Decoder Ring
By Slate Podcasts
Decoder Ring is the show about cracking cultural mysteries. In each episode, host Willa Paskin takes a cultural question, object, or habit; examines its history; and tries to figure out what it means and why it matters.
Latest episode
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Spring Break Forever
How spring break became the party that never ends. -
How Books About Things That Changed the World… Changed the World
Whether it’s cod, kudzu, or nutmeg, authors love to claim their subjects shaped history. Did they really? -
Truck Nutz (Encore)
Why would someone dangle plastic testicles from their bumper? -
Jerry Lewis’ Lost Holocaust Clown Movie
How "The Day The Clown Cried" became notorious—and notoriously impossible to see. -
The Scratch-Off Ticket’s Instant Win
Ian Coss shares how scratch-off tickets became a part of American life. -
Jump, Jive and Fail: The ’90s Swing Craze
Why the swing revival sizzled and then fizzled almost as quickly as it started. -
I am Tupperware, I Contain Multitudes
The storage container, a stealthy star of the modern home, started with Tupperware. -
Introducing Planet Money: Can Money Buy Happiness?
Does more money mean fewer problems? -
Mailbag: Fruit Snacks, Waterbeds, and Lobster Tanks
How fruity candy got a “healthful” rebrand, the rise and fall of the softest (and sexiest) bed, and more listener questions. -
Mystery of the Mullet (Encore)
The history of the mullet is weirder than you think.