Listen to Culture Gabfest No. 479 with Stephen Metcalf, Dana Stevens, and Julia Turner with the audio player below.
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On this week’s Slate Plus, Dana, Stephen, and Julia talk about what they’re thankful for with Dan Pashman.
Go to Slate.com/cultureplus to learn more about Slate Plus and join today.
This week, the critics discuss The Good Place, the Mike Schur–created comedy now in its second season on NBC. Does the show succeed in actually exploring philosophical works, or is it just name-dropping Kierkegaard and Kant? Then, Karina Longworth of You Must Remember This joins the discussion to talk about the death of Charles Manson and his impact on the culture. Finally, Sporkful podcast host Dan Pashman joins the gabbers to talk about Thanksgiving, the holiday’s effect on food websites, and his vow to never cover Thanksgiving again.
Links to some of the things we discussed this week:
- The Good Place
- “The Good Place’s Second Season Is Just Like Heaven” by Sam Adams in Slate
- “On The Good Place, Thinking Too Much About How to Be Good Can Send You Straight to Hell” by Jacob Brogan in Slate
- Karina Longworth’s series about Charles Manson on You Must Remember This
- “Charles Manson Embodied the Worst of the 1960s—and Every Era Since” by Jack Hamilton in Slate
- “Charles Manson Is Dead, but Pop Culture Is Keeping Him Alive” by Jen Chaney in Vulture
Endorsements
Stephen: “ ‘Like Sonny Liston’: An Appreciation of Tom Petty” by Patterson Hood in the Bitter Southerner, and the music of Drive-By Truckers
Julia: Richard Scarry’s Busytown Eye Found It! board game
Dana: Jim & Andy: The Great Beyond
Outro: “Boys From Alabama” by Drive-By Truckers
You can email us at culturefest@slate.com.
This podcast was produced by Benjamin Frisch. Our intern is Daniel Schroeder.
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