Listen to Culture Gabfest No. 229 with David Haglund, Dana Stevens, and Julia Turner by clicking the arrow on the audio player below:

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On this week’s episode, Slate Brow Beat editor David Haglund joins the Culturefest to first discuss House of Cards, Netflix’s new original series, and how to watch and discuss a TV show that is released one entire season at a time. The Gabfesters then ponder Vine, the new video-sharing app from Twitter that makes every smartphone user into a six-second video auteur. Finally, as the Academy Awards approach, our critics discuss the Oscar-nominated Silver Linings Playbook, David O. Russell’s romantic dramedy. They consider where it stands in the David O. Russell oeuvre, the movie’s strong performances, and its portrayals of mental illness.  

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

• Nancy Hass for GQ on Netflix’s efforts to launch a lineup of original programming.
• Troy Patterson’s review of House of Cards for Slate.
• Sam Adams for Slate on the rules of spoilers for Netflix series.
• Slate’s June Thomas on why you should watch the original BBC miniseries House of Cards.
• The TV shows The Office, Modern Family, Mad Men, Breaking Bad, The Wire, The Newsroom, and The West Wing.
• “The Economics of Netflix’s $100 Million New Show.”
• House of Cards actor Corey Stoll and his role as Ernest Hemingway in Midnight in Paris.
• The website Vinepeek, which features newly uploaded Vine videos in real time.
• Salon’s Willa Paskin on whether Vine is “the new Twitter or the new Chatroulette.”
• Amanda Hess for Slate’s XX Factor on Twitter’s efforts to filter Vine’s pornographic content.
• “Why Vine’s Going to Grow Into Something Huge.”
• The Way Hollywood Tells It, the book that discusses the cinematic grammar to which we as viewers have become accustomed.
• Dana Stevens’ review of Silver Linings Playbook for Slate.
• Seth Stevenson for Slate on the David O. Russell oeuvre.

Endorsements:

Julia’s pick: Seasons 1 and 2 of Law & Order (the pre-Jerry Orbach years), which offer a fascinating portrait of the issues that preoccupied NYC in the 1990s.

David’s pick: Janet Malcolm’s classic nonfiction work, In the Freud Archives. And the Staples Singers 1965 album Freedom Highway.

Dana’s pick: One of the best comedies of the last 20 years, David O. Russell’s 1996 movie Flirting With Disaster, featuring an all-star cast including Ben Stiller, Patricia Arquette, Téa Leoni, Alan Alda, Lily Tomlin, Mary Tyler Moore, and George Segal.

Outro: “Freedom Highway” by the Staples Singers

You can email us at culturefest@slate.com.

This podcast was produced by Julia Furlan. Our intern is Sally Tamarkin.

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