate's show about The Fabric of the Cosmos, Once Upon a Time, and the 21st century’s cultural canon.
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Listen to Culture Gabfest No. 164 with Stephen Metcalf, Dana Stevens, and Julia Turner by clicking the arrow on the audio player below or opening this player in another tab:
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In this week's Culture Gabfest, our critics Stephen Metcalf, Dana Stevens, and Julia Turner wrap their brains around physicist Brian Greene’s new NOVA television series The Fabric of the Cosmos. Next, they discuss the new fairy-tale inspired television drama Once Upon a Time. Finally, Gabfesters ask what works of art from the last decade will stand the test of time.
Here are some links to the things we discussed this week:
“Where does Brian Greene stand in the pantheon of physicists?” at Slate.
The New York Times’ review of The Fabric of the Cosmos.
Brian Greene’s last NOVA special, The Elegant Universe.
Freeman Dyson’s review of Greene’s book The Fabric of the Cosmos: Space, Time, and the Texture of Reality at the New York Review of Books.
The Fabric of the Cosmos’ official site.
Troy Patterson’s review of Once Upon a Time and Grimm, at Slate.
Entertainment Weekly’s Once Upon a Time recaps.
The New York Times’ review of Once Upon a Time and Grimm.
An interview with Once Upon a Time creator Adam Horowitz.
Once Upon a Time’s official site.
Slate’s critical survey of the 21st century, “The New Classics.”
Dana’s top 10 films of the aughts.
The Clearview typeface is changing the look of American highways.
Vote on which of Slate’s new classics you think will stand the test of time.
The Culture Gabfest weekly endorsements:
Dana’s pick: Cronenberg on Cronenberg
Julia’s pick: Christoph Niemann’s live sketches of the New York City Marathon.
Steve’s pick: Joan Didion’s The White Album, Frank Kermode’s The Sense of an Ending, and Richard Williams’ 1971 animated version of A Christmas Carol.
Outro: The Black Eyed Peas’ “I Gotta Feeling”
You can email us at culturefest@slate.com.
This podcast was produced by Jesse Baker. Our intern is Matt Sigl.
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