Culture Gabfest: Celine Dion's Heart Goes On
On this week\u2019s show, Dan Kois (author of Vintage Contemporaries and the upcoming Hampton Heights) and Laura Miller (Slate\u2019s books and culture columnist and author of The Magician\u2019s Book) fill in for Julia and Dana. The panel is first joined by Carl Wilson, Slate\u2019s music critic and the author of Let\u2019s Talk About Love, to parse through I Am: Celine Dion, a new documentary on Prime Video. Directed by Oscar-nominated director Irene Taylor, I Am: Celine Dion chronicles the French Canadian singer\u2019s private battle with Stiff Person Syndrome, an illness that has stripped away Dion\u2019s ability to sing \u2013 and with it, her identity. Then, the three explore A Family Affair, Netflix\u2019s wish fulfillment rom-com for middle-aged women starring Zac Efron, Joey King, and Nicole Kidman (plus a whole lot of Plasticine.) Finally, they dive into the world of aesthetics, inspired by Erin Schwartz\u2019s essay for The Cut, \u201cIn Defense of Calling Everything an Aesthetic.\u201d\xa0\nIn the exclusive Slate Plus segment, the panel looks into \u201cThe Vexing Problem of the \u2018Medium Friend\u2019\u201d by Lisa Miller for The New York Times.\xa0\nEmail us at culturefest@slate.com.\xa0\nEndorsements:\nDan: All Fours by Miranda July.\xa0\nLaura: The Ministry of Time by Kaliane Bradley.\xa0\nStephen: \u201cArt and Memory\u201d by Julian Barnes for London Review of Books.\xa0\nPodcast production by Jared Downing. Production assistance by Kat Hong.\xa0\xa0\nHosts\nStephen Metcalf, Dan Kois, Laura Miller\nLearn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices