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This week, Dana, Julia (fresh from the launch of her new media venture L.A. Material), and guest host Dan Kois set their gaze to the heavens with a discussion of the lost-in-space adventure yarn Project Hail Mary. Based on the book by Andy Weir and directed by genre movie savants Phil Lord and Christopher Miller, the sci-fi blockbuster stars Ryan Gosling and a big rock creature puppet.

Next, they hop across the pond for the launch of SNL UK, the British revamp of the venerable American comedy institution. Slate UK contributor and author of Deep Down, Imogen West-Knights joins to share her two pence on the show’s local reception.

Finally, the panel turns to Dan Kois’s epic, 8,500 word Slate essay on… bar soap. His opus—or “soapus," if you will— makes a persuasive case for why bar soap is a superior form of foam.

In an exclusive Slate Plus bonus segment, the gang gets into a listener question about analog media.

Endorsements

Julia: In addition to subscribing to L.A. Material, the great American junk food that is the corndog—the vibes and graphic design of Hot Dog on a Stick at the Santa Monica Pier are swell but seeking listener recommendations for the very best place to get a corndog.

Dan: For some '"higher gossip " and a bit of 1800s history, the book Parallel Lives: Five Victorian Marriages by Phyllis Rose.

Dana: The work of voice actor Ray Porter in the audiobook of Project Hail Mary and the interview Porter gives on the book podcast Off the Shelf.

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Email us your thoughts at [email protected].

Podcast production by Benjamin Frisch. Production assistance by Daniel Hirsch.

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Leftist political commentator Hasan Piker feels the Democrats have missed an opportunity to articulate their opposition to Trump’s foreign policy—in Venezuela, Iran, and, from the sound of it, soon enough in Cuba, where Piker just visited.

Guest: Hasan Piker, political commentator on Twitch who recently joined the Nuestra América convoy to Havana, Cuba.

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Podcast production by Elena Schwartz, Paige Osburn, Anna Phillips, Madeline Ducharme, and Rob Gunther.
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For over a century, fans of Sherlock Holmes have been analyzing, debating, and creating new texts with Arthur Conan Doyle’s characters. But when a fan theory emerged about the BBC TV show Sherlock that posited the inevitability of a gay romance between Sherlock Holmes and Dr. John Watson—it wreaked havoc on the community. In this episode, which originally aired in 2018, we explore the Johnlock Conspiracy, with help from historians, journalists, and the fans at the heart of the controversial idea. It’s almost a Holmesian tale itself, full of brilliant theories, false leads and mysterious motives—except for the ending, which, unlike in a Holmes story, isn’t very neat.

This episode was written by Willa Paskin. It was produced and edited by Benjamin Frisch, who also created the episode art. Shasha Leonárd provided production assistance, and Danielle Hewitt helped us fact check the episode. Decoder Ring is also produced by Katie Shepherd, Max Freedman, and Evan Chung, our supervising producer. Merritt Jacob is Senior Technical Director.

If you have any cultural mysteries you want us to decode, email us at [email protected] or leave a message on our hotline at (347) 460-7281.

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On today’s episode, host Kate Lindsay is joined by Jonquilyn Hill, host of Vox’s Explain It To Me podcast. First, they recap musician Afroman’s free speech victory in court after he used security camera footage to make music videos for his songs about the police raiding his home in 2022. While songs like “Lemon Pound Cake” will live to see another day, Justin Timberlake’s legacy may be in peril now that footage of his infamous DUI arrest has been made public. But it’s what the footage doesn’t show that’s most concerning…

This podcast is produced by Vic Whitley-Berry, Daisy Rosario, and Kate Lindsay.
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Welcome to a very special Money On Film miniseries!

Over three episodes, Slate Money’s Felix Salmon and Slate culture writer Nadira Goffe revisit three films at the intersection of culture and finance. On this episode, Felix and Nadira discuss dating and money in Celine Song’s 2025 romantic comedy Materialists, which centers on a love triangle between a millionaire matchmaker (Dakota Johnson), a hunky financier (Pedro Pascal), and an old flame and out-of-work actor (Chris Evans). While not particularly romantic or comedic, the film raises questions about the role money plays in modern dating, how we select partners based on financial viability, and whether romance itself might be a bit overrated.

Next time on Money On Film: Spirited Away. See you then!

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