I'm Steven McCaff in this is the Slate culture gapfest summer strut 2021 edition.

It's Wednesday, August 11th, 2021.

Welcome to our funnest show of the year.

So fun.

I, a grammar and usage knob use the word funnest to describe it.

Being me today is Slate's film critic, Dana Steven, say Dana.

Hello Steven.

Dana, do you kind of agree, kind of the funnest show?

It is the funnest show of the year, but I have to say that my big regret this year is no

Julia.

I mean, God bless her, may she take the longest maternity leave possible as everyone should,

but Julia invented strut, she came up with the idea, she's the biggest strut enthusiast,

and I just want people to know if you sent in songs, thinking I'm sad, Julia won't hear

them, that I have spied on Julia and seen her on Spotify in my friend's list listening

to some of these songs.

So she's out there listening, even though she couldn't do the show.

I know, she is the spirit of strut, it's true, I agree.

But we'll soldier on, and that'll be much easier because we have Chris Melanthi here.

Chris, welcome.

Thank you so much, Steve.

And Chris, let me credential you a little bit.

You're the host, of course, of the Slate podcast hit parade.

...