Listen to Culture Gabfest No. 524 with Stephen Metcalf , Dana Stevens, and Julia Turner with the audio player below.
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This week, the critics unpack the new Showtime series Kidding, discussing whether it’s possible for it to be both a satire of corporate exploitation and a sincere exploration of grief. Then, Uncover: Escaping NXIVM distinguishes itself from other true-crime podcasts thanks to the childhood friendship between the ex–cult member and the reporter who tells her story—but does that relationship compromise the story ethically? Finally, the gabbers consider what makes a dad joke, debate whether it’s really a gendered phenomenon, and share their favorite dad jokes from their own lives.
Links to some of the things we discussed this week:
- Kidding
- “Jim Carrey Is a Sad Mr. Rogers in Kidding” by Willa Paskin in Slate
- Michel Gondry’s Be Kind Rewind
- Won’t You Be My Neighbor?
- CBC’s Uncover: Escaping NXIVM
- “The Culture Gabfest ‘Anthony Rising’ Edition” by Stephen Metcalf, Dana Stevens, and Julia Turner in Slate
- 30 for 30’s Bikram
- “The Culture Gabfest ‘The Monkfish Was Fine’ Edition“ by Stephen Metcalf, Dana Stevens, and Julia Turner in Slate
- Wild Wild Country
- “The Dad-Joke Doctrine” by Ashley Fetters in the Atlantic
- “The Dad-ification of Language Shows That Masculinity Is Still Evolving“ by John Kelly in Slate
Endorsements:
Dana: “Here I Am” by Dolly Parton and Sia
Julia: “Bedroom” by Litany
Steve: “Cherry Wine” by Hozier, Terry Gross’ interview with Robbie Fulks and Linda Gail Lewis, and his own endorsements
Outro: An edited version of “New Thinking” by Johan Hynynen
You can email us at culturefest@slate.com.
This podcast was produced by Benjamin Frisch. Our production assistant is Alex Barasch.
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