Culture Gabfest - Sydney Sweeney’s Box Office Triumph Edition
Slate Culture Feed
Slate Podcasts
4.2 • 2K Ratings
🗓️ 14 January 2026
⏱️ 63 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
Podcasting is a privilege as Steve is joined by Dan Kois and Rebecca Onion to unpack and cackle at the domestic thriller schlockfest The Housemaid. Sydney Sweeney and Amanda Seyfried star in the Paul Fieg-directed tale of two women facing off to rule the McMansion roost.
Next, Seyfried proves she’s got the range as the panel joins the chorus appraising her performance in The Testament of Ann Lee, the epic tone poem and musical biopic about the founder of the Shakers directed by Mona Fastvold.
Finally, Julia hops on the call to join a conversation with Alia Hanna Habib, the influential book agent who is divulging hard-won publishing world insights in a new book Take It from Me and in the Substack Delivery & Acceptance.
In a Slate Plus bonus episode, the panel addresses a listener questioner from a U.S. history teacher about syllabus-worthy pop culture.
Endorsements
Dan: The Ruth Asawa retrospective at MoMA which illuminates the work and life of the prolific artist.
Rebecca: A bunch of books including Canticle by Janet Rich Edwards, The Ax by Donald E. Westlake, and True Grit by Charles Portis.
Steve: The essay "East Side Story" about Marty Supreme by Nawal Arjini in the New York Review of Books.
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Podcast production by Benjamin Frisch. Production assistance by Daniel Hirsch.
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Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | I'm Stephen McAffe, and this is the Slate Culture Gap Fest, Sydney Sweeney's Box Office Triumph edition. |
| 0:16.3 | It's Wednesday, January 14, 2006. |
| 0:20.2 | On today's show, The Housemade stars Amanda Seafried is a rich |
| 0:24.1 | housewife on the verge who hires Sidney Sweeney as her live-in help. The psychological |
| 0:28.3 | thriller is a box office hit. It comes from director. And here's the great thing about |
| 0:32.5 | Paul Figue, Figue, or Figg is no one knows how to pronounce his name even he he's he chameleon like shifts it and |
| 0:39.8 | changes it in order to keep us on our toes and then safe read safe read safe read safe |
| 0:44.5 | you can't get enough of those spacey widely spaced weirdly incising eyes can you dan absolutely |
| 0:50.9 | not i knew you could bring me Bring me more Seyfried. |
| 1:02.6 | I have a lot to offer you in the form of the Testament of Anne Lee, which the new film from Mona Fastfold, she of the brutalist fame. |
| 1:07.3 | This one's been described as a historical epic musical drama. |
| 1:08.5 | It stars. |
| 1:09.8 | Who does a star again, Dan? |
| 1:11.4 | Amanda Seafreed. |
| 1:15.8 | Are you about to break into song? |
| 1:17.0 | Yes. |
| 1:17.9 | Rapturous? |
| 1:18.6 | Oh! |
| 1:19.2 | Yeah. |
| 1:21.5 | Ha! Ha! Ha! Ha! |
| 1:26.2 | That is as much thrusting as we need from you, Dan. |
| 1:32.4 | It stars Amanda Seafreed as Motherley, founder of the Shaker religious sect. |
... |
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