Decoder Ring - If You Give a Mouse a Cookie… Will He Want a Welfare Check?

Decoder Ring - If You Give a Mouse a Cookie… Will He Want a Welfare Check?

Adults have a long history of trying to find morals and lessons in children’s literature. But what happens when a seemingly innocent book about a boy and a hungry mouse becomes fodder for the culture wars? Over the last decade, Laura Joffe Numeroff’s If You Give a Mouse a Cookie has been adopted by some on the right as a cautionary tale about government welfare. In this episode, we explore the origins of If You Give a Mouse a Cookie, the history of adults extracting unintended meaning from children’s books, and try to figure out how this particular kid’s book became a Republican battle cry.

This episode was written by Cheyna Roth. It was edited by Katie Shepherd and Evan Chung. It was produced by Sofie Kodner. Decoder Ring is produced by Willa Paskin, Evan Chung, Katie Shepherd and Max Freedman. Derek John is Executive Producer. Merritt Jacob is Senior Technical Director.

In this episode, you’ll hear from author Laura Numeroff, book critic Bruce Handy, economist Rebecca Christie and former journalist Max Ehrenfreund.

If you have any cultural mysteries you want us to decode, email us at DecoderRing@slate.com

If you haven’t please yet, subscribe and rate our feed in Apple Podcasts or wherever you get your podcasts. And even better, tell your friends.

If you’re a fan of the show, we’d love for you to sign up for Slate Plus. Slate Plus members get to listen to Decoder Ring and every other Slate podcast without any ads. You also get unlimited access to Slate’s website. Member support is crucial to our work. So please go to slate.com/decoderplus to join Slate Plus today.

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

Avsnitt(2976)

Death, Sex & Money - A Career Change? In This Economy?

Death, Sex & Money - A Career Change? In This Economy?

Career pivots can be terrifying. How do you know when the time is right? Is it ever too late to switch jobs? What if the next thing is worse? This week, we’ve assembled a panel of career change expert...

24 Mars 1h 7min

Hang Up and Listen - The WNBA’s New Deal

Hang Up and Listen - The WNBA’s New Deal

Hosts Lindsay Gibbs, and Ben Lindbergh discuss the WNBA's new CBA, which contains massive salary increases, revenue sharing, and historic precedents for all women’s sports. Then host Alex Kirshner arr...

23 Mars 1h 10min

ICYMI - Why The Internet Is Arguing About Its Favorite Feminist

ICYMI - Why The Internet Is Arguing About Its Favorite Feminist

On today’s episode, host Kate Lindsay is joined by Slate senior writer Scaachi Koul, who profiled author Lindy West. West’s new book, Adult Braces, details, among many things, her coming to grips with...

21 Mars 43min

Hit Parade | Music History and Music Trivia - Feet on the Ground, Reaching for the Stars Edition Part 1

Hit Parade | Music History and Music Trivia - Feet on the Ground, Reaching for the Stars Edition Part 1

To mark Hit Parade’s 100th episode, host Chris Molanphy is doing something he’s never done: He’s going to talk about himself—and just how nerdy you have to be to host a show like Hit Parade. Chris ref...

21 Mars 56min

Culture Gabfest - Money On Film: Margin Call

Culture Gabfest - Money On Film: Margin Call

Welcome to a very special Money On Film miniseries!Over three episodes, Slate Money’s Felix Salmon and Slate culture writer Nadira Goffe revisit three films at the intersection of culture and finance....

20 Mars 27min

Culture Gabfest - One Oscar After Another Edition

Culture Gabfest - One Oscar After Another Edition

On this week’s show, Dana and Steve are joined by long-time FOP Isaac Butler (and author of the forthcoming book The Perfect Moment: God, Sex, Art, and the Birth of America's Culture Wars.) They step ...

18 Mars 1h 2min

ICYMI - Meet The Professional Clout-Chaser

ICYMI - Meet The Professional Clout-Chaser

On today’s episode, host Kate Lindsay is joined by Slate staff writer Nadira Goffe to answer the question everyone is asking since he appeared in a viral moment from the Oscars’ red carpet: Who TF is ...

18 Mars 38min

Death, Sex & Money - AI Confessions: A Chatbot Ended My Marriage

Death, Sex & Money - AI Confessions: A Chatbot Ended My Marriage

Soon after his wife started experimenting with ChatGPT last summer, Rob* says her demeanor began to change. He says she started using mystical speech, running all communication through AI, and filed f...

17 Mars 50min

Populärt inom Nöje

mellan-himmel-och-jord-med-jlc
filip-fredrik-svarar
mardromsgasten
dialogiskt
rss-p3-musikdokumentar
chilla-med-de-vet-du
mannen-utan-spar
badfluence
fem-i-topp
schulman-show
gott-snack-med-fredrik-soderholm
skandal
vardagsmysterier
podme-bio-4
karatefylla
hemma-hos-strage
sexet
rss-rockpodden
rss-bl-metal-podcast
rss-made-in-sverige-podcast