<description>&lt;p&gt;On today’s episode, host Kate Lindsay is joined by Ed Zitron, host of the podcast &lt;a href="https://www.betteroffline.com/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"&gt;Better Offline&lt;/a&gt; and a certified hater of AI. After yet another AI writing scandal, this time involving the 2026 Commonwealth Short Story prize, Kate and Ed take a closer look at tools like Pangram that claim to detect AI writing with 99% accuracy. But if we can’t ever be sure, then no one knows what’s true at all—and that’s exactly how these institutions like it.&amp;nbsp;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;p&gt;This podcast is produced by Vic Whitley-Berry, Daisy Rosario, and Kate Lindsay.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;hr&gt;&lt;p style='color:grey; font-size:0.75em;'&gt; Hosted on Acast. See &lt;a style='color:grey;' target='_blank' rel='noopener noreferrer' href='https://acast.com/privacy'&gt;acast.com/privacy&lt;/a&gt; for more information.&lt;/p&gt;</description>

Yet another AI writing scandal has proved just how unprepared we are.

On today’s episode, host Kate Lindsay is joined by Ed Zitron, host of the podcast <a href="https://www.betteroffline.com/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Better Offline</a> and a certified hater of AI. After yet another AI writing scandal, this time involving the 2026 Commonwealth Short Story prize, Kate and Ed take a closer look at tools like Pangram that claim to detect AI writing with 99% accuracy. But if we can’t ever be sure, then no one knows what’s true at all—and that’s exactly how these institutions like it.&nbsp; This podcast is produced by Vic Whitley-Berry, Daisy Rosario, and Kate Lindsay.<hr> 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.

ICYMI - AI Detectors Won’t Save Us

<description>&lt;p&gt;In 1979, Sister Sledge changed the sound of wedding receptions forever with “We Are Family.” Believe it or not, the Chic-penned banger never made it to No. 1. Steely Dan helped invent Yacht Rock with 1977’s jazzy bop “Peg.” (They would have loved it better if it had cracked the Top 10.) And in 1972, Elton John told a timeless tale of a blue-jean baby, “Tiny Dancer.” Casey Kasem never counted it down.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;p&gt;Today on Hit Parade: Chris Molanphy celebrates “near misses”—now-ubiquitous hits that missed the mark on the pop charts, stalling out at No. 2, No. 11, or No. 41. In this episode, Chris zooms in on near-misses from the 1970s, including songs from Paul McCartney, the Spinners, Jackson Browne, Cat Stevens, Diana Ross, and Michael&amp;nbsp;Jackson.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;p&gt;Get more Hit Parade with Slate Plus! Join for bonus episodes of "The Bridge" and ad-free listening across all your favorite Slate podcasts. Subscribe directly from the Hit Parade show page on &lt;a href="https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/hit-parade-music-history-and-music-trivia/id1291058235" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"&gt;Apple Podcasts&lt;/a&gt; or &lt;a href="https://open.spotify.com/show/4GqbdfOT9Je4nEp5BqnGit" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"&gt;Spotify&lt;/a&gt;. Or, visit &lt;a href="https://slate.com/podcast-plus?utm_medium=link&amp;amp;utm_campaign=plus_pod&amp;amp;utm_content=Hit_Parade&amp;amp;utm_source=episode_summary" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"&gt;slate.com/hitparadeplus&lt;/a&gt; to get access wherever you listen.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;hr&gt;&lt;p style='color:grey; font-size:0.75em;'&gt; Hosted on Acast. See &lt;a style='color:grey;' target='_blank' rel='noopener noreferrer' href='https://acast.com/privacy'&gt;acast.com/privacy&lt;/a&gt; for more information.&lt;/p&gt;</description>

The cruelest numbers on the charts are No. 2, No. 11, and No. 41—but some hits that come up short wind up legendary.

In 1979, Sister Sledge changed the sound of wedding receptions forever with “We Are Family.” Believe it or not, the Chic-penned banger never made it to No. 1. Steely Dan helped invent Yacht Rock with 1977’s jazzy bop “Peg.” (They would have loved it better if it had cracked the Top 10.) And in 1972, Elton John told a timeless tale of a blue-jean baby, “Tiny Dancer.” Casey Kasem never counted it down. Today on Hit Parade: Chris Molanphy celebrates “near misses”—now-ubiquitous hits that missed the mark on the pop charts, stalling out at No. 2, No. 11, or No. 41. In this episode, Chris zooms in on near-misses from the 1970s, including songs from Paul McCartney, the Spinners, Jackson Browne, Cat Stevens, Diana Ross, and Michael&nbsp;Jackson. Get more Hit Parade with Slate Plus! Join for bonus episodes of "The Bridge" and ad-free listening across all your favorite Slate podcasts. Subscribe directly from the Hit Parade show page on <a href="https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/hit-parade-music-history-and-music-trivia/id1291058235" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Apple Podcasts</a> or <a href="https://open.spotify.com/show/4GqbdfOT9Je4nEp5BqnGit" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Spotify</a>. Or, visit <a href="https://slate.com/podcast-plus?utm_medium=link&amp;utm_campaign=plus_pod&amp;utm_content=Hit_Parade&amp;utm_source=episode_summary" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">slate.com/hitparadeplus</a> to get access wherever you listen. <hr> 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.

Hit Parade | Music History and Music Trivia - Near-Miss Hits: ’70s Edition

<description>&lt;p&gt;This week, the OG three Steve, Dana, and Julia dig into the visually stuffed, Marxist smorgasbord that is Boots Riley’s latest film &lt;em&gt;I Love Boosters&lt;/em&gt;. Starring Keke Palmer and Demi Moore, the candy-colored agitprop is about exploitation, the fashion world, shoplifting as class warfare, and— as they discuss—perhaps more than one movie can handle.&amp;nbsp;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;p&gt;Next they turn from Marx to Freud and analyze the critically adored reality TV phenomenon &lt;em&gt;Couples Therapy&lt;/em&gt;,&lt;em&gt; &lt;/em&gt;now entering its fifth season. Is the office of Dr. Orna Guralnik a site of transcendent psychological revelation or panoptic exploitation? They unpack.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;p&gt;Finally, they talk &lt;em&gt;lingvo &lt;/em&gt;itself by way of &lt;a href="https://harpers.org/archive/2026/06/love-language-katie-thornton-esperanto/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"&gt;a recent article in &lt;em&gt;Harpers &lt;/em&gt;by Katie Thornton&lt;/a&gt; about the unlikely resurgence of interest in the artificial language Esperanto.&amp;nbsp;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;p&gt;In a bonus episode for Slate Plus subscribers, they answer a listener question about what long-running pieces of culture they’ve stuck with over years.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;em&gt;Ĝuu&lt;/em&gt;!&lt;/p&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Endorsements&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Dana&lt;/strong&gt;: The book &lt;a href="https://www.abebooks.com/9780631154877/Artificial-Language-Movement-Large-Andrew-0631154876/plp" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"&gt;&lt;em&gt;The Artificial Language Movement&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/a&gt; by Andrew Large about the centuries-long history of utopic language projects.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Julia: &lt;/strong&gt;Lena Dunham’s memoir &lt;a href="https://bookshop.org/p/books/famesick-a-memoir-lena-dunham/051a699f988a479a?ean=9780593129326&amp;amp;next=t" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"&gt;&lt;em&gt;Famesick&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/a&gt; and &lt;a href="http://dialed.gg" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"&gt;Dialed.gg&lt;/a&gt;, the internet’s latest color perception test.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Steve&lt;/strong&gt;: The music of the indie shoegaze band Slowdive—particularly the album &lt;a href="https://open.spotify.com/album/4i21O3uVh5palcfFhCjlT7?si=ON6QAmsBStW_ippYKoZuig" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"&gt;&lt;em&gt;Souvlaki&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/a&gt;—and the solo efforts of its frontman Neil Halstead—particularly the song “&lt;a href="https://open.spotify.com/track/7nQDSyEeO2pZOjRmOkTzLD?si=87c52bac77574620" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"&gt;Witless or Wise”&lt;/a&gt; and the album &lt;a href="https://open.spotify.com/album/6nWn2IqFMPLfo5fEi42XOe?si=Bt2O8G1_ScqqLQxmN78XhA" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"&gt;&lt;em&gt;Palindrome Hunches&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/a&gt;; check out Steve’s &lt;a href="https://open.spotify.com/playlist/453gxQVv3s8pzCTXahnjlw?si=cac23533443d43d9" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"&gt;mega playlist for more&lt;/a&gt;.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;p&gt;---&lt;/p&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;p&gt;Email us your thoughts at &lt;a href="mailto:culturefest@slate.com" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"&gt;culturefest@slate.com&lt;/a&gt;.&amp;nbsp;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;p&gt;Podcast production by Benjamin Frisch. Production assistance by Daniel Hirsch.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;hr&gt;&lt;p style='color:grey; font-size:0.75em;'&gt; Hosted on Acast. See &lt;a style='color:grey;' target='_blank' rel='noopener noreferrer' href='https://acast.com/privacy'&gt;acast.com/privacy&lt;/a&gt; for more information.&lt;/p&gt;</description>

On this week’s show, the hosts analyze the new film I Love Boosters, the docuseries Couples Therapy, and a recent article about Esperanto.

This week, the OG three Steve, Dana, and Julia dig into the visually stuffed, Marxist smorgasbord that is Boots Riley’s latest film I Love Boosters. Starring Keke Palmer and Demi Moore, the candy-colored agitprop is about exploitation, the fashion world, shoplifting as class warfare, and— as they discuss—perhaps more than one movie can handle.&nbsp; Next they turn from Marx to Freud and analyze the critically adored reality TV phenomenon Couples Therapy, now entering its fifth season. Is the office of Dr. Orna Guralnik a site of transcendent psychological revelation or panoptic exploitation? They unpack. Finally, they talk lingvo itself by way of <a href="https://harpers.org/archive/2026/06/love-language-katie-thornton-esperanto/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">a recent article in Harpers by Katie Thornton</a> about the unlikely resurgence of interest in the artificial language Esperanto.&nbsp; In a bonus episode for Slate Plus subscribers, they answer a listener question about what long-running pieces of culture they’ve stuck with over years. Ĝuu! Endorsements Dana: The book <a href="https://www.abebooks.com/9780631154877/Artificial-Language-Movement-Large-Andrew-0631154876/plp" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">The Artificial Language Movement</a> by Andrew Large about the centuries-long history of utopic language projects. Julia: Lena Dunham’s memoir <a href="https://bookshop.org/p/books/famesick-a-memoir-lena-dunham/051a699f988a479a?ean=9780593129326&amp;next=t" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Famesick</a> and <a href="http://dialed.gg" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Dialed.gg</a>, the internet’s latest color perception test. Steve: The music of the indie shoegaze band Slowdive—particularly the album <a href="https://open.spotify.com/album/4i21O3uVh5palcfFhCjlT7?si=ON6QAmsBStW_ippYKoZuig" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Souvlaki</a>—and the solo efforts of its frontman Neil Halstead—particularly the song “<a href="https://open.spotify.com/track/7nQDSyEeO2pZOjRmOkTzLD?si=87c52bac77574620" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Witless or Wise”</a> and the album <a href="https://open.spotify.com/album/6nWn2IqFMPLfo5fEi42XOe?si=Bt2O8G1_ScqqLQxmN78XhA" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Palindrome Hunches</a>; check out Steve’s <a href="https://open.spotify.com/playlist/453gxQVv3s8pzCTXahnjlw?si=cac23533443d43d9" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">mega playlist for more</a>. --- Email us your thoughts at <a href="mailto:culturefest@slate.com" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">culturefest@slate.com</a>.&nbsp; Podcast production by Benjamin Frisch. Production assistance by Daniel Hirsch.<hr> 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.

Culture Gabfest - I Love Boosters Heightens the Contradictions Edition

<description>&lt;p&gt;On today’s episode, host Kate Lindsay is joined by New York Magazine features writer Lane Brown whose &lt;a href="https://www.vulture.com/article/social-media-feeds-chaotic-good-projects-clipping.html" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"&gt;latest piece&lt;/a&gt; breaks down the “clipping economy,” which has become the backbone of the entire internet. Cheaper than traditional advertising, people and companies employ bots and users to generate fake hype for everything from music to TV shows to SNL performances. The internet has become so saturated with this content that now almost everyone has to do it to compete. But if you take away clipping, does any real internet remain? And if everything is marketing, is anything online real?&lt;/p&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;p&gt;This podcast is produced by Vic Whitley-Berry, Daisy Rosario, and Kate Lindsay.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;hr&gt;&lt;p style='color:grey; font-size:0.75em;'&gt; Hosted on Acast. See &lt;a style='color:grey;' target='_blank' rel='noopener noreferrer' href='https://acast.com/privacy'&gt;acast.com/privacy&lt;/a&gt; for more information.&lt;/p&gt;</description>

“Clipping” and fake “narrative campaigns” have infiltrated social media right under our noses.

On today’s episode, host Kate Lindsay is joined by New York Magazine features writer Lane Brown whose <a href="https://www.vulture.com/article/social-media-feeds-chaotic-good-projects-clipping.html" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">latest piece</a> breaks down the “clipping economy,” which has become the backbone of the entire internet. Cheaper than traditional advertising, people and companies employ bots and users to generate fake hype for everything from music to TV shows to SNL performances. The internet has become so saturated with this content that now almost everyone has to do it to compete. But if you take away clipping, does any real internet remain? And if everything is marketing, is anything online real? This podcast is produced by Vic Whitley-Berry, Daisy Rosario, and Kate Lindsay.<hr> 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.

ICYMI - The Secret Marketing Tactic Killing The Internet

<description>&lt;p&gt;Earlier this year we debuted Decoder Rings Back, our new feature exclusively for Decoder Ring Plus subscribers. In each installment, Willa gets a listener on the phone and tries her best to answer their question about a cultural mystery. We have been having a blast making these episodes, and if you haven’t heard them, we think you’re missing out. So in the hopes of instilling some FOMO that motivates you to support the work we do here by becoming a Decoder Ring Plus subscriber, here’s a sneak peek at the latest installment.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;This time, we hear from Julia Latino in Massachusetts who’s been baffled for years by a strange sight: dozens of tiny rubber duckies riding on the dashboard of Jeeps. What started this craze, and why &lt;em&gt;Jeeps &lt;/em&gt;of all cars?&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;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 &lt;a href="https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/decoder-ring/id1376577202" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"&gt;Apple Podcasts&lt;/a&gt; or &lt;a href="https://open.spotify.com/show/3vYNA0Ki5sUHnYC9QwQnKl" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"&gt;Spotify&lt;/a&gt;. Or, visit &lt;a href="https://slate.com/podcast-plus?utm_medium=link&amp;amp;utm_campaign=plus_pod&amp;amp;utm_content=Decoder_Ring&amp;amp;utm_source=episode_summary" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"&gt;slate.com/decoderplus&lt;/a&gt; for access wherever you listen.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;hr&gt;&lt;p style='color:grey; font-size:0.75em;'&gt; Hosted on Acast. See &lt;a style='color:grey;' target='_blank' rel='noopener noreferrer' href='https://acast.com/privacy'&gt;acast.com/privacy&lt;/a&gt; for more information.&lt;/p&gt;</description>

Why are there so many rubber duckies living on the dashboards of Wranglers?

Earlier this year we debuted Decoder Rings Back, our new feature exclusively for Decoder Ring Plus subscribers. In each installment, Willa gets a listener on the phone and tries her best to answer their question about a cultural mystery. We have been having a blast making these episodes, and if you haven’t heard them, we think you’re missing out. So in the hopes of instilling some FOMO that motivates you to support the work we do here by becoming a Decoder Ring Plus subscriber, here’s a sneak peek at the latest installment.This time, we hear from Julia Latino in Massachusetts who’s been baffled for years by a strange sight: dozens of tiny rubber duckies riding on the dashboard of Jeeps. What started this craze, and why Jeeps of all cars?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 <a href="https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/decoder-ring/id1376577202" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Apple Podcasts</a> or <a href="https://open.spotify.com/show/3vYNA0Ki5sUHnYC9QwQnKl" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Spotify</a>. Or, visit <a href="https://slate.com/podcast-plus?utm_medium=link&amp;utm_campaign=plus_pod&amp;utm_content=Decoder_Ring&amp;utm_source=episode_summary" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">slate.com/decoderplus</a> for access wherever you listen.<hr> 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.

Decoder Ring - Preview: Decoder Rings Back | Duck, Duck, Jeep

Get the Culture Gabfest and all of Slate's culture coverage here.<hr> 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.

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