Listen to Culture Gabfest No. 345 with Julia Turner, Stephen Metcalf, and Dan Kois with the audio player below.

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On this week’s Slate Culture Gabfest, historical drama Wolf Hall tells the story of Thomas Cromwell’s rise to power in Henry VIII’s court. How does it stack up against Hilary Mantel’s novel? Next up, guest Bryan Lowder joins to discuss Bruce Jenner’s recent interview with Diane Sawyer. Did it effectively introduce trans issues to a broad audience? Finally, Adam Sternbergh’s recent piece in New York magazine follows the production of avocados in drought-stricken California. Will an avocado shortage mark a tipping point in our perceptions of global warming’s impact?

Links to some of the things we discussed this week follow:

• Wolf Hall on PBS’s Masterpiece Theatre
• Dan’s Wolf Hall review in Slate
• Wolf Hall Parts 1 and 2 on Broadway
• Wolf Hall by Hilary Mantel
• Bring Up the Bodies by Hilary Mantel
• Bruce Jenner’s interview with Diane Sawyer
• Adam Sternbergh’s New York piece about avocados and climate change
• Food Rules: An Eater’s Manuel by Michael Pollan

Endorsements:

Dan: Frontier, the quarterly art and comic monograph series

Julia: The chrome extension Earth View from Google Maps, which displays a gorgeous image of the planet whenever you open a new tab

Steve: Kid-approved movies for family viewing: Definitely, Maybe, About a Boy, and Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl

Outro: “I’m Henry VIII, I Am” by Herman’s Hermits 

You can email us at culturefest@slate.com.

This podcast was produced by Ann Heppermann. Our intern is Lindsey Albracht.

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