Culture Gabfest - Game of Thrones Buddy Comedy Edition

Culture Gabfest - Game of Thrones Buddy Comedy Edition

This week, our Gabfest panel includes Steve and guest hosts Nadira Goffe and Laura Miller with a typically eclectic collection of topics. First up, Dana hops on the call to decode the unspoken truths and dream imagery of Kleber Mendonça Filho’s film The Secret Agent. Set in 1970s Recife, Brazil and starring a very charming Wagner Moura, the film is a heterodox brew of political thriller, magical realism, and attentive character study about the everyday surreality of life under dictatorship.


Next, it’s back to Westeros with a discussion of A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms, a Game of Thrones prequel set 100 years before the original show based on George R.R. Martin’s fantasy epic. Grounded and surprisingly funny, don’t expect dragons in this knight’s tale.


Finally, they turn to “Gluttons for Punishment,” a recent Vulture article by Lila Shapiro about UPenn religious studies professor Justin McDaniel using some extreme, unorthodox measures to get his students to finish books.


In an exclusive bonus episode for Slate Plus subscribers, the panel talks to Laura about the secret pleasures of wood stacking as discussed in her recent piece “The Art of the Holzhausen.”



Endorsements


Nadira: Some melancholy shoegaze pop from Scandinavia, specifically the albums Goodbyehouse by Snuggle and Big City Life by Smerz.


Laura: The novels of Robert Jackson Bennett in his Shadow of the Leviathan series including Hugo-winning The Tainted Cup and A Drop of Corruption.


Steve: The Substack essay “The Wall Looks Permanent Until It Falls Down” by Adam Bonica about the cost of American exceptionalism.


And a bonus one from Dana: Pictures of Ghosts, the documentary by The Secret Agent director Kleber Mendonça Filho about Recife, Brazil in the 1970s.


--


Email us your thoughts at culturefest@slate.com.


Podcast production by Kevin Bendis. Production assistance by Daniel Hirsch.



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

Episoder(2974)

Culture Gabfest - Mother Troubles Edition

Culture Gabfest - Mother Troubles Edition

Steve, Dana, and Julia convene once more for a rousing Gabfest. First up, it’s Mother Mary. David Lowery’s strange psychodrama centers on a pop star, played by Anne Hathaway, reuniting with her estran...

22 Apr 1h 2min

Decoder Ring - How to Make Dollars Make Sense

Decoder Ring - How to Make Dollars Make Sense

Money is everywhere. Money influences just about everything. We think about money all the time. But how much do we really know about it? In this episode of Decoder Ring, we explore the obscure histori...

22 Apr 34min

ICYMI - The Internet Has Kept Katy Perry’s Receipts

ICYMI - The Internet Has Kept Katy Perry’s Receipts

On today’s episode, host Kate Lindsay is joined by Slate senior writer Scaachi Koul to discuss the downfall of Katy Perry. Back in 2025, Scaachi wrote a feature about the singer’s descent from beloved...

22 Apr 33min

Death, Sex & Money - Rick Steves Says Travel is the Antidote to Fear

Death, Sex & Money - Rick Steves Says Travel is the Antidote to Fear

In 2008, travel writer Rick Steves thought the U.S. might be on the verge of war with Iran. So he took a TV crew there to document the people and places who might soon be at risk. “You should know peo...

21 Apr 49min

ICYMI - We Are Over Influencers At Coachella

ICYMI - We Are Over Influencers At Coachella

On today’s episode, host Kate Lindsay is joined by Yahoo senior entertainment reporter Kelsey Weekman to discuss influencers at Coachella. Kelsey herself attended Coachella Weekend One, and spoke to c...

18 Apr 39min

Culture Gabfest - Richard Pryor: The Truth Teller Who Changed Comedy Forever | From Big Lives

Culture Gabfest - Richard Pryor: The Truth Teller Who Changed Comedy Forever | From Big Lives

Richard Pryor redefined comedy by telling the truth, even when it scorched him.Today, we’re sharing a preview of a new podcast, Big Lives, and a special episode about Pryor.Every week, hosts Kai Wrigh...

17 Apr 43min

Decoder Ring - One Year: 1995 | Hitting the Spot

Decoder Ring - One Year: 1995 | Hitting the Spot

Last week we aired an episode about lonelygirl15, one of the first proper YouTube stars, and perhaps the most famous example of playing around with the boundaries of fiction and truth on the internet....

17 Apr 57min

Culture Gabfest - There Are No Small Parts Only Miniature Wives Edition

Culture Gabfest - There Are No Small Parts Only Miniature Wives Edition

On this week’s show, Dana, Steve, and Dan Kois get into cultural topics of various scales. First, they examine The Christophers, the latest film from Steven Soderbergh. The small scale two-hander star...

15 Apr 57min

Populært innen Underholdning

papaya
harm-og-hegseth
tore-og-haralds-podkast
enkel-servering
storefri-med-mikkel-og-herman
big-5-med-nils-og-harald-2
konspirasjonspodden
topp-3-med-wold-og-fladseth
tusvik-tnne
ma-pa-behandling-med-morten-ramm
hovla
folk-flest-med-linn-og-nils
kjendiscrush-med-sofie-karlstad
nare-venner
vitnemal
gi-meg-alle-detaljene
rss-gammal-maiden
feedback-med-egon-holstad
christine-dancke
rss-backstage-historier-om-legender