Slate's Culture Gabfest on Roman Polanski, Glee, and gay middle-schoolers.

Slate's Culture Gabfest on Roman Polanski, Glee, and gay middle-schoolers.

Slate's Culture Gabfest on Roman Polanski, Glee, and gay middle-schoolers.

Slate's weekly roundtable.
Sept. 30 2009 11:25 AM

The Culture Gabfest, Teen Beat Edition

Listen to Slate's show about the week in culture.

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The Culture Gabfest has moved! Find new episodes here.

Listen to Culture Gabfest No. 54 with Stephen Metcalf, Dana Stevens, June Thomas, 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 in iTunes by clicking here.

Get your 14-day free trial from our sponsor Audible.com, which includes a credit for one free audiobook, here. (Audiobook of the week: Bright Lights, Big City by Jay McInerney, read by Daniel Passer.)

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 Roman Polanski's arrest in Switzerland and possible extradition to California for sentencing on a decades-old sexual abuse case, the new Fox TV musical drama Glee, and the New York Times Magazine cover story on gay middle-schoolers.

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

The Los Angeles Times' ongoing coverage of the Polanski scandal.
Victim Samantha Geimer's 2003 op-ed on Polanski in the Los Angeles Times.
Brian Palmer's "Explainer" column for Slate on the Polanski charges.
Kate Harding's post on Salon's Broadsheet blog.
Carl Franzen posts from  pro- and anti-Polanski bloggers on the Atlantic Wire blog.
In Slate, Troy Patterson disses the 2008 documentary Roman Polanski: Wanted and Desired; Kim Masters breaks down what it got wrong.
The Smoking Gun's archive on Polanski.
The official Web site for Glee, including full episodes.
The Newark Star Ledger's Alan Sepinwall reviews Glee's spring and fall premieres.
Benoit Denizet-Lewis' story on gay teenagers coming out of the closet in the NYTimes Magazine.
Joe Coscarelli's post for Mediaite on whether Denizet-Lewis' story exploits its teenage subjects.

The Culture Gabfest weekly endorsements:

Dana's pick: June Thomas' series "The American Way of Dentistry" in Slate.
Julia's pick: Masterpiece Theatre's post-Cold War spy comedy Sleepers.
June's pick: Ties That Bind: Familial Homophobia and Its Consequences by Sarah Schulman.
Stephen's picks: The song "Promises" by Carla Thomas and the album Creaturesque by Throw Me the Statue.

Outro music: Big Star's Thirteen.

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

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Posted on Sept. 30 by Jacob Ganz at 11:25 a.m.

Sept. 23, 2009

Listen to Culture Gabfest No. 53 with Stephen Metcalf, 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 in iTunes by clicking here.

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Get your 14-day free trial from our sponsor Audible.com, which includes a credit for one free audiobook, here. (Audiobook of the week: The Olive Route by Carol Drinkwater, read by the author.)

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 the recent spate of politicians (real and fictional) on TV, led by President Obama on Letterman; Jane Campion's new film about John Keats and Fanny Brawne; and Neil Patrick Harris as Emmy Awards host with guest June Thomas.

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

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Video of President Obama on the Late Show With David Letterman.
CBS's Web site for its new show The Good Wife.
Tom DeLay cha-chas in leopard print on Dancing With the Stars (via Huffington Post).
The official site for Jane Campion's Bright Star.
A.O. Scott's review of Bright Star in the New York Times.
One of the Internet's many Keats sites, featuring his poems and letters to Fanny Brawne.
Neil Patrick Harris' opening number at the Emmy Awards.
All the Emmy winners from the official Emmy site.
Maureen Ryan's review of the Emmys in her Chicago Tribune blog.

The Culture Gabfest weekly endorsements:

June's pick: George S. Kaufman and Edna Ferber's play The Royal Family, featuring Rosemary Harris, on Broadway.
Julia's pick: Lucinda Williams' ode to heartbreak, "Those Three Days."
Dana's pick: short-story writer and newly minted MacArthur grant winner Deborah Eisenberg.
Stephen's pick: Andrew O'Hagan's essay on Samuel Johnson in the New York Review of Books.

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

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Posted on Sept. 23 by Jacob Ganz at 2:36 p.m.

Sept. 16, 2009

Listen to Culture Gabfest No. 52 with Stephen Metcalf, Dana Stevens, and Julia Turner by clicking the arrow on the audio player below:

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You can also download the program here, or you can subscribe to the weekly Culture Gabfest podcast feed in iTunes by clicking here.

Get your 14-day free trial from our sponsor Audible.com, which includes a credit for one free audiobook, here. (Audiobook of the week: Bob Dylan's Chronicles Vol. 1, read by Sean Penn.)

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 Kanye West's outburst at the VMAs and other recent examples of bad celebrity manners; the new, prime-time Jay Leno Show; and an exhibition of Claude Monet's paintings of water lilies at New York's Museum of Modern Art.

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

Video of Kanye West interrupting Taylor Swift at the VMAs.
Mike Hale's wrap-up of the Swift/West imbroglio in the New York Times.
Video of Michael Jordan's induction speech at the Basketball Hall of Fame.
Another take on Michael Jordan and Serena Williams, from Slate's sports podcast, "Hang Up and Listen."
Bill Carter's piece in the New York Times on Jay Leno's preparation for his new 10 p.m. time slot (plus a bit more Leno coverage from the Times).
Troy Patterson's review of Leno's first night on Slate.
The official site for MoMA's Monet show (plus more images of the paintings).
Roberta Smith's review of MoMA's Monet show in the New York Times.

The Culture Gabfest weekly endorsements:

Julia's picks: Slate's Dan Brown sequel generator, plus Right, Wrong, and Risky: A Dictionary of Today's American English Usage by Mark Davidson.
Dana's pick: Point Break, starring Patrick Swayze, who died this week from pancreatic cancer.
Stephen's picks: Road House, another Swayze classic, plus the self-titled album by the Swedish band the Concretes.

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

Posted on Sept. 16 by Jacob Ganz at 12:17 p.m.

Sept. 9, 2009

Listen to Gabfest No. 51 with Stephen Metcalf, 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 in iTunes by clicking  here.

Get your 14-day free trial from our sponsor Audible.com, which includes a credit for one free audiobook,  here. (Audiobook of the week: The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo, written by Stieg Larsson 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 the release of the new digitally remastered Beatles box set, the appearance of potbellies on models and hipsters, and the new Mike Judge film, Extract.

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

The remastered Beatles box set.
Lizzi Miller's potbelly, as it appeared in  Glamour.
Guy Trebay's  New York Times  piece on hipster potbellies.
The official  Web site  of the CW's America's Next Top Model.
Jack Shafer's takedown of  bogus summer trends, including the hipster potbelly.
Dana's review of Mike Judge's new movie, Extract, "The Discreet Charm of the American Bonehead."
The trailer for Mike Judge's new film, Extract.
The official Web site for Fox's  King of the Hill.

The Culture Gabfest weekly endorsements:

Julia's pick: Daniel Brook's "Dispatches" on Slate, "What Can We Learn About Mohamed Atta From His Work as a Student of Urban Planning?"
Julia's favorite Beatles song: "I'm So Tired."

Dana's pick: At the Movies, the relaunch of the film critics' show on ABC, now hosted by  New York Times film critic A.O. Scott and Chicago Tribune film critic Michael Phillips.
Dana's favorite Beatles song: "In My Life."

Stephen's pick: the Tim Allen film Galaxy Quest and Michael Jordan's pick of the  slam-dunking  sensation David Thompson to present M.J. with his induction to the  Hall of Fame.
Stephen's favorite Beatles song: "Dig a Pony."

Posted on Sept. 9 by Jacob Ganz at 12:10 p.m.

Sept. 2, 2009

Listen to Gabfest No. 50 with Stephen Metcalf, Jody Rosen, Dana Stevens, John Swansburg, 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 in iTunes by clicking  here.

Get your 14-day free trial from our sponsor Audible.com, which includes a credit for one free audiobook,  here. (Audiobook of the week: The Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire, written by Edward Gibbon and read by Bernard Mayes.)

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 the latest, musical episode of Mad Men, debate whether Taylor Swift is a pop star or a pop tart, and discuss the fall fashion documentary The September Issue with special guests Jody Rosen and John Swansburg.

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

The official  Web site  for AMC's Mad Men (where you can see a clip of the Roger Sterling's off-putting performance).
John Swansburg, Julia Turner, and Patrick Radden Keefe's Slate TV Club asks: "Is Mad Men Just a Guilty Pleasure?"
Jody Rosen's "Brow Beat" post about Taylor Swift's show at Madison Square Garden.
Taylor Swift's CD Fearless.
Decide for yourself what you think about Taylor Swift's tunes by visiting her official Web site.
The official  Web site  for The September Issue.

The Culture Gabfest weekly endorsements:

Dana's pick: "The Evolution of the Modern Blockbuster," a five-part video series from the L Magazine.
Stephen's pick: The recently reissued Issac Hayes classic Hot Buttered Soul.
Julia's pick: Must Pop Words, the game that results when Boggle and Snood reproduce.
Jody's pick: French singer-songwriter Charles Trenet. His best-known works include "Boum" and "La Mer."

Posted on Sept. 2 by Jacob Ganz at 12:30 p.m.

June Thomas is managing producer of Slate podcasts.

Stephen Metcalf is Slate’s critic at large. He is working on a book about the 1980s.

Dana Stevens is Slate’s movie critic.

Julia Turner, the former editor in chief of Slate, is a regular on Slate’s Culture Gabfest podcast.