<p>Steve, Dana, and Julia convene once more for a rousing Gabfest. First up, it’s <em>Mother Mary</em>. David Lowery’s strange psychodrama centers on a pop star, played by Anne Hathaway, reuniting with her estranged friend and costume designer, played by Michaela Coel, and the menacing piece of red chiffon that haunts them both.&nbsp;</p><br><p>Next, they turn to another pair of mothers in <em>Margo’s Got Money Troubles</em>. The new series stars Elle Fanning as a new single mom— and Michelle Pfeiffer as her mom— who turns to OnlyFans to make ends meet.&nbsp;</p><br><p>Finally they welcome back Gabfest favorite Caity Weaver to dish on her epic quest to find the best free restaurant bread in America— <a href="https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/2026/05/best-free-restaurant-bread-america/686582/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">as chronicled in her hilarious and insightful piece in <em>The Atlantic</em>.</a></p><br><p>In an exclusive bonus episode for Slate Plus subscribers, Julia shares a behind-the-scenes peek into the founding of her new local media startup <a href="https://lamaterial.com/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">L.A. Material</a>.&nbsp;</p><br><p><strong>Endorsements</strong></p><br><p><strong>Dana: </strong>The completely unscripted shows of <a href="https://www.improvisedshakespeare.com/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">The Improvised Shakespeare Company</a>—on tour now.</p><br><p><strong>Caity: </strong>The live album <a href="https://open.spotify.com/album/0LmHN5Es93TYwXBSDn36lu?si=7I_v386uTcGU00DYRWWrnA" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"><em>Sam Cooke at the Copa</em></a>, especially the song "<a href="https://open.spotify.com/track/6jF3FFsAvliEqH0mWrkOla" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">The Best Things in Life Are Free</a>"—the best bread certainly is.</p><br><p><strong>Julia: </strong>The sitcom <a href="https://www.peacocktv.com/stream-tv/the-fall-and-rise-of-reggie-dinkins" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"><em>The Fall and Rise of Reggie Dinkins</em></a> which really hits its stride after a few episodes.</p><br><p><strong>Steve: </strong>The novel <a href="https://bookshop.org/p/books/the-go-between-l-p-hartley/0b84ad341966f8e8?ean=9780940322998&amp;next=t" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"><em>The Go-Between</em></a> by L.P. Hartley as well as Paul Buchanan, of the band <a href="https://open.spotify.com/artist/1GWV70Reko15eV2nHCm0bM?si=rlASns7hQpShFsVFY_7Phg" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">The Blue Nile</a>, <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=il1X8y2Pr6Q" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">covering David Bowie’s "Ashes to Ashes.</a>"</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><br><p><br></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>