Decoder Ring

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.

Get more of Decoder Ring with Slate Plus! Join for exclusive bonus episodes of Decoder Ring and ad-free listening on all your favorite Slate podcasts. Subscribe from the Decoder Ring show page on Apple Podcasts or Spotify. Or visit slate.com/decoderplus for access wherever you listen.

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159 episodes
Updated July 29

Episodes159

Newest first

July 29 · 52 min
The Fight Over Sunlight
Our love for the sun keeps rising and setting.
July 15 · 48 min
Weapons of Map Destruction
The potential global catastrophe of a GPS breakdown.
July 1 · 48 min
We Are Monumentally Bad at Statues
America just doesn’t make ‘em like we used to.
June 17 · 35 min
The Tootsie Shot (Encore)
How one camera movement from Tootsie explains the post-war American city.
June 3 · 49 min
Tina Turner and the Dance That Conquered Australia
They call it Nutbush.
May 27 · 10 min
Preview: Decoder Rings Back | Duck, Duck, Jeep
Why are there so many rubber duckies living on the dashboards of Wranglers?
May 20 · 41 min
No Pulp: The Killing of the Florida Orange
The state’s once mighty citrus industry has collapsed. We investigate the culprits.
May 6 · 48 min
Mailbag: Spooky Strings, Phone Menu Options, and Eye Rolls
Where did the eerie violin sound you hear in horror movies originate? Have the menu options really changed? And when did we start eye rolling?
April 22 · 34 min
How to Make Dollars Make Sense
Money is everywhere and influences everything. But what is it?
April 17 · 57 min
One Year: 1995 | Hitting the Spot
In 1995, an online soap opera revealed the internet’s potential as a venue for creative expression—and a tool for destruction.
April 8 · 58 min
Who Was Lonelygirl15?
20 years ago, a teenage girl talking to her camera took the internet by storm. She was not who she seemed.
March 25 · 53 min
The Johnlock Conspiracy (Encore)
The BBC insisted that John Watson and Sherlock Holmes weren’t gay lovers. Fans disagreed.
March 11 · 46 min
Was "Eyes Wide Shut" a Warning?
The wild conspiracy theory about Stanley Kubrick’s final film.
February 25 · 44 min
A Prune by Any Other Name
The time a dried fruit did everything it could to jettison its unsavory reputation.
February 11 · 43 min
Making Coal Cute Again
There’s a new mascot in town—and he might be hazardous to your health.
January 28 · 37 min
Is Culture Stuck?
The author W. David Marx has a theory about 21st century culture.
January 14 · 25 min
Decoder Rings Back | Why the Mona Lisa?
How one small painting became the most famous in the world.
Dec 31, 2025 · 2 min
A New Year’s Message from Willa
We want to keep making Decoder Ring! Help us sustain the show.
Dec 17, 2025 · 1 hr 2 min
Mailbag: Yo-Yos, Sandboxes, and Encores
Why kids play with sand, why rock bands play encores, and how yo-yo masters started selling at school assemblies.
Dec 3, 2025 · 34 min
“Videomate: Men” (Encore)
Videomate: Men was a VHS tape released in 1987 featuring 60 single men pitching themselves as dates to women on the other side of the TV screen: “The love of your life could be on your TV tonight!” the box reads. In retrospect, Videomate: Men is a bizarre and hilarious time capsule, but at the time it was one of many manifestations of what was known as video dating. To find out how anyone thought this was a good idea, Decoder Ring examines the weird and forgotten world of video dating in the 1970s, ’80s, and ’90s to find out why video dating once seemed like the future—and if that future is still yet to come. On this episode, originally released in 2019, we talk to the creators of the Found Footage Fest, VHS collectors who unleashed Videomate on the internet; ask the creators of video dating services like Videomate’s Steve Dworman and Great Expectations’ Jeffrey Ullman what they were thinking; and talk to participants who used these services but not necessarily in the way that was intended. We’ll also discuss the future of video dating with Coffee Meets Bagel co-founder Dawoon Kang and former host of The Longest Shortest Time Andrea Silenzi. This episode was written by Willa Paskin and was produced and edited by Benjamin Frisch. We had research assistance from Cleo Levin. Decoder Ring is produced by Katie Shepherd, Max Freedman, and Evan Chung, our supervising producer. Merritt Jacob is Senior Technical Director. If you have any cultural mysteries you want us to decode, email us at DecoderRing@slate.com, or leave a message on the Decoder Ring hotline at 347-460-7281. We love to hear any and all of your ideas for the show. Get more of Decoder Ring with Slate Plus! Join for exclusive bonus episodes of Decoder Ring and ad-free listening on all your favorite Slate podcasts. Subscribe from the Decoder Ring show page on Apple Podcasts or Spotify. Or, visit slate.com/decoderplus for access wherever you listen. Need to set up your Slate Plus feed? If you subscribed through Slate.com, check out our FAQ at slate.com/podcastfaqs for easy instructions. Members subscribed via Apple Podcasts get automatic access—no setup required. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.