The Culture Gabfest, "Where Are Our Manners?" Edition
Listen to Slate's show about the U.S. reaction to the death of Osama Bin Laden, the royal wedding extravaganza, and the comedic talents of Brian Williams.
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Listen to Culture Gabfest No. 137 with Johann Hari, Stephen Metcalf, Dana Stevens, John Swansburg, and Julia Turner by clicking the arrow on the audio player below:
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In this week's Culture Gabfest, our critics Stephen Metcalf, Dana Stevens, and John Swansburg discuss the death of Osama Bin Laden and whether it's OK for Americans to celebrate his demise. They are then joined by Johann Hari, columnist for Britain's Independent and presenter of the Johann Hari Podcast, to discuss the recent royal wedding hoopla and whether it, too, is a cause for celebration. For their final segment, they discuss John Swansburg's New York magazine feature: " The Comic Stylings of Brian Williams."
Here are some links to the things we discussed this week:
Slate's coverage of the death of Osama Bin Laden.
The New York Daily News' headline "Rot in Hell" and other Bin Laden front pages.
The chants of "U-S-A, U-S-A" at Sunday night's Mets-Phillies baseball game.
Slate's slide show of Americans celebrating Bin Laden's death.
George Bush's "Mission Accomplished" speech, eight years before.
Johann Hari's column arguing that the royal wedding was an embarrassment for all Brits.
Slate's article on the economics of the royal wedding.
Christopher Hitchens' advice that Kate Middleton should avoid the royal family.
Mark Oppenheimer's Slate article arguing that Americans should have boycotted the wedding.
Slate's Simon Doonan on fashion at the royal wedding.
The films The Queen and The King's Speech.
John Swansburg's New York magazine article, " The Comic Stylings of Brian Williams."
Slate's Jack Shafer on " Katie Couric and the Post-Anchor Era."
New York's roundup of " Brian Williams' funniest moments."
Williams'rant about the "media story of 2010," the New York Times' discovery of Brooklyn.
The journalism of cultural anthropologist Margaret Mead.
The Culture Gabfest weekly endorsements:
Dana's pick: Charles Portis' Western novel True Grit.
John's picks: The 1973 movie Jesus Christ Superstar and the music that inspired the film (John recommends the original concept album recording).
Johann's picks: Clive James' book of biographical essays Cultural Amnesia (many of which are excerpted in Slate), the Terence Rattigan plays Flare Path and Cause Célèbre, and Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton in Tennessee Williams' Boom!
Steve's picks: Shrimp Boat's 1993 indie rock album Cavale and Wild Beasts' 2009 art rock album Two Dancers.
You can e-mail us at culturefest@slate.com.
This podcast was produced by Jesse Baker. Our intern is Forrest Wickman.
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