I'm Julia Turner, and this is the Slate Culture Gab Fest, Channing Tatum on the Lamb edition.

It's Wednesday, October 15th, 2025, and on today's show, we discuss Roofman, the new film that stars Channing Tatum as a crook hiding out in a Toys R.S.

And raises new questions about both Derek C.N. Francie's filmmaking and the powers of Tatum's charm.

Then we'll look at the chair company, HBO's new Tim Robinson joint,

which turns his comedy of frustration into a conspiracy thriller. Finally, we'll be joined by the

Atlantic's Katie Weaver, who will no doubt once again teach us new words while discussing her

fascinating piece on historical reenactors and what it's like to slog through the mud alongside a horde of mostly men in period appropriate boots.

Today I'm joined by Steve McCaff. Hello, sir.

Hi, Julia.

And sitting in for Dana Stevens, we have the wonderful Rebecca Onion. Hello, Rebecca.

Hi, I'm so glad to be here.

I think we were all excited to check out Roofman in part because we three are cultural critics who have been charmed by Channing Tatum in projects past and intrigued by the work of director Derek Cianne Francie.

And I think possibly we're sold a little bit by the marketing, which describes how

Channing Tatum's lead character, Jeff, a small-time crook on the lamb after a prison escape

hides out in a toy's arrest and then somehow Kirsten Dunst at a church social?

Why is he out of the Toys Arrest?

Why was he in the Toys Arrest?

I don't know.

It hooked us.

So we watched it and we will discuss.

But before we do that, let's listen to a clip where we'll hear Tatum's character describing his canny knack for figuring out how to make escapes

and survive on the lamb. Most guys when they escape get caught in the first few hours.

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