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This week on Slate Plus, Dana, Stephen, and Julia discuss the best and worst advice they’ve ever given or received—and wonder whether the practice of giving advice is foolhardy or an essential part of human connection.
On this week’s Slate Culture Gabfest, the critics discuss Netflix’s Anne With an E, the newest adaptation of L.M. Montgomery’s Anne of Green Gables. The story is a beloved children’s classic, so why is this adaptation so dark and unsophisticated? Next, they experiment with FaceApp, the face manipulation app that allows you to alter your appearance to reflect different ages and genders, while discussing the app’s inherent narcissism and questioning whether there’s anything deeper at play here. Finally, the gabbers dive into Caity Weaver’s profile of Dwayne Johnson in GQ and explore how Weaver is reviving the celebrity profile genre.
We’re excited to be heading to Australia this month! We’ll be at the Sydney Writers Festival on May 27 and in Melbourne at the Wheeler Centre on May 31.
You can find Julia, Dana, and Stephen’s FaceApp collages over on our Facebook page.
Links to some of the things we discussed this week:
- Anne With an E on Netflix
- Marissa Martinelli’s review of Anne With an E in Slate
- Anne of Green Gables by Lucy Maud Montgomery
- The 1985 Kevin Sullivan adaptation of Anne of Green Gables
- FaceApp
- “The Magnetic and Emotionally Complex Power of FaceApp’s Gender Filter” by Miz Cracker in Slate
- “Dwayne Johnson for President!” by Caity Weaver in GQ
- “Kim Kardashian West on Kanye and Taylor, Swift, What’s in O.J.’s Bag, and Understanding Caitlyn” by Caity Weaver in GQ
- “Welcome to the Summer of Margot Robbie” by Rich Cohen in Vanity Fair
- “Frank Sinatra Has a Cold” by Gay Talese in Esquire
Endorsements
Dana: Margaret Atwood’s essay about Anne of Green Gables in the Guardian
Julia: Magnetic City: A Walking Companion to New York by Justin Davidson
Stephen: Live at Massey Hall by Neil Young
Outro: “Old Man” by Neil Young
You can email us at culturefest@slate.com.
This podcast was produced by Benjamin Frisch. Our intern is Daniel Schroeder.
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