Culture Gabfest: Trump Goes on Down to South Park Edition

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4 • 1.1K Ratings

🗓️ 30 July 2025

⏱️ 61 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

On this week’s show, Dana, Steve and guest host Nitish Pahwa summon their critical superpowers to assess Marvel’s Fantastic Four: First Steps. Can the charms of Pedro Pascal and company mixed with a Jetsons-style retrofuturism energize this long-troubled comic book IP? They discuss. Next, they’re joined by Euny Hong, author of The Birth of Korean Cool: How One Nation Is Conquering the World Through Pop Culture, to unpack why KPop Demon Hunters is such a record-breaking hit. Finally, they revisit a little town called South Park to talk about the long-running animated series’ latest episode which brutally satirizes President Trump. In an exclusive Slate Plus bonus episode, the panel takes a look at the confusing messaging in advertisements for A.I. products. Endorsements: Nitish - The music of the late, great musical satirist and mathematician Tom Lehrer, who recently passed. His archive is available for free at tomlehrersongs.com. Steve - The great spy thriller The Spy Who Came In From The Cold by John le Carré. Dana - Tim Maia's irresistible "Do Leme Ao Pontal." Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Transcript

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0:00.0	Hi, I'm Dana Stevens, and this is the Slate Culture Gab Fest.
0:13.6	Trump goes on down to South Park Edition.
0:16.0	It's Wednesday, July 30, 2025.
0:18.6	This week we'll be discussing, first off, The Fantastic Four, the new Marvel release
0:22.6	that's an attempt to reboot a 1960s comic book franchise that's previously only met with Doom
0:28.2	at the 21st Century box office. Next, we'll discuss K-pop Demon Hunters, an animated
0:34.1	Netflix movie that pits a trio of supernaturally gifted Korean pop singers against a rival boy band that turns out to be made up of demons in disguise.
0:42.8	And finally, the recently released first episode of the 27th season of South Park,
0:47.4	a show that has long distinguished itself by its defiant lack of taste,
0:50.4	has made headlines by caricaturing Donald Trump as a needy, insecure bobblehead
0:54.8	with a minuscule penis and a sexual relationship with Satan. It's an episode whose satire is
1:00.1	crude and scabrous, even by South Park's notoriously high standard, we'll discuss. I'm joined
1:05.7	today by Nittish Pawa filling in for Julia Turner. Nittish is a staff writer at Slate and happy to have him on this week. Hi.
1:12.5	Hi. Thanks so much for having me. Yeah, we're here in studio together in New York and joining us from afar.
1:18.4	I think from some enviable vacation spot is Stephen Metcalf. Steve, where are you?
1:23.4	I am in Brooklyn, New York, Dana Stevens. Oh, that's enviably so.
1:28.6	Actually, in today's weather, it's extremely unenviable, but we're all stuck in that.
1:33.7	You've reached the final level.
1:36.1	The spicy McNuggets side mission.
1:39.0	Maximum flavor, crispy crunch, and a spicy dip with a kick.
1:43.3	Are you ready? Spicey McNuggets for a limited time only. Until the night of September 25, fees apply to delivery. Participation and price may vary. Subject to availability, serving time supply. So what are you watching at the moment? Squid game, Dad. Let's watch it together this weekend. That'd be nice. What's it on again? Netflix.
2:01.4	You've got EETV, so you just switch it on. What season are we up to? Um, four? That's Stranger Things, Mom. And what about the kids? Don't worry, they'll watch Coca-Mellon for the hundredth time. Switch on Netflix with EETV, plus change up sports and entertainment. It's TV with the ultimate flex for the whole family.
	...

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