Guy Fieri’s restaurant, Philip Roth’s retirement, and Amtrak’s Quiet Car: Slate’s Culture Gabfest weighs in.

Slate’s Culture Gabfest on Guy Fieri’s New Restaurant, Philip Roth’s Retirement, and Amtrak’s Quiet Car

Slate’s Culture Gabfest on Guy Fieri’s New Restaurant, Philip Roth’s Retirement, and Amtrak’s Quiet Car

Slate's weekly roundtable.
Nov. 21 2012 1:31 PM

The Culture Gabfest: Drooping and Slumping Toward Insanity Edition

Slate's podcast about the New York Times’ review of Guy Fieri’s restaurant, Philip Roth’s retirement, and Amtrak’s Quiet Car.

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On this week’s Culturefest, our critics discuss Pete Wells’ scathing review of Guy Fieri’s new restaurant in Times Square, the responsibilities of the critic generally, and whether a critic’s boiling rage can lead him to go too far in eviscerating his subject. They then consider the notion of retirement and when and why writers, artists, and public figures should call it quits. Finally, the Gabfesters share their thoughts on the New York Times opinion piece about Amtrak’s Quiet Car, the enforcement of silence in public spaces, and corrective journalism that shames those who don’t require or respect the silence of the Quiet Car.  

Here are some links to the things we discussed this week:

 Dana’s pick: The Animal Odd Couples episode of the PBS show Nature, about animals of different species who become inseparable friends.

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Julia’s pick: Ravelry, the social networking site for knitters and crocheters.

Stephen’s pick: The Ryan Adam’s song “Firecracker” and having a Blood Mary with brunch.

Outro: “Firecracker” by Ryan Adams

You can email us at culturefest@slate.com.

This podcast was produced by Dan Pashman. Our intern is Sally Tamarkin.

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Stephen Metcalf is Slate’s critic at large. He is working on a book about the 1980s.

Dana Stevens is Slate’s movie critic.

Julia Turner, the former editor in chief of Slate, is a regular on Slate’s Culture Gabfest podcast.