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Shuffling under the mortal coil this week (aka hosting the Gabfest), it’s our OG players Steve, Dana, and Julia. Like a morose Danish prince contemplating a human skull, they gaze upon the Oscar nominated Hamnet, based on the novel by Maggie O’Farrell inspired by William Shakespeare’s life. Directed by Chloé Zhao and starring Jessie Buckley and Paul Mescal, Hamnet has brought some critics to tears and left others cold. Our hosts share where they landed.

Next, they boot up the Netflix content machine to view The Rip, a new cop caper reuniting Matt Damon and Ben Affleck. Do the boys from Boston (illogically playing Miami cops) make good again? Finally, they welcome New Yorker writer Clare Malone to discuss her recent profile of the deeply polarizing, newly-appointed head of CBS News Bari Weiss.

In a special add-on, Isaac Butler leaves a voice memo to share his vituperative take on Hamnet—as outlined in a recent Slate piece. The Hamnet discourse continues in a bonus episode exclusively for Slate Plus subscribers wherein the gang unpacks the film’s ending. Is the play indeed the thing?

Endorsements

Dana: The book Hamnet by Maggie O’Farrell especially the audiobook version read by Jessie Buckley.

Julia: The hilarious video of Matt Damon and Ben Affleck with Jimmy Fallon naming all the towns in Massachusetts on The Tonight Show, the sober, intelligent New York Times opinion round table between Lydia Polgreen, David French, and Michelle Goldberg about ICE raids in Minneapolis and the killing of Alex Pretti, and the still deeply timely film I’m Still Here.

Steve: The film Sentimental Value and the double album Sing the Children Over & Sand In My Shoe by the singer/songwriter Kath Bloom as well as the Kath Bloom cover “Come Here” by the band The Concretes.

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Email us your thoughts at [email protected].

Podcast production by Kevin Bendis. Production assistance by Daniel Hirsch.
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It’s a weird time for culture. There is more of it than ever before, it’s more accessible than ever before, but so little of it feels original. New movies are based on old stories, new songs are recycling old hooks, and fashion trends are cycling so fast that everything’s in.

Has our culture grown stagnant? The author and culture critic W. David Marx thinks so.

His new book, Blank Space, argues that there is a “blank space” in the 21st century where cultural innovation should be. In this episode, David explains to Willa how culture change worked in the 20th century, what changed after the turn of the millennium, and what we might do about it.

This episode was produced by Max Freedman. Decoder Ring is also produced by Willa Paskin, Katie Shepherd, and Evan Chung, our supervising producer. Merritt Jacob is Senior Technical Director.

If you have any cultural mysteries you want us to decode, email us at [email protected] or leave a message on our hotline at (347) 460-7281.

Get more of Decoder Ring with Slate Plus! Join for exclusive bonus episodes of Decoder Ring and ad-free listening on all your favorite Slate podcasts. Subscribe from the Decoder Ring show page on Apple Podcasts or Spotify. Or, visit slate.com/decoderplus for access wherever you listen.
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When the US won a bid to co-host the World Cup, Trump was midway through his first term. Eight years later, he’s back in office, and giving soccer fans eager to watch the tournament this summer good reasons to squirm.

Guest: Jon Arnold, sports journalist and author of the Getting CONCACAFed substack.

Want more What Next? Subscribe to Slate Plus to access ad-free listening to the whole What Next family and across all your favorite Slate podcasts. Subscribe today on Apple Podcasts by clicking “Try Free” at the top of our show page. Sign up now at slate.com/whatnextplus to get access wherever you listen.

Podcast production by Elena Schwartz, Paige Osburn, Anna Phillips, Madeline Ducharme, and Rob Gunther.

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On today’s episode, host Kate Lindsay is joined by Slate contributing writer David Mack to discuss the surge of niche celebrity drama unfolding in the midst of a horrifying news cycle. We’re cancelling the “Glambot guy”? Brooklyn Beckham broke up with his family via Instagram Story? Those two hockey podcasters didn’t actually like Heated Rivalry??? This drama is so petty, but also so necessary for staying sane during these times. Which means: We’re breaking down every detail of it.

This podcast is produced by Daisy Rosario, Vic Whitley-Berry, and Kate Lindsay.
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Comedian Maria Bamford discusses her separation after a decade of marriage, the wildfires that destroyed her Altadena neighborhood, and starting over in a new apartment.

Check out if Maria is coming to your city on her comedy tour: https://mariabamford.com/tourdates

Listen to our previous Death, Sex & Money interviews with Maria:
Anna and Maria talk in 2023 about her memoir Sure, I’ll Join Your Cult
Anna and Maria talk in 2020 about growing up and her special Weakness Is The Brand

Podcast production by Andrew Dunn and Zoe Azulay

Death, Sex & Money is now produced by Slate! To support us and our colleagues, please sign up for our membership program, Slate Plus! Members get ad-free podcasts, bonus content on lots of Slate shows, and full access to all the articles on Slate.com. Sign up today at slate.com/dsmplus.

And if you’re new to the show, welcome. We’re so glad you’re here. Find us and follow us on Instagram and you can find Anna’s newsletter at annasale.substack.com. Our new email address, where you can reach us with voice memos, pep talks, questions, critiques, is [email protected].
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