Decoder Ring - How “Chicken Soup” Sold Its Soul
Slate Daily Feed23 Apr 2025

Decoder Ring - How “Chicken Soup” Sold Its Soul

Chicken Soup for the Soul was the brainchild of two motivational speakers who preach the New Thought belief system known as the Law of Attraction. For more than 30 years, the self-help series has compiled reader-submitted stories about kindness, courage, and perseverance into easily digestible books aimed at almost every conceivable demographic: Chicken Soup for the Teenage Soul, Chicken Soup for the Grandma’s Soul, Chicken Soup for the Golfer’s Soul, and on and on. Since 1993, these books have sold more than 500 million copies worldwide, becoming the best-selling non-fiction book series of all time.


But in recent years, the company has become many other things that seem lightyears away from inspirational publishing: a line of packaged foods, a DVD kiosk retailer, and a meme stock. In this episode, with the help of journalist Amanda Chicago Lewis, we tell the story of how this feel-good brand went from comfort food to junk.


This episode was written by Willa Paskin and Max Freedman and produced by Max. It was edited by Evan Chung, Decoder Ring’s supervising producer. Our show is also produced by Katie Shepherd. Merritt Jacob is Senior Technical Director. Special thanks to Rachel Strom.


If you have any cultural mysteries you want us to decode, please email us at DecoderRing@slate.com, or leave a message on our hotline at 347-460-7281.


Want more Decoder Ring? Subscribe to Slate Plus to unlock exclusive bonus episodes. Plus, you’ll access ad-free listening across all your favorite Slate podcasts. Subscribe now on Apple Podcasts by clicking “Try Free” at the top of the Decoder Ring show page. Or, visit slate.com/decoderplus to get access wherever you listen.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Denne episoden er hentet fra en åpen RSS-feed og er ikke publisert av Podme. Den kan derfor inneholde annonser.

Episoder(4958)

What Next: TBD | Tech, power, and the future - Can We Trust the Jobs Report?

What Next: TBD | Tech, power, and the future - Can We Trust the Jobs Report?

The Bureau of Labor Statistics is a department for wonks, by wonks. But under the dual pressures of the changing nature of work—like the growing gig economy—and an administration that doesn’t accept b...

31 Jul 32min

Political Gabfest - Unhinged Obsession

Political Gabfest - Unhinged Obsession

This week, Emily Bazelon, John Dickerson, and David Plotz discuss the expanding Iran war and what it means for Trump that news of U.S. missile shortages is leaking from the inside, the blend of conspi...

30 Jul 50min

What Next - What the Hell is a Peptide?

What Next - What the Hell is a Peptide?

On the heels of the success of GLP-1s like Ozempic, other peptide treatments are flooding the marketplace—and advertising spaces. But even as the Trump administration’s FDA discusses approving more tr...

30 Jul 26min

Slow Burn - Decoder Ring | The Fight Over Sunlight

Slow Burn - Decoder Ring | The Fight Over Sunlight

The sun has always been a hot topic. For centuries, we’ve flip-flopped over whether our health depends on soaking up its rays—or shielding ourselves from them. The current conventional wisdom is clear...

29 Jul 52min

ICYMI - We Need To Talk About Jimothy

ICYMI - We Need To Talk About Jimothy

In a matter of days, Jimothy the raccoon went from a neighborhood mascot to a viral sensation. But unlike the internet animals who came before him, Jimothy has no owners, and isn’t protected by a zoo....

29 Jul 31min

Decoder Ring - The Fight Over Sunlight

Decoder Ring - The Fight Over Sunlight

The sun has always been a hot topic. For centuries, we’ve flip-flopped over whether our health depends on soaking up its rays—or shielding ourselves from them. The current conventional wisdom is clear...

29 Jul 52min

What Next - Trump's Forever War

What Next - Trump's Forever War

The US can’t leave Iran in charge of the Strait of Hormuz, but it can’t wrestle control away without committing ground troops—but it also can’t keep going on like this. So where does that leave everyo...

29 Jul 27min

What Next - The DSA's Biggest Hater Likes One of Their Policies

What Next - The DSA's Biggest Hater Likes One of Their Policies

In the wake of the success among members of the Democratic Socialists of America, The Atlantic’s Jonathan Chait has turned in a series of articles that call the group anti-democratic, against the Demo...

28 Jul 26min

Populært innen Business og økonomi

stopp-verden
dine-penger-pengeradet
e24-podden
rss-penger-polser-og-politikk
lydartikler-fra-aftenposten
rss-pa-konto
tid-er-penger-en-podcast-med-peter-warren
morgenkaffen-med-finansavisen
pengepodden-2
utbytte
finansredaksjonen
liberal-halvtime
livet-pa-veien-med-jan-erik-larssen
rss-borsmorgen-okonominyhetene
pengesnakk
lederpodden
rss-skravla-gar
rss-kron-podden
shifter
okonomiamatorene