Decoder Ring | What Even Is a “Podcast” Anymore?
Podcasts are everywhere. They’re more popular and influential than they’ve ever been. But at the same time, what makes a podcast a “podcast”...
Radio and PodcastLive Radio & Podcasts
Society & Culture
Slow Burn: A Podcast About Watergate
You think you know the story, or maybe you don’t. But Watergate was stranger, wilder, and more exciting than you can imagine. What did it feel like to live through the scandal that brought d...
Episodes
20 of 232 episodesDecoder Ring | McGruff Takes a Bite Out of Crime, Part 2 (Encore)
McGruff the Crime Dog arrived on the scene at the dawn of the 1980s, just as a firehose of anti-drug PSAs was inundating the youth of Americ...
Decoder Ring | McGruff Takes a Bite Out of Crime, Part 1 (Encore)
McGruff the Crime Dog arrived on the scene at the dawn of the 1980s, just as a firehose of anti-drug PSAs was inundating the youth of Americ...
Decoder Ring | The Fight Over Sunlight
The sun has always been a hot topic. For centuries, we’ve flip-flopped over whether our health depends on soaking up its rays—or shielding o...
Decoder Ring | Weapons of Map Destruction
Most of us use GPS—the Global Positioning System—on a daily basis: to find our location when we’re driving, running, shopping, dating, and s...
Introducing First America: “Merciless Indian Savages”
Here at Slow Burn, we explore the events and people who shaped America as we know it today. As the country marks its 250th birthday this sum...
Decoder Ring | We Are Monumentally Bad at Statues
It seems like the only time you hear about new statues these days is when something goes horribly wrong. Unfortunate bronze renditions of Lu...
Decoder Ring | Tina Turner and the Dance That Conquered Australia
In Australia, no wedding or school dance is complete without the Nutbush, Australia’s unofficial national dance. The Nutbush – a simple line...
Becoming Justice Gorsuch | 3. A Lunch Room for Life
In our final episode, it’s time to talk about Neil Gorsuch and the future of SCOTUS. Host Susan Matthews enlists Slate’s jurisprudence team—...
Becoming Justice Gorsuch | 2. The Stolen Seat
When Justice Antonin Scalia died in February of 2016, the Supreme Court appeared to be headed for a 5-4 liberal majority. Instead, a stagger...
Becoming Justice Gorsuch | 1. Man With a Plan
Neil Gorsuch may not be the most well-known justice on the Supreme Court, but he might just be the key to understanding how and why the curr...
Season 11 Trailer: Becoming Justice Gorsuch
Coming May 13: Host Susan Matthews traces the rise of Neil Gorsuch, from his formative years as a young conservative through his nomination...
Decoder Ring | Mailbag: Spooky Strings, Phone Menu Options, and Eye Rolls
We are lucky to get fantastic questions from our listeners here at Decoder Ring, and in this episode, we’re going to open up our mailbag to...
Decoder Ring | How to Make Dollars Make Sense
Money is everywhere. Money influences just about everything. We think about money all the time. But how much do we really know about it? In...
Decoder Ring | Who Was Lonelygirl15?
In the summer of 2006, a teenage girl began posting video diaries to a then-new site called YouTube under the handle lonelygirl15. Within we...
Decoder Ring | The Johnlock Conspiracy (Encore)
For over a century, fans of Sherlock Holmes have been analyzing, debating, and creating new texts with Arthur Conan Doyle’s characters. But...
Decoder Ring | Was "Eyes Wide Shut" a Warning?
When Eyes Wide Shut opened in the summer of 1999, it was widely considered a disappointment. This final film from legendary director Stanley...
Decoder Ring | A Prune by Any Other Name
The delicious, healthful prune has long had a cross to bear: It’s best known for making people poop. In the late 1990s, the California Prune...
Decoder Ring | Making Coal Cute Again
Three weeks ago, U.S. Secretary of the Interior Doug Burgum shared an unusual tweet : a cartoon image of himself with his arm draped around...
Decoder Ring | Is Culture Stuck?
It’s a weird time for culture. There is more of it than ever before, it’s more accessible than ever before, but so little of it feels origin...