Culture Gabfest: Passages Is Not For the Prudes

Published: Aug. 23, 2023, 7 a.m.

This week, Dana is joined by Slate\u2019s books and culture columnist, Laura Miller, and senior editor Rebecca Onion (who are filling in for Julia and Stephen). The panel begins by unraveling Passages, the sexy but also, at times, repelling feature from director Ira Sachs about a complicated love triangle. The film received a controversial NC-17 rating from the Motion Picture Association. Then, they head to Detroit to discuss Justified: City Primeval, FX\u2019s revival of the Raylan Givens cult classic that ran for six seasons. Finally, the three consider Michael Oher\u2019s recent legal allegation that the Tuohy family (immortalized in the 2009 Oscar-winning movie The Blind Side) never really adopted him but instead, placed him in a conservatorship. It\u2019s a scandal at the fascinating convergence of exploitation, fame, race, and adoption.\xa0\n\nIn the exclusive Slate Plus segment, the panel examines nature writing and their relationship to the form, inspired by Jonathan Franzen\u2019s essay for The New Yorker, \u201cThe Problem with Nature Writing.\u201d\xa0\n\nEmail us at culturefest@slate.com.\xa0\n\nEndorsements:\n\nLaura: Her quest for a new detective series (that isn\u2019t stupid or clich\xe9) is over: Laura\xa0endorses Deadloch, a Prime Video comedy set in Tasmania that\u2019s equal parts genuine mystery and delicious social satire.\xa0\n\nRebecca: Anya Liftig\u2019s memoir, Holler Rat, beautifully recounts her upbringing where she often felt caught between two worlds: the comfortable, upper-middle-class life in Connecticut where she lived, and the summers spent in Appalachia, her mother\u2019s home.\xa0\n\nDana: A behind-the-scenes video for, what could potentially be the song of the summer, \u201cI\u2019m Just Ken\u201d has just been released. In it, we see Ryan Gosling rehearsing and cameos from Greta Gerwig, Simu Liu and co-writer Mark Ronson, and it\u2019s just super fun.\xa0\n\nOutro music: \u201cI Want a Change\u201d by The Big Let Down.\xa0\n\nPodcast production by Cameron Drews. Production assistance by Kat Hong.\xa0\n\nThis episode is sponsored by the podcast About the Journey. Learn more here: https://traveler.marriott.com/about-the-journey/\n\nIf you enjoy this show, please consider signing up for Slate Plus. Slate Plus members get an ad-free experience across the network and exclusive content on many shows. You\u2019ll also be supporting the work we do here on the Culture Gabfest. Sign up now at Slate.com/cultureplus to help support our work.\nLearn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices