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Decoder Ring
Decoder Ring
Slate Podcasts

Decoder Ring is the show about cracking cultural mysteries. In each episode, host Willa Paskin takes a cultural question, object, or habit;... more

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Episodes

Mailbag: Fruit Snacks, Waterbeds, and Lobster Tanks

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

18 Dec 2024 · 52 minutes
Mystery of the Mullet (Encore)

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

04 Dec 2024 · 54 minutes
Reconsidering One of the “Worst” TV Shows of All Time

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

20 Nov 2024 · 1 hour, 4 minutes
A Feel-Good Story About the End of the World

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

06 Nov 2024 · 43 minutes
The Wrongest Bird in Movie History

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

23 Oct 2024 · 51 minutes
Selling Out (Encore)

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

09 Oct 2024 · 53 minutes
Calling Dick Tracy! It’s Warren Beatty Again

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

25 Sep 2024 · 48 minutes
If You Give a Mouse a Cookie… Will He Want a Welfare Check?

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

11 Sep 2024 · 39 minutes
Chuck E. Cheese Pizza War (Encore)

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

28 Aug 2024 · 51 minutes
The Hysteria Over Mass Hysteria

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

14 Aug 2024 · 39 minutes
Decoder Ring
Mailbag: Fruit Snacks, Waterbeds, and Lobster Tanks
Decoder Ring
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