Dumbphones are a popular recommendation for people looking to reduce their screen time, but it’s not as simple as it looks. When writer Stephanie Murray made the switch, while she found it did solve many of her problems, it created them for pretty much everyone else around her. On today’s show, host Kate Lindsay is joined by Murray, who wrote about her experience for The New York Times, to discuss how the outside world is also too smartphone-dependent, and what people should know before taking the dumbphone plunge. This podcast is produced by Vic Whitley-Berry, Daisy Rosario, and Kate Lindsay, with help from Kevin Bendis. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In the 1970s, Dolly Parton parlayed her Nashville success into megawatt pop-culture icon status—yet many of her familiar hits of the era barely scratched the Top 40. Parton finally crossed over at the turn of the ’80s by courting pop fans directly. Nearly five decades later, country music is ubiquitous on the pop charts, with Ella Langley’s “Choosin’ Texas” recently setting a record for most weeks at No. 1. On this installment of Hit Parade, Chris Molanphy examines the chart rules that limited Parton’s pop-chart potential, the trail she blazed for Langley and other country women, and why the Nashville sound is much more than just an island in the (digital) stream.For more about country to pop crossover stardom listen to Hit Parade’s episode on John Denver and Olivia Newton John and read Chris’s Slate column about Ella Langley’s chart dominance.Pssst! Do you love Hit Parade? Support what we do and help us absolutely crush it during Slate’s podcast pledge drive! For a limited time, you can join Slate Plus for 50 percent off.and get bonus episodes of "The Bridge," ad-free listening across all your favorite Slate podcasts, and unlimited reading on Slate.com. Visit slate.com/hitparadeplus and use the promo code HIT50 to receive the discount AND get access wherever you listen. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In the early 1970s, a jigsaw puzzle of a cheerful, young, naked, fat woman known only as “Bridget in the Buff” arrived in stores all over America. It was just the first of countless Bridget-related merchandise that would be sold around the world for the next decade: calendars, playing cards, coloring books, cookbooks, and much more. Bridget was everywhere. But who was she?In this episode of Decoder Ring, the real Bridget reveals all. Her name is Dawn Brooks, and she takes us through the unusual path that led her to pose nude for scores of popular products. How does it feel to be a gag gift—and now, an unlikely icon?Besides Dawn, you’ll hear from her friends Leslie Block Prip, Kathy McDermott, and John Emery; Herb Kavet, whose company created the “Bridget in the Buff” line of products; and Bridget admirers Laura Mazzuca Toops and Ginger Geralamo.Thank you to Brenda Oelbaum, and to Molly Brown and Olivia Dever from the Northeastern University Archives and Special Collections.This episode was written by Willa Paskin and produced by Evan Chung, our Supervising Producer. Decoder Ring is also produced by Max Freedman. Merritt Jacob is Senior Technical Director. If you have any cultural mysteries you want us to decode, email us at [email protected] or leave a message on our hotline at (347) 460-7281.Get more of Decoder Ring with Slate Plus! Join for exclusive bonus episodes of Decoder Ring and ad-free listening on all your favorite Slate podcasts. Subscribe from the Decoder Ring show page on Apple Podcasts or Spotify. Or, visit slate.com/decoderplus for access wherever you listen. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Like clockwork, another article has created a moral panic about so-called “sickfluencers,” or people—usually women—who share online about their illnesses and disabilities. Critics argue that the rise of these diagnoses and creators is some kind of social contagion, with participants faking their symptoms for social media attention. But these fears are not just overblown—they’re harmful. On today’s show, host Kate Lindsay is joined by social psychologist Devon Price, author of Unmasking Autism and Laziness Does Not Exist, to discuss the realities of this trend, and why so much of the criticism is rooted in sexism. This podcast is produced by Vic Whitley-Berry, Daisy Rosario, and Kate Lindsay. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Stefan’s mother said he was too smart for public school and took him out of 4th grade. But instead of studying, Stefan’s homeschool curriculum was organized around keeping his mother company and pretending he wouldn’t grow up and leave her. In this episode, Stefan Merrill Block talks about his five year homeschool experience, how it shaped him as a father and writer, and the ambivalence of loving a parent while recognizing the harm they caused. Stefan Merrill Block’s memoir Homeschooled is out now.Podcast production by Zoe Azulay Death, Sex & Money is now produced by Slate! To support us and our colleagues, please sign up for our membership program, Slate Plus! Members get ad-free podcasts, bonus content on lots of Slate shows, and full access to all the articles on Slate.com. Sign up today at slate.com/dsmplus.And if you’re new to the show, welcome. We’re so glad you’re here. Find us and follow us on Instagram and you can find Anna’s newsletter at annasale.substack.com. Our new email address, where you can reach us with voice memos, pep talks, questions, critiques, is [email protected]. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

A former Anthropic employee claimed AI would lead to the end of humanity, and soon. In the weeks since, the “whistleblower” has done a full press tour, with even Anthropic and OpenAI themselves seeming to cosign this claim. As a result, hysteria has ensued—and that’s exactly what these AI companies want. On today’s episode, host Kate Lindsay is joined by Better Offline host and #1 AI Hater Ed Zitron to debunk the doomsdayers, and explain why, exactly, these companies are so interested in the end of the world. This podcast is produced by Vic Whitley-Berry, Daisy Rosario, and Kate Lindsay. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Pregnant werewolves and surprise quadruplets are just two of the tropes you might find while watching what might be the next evolution of TV: vertical microdramas. Told in 90 second clips, these stories are soap operas for the smartphone era, and are keeping the industry afloat during an otherwise turbulent time for Hollywood. On today’s episode, host Kate Lindsay is joined by Yahoo senior culture reporter Kelsey Weekman to hear why dedicated fans are tuning into such ridiculous stories, and how AI is already threatening to bring this rare good thing to an end. This podcast is produced by Vic Whitley-Berry, Daisy Rosario, and Kate Lindsay. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Anna Blake started an OnlyFans account, not as a pleasure project, but to achieve some financial stability. When she found out she hated the work and made little money, her relationship to sex – and to money – had to change. This week on the show, she talks to Anna Sale about being homeschooled as a kid, having few job prospects as a young adult with a G.E.D., and the class conversation that she feels is missing from the discourse about sex work. You can read Anna Blake’s writing at nothingseriousbyannablake.substack.com, or you can follow her on TikTok at tiktok.com/@nerdnextdoorbabe. Podcast production by Cameron Drews. Right now, we’re running a deal on Death, Sex & Money Plus memberships! Sign up to get bonus episodes of DSM and ad-free listening on all your favorite Slate podcasts. Visit slate.com/dsmplus and use promo code DSM50 to get 50% off your membership – a full year of Death, Sex & Money Plus for $59.  If you’re new to the show, welcome. We’re so glad you’re here. Find us and follow us on Instagram and you can find Anna’s newsletter at annasale.substack.com. Our email address, where you can reach us with voice memos, pep talks, questions, critiques, is [email protected]. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

“Curtain for Zoosha! K-smog and Batboy caught flipping a grunt.” If that’s also what every headline sounds like to you, then you’re in the right place. Alex Earle and Stella Lefty are taking over For You Page discourse, but are two pop culture figures we somehow know everything and nothing about. On today’s episode, host Kate Lindsay is joined by Hip Replacement’s Kyle Raymond Fitzpatrick to get to the bottom of exactly who these women are, and how the ambient, “nothing” nature of their digital footprint is precisely the point. This podcast is produced by Vic Whitley-Berry, Daisy Rosario, and Kate Lindsay, with help from Evan Campbell. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Podcasts are everywhere. They’re more popular and influential than they’ve ever been. But at the same time, what makes a podcast a “podcast” has never been more confusing.Until recently, the definition of “podcast” was clear: audio distributed over the internet. A podcast was something you listened to, not something you watched. But now, almost all of the most popular podcasts have video, too. And most of these podcasts share a video-friendly format: two or three people chatting behind big bulky microphones.You may have noticed that our podcast, Decoder Ring, does not have video, so these developments have given our team, like many other podcast-makers, no shortage of anxiety. In this week’s episode, we’re embracing our inner chatcast: host Willa Paskin and supervising producer Evan Chung trace the history and evolution of podcasting through their own histories with the medium, and wrestle with their complicated feelings about the state of the format in 2026.You can watch video of Willa and Evan’s conversation here:https://youtu.be/JHhQM8IrK7k?si=aOv2BGoSuYhIGF-GThis episode was produced by Max Freedman. Merritt Jacob is Senior Technical Director. Our intern is Phoebe Mulder. Video production by Micah Phillips. Special thanks to Amanda Dobbins, Leon Neyfakh, Nick Quah, Ben Richmond, Amber Robinson, Susan Matthews, Mary Harris, and Mia Lobel.If you have any cultural mysteries you want us to decode, email us at [email protected] or leave a message on our hotline at (347) 460-7281.Sources for This Episode“How YouTube Ate Podcasts and TV,” Galaxy Brain, Dec. 12, 2025.Kang, Jay Caspian. “CNN’s ‘Podcast Look’ and the Slow Death of Cable News,” The New Yorker, March 24, 2026.Quah, Nicholas. “Will Video Kill the Audio Star in 2025?” New York Magazine, Dec. 31, 2024.Testa, Jessica. “It Was Just a Podcast. Now, It’s Kelce Land,” The New York Times, Apr. 24, 2026.Get more of Decoder Ring with Slate Plus! Join for exclusive bonus episodes of Decoder Ring and ad-free listening on all your favorite Slate podcasts. Subscribe from the Decoder Ring show page on Apple Podcasts or Spotify. Or, visit slate.com/decoderplus for access wherever you listen. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.