It’s our annual mailbag episode! We get a lot of wonderful reader emails suggesting topics for the show — and... more

The mullet, the love-to-hate-it hairstyle, is as associated with the 1980’s as Ronald Reagan, junk bonds, and breakdancing. But in... more

In 1980, a variety show debuted on NBC called Pink Lady and Jeff. Its stars were a pair of Japanese... more

The fear that the Earth could be destroyed by a killer asteroid is an anxiety that pops up all the... more

There is a prominent bird in the 2000 film Charlie’s Angels that makes absolutely no sense. This so-called Pygmy Nuthatch... more

Whatever happened to selling out? The defining concern of Generation X has become a relic from another era. How that... more

Oscar-winner Warren Beatty first secured the rights to the comic book character Dick Tracy in the lead up to his... more

Adults have a long history of trying to find morals and lessons in children’s literature. But what happens when a... more

In the late 1970s, a new and unusual concept for a restaurant chain emerged in California—video games plus bad pizza... more

“Hysteria” is an ancient word carrying thousands of years of baggage. Though the terminology has changed, hysteria has not gone... more

If you’re lucky, it’s possible you’ve never thought much about sitting. It’s just something your body does, like breathing or... more

Lawn ornaments are everywhere—but for something so ubiquitous, they’re also mysterious. What’s the person with the flamingo or the gargoyle... more

Axolotls. Narwhals. Llamas. Sloths. Every few years, it seems like American kids and parents collectively decide they cannot get enough... more

30 years ago, the Stanley Cup playoffs ignited a rumor that has been messing with Jane Macdougall’s life ever since.  In... more

In 1990, the cartoon superhero Captain Planet swooped onto TV screens all over the world. He was the brainchild of... more

A fat suit is a custom-made costume with one goal: to make an actor appear fat without them actually having... more

The jalapeño is the workhorse of hot peppers. They’re sold fresh, canned, pickled, in hot sauces, salsas, smoked into chipotles, and... more

We’re bringing you an episode of The Last Archive from our friends at Pushkin Industries. In this episode: an exploration... more

Pop culture is full of fictional bands singing songs purpose-made to capture a moment, a sound. This music doesn’t organically... more

Magazines have fallen on hard times – especially the weekly news, fashion, and celebrity mags that once dominated newsstands. The... more

In 1986, Andrew Wyeth was the most famous painter in America. He was a household name, on the cover of... more

Like a manager or an agent or a publicist, a stylist has become a kind of must-have accessory for well-dressed,... more

Thirty years ago, a new kind of soda arrived in select stores. Instead of crowing about how spectacular it was,... more

The eerie similarity of coffee shops all over the world was so confounding to Kyle Chayka that it led him... more

We’re back with a new batch of cultural mysteries! This year, we’re putting out more new episodes—like many more of... more

In 1992, a Minnesota-based software company known for its educational hit The Oregon Trail released another simulation-style game to school... more

From the moment it was released in 1995, The Rules was controversial. Some people loved it—and swore that the dating... more

We receive a lot of fantastic show ideas from our listeners—and we’re grateful for each and every one. For our... more

In the mid-1990s, the prime time drama Melrose Place became a home to hundreds of pieces of contemporary art—and no... more

Judging from teen dramas on Netflix, the slow dance seems to be alive and well. But when you talk to... more

We’re back with a new batch of cultural mysteries! This season, Decoder Ring explores the decline of an awkward yet... more

Once you start listening for catchphrases in everyday life—you can’t stop hearing them. From the radio era’s “Holy mackerel!” to... more

When Slate’s Evan Chung was a kid, he was obsessed with a mysterious advertisement that ran for decades in the... more

Kissing—the romantic, sexual, steamy kind—is so ingrained in us that it just seems like a fact of life. Like breathing... more

The mosh pit has a reputation as a violent place where (mostly) white guys vent their aggression. There’s some truth... more

Parmesan is a food—but it’s not just a food. Italy’s beloved cheese is often paired with a deep craving for... more

Join Decoder Ring as we unlock a whole new season of cultural mysteries. First, we’ll sniff around Italy’s best-loved cheese... more

We pride ourselves on being grounded, rational beings, but flitting amongst us is a mystery: the Tooth Fairy. This flying... more

Parking is one of the great paradoxes of American life. On the one hand, we have paved an ungodly amount... more

We bring you a special episode from Sidedoor, a podcast about the treasures that fill the vaults of the Smithsonian.... more

Last week, we put on the proverbial raincoat and made like Columbo to investigate Peter Falk’s claim that he recorded... more

Not too long ago an old clip surfaced of Peter Falk on David Letterman, in which he told an intriguing... more

Decoder Ring is back with a new season of cultural mysteries to crack. We'll kick things off with a proper... more

Host Willa Paskin and producer Katie Shepherd discuss how this season of Decoder Ring came together. Slate Plus members have access... more

We’re really lucky to get a lot of listener emails, suggesting topics for the show. In this episode, we’re going... more

(This episode originally aired in March 2020.) The 1998 romantic comedy You’ve Got Mail, starring Tom Hanks and Meg Ryan, is... more

Ross Cellino and Steve Barnes were two Buffalo-based lawyers who became the literal poster-men for personal injury advertising. They poured... more

We bring you a special episode from the Articles of Interest podcast hosted by Avery Trufelman about the incredible reach... more

For this episode, a story from Slate senior producer Evan Chung about how Yanni, John Tesh and a number of... more

For about two decades towards the end of the Victorian era, in the 1870s and 1880s, a large bustle-enhanced bottom... more

In the history of viral images, #TheDress has got to be in the top 10. This unassuming photo of a... more

Decoder Ring is back with a new season of juicy topics, like.... Remember the viral phenomenon and optical mind-blower known... more

McGruff the Crime Dog arrived on the scene at the dawn of the 1980s, just as a firehose of anti-drug... more

McGruff the Crime Dog arrived on the scene at the dawn of the 1980s, just as a firehose of anti-drug... more

Host Willa Paskin talks about topics versus narratives, translating fabulists, and creating a sound landscape for the world of Mae... more

In the early 1930s, Mae West’s dirty talk and hip swiveling walk made her one of the biggest movie stars... more

When you think of an alien abduction, what do you picture? Humanoid creatures, medical experiments, lost memories retrieved through hypnosis?... more

Rod McKuen sold multiple millions of poetry books in the 60s and 70s. He released dozens of albums, was a... more

What do we lose if we lose the mall? 70 years into their existence, these hulking temples to commerce are... more

Decoder Ring is coming back with a new season featuring a whole new set of questions.... Like, is the shopping... more

When did everyone become a storyteller? Decades after George Lucas and Steve Jobs made storytelling a big business, every company... more

In the 1970s, a song about protesting truckers topped the music charts in multiple countries, and kicked off a pop... more

In 2004, the indie flick Sideways was released in just four theaters, but it had a big impact, earning five... more

When we think of method acting, we tend to think of actors going a little over the top for a... more

In the early 2000s, an arms race broke out in the world of men’s shaving. After decades with razors that... more

Decoder Ring is coming back with a new season featuring a whole new set of questions…and some good surprising answers.... more

Custer's Revenge is widely considered one of the worst video games ever made. Originally released as part of a series... more

Today on Decoder Ring: Three stories about fame, and one about monkeys. Are primates susceptible to celebrity endorsements? What does... more

Note: This episode is about offensive material, and so contains explicit and offensive language. Truly Tasteless Jokes were a series of... more

In literature, the choice to become a vampire is a metaphor for transformative experiences. On this episode, we bring you... more

When you think about the game, you lose the game. When you lose the game you must declare that you... more

Rats live wherever people live, with one exception: the Canadian province of Alberta. A rat sighting in Alberta is a... more

In the summer of 1986, both Time Magazine and Newsweek ran blockbuster cover stories on the same subject: a secret... more

In 2001, Oprah Winfrey invited Jonathan Franzen to come on her show to discuss his new novel The Corrections. A... more

Time does funny thing to everything, but especially to tattoos. Today, four stories about tattoos whose meanings have shifted with... more

You know the Tootsie Shot. It’s that shot from the movies: a really busy midtown street, protagonist smack in the middle of it... more

In the year 2000, Dan Kois was a junior book agent working on selling a secretive book proposal called IT, a... more

Ilona Granet was a New York art-scene fixture who won the praise of the art world when she put up... more

If you love the show and want to support us, consider joining Slate Plus. With Slate Plus you can binge... more

To say that hydration is an invention is only a slight exaggeration. Back in the 1970’s and ‘80s, no one... more

Welcome to a brand new season of Decoder Ring! On this episode, we investigate the wild world of soap operas... more

Right now Decoder Ring is working on a full season of new episodes coming this June, but in the meantime... more

What took blue food so long to catch on? Today it’s all over the freezer aisle, in candies for kids,... more

In 1983, the Cabbage Patch Kids were released, causing widespread pandemonium in toy stores and in the media. How did... more

How did Hanoi Jane become Exercise Jane? This is the second part of our two-parter on Jane Fonda's Workout. If you... more

When Jane Fonda granted us an interview to talk about her famous workout tape, things didn't go as planned. On part... more

The mullet, the love-to-hate-it hairstyle is as associated with the 1980's as Ronald Reagan, junk bonds, and break dancing. But... more

The Karen, a white woman who surveys, inconveniences, and terrorizes, service workers and people of color is a relatively new... more

In 2003, the word "metrosexual", meaning a well-groomed heterosexual man, exploded all over the English lexicon. It invaded the news,... more

Rebecca Black's music video for Friday was Youtube's most watched video of 2011, thrusting the thirteen-year-old Rebecca into a very... more