{"podcast":{"title":"Culture Gabfest","slug":"culture-gabfest-830145","podcast_index_feed_id":830145,"rss_url":"https://feeds.acast.com/public/shows/69612bcd1f21449d6dec2ccb","website_url":"https://slate.com/podcasts/culture-gabfest","image_url":"https://assets.pippa.io/shows/69612bcd1f21449d6dec2ccb/show-cover.jpg","author":"Slate Audio","episode_count":870,"summary":"New York Times critic Dwight Garner says “The Slate Culture Gabfest is one of the highlights of my week.” The award-winning Culturefest features critics Stephen Metcalf, Dana Stevens, and Julia Turner debating the week in culture, from highbrow to pop. For more of Slate’s culture podcasts, check out the Slate Culture feed. Get more Culture Gabfest with Slate Plus! Join to unlock weekly bonus episodes—plus ad-free listening across all your favorite Slate podcasts. Subscribe from our show page on Apple Podcasts or Spotify. Or visit slate.com/cultureplus to get access wherever you listen. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.","last_synced_at":null,"page_url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/culture-gabfest-830145"},"episode":{"title":"Mother Troubles Edition","slug":"mother-troubles-edition","published_at":"2026-04-22T07:10:00+00:00","page_url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/culture-gabfest-830145/mother-troubles-edition","show_page_url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/culture-gabfest-830145","url":"https://shows.acast.com/culture-gabfest/episodes/mother-troubles-edition","audio_url":"https://sphinx.acast.com/p/open/s/69612bcd1f21449d6dec2ccb/e/69e7e73cc8a506316dc44847/media.mp3","summary":"Steve, Dana, and Julia convene once more for a rousing Gabfest. First up, it’s Mother Mary . David Lowery’s strange psychodrama centers on a pop star, played by Anne Hathaway, reuniting with her estranged friend and costume designer, played by Michaela Coel, and the menacing piece of red chiffon that haunts them both.  Next, they turn to another pair of mothers in Margo’s Got Money Troubles . The new series stars Elle Fanning as a new single mom— and Michelle Pfeiffer as her mom— who turns to OnlyFans to make ends meet.  Finally they welcome back Gabfest favorite Caity Weaver to dish on her epic quest to find the best free restaurant bread in America— as chronicled in her hilarious and insightful piece in The Atlantic . In an exclusive bonus episode for Slate Plus subscribers, Julia shares a behind-the-scenes peek into the founding of her new local media startup L.A. Material .  Endorsements Dana: The completely unscripted shows of The Improvised Shakespeare Company —on tour now. Caity: The live album Sam Cooke at the Copa , especially the song \" The Best Things in Life Are Free \"—the best bread certainly is. Julia: The sitcom The Fall and Rise of Reggie Dinkins which really hits its stride after a few episodes. Steve: The novel The Go-Between by L.P. Hartley as well as Paul Buchanan, of the band The Blue Nile , covering David Bowie’s \"Ashes to Ashes. \" -- Email us your thoughts at culturefest@slate.com .  Podcast production by Benjamin Frisch. Production assistance by Daniel Hirsch. Need to set up your Slate Plus feed? If you subscribed through Slate.com, check out our FAQ at slate.com/podcastfaqs for easy instructions. Members subscribed via Apple Podcasts get automatic access—no setup required. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more info…","meta_description":"Steve, Dana, and Julia convene once more for a rousing Gabfest. First up, it’s Mother Mary . David Lowery’s strange psychodrama centers on a pop star, pla…","key_points":[],"chapters":[],"topics":[],"duration_seconds":3723,"processing_state":"not_requested","actions":[{"name":"request_transcript","method":"POST","url":"https://stenobird.com/v1/public/podcasts/culture-gabfest-830145/episodes/mother-troubles-edition/transcription-requests","description":"Idempotently request low-priority transcript generation for this episode."},{"name":"read_markdown","method":"GET","url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/culture-gabfest-830145/mother-troubles-edition.md","description":"Read the agent-friendly Markdown representation of this episode resource."}]}}