<p>On this week’s show, our panel of Dana, Steve, and Sam Adams are on the case. The case: is the movie <em>Sheep Detectives</em> a real movie and is it any good? The answer: it’s a star-studded cozy murder mystery based on a best-selling book about ungulate sleuths… and yeah, it might just be the surprise word-of-mouth delight of the season.</p><p>&nbsp;</p><p>Next, they take up the proverbial conch shell to assess <em>Lord of Flies</em>, the new Netflix limited series adaptation of William Golding’s classic novel from the creator of <em>Adolescence.</em></p><br><p>Finally, they’re joined by longtime Slate book reviewer Laura Miller who understandably has some thoughts and feelings about the recent piece by <em>New York Times </em>book critic Dwight Garner “<a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2026/04/27/books/review/ai-book-reviews.html" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Where Have All the Book Reviews Gone?</a>”</p><br><p>In an exclusive bonus episode for Slate Plus subscribers, Laura sticks around to report back from her viewing of the strange mess that is the new <em>Animal Farm</em> adaptation.</p><br><p><strong>Endorsements</strong></p><br><p><strong>Laura</strong>: The new book by philosopher and polymath C. Thi Nguyen <a href="https://bookshop.org/p/books/the-score-how-to-stop-playing-somebody-else-s-game-c-thi-nguyen/10cacf42dab73bd5?ean=9780593655658&amp;next=t" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"><em>The Score: How To Stop Playing Somebody Else’s Game</em></a>.&nbsp;</p><br><p><strong>Steve</strong>: The music of the Brazilian recording artist <a href="https://open.spotify.com/artist/6ijeN3MhwnbRfo86gH5McZ?si=w4gRdLi2R3GoulZ25Gu6Qg" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Sessa</a> and the chamber music piece <a href="https://open.spotify.com/album/7rC6IrCzShnanTdT87w1JT?si=I_7x0WkqQzOi6OUiRrf1rQ" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"><em>Quartet for the End of Time</em></a><em> by O</em>livier Messiaen.</p><br><p><strong>Sam</strong>: <a href="https://bookshop.org/p/books/the-wager-a-tale-of-shipwreck-mutiny-and-murder-david-grann/b1f2a00fc56cba78?ean=9780307742490&amp;next=t" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"><em>The Wager: A Tale of Shipwreck, Mutiny and Murder</em></a><em> </em>by David Grann.</p><br><p><strong>Dana</strong>: The audiobook <a href="https://www.simonandschuster.com/books/Patrick-Stewart-Performs-the-Complete-Sonnets-of-William-Shakespeare/William-Shakespeare/9781668108444" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"><em>Patrick Stewart Performs the Complete Sonnets of William Shakespeare</em></a>.&nbsp;</p><br><p>--</p><br><p>Email us your thoughts at <a href="mailto:[email protected]" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">[email protected]</a>.&nbsp;</p><br><p>Podcast production by Benjamin Frisch. Production assistance by Daniel Hirsch.</p><p>Need to set up your Slate Plus feed? If you subscribed through Slate.com, check out our <a href="https://slate.com/podcastfaqs#plusbenefits" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">FAQ</a> at slate.com/podcastfaqs for easy instructions. Members subscribed via Apple Podcasts get automatic access—no setup required.</p><hr><p style='color:grey; font-size:0.75em;'> Hosted on Acast. See <a style='color:grey;' target='_blank' rel='noopener noreferrer' href='https://acast.com/privacy'>acast.com/privacy</a> for more information.</p>