On this week’s show, Slate’s books and culture columnist, Laura Miller, sits in for Julia. The panel begins with KAOS, Netflix’s new series that reimagines Greek mythology in modern times. Created by Charlie Covell (End of the F***ing World), KAOS stars Jeff Goldblum as Zeus, alongside a host of excellently cast deities. But is the show too self-satisfied and high off its own supply?‌ The three investigate. Then, they dive into Close Your Eyes, a Spanish film made by Victor Erice (The Spirit of the Beehive)‌. After 30 years away from the medium, the filmmaker returns with a beautiful meditation on the nature of art and identity. Finally, the hosts contemplate Spotify: is the streaming service a glorious cornucopia or the algorithm that ate your music?‌ This conversation is inspired by this essay by Tiffany Ng for the MIT‌ Technology Review:‌ “How to break free of Spotify’s algorithm.”‌

In the exclusive Slate Plus segment, the panel hacks productivity, inspired by a recent episode of Vergecast, “What’s in a productivity system?”

Email us at culturefest@slate.com. 

Endorsements:

Dana: Motivated by Choire Sicha’s review for The Strategist, Dana’s endorsement this week is a goofy desk timer:‌ the mooas Dodecagon Time Ball Mini Timer. 

Laura:‌ Entitlement by Rumaan Alam, a novel that’s to be published soon. 

Steve:‌ “Never Going Back Again,”‌ a song off of Fleetwood Mac’s Rumours album, performed by Lindsey Buckingham. Steve’s currently learning to play it on the guitar, which gave him a newfound appreciation of the song itself. Make sure to check out Buckingham’s performance at USC.

Podcast production by Jared Downing. Production assistance by Kat Hong. 

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