Slate's Culture Gabfest

On the Spoiler Special podcast, Slate critics discuss movies, the occasional TV show, and, once in a blue moon, another podcast, in full spoiler-filled detail. This week, Dana Stevens, Jeffrey Bloomer and Heather Schwedel discuss Uncut Gems.  Howard Ratner (Adam Sandler), owner of a small jewelry store in Manhattan, racked up a gambling debt while the rest of his life is collapsing. He’s trying to avoid creditors when his shop receives an illegal gem from Ethiopia. This rock, Ratner thinks, is his ticket out of debt. He temporarily trades Kevin Garnett, of the Boston Celtics, the rock for Garnett’s NBA Championship. Ratner pawns the ring to bet on the championship game. Will The Celtics win? Will Garnett get his ring back? Will Ratner finally get out of debt?   You can read Dana Stevens’ review here.  You can also check out past Spoiler Specials, and you can subscribe to the podcast on Apple Podcasts. Note: As the title indicates, spoilers galore. Email us at spoilers@slate.com. Podcast Production by Rosemary Belson.  Hosts Dana Stevens is Slate’s movie critic. Jeffrey Bloomer is a Slate senior editor. He edits and writes for the human interest and culture sections. Heather Schwedel is a Slate staff writer. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Does Randall Park know what he does to us? We only ask because whether it’s performing a classic prank as Asian Jim on The Office or punching Keanu Reeves in Always Be My Maybe, Randall keeps showing us he’s one to watch, whether on network TV, in lesser known indie films, or in superhero franchises. He’s an “overnight” success only if you typically sleep for 15 years a night — and the result is he leaves his fingerprint on every script he touches. Plus he’s got the cutest smile, the warmest eyes, and that low key ‘grown man heat’ we’ll never get tired of. PS: Get ready for Fanfic Wars. This one’s a banger. You’ve been warned!  Follow us on Twitter @ThirstAidKit. Bim is @bimadew and Nichole is @tnwhiskeywoman. Our music is by Tanya Morgan. You can find show notes, gifs and so much more on our Tumblr at thirstaidkitpodcast.tumblr.com. You can make use of our Thirst Sommelier service by calling and leaving a BRIEF message at (510) 984 4778. That’s (510) 9-THIRST. We also love fanfic — send us your drabbles (along with your pronouns) and we might read them out on the show! We’re at thirstaidkit@slate.com.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Stephen Metcalf, Dana Stevens, and Julia Turner discuss The Marriage Story, speak with author Simon Doonan about the death of the department store window display, and debate whether social media killed our sense of time - and the 2010s as a decade. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Welcome to The Authority, Slate’s deep dive into the world(s) of HBO’s His Dark Materials. Each week, Slate’s scholars of experimental theology Dan Kois and Laura Miller discuss the new HBO series and Philip Pullman’s original trilogy. This week, they’re discussing episode 6, “The Daemon-Cages”, in which Lyra sees firsthand what they’re up to at Bolvanger. Plus: a closer look at intercision. Join the conversation: Email: asktheauthority@slate.com Dan Kois on Twitter: @dankois Laura Miller on Twitter: @magiciansbook Podcast production by Phil Surkis, with engineering assistance from Rosemary Belson. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Nick Spark fell down a rabbit hole tracking down the origins of Murphy’s Law, the ubiquitous phrase that says “If it can go wrong, it will go wrong”. On this episode of Decoder Ring, we follow Nick on his journey while taking a few detours of our own to find out how Murphy’s Law was [maybe] born out of the rocket sled experiments of the dawning jet age. We talk to Nick, hear some of the recordings he collected during his own research, plus talk to researchers who are skeptical of Nick’s hypothesis, all to try and find out how an obscure engineering aphorism spread to world-conquering philosophical observation.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices