This week, the panel begins by dissecting The Golden Bachelor, the latest spin-off of the classic reality TV series starring a 72-year-old bachelor searching for love amongst a group of women in their 60s, 70s, and 80s. Sincerity ensues… or does it? Then, the three return to the ‘80s to discuss A24’s re-release of Stop Making Sense, Jonathan Demme’s seminal 1984 Talking Heads concert movie that’s widely regarded as the apex of the genre. Finally, they investigate the celebrity apology video aesthetic, an artform that’s been attempted—and by no means, perfected—by Mila Kunis, Ashton Kutcher, Russell Brand, and Drew Barrymore recently, as an unusual document of the times.

In the exclusive Slate Plus segment, the panel discusses the meme and viral TikTok trend, “How often do you think about the Roman Empire?” and the ways it encourages a faux-performance of gender on the internet. 

Email us at culturefest@slate.com. 

Endorsements:

Dana: In the spirit of revelatory live shows, Dana endorses The Bengsons, a folk-rock duo (by married couple Abigail and Shaun Bengson) whose recent concert she describes as “performance art.”

Julia: “Stop Talking” by Miya Folick, one Julia’s favorite songs from the 2023 Summer Strut Mega-mix, that exasperatedly laments about a friend whose brain space has been eaten up by some boy–and Folick doesn’t want to hear about it anymore! 

Stephen: Lucky in Paris by saxophonist Lucky Thompson, a relatively under-the-radar record that has become one of Stephen’s top five jazz albums of all time. 

Outro music: “On the Keys of Steel” by Dusty Decks.

Podcast production by Cameron Drews. Production assistance by Kat Hong. 

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