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 culturefest@slate.com. 

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. 

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