Listen to Culture Gabfest No. 370 with Stephen Metcalf, Laura Miller, and Dana Stevens:
Subscribe in iTunes ∙ RSS feed ∙ Download ∙ Play in another tab
And join the lively conversation on the Culturefest Facebook page here:
Go to slate.com/cultureplus to learn more about Slate Plus and join today.
This week on Slate Plus, the hosts discuss their favorite scary movie or book.
On this week’s Slate Culture Gabfest, the gabbers review Bridge of Spies, a Cold War espionage thriller directed by Steven Spielberg and starring Tom Hanks. Is it a timely and nuanced portrait of American justice or retro and idealistic hokum? Next up, the critics weigh in on a recent New Yorker piece, which says Henry David Thoreau was little more than a dishonorable crank. What did the gabbers make of this polemic? Finally, lectures in college humanities classrooms are falling out of favor. Are lectures inherently discriminatory or the best format for conveying large bodies of complex information?
Links to some of the things we discussed this week follow:
- The link for tickets to see Slate live shows
- Slate’s TV Club podcast on Empire
- Bridge of Spies
- Dana’s review of Bridge of Spies in Slate
- Mr. Smith Goes to Washington
- Jaws
- Close Encounters of the Third Kind
- Catch Me if You Can
- Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy
- Wolf Hall
- “Pond Scum,” Kathryn Schultz’s article about Henry David Thoreau in the New Yorker
- Walden by Henry David Thoreau
- Civil Disobedience by Henry David Thoreau
- “Letter From a Birmingham Jail” by Martin Luther King, Jr.
- “Lecture Me. Really.” by Molly Worthen in the New York Times
- “Are College Lectures Unfair?” by Annie Murphy Paul in the New York Times
This episode the Slate Culture Gabfest is brought to you by Club W, leading the “grape to glass” wine revolution. Answer just six simple questions at ClubW.com and their algorithm will create a Palate Profile just for you. Get wine directly to your door, perfectly customized to match your taste. For 50 percent off your first order, go to clubW.com/culture.
And by the Great Courses, offering a series of lectures about food, including Essential Secrets of Spices in Cooking, Making Healthy Food Taste Great, Baking Pastries and Desserts, and Making Great Meals in Less Time. Order any one of these Everyday Gourmet courses for only $9.95 for a limited time at TheGreatCourses.com/culture.
And by The Message, a new podcast series from GE Podcast Theater.
Endorsements:
Dana: “Walden,” E.B. White’s letter to Henry David Thoreau in One Man’s Meat
Laura: The Lost Room
Steve: National Theatre Live’s simulcast of Hamlet
Outro: “Cold War” by Devo
You can email us at culturefest@slate.com.
This podcast was produced by Ann Heppermann. Our intern is Lindsey Albracht.
Follow us on Twitter. And please like the Culture Gabfest on Facebook.
