The following podcast contains explicit language.

The Culture Gab Fest is sponsored by Audible, offering more than 50,000 downloadable

audiobooks.

CultureFest listeners can download a free audiobook by signing up for an Audible membership

at Audiblepodcast.com slash culture fest.

I'm Stephen Metcalf, and this is the Slate CultureGab Fest, Bombard Me with Phonemes Edition.

This is also the daily podcast from slate.com for Wednesday, October 28th, 2008.

On today's program, 30 Rock, and its volatile star, the self-styled ambassador from the

ghetto, Tracy Morgan. The recent retreat of Baby Einstein from its more spectacular claims

to neural stimulation and Brad Paisley, country music's breakout star. Joining me today are Slate's

Deputy Editor Julia Turner. Hello, Joe. Hi, Steve. And our film critic, of course, Dana Stevens. Welcome back, Dana.

Thanks, Steve. We soldiered on without you, but it's great to have you back. And once again, joining us, Forth for Bridge, we have Jody Rosen, Slate's music critic, senior music critic. Jody Rosen. Hey, Jody. Hi, Steve. Welcome. Before we begin, I should say, fester's.

We have CultureFest homework for you. In two weeks, we're going to talk about the fall of the Berlin Wall, but we're not Politico's, as you all know, and never fail to point out to us. What we are artsy-fartsy, so we're going to give you an assignment, which is to read the Ian McEwen novel, Black Dogs,

which has extraordinary McEwen-esque set pieces about the fall of the Berlin Wall and gets into the idea of socialism and the evil of socialism and what was coming to an end in the late 80s.

And in two weeks, that's how we'll approach the topic.

In the meantime, Julia, we talked about Monty Python as this garyllous, sophomoric, in its own weird way, kind of innocent humor, deeply irreverent and silly, unembarrassedly silly humor.

And this week, we're yin to its yang.

We're talking about 30 rock, which I think you would agree is almost the opposite of Monty Python.

Its comedy is high technique, very self-referential, as you yourself put it.

And it's finally drawn in both me and Dana, late in the game. And I'm

wondering, are we getting in at the top or slightly beyond the top? Is it falling off now that it's

entering its fourth season? Yeah, I mean, the basic peg for us to discuss 30 Rock this week is

...