Culture Gabfest: Demi Moore Gives Substance to The Substance

Slate Culture

On this week’s show, the hosts are joined by a very special fourth panelist: Wesley Morris, a critic at The New York Times and the host of The Wonder of Stevie, a new podcast on Audible. First, the quartet explores The Substance, a lurid, monstrous body horror flick by writer-director Coralie Fargeat. Demi Moore stars as Elisabeth Sparkle, a fading Hollywood icon who is so repulsed by the idea of aging, that she purchase a black-market drug known as “the substance.”‌ The film caused a commotion at Cannes this year, where audience members reportedly walked out in disgust and the remaining crowd gave it a 13-minute standing ovation. Then, the panel dives into The Wonder of Stevie with its host. The new six-part Audible series explores the career of Stevie Wonder and “uncovers the untold story of an extraordinary artistic journey that shaped the greatest creative era in popular music history.”‌ On the show, Wesley is joined by guests including Barack and Michelle Obama, Questlove, Smokey Robinson, and more. Finally, the hosts discuss A.I. slop and the onslaught of online garbage and language model detritus. This conversation was inspired by Max Read’s piece for New York Magazine, “Drowning in Slop.”‌

In the exclusive Slate Plus segment, Wesley Morris sticks around for a classic Slate spoiler special, and joins the hosts in dissecting The Substance and the film’s controversial, bloody, and borderline nauseating third act.

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Endorsements:

Dana: Stevie Wonder and Gilbert Gil performing live in Brazil in 1995.

Julia:‌ Today on Trail, Rusty Foster’s spin-off newsletter miniseries about hiking the Appalachian Trail with his son.

Stephen:‌ British singer-songwriter Nilüfer Yanya’s album, My Method Actor.

Wesley: Vote for your favorite songs of the past 25 years, and add to WXPN radio’s definitive list of the “885 Greatest Songs of the 21st Century.”‌

Podcast production by Jared Downing. Production assistance by Kat Hong.

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