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slash slate. The following podcast contains explicit language.

I'm Stephen Metcalf, and this is the Slate Culture Gab Fest Summer Strut edition.

It's Wednesday, August 14th, 2013.

On today's program, Larry David returns to HBO as bent, bowed, broken, and caustically delicious as ever,

with the comedy, Clear History. And then, what did it like to be a woman in philosophy? There are comparatively few of them, and they are often harassed and discriminated against. We will discuss this sorry state of affairs with the philosopher, Jennifer Saul. And finally, it's here, Summer Strutt. Joining me today is Slate's deputy editor, Julia Turner. Hello, Julia. Hi, Steve. And Slate's film critic, Dana Stevens. Hey, Dana. Hey, there, Stephen. Hey. Listen, before we begin, very quickly, congratulations are in order. The Sporkful was named by BuzzFeed as the number one podcast that you ought to be listening to. And of course, the Sporkville is hosted by art producer Dan Pashman. Dan, congratulations. That's huge.

Oh, thank you. is the number one podcast that you ought to be listening to. And of course, the Sportful is hosted by our producer, Dan,

congratulations. That's huge. Oh, thank you very much. That's nice of you. That's major. Are you deliberately making our show worse every week so that you'll always take these honors? Oh, no. I would expose. I was hoping to produce you guys right up to number two. Well, listen, the good news is that we were on the list, too, though for some reason they got our name wrong and they called us the pop culture happy hour. What the fuck is that about? I'm going to put in a call to Ben Smith immediately after we conclude this taping. Exactly. Fact-checking. All right. Well, Clear History is the new HBO comedy feature film starring Larry David and co-written

by Larry David, and it's directed by Greg Matola, a personal favorite of mine.

It tells the story of Nathan Flom, a man who, through his own boneheadedness, famously

loses out on an immense fortune, and so assumes a new identity and starts a new life on Martha's

Vineyard as a happy

nobody, only to have fate and his former life intervene. I think I've got the summary basically, right. Dana, I'll start with you. You're a film critic. What'd you think of this, a little be below? Yeah, it's a little thing. It's funny to refer to me as the film critic, because if there's one this doesn't feel like to me it's a film. It's sort of an extra long episode of curb your

enthusiasm with different costumes. And anybody who's seen the poster for it knows how hilarious Larry David looks in this costume, which he only wears actually for a small part of the movie with his long hippie hair and a huge flowing guru beard. And that joke alone, I think, really carries the movie a fairly long way. Whoever did the hair and makeup was smart enough to make it just slightly off and grotesque and unrealistic. And there's just something so clown-like about it. And the funniest of all, of course, is that as soon as he shaves, he looks like Larry David again. So he'll pop back up in his Larry David guys. Okay, that was a long time spent talking about just how he looks in the show.

But overall, I would say it was delightful and funny and silly and I enjoyed it. And I don't think he's really growing as an artist. But that's okay by me. I have an argument for how he might possibly be growing as an artist. Oh, make it. All right. I think this is very fun. It is in no way essential. is possibly the least essential thing we've ever talked about on this show, but totally a fun thing to watch or dial up on the HBO Go. And here's how I think Larry David may have grown as an artist and why it might be a good place to start. If you are, for example, a huge fan of Seinfeld, but you've found curb your enthusiasm slightly too far off your cringometer humor-wise.

You just couldn't stand the gnarly places that he took you to.

Is that the case with you?

It was for a while, and then I just overcame my inner cringeometer and just started watching it.

And I like Kribuer enthusiasm plenty well at this point.

But I think that clear history shows a slightly mellowed and wiser Larry David, possibly,

because the Larry David of Curb Your Enthusiasm is an unrepentant jerk

...