Culture Gabfest

On this week’s show, it’s an all-movie week! Isaac Butler — author of The Method: How the Twentieth Century Learned to Act and host of the new Criterion Channel series, The Craft of Acting — sits in for Stephen Metcalf. First, the panel explores The Brutalist, director Brady Corbet’s two-part epic following the life of László Tóth (Adrien Brody), a Hungarian-born Jewish architect who survives the Holocaust then emigrates to the United States. Then, the three unpack Carry-On, an action thriller set in Los Angeles International Airport. It’s a well-made film with a dumb concept, and smashed Netflix records over the holiday. Finally, it’s that time of year again: Dana leads the panel through Slate’s Movie Club 2024, a cherished tradition in which she chats with other critics over email about the year in cinema. (Read her first post, here.) In the exclusive Slate Plus segment, the all-movie theme continues, as the three spoil The Brutalist.   Email us at [email protected].  Endorsements: Dana: Adaptation, directed by Spike Jonze and written by Charlie Kaufman.  Julia: A two-part endorsement: (1) My Cousin Vinny and (2) the production design of Three Men and a Baby (that apartment!)  Isaac: “Eat What You Kill,” a masterfully reported piece by J. David McSwane for ProPublica.  Podcast production by Vic Whitley-Berry. Production assistance by Kat Hong. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

On this week’s show, it’s one of the Gabfest’s most cherished traditions: the yearly call-in show. Dana, Julia, and Stephen answer listen-submitted questions that run the gamut – can cooking for one be a joy? Should philosophy be studied more? And how did you make your most recent friend?  In the exclusive Slate Plus segment, the panel dishes about pottery. Listener Dave asks: “what's your relationship to pottery? How do you drink your hot beverages in the morning or throughout the day? And then, is it okay to use an art object utilitarianly?” Oh, and the hosts have a lot to say.  Email us at [email protected].  Podcast production by Jared Downing. Production assistance by Kat Hong. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

On this week’s show, the hosts indulge in the cozy pleasures of A Man on the Inside, a six-part Netflix series from showrunner and feel-good sitcom vet Michael Schur. Ted Danson stars as a grieving retired professor who is offered the chance to start life anew – and goes undercover inside a San Francisco retirement home. Then, the trio dives into The Seed of the Sacred Fig, Iranian director Mohammad Rasoulof’s most daring — and most dangerous — film yet. Finally, the panel considers Kyle Chayka’s piece for the New Yorker, “2024 Is the Year Creators Took Over,” and discusses a few who stand out, including Haliey Welch, a.k.a. the “Hawk Tuah” girl.  In the exclusive Slate Plus segment, the panel travels down memory lane and discusses their history on stage: what roles they played, the reviews they received, and the first time someone had to flirt publicly.   Email us at [email protected].  Endorsements: Dana: Defector! Particularly, this piece by Patrick Redford, “The Hawk Tuah Memecoin Rug Pull Is the Apotheosis of Bag Culture.” Julia: In the Culture Gabfest’s first rewind endorsement, a clip from Julia that she still stands by to this day: her riffing on The Clapper sound activated light switch.  Steve: Brad Mehldau’s After Bach and After Bach II.  Podcast production by Jared Downing. Production assistance by Kat Hong.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

On this week’s show, the hosts chew over Nightbitch, Marielle Heller’s (Queen’s Gambit, Can You Ever Forgive Me, The Diary of a Teenage Girl, MacGruber), fourth feature film. Amy Adam stars as “Mother,” a former artist who has given up her creative pursuits to care for her infant son full-time — a transition so taxing, that she begins dissociating and transforming into a dog at night. And while there’s a lot to like here (it’s an adaptation of Rachel Yonder’s magical realism novel of the same name, for example), does the film ever achieve lift-off?  Then, the three rip Black Doves to shreds, Netflix’s latest espionage show starring Keira Knightly, Sarah Lancashire, and Ben Whishaw that has far too many plot holes to name (although, Stephen does try to.) Finally, the panel digs into the strange case of Luigi Mangione, the suspected shooter in the murder of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson — and the internet’s sardonic, if not jubilant, reaction to the fatal shooting. In the exclusive Slate Plus segment, the panel explores the celebrity look-alike contest: a puzzling and mildly delightful phenomenon that’s been sweeping the nation. (Read Nadira Goffe’s excellent reporting on the Timothée Chalamet tournament that started it all, here.) FINAL CALL: We are down to the final week! To submit your question for our annual call-in show (for inspiration, check out last year’s episode), please call (260) 337-8260 to leave us a voicemail, or record a voice note and email it to us at [email protected].  Or, email us at [email protected] if you just want to gab.  Endorsements: Dana: The Year of Lear audiobook, written by James Shapiro and narrated by Robert Fass.  Julia: Tree.fm — a project by Sounds of the Forest and aporee, where you can tune into forest soundscapes from around the world.  Stephen: A cover of Richard and Linda Thompson’s “Down Where the Drunkards Roll,” performed by Loudon Wainwright III and Rufus Wainwright.  Podcast production by Jared Downing. Production assistance by Kat Hong. Disclosure in Podcast Description: A Bond Account is a self-directed brokerage account with Public Investing, member FINRA/SIPC. Deposits into this account are used to purchase 10 investment-grade and high-yield bonds. As of 9/26/24, the average, annualized yield to worst (YTW) across the Bond Account is greater than 6%. A bond’s yield is a function of its market price, which can fluctuate; therefore, a bond’s YTW is not “locked in” until the bond is purchased, and your yield at time of purchase may be different from the yield shown here. The “locked in” YTW is not guaranteed; you may receive less than the YTW of the bonds in the Bond Account if you sell any of the bonds before maturity or if the issuer defaults on the bond. Public Investing charges a markup on each bond trade. See our Fee Schedule. Bond Accounts are not recommendations of individual bonds or default allocations. The bonds in the Bond Account have not been selected based on your needs or risk profile. See https://public.com/disclosures/bond-account to learn more. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices