Listen to Culture Gabfest No. 71 with Stephen Metcalf, Mike Pesca, and Dana Stevens by clicking the arrow on the audio player below:

You can also download the program here, or you can subscribe to the weekly Culture Gabfest podcast feed via iTunes or directly with our RSS feed.

Get your 14-day free trial from our sponsor Audible.com, which includes a credit for one free audiobook, here. (Audiobook of the week: A Gate at the Stairs, written by Lorrie Moore and read by Mia Barron.)

Find the Culturefest Facebook page here. Leave us a note and see what other Culturefest listeners have to say about the latest podcast.

In this week's Culture Gabfest, our critics Stephen Metcalf, Mike Pesca, and Dana Stevens discuss the new Charles Darwin biopic, Creation; Jon Stewart's take on Keith Olbermann; the death of Air America; and, finally, the announcement that the New York Times Web site will soon erect a pay wall.

Here are links to some of the articles and other items mentioned in the show.

The official Web page for director Jane Campion's Bright Star.
Reviews of the new biopic Creation on Rotten Tomatoes.
The February Vanity Fair article on the Creation Museum in Kentucky.
Jon Stewart's complete takedown of Keith Olbermann on The Daily Show.
Keith Olbermann's response to Jon Stewart on MSNBC.
The nuts and bolts of how the New York Times  pay wall will work.
Felix Salmon attempts to explain the pay wall.

The Culture Gabfest weekly endorsements: 

Dana's picks: A re-endorsement of "A History of the World in Objects" on the BBC. And two Charles Darwin fan sites—Darwin Online  and the Darwin Correspondence Project.
Mike's picks: The new PBS series Sound Tracks; listen to the Kazakhstan symphony composed by Borat's brother. And the podcast "The Sporkful."
Stephen's picks: Gjertrud Schnackenberg's poem "Darwin in 1881" from her collection The Lamplit Answer. And Rutgers philosophy and psychology professor Jerry Fodor's issues with Darwinism in the London Review of Books.

You can e-mail us at culturefest@slate.com.

Posted on Jan. 27 by Jesse Baker at 10:48 a.m.

Jan. 20, 2010

Listen to Culture Gabfest No. 70 with Troy Patterson, Dana Stevens, and June Thomas by clicking the arrow on the audio player below:

You can also download the program here, or you can subscribe to the weekly Culture Gabfest podcast feed via iTunes or directly with our RSS feed.

Get your 14-day free trial from our sponsor Audible.com, which includes a credit for one free audiobook, here. (Audiobook of the week: Brother, I'm Dying, written by Edwidge Danticat and read by Robin Miles.)

Find the Culturefest Facebook page here. Leave us a note and see what other Culturefest listeners have to say about the latest podcast.

In this week's Culture Gabfest, our critics Troy Patterson, Dana Stevens, and June Thomas discuss the Golden Globes, the New York Times Magazine article"The Americanization of Mental Illness," and the latest American Idol video to go viral.

Here are links to some of the articles and other items mentioned in the show.

New Yorkmagazine's Vulture blog slide show of this year's Golden Globes red carpet.
Ethan Watters' article from last Sunday's New York Times Magazine on the state of mental illness around the globe.
Dr. Sears' official Web site.
American Idol contendor Larry Platt belts out his own song, "Pants on the Ground."
Jimmy Fallon's late-night spoof of the viral video sung as Canadian rocker Neil Young.
AI contestant Mary Roach's audition—and the first auditioner to go viral, William Hung.

The Culture Gabfest weekly endorsements:

June's pick: The novel Golden Gate by Vikram Seth.
Troy's picks: Jay McInernery's profile of a 19-year-old Chloe Sevigny in The New Yorker from 1994 (subscription required). And The Criterion Collection Edition of the 1998 film The Last Days of Discostarring Sevigny.
Dana's picks: "A History of the World in 100 Objects," on the BBC, and the late Kate McGarrigle and her sister Anna's version of the folk song "Gentle Annie."

You can e-mail us at culturefest@slate.com.

Posted on Jan. 20 by Jesse Baker at 11:15 a.m.

Jan. 13, 2010

Listen to Culture Gabfest No. 69 with Stephen Metcalf, Jody Rosen, Dana Stevens, and Julia Turner by clicking the arrow on the audio player below:

You can also download the program here, or you can subscribe to the weekly Culture Gabfest podcast feed via iTunes or directly with our RSS feed.

Get your 14-day free trial from our sponsor Audible.com, which includes a credit for one free audiobook, here. (Audiobook of the week: Born on a Blue Day: A Memoir, written by Daniel Tammet and read by Simon Vance.)

Find the Culturefest Facebook page here. Leave us a note and see what other Culturefest listeners have to say about the latest podcast.

In this week's Culture Gabfest, our critics discuss NBC's Leno-Conan switcheroo, the late French director Eric Rohmer, and The Simpsons'20^th anniversary.

Here are links to some of the articles and other items mentioned in the show:

Conan O'Brien's letter to "the people of Earth" stating his refusal to host The Tonight Show if NBC pushes it to 12:05 a.m.
The official Web sites for The Jay Leno Show and The Tonight Show With Conan O'Brien.
David Carr's New York Times piece on NBC's midlife crisis.
Adam Sternbergh's post on New York's Vulture blog advising Conan to go to Fox.
French film director Eric Rohmer's obit in the New York Times.
Great Rohmer films for neophytes to watch: Autumn Tale, My Night at Maud's, Chloe in the Afternoon, A Tale of Winter, and Claire's Knee.
Stephen Metcalf's tribute to the director in Slate. 
Mr. Burns singing "See My Vest" on The Simpsons.
Apu singing "Who Needs the Kwik-E-Mart?" on The Simpsons.
Dustin Hoffman as the substitute teacher of Lisa's dreams on The Simpsons.
The essay "Simpsonian Sexual Politics" by Dale E. Snow and James. J. Snow.

The Culture Gabfest weekly endorsements:

Julia's pick: The mashup of Miley Cyrus' "Party in the USA" and the Notorious B.I.G's "Party and Bullshit."
Dana's pick: The blog Letters of Note.
Stephen's picks: The fact that sports radio morning show The Boomer and the Carton acknowledged the death of Anne Frank protector Miep Gies. Marvin Gaye's rendition of the "National Anthem" at the 1983 NBA All Star Game. The Duke Ellington album Such Sweet Thunder.

You can e-mail us at culturefest@slate.com.

Posted on Jan. 13 by Jesse Baker at 1 p.m.

Jan. 6, 2010

Listen to Culture Gabfest No. 68 with Adam Gopnik, Stephen Metcalf, Dana Stevens, and Julia Turner and by clicking the arrow on the audio player below:

You can also download the program here, or you can subscribe to the weekly Culture Gabfest podcast feed via iTunes or directly with our RSS feed.

Get your 14-day free trial from our sponsor Audible.com, which includes a credit for one free audiobook, here. (Audiobook of the week: Angels and Ages, written and read by Adam Gopnik.)

Find the Culturefest Facebook page here. Leave us a note and see what other Culturefest listeners have to say about the latest podcast.

In this week's Culture Gabfest, our critics discuss Katie Roiphe's New York Times Book Review piece on sex scenes in modern literature, Virginia Heffernan's New York Times Magazine piece on magazines and the Web, and Adam Gopnik's New Yorker piece on van Gogh's ear.

Here are links to some of the articles and other items mentioned in the show:

From the New York Times Book Review, Katie Roiphe on the dearth of sex scenes in modern literature.
Author Normal Rush's novel Mating.
Virginia Heffernan's take on the fate of online magazines in the New York Times Magazine.
Slate's timeline for the first 10 years of the online magazine.
Julia Turner's slide-show history of the teeny weenie bikini for Slate.
New Yorker writer Adam Gopnik'spiece on van Gogh's ear.
The official Web site for the film Defiance.
Bernard William's philosophical definition of "moral luck."

The Culture Gabfest weekly endorsements:

Julia's pick: Slate's "Movie Club."
Adam's pick: The Metropolitan Museum of Art's special exhibit "Art of the Samurai."
Dana's pick: Charlie Rose's interviews with Dolly Parton, Meryl Streep, and Helen Mirren on Audible.
Stephen's pick: The Wonderful World of Jazz and the Web site hotchickswithdouchebags.com.

You can e-mail us at culturefest@slate.com.

Posted on Jan. 6 by Jesse Baker at 12:05 p.m.