Decoder Ring

The Johnlock Conspiracy (Encore)

25 Mar 2026

Contributed by Lukas

For over a century, fans of Sherlock Holmes have been analyzing, debating, and creating new texts with Arthur Conan Doyle’s characters. But when a f...

Was "Eyes Wide Shut" a Warning?

11 Mar 2026

Contributed by Lukas

When Eyes Wide Shut opened in the summer of 1999, it was widely considered a disappointment. This final film from legendary director Stanley Kubrick h...

A Prune by Any Other Name

25 Feb 2026

Contributed by Lukas

The delicious, healthful prune has long had a cross to bear: It’s best known for making people poop. In the late 1990s, the California Prune Board s...

Making Coal Cute Again

11 Feb 2026

Contributed by Lukas

Three weeks ago, U.S. Secretary of the Interior Doug Burgum shared an unusual tweet: a cartoon image of himself with his arm draped around a giant, an...

Is Culture Stuck?

28 Jan 2026

Contributed by Lukas

It’s a weird time for culture. There is more of it than ever before, it’s more accessible than ever before, but so little of it feels original. Ne...

Decoder Rings Back | Why the Mona Lisa?

14 Jan 2026

Contributed by Lukas

We are really lucky to get lots of listener suggestions for the show, more good questions than we can possibly answer in a mailbag episode once or twi...

A New Year’s Message from Willa

31 Dec 2025

Contributed by Lukas

We can’t make this show without you, our listeners. Today, you can help support Decoder Ring – and get a really good deal. To join Slate Plus for ...

A New Year’s Message from Willa

31 Dec 2025

Contributed by Lukas

We can’t make this show without you, our listeners. Today, you can help support Decoder Ring – and get a really good deal. To join Slate Plus for ...

Mailbag: Yo-Yos, Sandboxes, and Encores

17 Dec 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Decoder Ring listeners write in with some excellent mysteries, and for our last episode of the year we’re solving three of them. Why do children pla...

Mailbag: Yo-Yos, Sandboxes, and Encores

17 Dec 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Decoder Ring listeners write in with some excellent mysteries, and for our last episode of the year we’re solving three of them. Why do children pla...

“Videomate: Men” (Encore)

03 Dec 2025

Contributed by Lukas

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: “Th...

How Protein Muscled Its Way to the Top

19 Nov 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Americans are currently besotted with protein. It’s touted as being good for muscle growth, weight loss, skincare, mental acuity, longevity, and muc...

How Protein Muscled Its Way to the Top

19 Nov 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Americans are currently besotted with protein. It’s touted as being good for muscle growth, weight loss, skincare, mental acuity, longevity, and muc...

The Slate Culture Gift Guide

12 Nov 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Hark, the holiday season is upon us—and with it the most solemn of festive traditions: a gift guide! In this video and podcast special, Slate hosts ...

The Slate Culture Gift Guide

12 Nov 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Hark, the holiday season is upon us—and with it the most solemn of festive traditions: a gift guide! In this video and podcast special, Slate hosts ...

Cozy Autumn Mysteries

05 Nov 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Autumn may have more cozy signifiers than any other season—though we all have our own favorites. Maybe for you it’s sweater weather, football game...

Cozy Autumn Mysteries

05 Nov 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Autumn may have more cozy signifiers than any other season—though we all have our own favorites. Maybe for you it’s sweater weather, football game...

The Red String Board Conspiracy

22 Oct 2025

Contributed by Lukas

There’s a ubiquitous prop in just about every police procedural and conspiracy thriller: a cork board pinned with documents, newspaper clippings, an...

What the Cuck?!

08 Oct 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Earlier this year, a tweet went out from the official account of the Democratic Party, tagging the Trump advisor Stephen Miller. It was an image of wh...

What the Cuck?!

08 Oct 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Earlier this year, a tweet went out from the official account of the Democratic Party, tagging the Trump advisor Stephen Miller. It was an image of wh...

Why Do Actors Act Like They Can Sing?

24 Sep 2025

Contributed by Lukas

When an actor opens their mouth to sing in a movie, chances are high that the voice you hear will be their own. Even in music biopics, movie stars wit...

Jane Fonda’s Workout, Part 2: Hanoi Jane’s VHS Revolution (Encore)

10 Sep 2025

Contributed by Lukas

In part two of our special two-part episode, we return to the 1982 VHS tape that created the at-home video industry: Jane Fonda’s Workout. On this e...

Jane Fonda’s Workout, Part 2: Hanoi Jane’s VHS Revolution (Encore)

10 Sep 2025

Contributed by Lukas

In part two of our special two-part episode, we return to the 1982 VHS tape that created the at-home video industry: Jane Fonda’s Workout. On this e...

Jane Fonda’s Workout, Part 1: Jane and Leni (Encore)

27 Aug 2025

Contributed by Lukas

In 1982, the Jane Fonda Workout became the best-selling home video of all time. Over decades, it and its 22 follow ups would spawn a fitness empire, s...

Jane Fonda’s Workout, Part 1: Jane and Leni (Encore)

27 Aug 2025

Contributed by Lukas

In 1982, the Jane Fonda Workout became the best-selling home video of all time. Over decades, it and its 22 follow ups would spawn a fitness empire, s...

How to Hunt a Mammoth, and Other Experiments in Archaeology

13 Aug 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Experimental archeology is, simply put, archeology that involves running experiments. Where traditional archaeologists may study, research, analyze, a...

How to Hunt a Mammoth, and Other Experiments in Archaeology

13 Aug 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Experimental archeology is, simply put, archeology that involves running experiments. Where traditional archaeologists may study, research, analyze, a...

The Bad-Mouthing of British Teeth

30 Jul 2025

Contributed by Lukas

From The Simpsons’ Big Book of British Smiles to Austin Powers’ ochre-tinged grin, American culture can’t stop bad-mouthing English teeth. But w...

Mailbag: Drug Names, Cow Abductions, and the “Ass-Intensifier”

16 Jul 2025

Contributed by Lukas

In this episode we’re opening our mailbag to answer three fascinating questions from our listeners. How did “ass,” a word for donkeys and butts,...

Mailbag: Drug Names, Cow Abductions, and the “Ass-Intensifier”

16 Jul 2025

Contributed by Lukas

In this episode we’re opening our mailbag to answer three fascinating questions from our listeners. How did “ass,” a word for donkeys and butts,...

Introducing The Sporkful | Is Your Recipe Lying To You?

09 Jul 2025

Contributed by Lukas

If you look at any list of best-selling cookbooks, certain words come up over and over again: quick, easy, fast, effortless. But is it actually possib...

Introducing The Sporkful | Is Your Recipe Lying To You?

09 Jul 2025

Contributed by Lukas

If you look at any list of best-selling cookbooks, certain words come up over and over again: quick, easy, fast, effortless. But is it actually possib...

The White Noise Boom

02 Jul 2025

Contributed by Lukas

White noise has a very precise technical definition, but people use the term loosely, to describe all sorts of washes of sound—synthetic hums, or na...

The White Noise Boom

02 Jul 2025

Contributed by Lukas

White noise has a very precise technical definition, but people use the term loosely, to describe all sorts of washes of sound—synthetic hums, or na...

The Boston Cinematic Universe

18 Jun 2025

Contributed by Lukas

This episode is a first for Decoder Ring: a live show, recorded at the WBUR Festival in Boston, Massachusetts. Given the setting, we decided to take o...

The Laff Box (Encore)

04 Jun 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Decoder Ring is marking its 100th episode this year. To celebrate, we’re revisiting our very first episode from 2018, which asks: What happened to t...

The Laff Box (Encore)

04 Jun 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Decoder Ring is marking its 100th episode this year. To celebrate, we’re revisiting our very first episode from 2018, which asks: What happened to t...

The Glaring Problem with Headlights

21 May 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Something seems to have happened to car headlights. In the last few years, many people have become convinced that they are much brighter than they use...

The Glaring Problem with Headlights

21 May 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Something seems to have happened to car headlights. In the last few years, many people have become convinced that they are much brighter than they use...

Off-the-Wall Stories of Off-Label Use

07 May 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Products often tell you exactly how they’re intended to be used. But why leave it at that? As a culture, we have long had a knack for finding ingeni...

How “Chicken Soup” Sold Its Soul

23 Apr 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Chicken Soup for the Soul was the brainchild of two motivational speakers who preach the New Thought belief system known as the Law of Attraction. For...

How “Chicken Soup” Sold Its Soul

23 Apr 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Chicken Soup for the Soul was the brainchild of two motivational speakers who preach the New Thought belief system known as the Law of Attraction. For...

Spring Break Forever

09 Apr 2025

Contributed by Lukas

The infamous annual ritual of spring break—where thousands of college students head to the same warm location and go crazy—can seem like it’s al...

Spring Break Forever

09 Apr 2025

Contributed by Lukas

The infamous annual ritual of spring break—where thousands of college students head to the same warm location and go crazy—can seem like it’s al...

How Books About Things That Changed the World… Changed the World

26 Mar 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Look in the nonfiction section of any bookstore and you’ll find dozens of history books making the same bold claim: that their narrow, unexpected su...

How Books About Things That Changed the World… Changed the World

26 Mar 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Look in the nonfiction section of any bookstore and you’ll find dozens of history books making the same bold claim: that their narrow, unexpected su...

Truck Nutz (Encore)

12 Mar 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Truck Nutz is a brand name for the dangling plastic testicles some people affix to the bumpers or hitches of their vehicles. Also sold as Bulls Balls,...

Jerry Lewis’ Lost Holocaust Clown Movie

26 Feb 2025

Contributed by Lukas

In 1972, Jerry Lewis—the actor and filmmaker known for slapstick comedies like The Nutty Professor—took the biggest risk of his career when he dec...

The Scratch-Off Ticket’s Instant Win

12 Feb 2025

Contributed by Lukas

You may never have thought very hard about scratch-off tickets, but that’s part of their power. They’re a form of gambling that’s simply a pedes...

Jump, Jive and Fail: The ’90s Swing Craze

29 Jan 2025

Contributed by Lukas

When we got multiple listener emails asking about the swing revival of the late 1990s, host Willa Paskin’s first, knee jerk reaction was just: no. S...

I am Tupperware, I Contain Multitudes

15 Jan 2025

Contributed by Lukas

The storage container is a stealthy star of the modern home. It’s something we use to organize more of our stuff than ever before, and also somethin...

Introducing Planet Money: Can Money Buy Happiness?

01 Jan 2025

Contributed by Lukas

People often say that money can't buy you happiness. Sometimes, if you ask them to tell you more about it, they'll mention a famous 2010 study by Nobe...

Introducing Planet Money: Can Money Buy Happiness?

01 Jan 2025

Contributed by Lukas

People often say that money can't buy you happiness. Sometimes, if you ask them to tell you more about it, they'll mention a famous 2010 study by Nobe...

Mailbag: Fruit Snacks, Waterbeds, and Lobster Tanks

18 Dec 2024

Contributed by Lukas

It’s our annual mailbag episode! We get a lot of wonderful reader emails suggesting topics for the show — and at the end of the year we try to ans...

Mystery of the Mullet (Encore)

04 Dec 2024

Contributed by Lukas

The mullet, the love-to-hate-it hairstyle, is as associated with the 1980’s as Ronald Reagan, junk bonds, and breakdancing. But in at least one majo...

Mystery of the Mullet (Encore)

04 Dec 2024

Contributed by Lukas

The mullet, the love-to-hate-it hairstyle, is as associated with the 1980’s as Ronald Reagan, junk bonds, and breakdancing. But in at least one majo...

Reconsidering One of the “Worst” TV Shows of All Time

20 Nov 2024

Contributed by Lukas

In 1980, a variety show debuted on NBC called Pink Lady and Jeff. Its stars were a pair of Japanese pop idols known for catchy, choreographed dance nu...

Reconsidering One of the “Worst” TV Shows of All Time

20 Nov 2024

Contributed by Lukas

In 1980, a variety show debuted on NBC called Pink Lady and Jeff. Its stars were a pair of Japanese pop idols known for catchy, choreographed dance nu...

A Feel-Good Story About the End of the World

06 Nov 2024

Contributed by Lukas

The fear that the Earth could be destroyed by a killer asteroid is an anxiety that pops up all the time in fiction and is grounded in fact. But funnil...

The Wrongest Bird in Movie History

23 Oct 2024

Contributed by Lukas

There is a prominent bird in the 2000 film Charlie’s Angels that makes absolutely no sense. This so-called Pygmy Nuthatch doesn’t look or sound li...

Selling Out (Encore)

09 Oct 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Whatever happened to selling out? The defining concern of Generation X has become a relic from another era. How that happened is best illustrated by o...

Selling Out (Encore)

09 Oct 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Whatever happened to selling out? The defining concern of Generation X has become a relic from another era. How that happened is best illustrated by o...

Calling Dick Tracy! It’s Warren Beatty Again

25 Sep 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Oscar-winner Warren Beatty first secured the rights to the comic book character Dick Tracy in the lead up to his 1990 movie adaptation. Decades later,...

If You Give a Mouse a Cookie… Will He Want a Welfare Check?

11 Sep 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Adults have a long history of trying to find morals and lessons in children’s literature. But what happens when a seemingly innocent book about a bo...

If You Give a Mouse a Cookie… Will He Want a Welfare Check?

11 Sep 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Adults have a long history of trying to find morals and lessons in children’s literature. But what happens when a seemingly innocent book about a bo...

Chuck E. Cheese Pizza War (Encore)

28 Aug 2024

Contributed by Lukas

In the late 1970s, a new and unusual concept for a restaurant chain emerged in California—video games plus bad pizza plus animatronic characters. Th...

The Hysteria Over Mass Hysteria

14 Aug 2024

Contributed by Lukas

“Hysteria” is an ancient word carrying thousands of years of baggage. Though the terminology has changed, hysteria has not gone away, and in its m...

Standing Up for Sitting Down

31 Jul 2024

Contributed by Lukas

If you’re lucky, it’s possible you’ve never thought much about sitting. It’s just something your body does, like breathing or sleeping. But in...

The Secret Life of Lawn Ornaments

17 Jul 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Lawn ornaments are everywhere—but for something so ubiquitous, they’re also mysterious. What’s the person with the flamingo or the gargoyle in t...

The Secret Life of Lawn Ornaments

17 Jul 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Lawn ornaments are everywhere—but for something so ubiquitous, they’re also mysterious. What’s the person with the flamingo or the gargoyle in t...

Stuffed Animals Gone Wild

03 Jul 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Axolotls. Narwhals. Llamas. Sloths. Every few years, it seems like American kids and parents collectively decide they cannot get enough of a creature ...

Sex, Lies, and Hockey Pucks

19 Jun 2024

Contributed by Lukas

30 years ago, the Stanley Cup playoffs ignited a rumor that has been messing with Jane Macdougall’s life ever since.  In 1994, the Vancouver Canuck...

Sex, Lies, and Hockey Pucks

19 Jun 2024

Contributed by Lukas

30 years ago, the Stanley Cup playoffs ignited a rumor that has been messing with Jane Macdougall’s life ever since. In 1994, the Vancouver Canucks...

Captain Planet to the Rescue

05 Jun 2024

Contributed by Lukas

In 1990, the cartoon superhero Captain Planet swooped onto TV screens all over the world. He was the brainchild of media mogul Ted Turner, and in the ...

Captain Planet to the Rescue

05 Jun 2024

Contributed by Lukas

In 1990, the cartoon superhero Captain Planet swooped onto TV screens all over the world. He was the brainchild of media mogul Ted Turner, and in the ...

Why Are We Still Using Fat Suits?

22 May 2024

Contributed by Lukas

A fat suit is a custom-made costume with one goal: to make an actor appear fat without them actually having to be fat. It’s typically a unitard fill...

Why Are We Still Using Fat Suits?

22 May 2024

Contributed by Lukas

A fat suit is a custom-made costume with one goal: to make an actor appear fat without them actually having to be fat. It’s typically a unitard fill...

How the Jalapeño Lost Its Heat

08 May 2024

Contributed by Lukas

The jalapeño is the workhorse of hot peppers. They’re sold fresh, canned, pickled, in hot sauces, salsas, smoked into chipotles, and they outsell ...

How the Jalapeño Lost Its Heat

08 May 2024

Contributed by Lukas

The jalapeño is the workhorse of hot peppers. They’re sold fresh, canned, pickled, in hot sauces, salsas, smoked into chipotles, and they outsell ...

From ‘The Last Archive’: Building an Automatic Songwriting Machine

01 May 2024

Contributed by Lukas

We’re bringing you an episode of The Last Archive from our friends at Pushkin Industries. In this episode: an exploration of early artificial intell...

Making Real Music for a Fake Band

24 Apr 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Pop culture is full of fictional bands singing songs purpose-made to capture a moment, a sound. This music doesn’t organically emerge from a scene o...

Can the “Bookazine” Save Magazines?

10 Apr 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Magazines have fallen on hard times – especially the weekly news, fashion, and celebrity mags that once dominated newsstands. The revenue from magaz...

Can the “Bookazine” Save Magazines?

10 Apr 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Magazines have fallen on hard times – especially the weekly news, fashion, and celebrity mags that once dominated newsstands. The revenue from magaz...

Andrew Wyeth's Secret Nudes (Encore)

27 Mar 2024

Contributed by Lukas

In 1986, Andrew Wyeth was the most famous painter in America. He was a household name, on the cover of magazines and tapped to paint presidents. And t...

Why Stylists Rule the Red Carpet

13 Mar 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Like a manager or an agent or a publicist, a stylist has become a kind of must-have accessory for well-dressed, A-list celebrities. It’s just expect...

The Gen X Soda That Was Just "OK"

28 Feb 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Thirty years ago, a new kind of soda arrived in select stores. Instead of crowing about how spectacular it was, it offered up a liquid shrug, a fizzy ...

Why Do So Many Coffee Shops Look the Same?

14 Feb 2024

Contributed by Lukas

The eerie similarity of coffee shops all over the world was so confounding to Kyle Chayka that it led him to write the new book Filterworld: How Algor...

2024 Teaser

07 Feb 2024

Contributed by Lukas

We’re back with a new batch of cultural mysteries! This year, we’re putting out more new episodes—like many more of them. We’ll be diving down...

2024 Teaser

07 Feb 2024

Contributed by Lukas

We’re back with a new batch of cultural mysteries! This year, we’re putting out more new episodes—like many more of them. We’ll be diving down...

The Forgotten Video Game About Slavery

15 Nov 2023

Contributed by Lukas

In 1992, a Minnesota-based software company known for its educational hit The Oregon Trail released another simulation-style game to school districts ...

The Dating Manual Unlike Any Other

08 Nov 2023

Contributed by Lukas

From the moment it was released in 1995, The Rules was controversial. Some people loved it—and swore that the dating manual’s throwback advice hel...

Mailbag: The Recorder, Limos, and “Baby on Board” Signs

01 Nov 2023

Contributed by Lukas

We receive a lot of fantastic show ideas from our listeners—and we’re grateful for each and every one. For our latest mailbag episode, we’re tac...

When Art Pranksters Invaded Melrose Place

25 Oct 2023

Contributed by Lukas

In the mid-1990s, the prime time drama Melrose Place became a home to hundreds of pieces of contemporary art—and no one noticed. In this episode, Is...

The Fast Decline of the Slow Dance

18 Oct 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Judging from teen dramas on Netflix, the slow dance seems to be alive and well. But when you talk to actual teens, it’s clear this time-honored trad...

Fall 2023 Teaser

11 Oct 2023

Contributed by Lukas

We’re back with a new batch of cultural mysteries! This season, Decoder Ring explores the decline of an awkward yet unforgettable rite of passage: s...

Fall 2023 Teaser

11 Oct 2023

Contributed by Lukas

We’re back with a new batch of cultural mysteries! This season, Decoder Ring explores the decline of an awkward yet unforgettable rite of passage: s...

Think Catchphrases Are Dead? Eat My Shorts.

09 Aug 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Once you start listening for catchphrases in everyday life—you can’t stop hearing them. From the radio era’s “Holy mackerel!” to Fonzie’s ...

The Quest for a Homemade Hovercraft

02 Aug 2023

Contributed by Lukas

When Slate’s Evan Chung was a kid, he was obsessed with a mysterious advertisement that ran for decades in the scouting magazine Boys’ Life. Under...

A Brief History of Making Out

26 Jul 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Kissing—the romantic, sexual, steamy kind—is so ingrained in us that it just seems like a fact of life. Like breathing or eating, we just do it. B...

What's Really Going On Inside a Mosh Pit?

19 Jul 2023

Contributed by Lukas

The mosh pit has a reputation as a violent place where (mostly) white guys vent their aggression. There’s some truth to that, but it’s also a plac...