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 starring Ian McKellen and Michaela Coel about an aging artist and an upstart forger is intentionally intimate, but is it too slight? They discuss.

Next, they pick up their cultural magnifying glasses to peep at The Miniature Wife, the new marital comedy series starring Matthew Macfadyen and Elizabeth Banks about a scientist who accidentally aims his shrink ray on his wife. Is this diminutive premise too small for its multiple episode execution? They discuss.

Finally, they take up the small but mighty objects apparently floating at the bottom of many an it girl’s purse: cigarettes. They respond to a recent piece in the Ankler “Cigarettes Get a Sequel: Hollywood’s ‘Cool’ Bad Habit Is Back.”

In an exclusive bonus episode for Slate Plus subscribers, the panel gazes at the vast expanse of space and talks about Artemis II’s mission to the far side of the moon.

Endorsements

Dan: The novel Possession by A.S. Byatt.

Steve: The essay in New York Review of Books “From the Rooftops of Tehran,” an anonymous first person account of life under fire from American and Israeli bombs.

Dana: The radio show Shocking Blue on New York’s WFUV from the DJ Delphine Blue— if you miss it on Saturday nights 8pm-11pm when it airs, check out at WFUV’s archives to listen to episodes after broadcast.

Email us your thoughts at culturefest@slate.com.

Podcast production by Benjamin Frisch. Production assistance by Daniel Hirsch.

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 - The Onion’s New Infowars

For two years, Alex Jones has been battling The Onion for control of Infowars. And, despite still being in a legal gray zone, it’s finally launched – with creative director, comedian, and chief Jones ...

7 Jul 29min

Death, Sex & Money - How Much Should You Spend on a Wedding?

This week, listeners share what it’s like to plan a dream wedding when money and family relationships lead to conflict and compromise. We hear from couples with vastly different ideas of what they wan...

7 Jul 41min

What Next - The “Shakedown Artist” Behind CA’s Billionaire Tax

Union leader Dave Regan has spent decades wielding California’s ballot system against the healthcare industry. Now, he’s the man behind California’s billionaire tax — a one-time, 5 percent tax proposa...

6 Jul 24min

Slate Money - Synergy’s Must-Watch Final Episode

Felix Salmon, Elizabeth Spiers, and Emily Peck are joined by Reuters Media Editor Edmund Lee to revisit their 2016 predictions for the Comcast/NCBUniversal merger, now that the companies have announce...

4 Jul 54min

Amicus With Dahlia Lithwick | Law, justice, and the courts - Bad History Will Kill America

The Supreme Court just wrapped the term with a blitz of extremely consequential decisions, and the smoke hasn’t cleared yet. (In fact, it’s looming like a dark storm cloud over our Fourth of July and ...

4 Jul 57min

ICYMI - AI Is Changing How We Have Sex

As sex becomes more online, not only does it become more solitary, but also more surveilled. For instance: Back in December, OpenAI announced that they’d allow adult users to have erotic conversations...

4 Jul 46min

What Next - Off-the-Record: Toy Story 5 Did NOT Make Mary Cry

WARNING: This episode spoils Toy Story 5.Right on the heels of two new directors with two fresh new films, comes a five-installment franchise: Toy Story 5. But the consensus is split on this big scree...

3 Jul 10min

What Next: TBD | Tech, power, and the future - Diving In | How Food Delivery Killed Competition (And Took Your Budget With It)

Thanks for joining us during the holidays. White our team is taking a break, we want to share a series with you that we think you’ll love. It’s called Diving In. Getting food delivered should be simpl...

3 Jul 16min