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.
| Title | Date published | ||
| Mystery of the Mullet (Encore) | 2024-12-04 | ||
| Reconsidering One of the “Worst” TV Shows of All Time | 2024-11-20 | ||
| A Feel-Good Story About the End of the World | 2024-11-06 | ||
| The Wrongest Bird in Movie History | 2024-10-23 | ||
| Selling Out (Encore) | 2024-10-09 | ||
| Calling Dick Tracy! It’s Warren Beatty Again | 2024-09-25 | ||
| If You Give a Mouse a Cookie… Will He Want a Welfare Check? | 2024-09-11 | ||
| Chuck E. Cheese Pizza War (Encore) | 2024-08-28 | ||
| The Hysteria Over Mass Hysteria | 2024-08-14 | ||
| Standing Up for Sitting Down | 2024-07-31 | ||
| The Secret Life of Lawn Ornaments | 2024-07-17 | ||
| Stuffed Animals Gone Wild | 2024-07-03 | ||
| Sex, Lies, and Hockey Pucks | 2024-06-19 | ||
| Captain Planet to the Rescue | 2024-06-05 | ||
| Why Are We Still Using Fat Suits? | 2024-05-22 | ||
| How the Jalapeño Lost Its Heat | 2024-05-08 | ||
| From ‘The Last Archive’: Building an Automatic Songwriting Machine | 2024-05-01 | ||
| Making Real Music for a Fake Band | 2024-04-24 | ||
| Can the “Bookazine” Save Magazines? | 2024-04-10 | ||
| Andrew Wyeth's Secret Nudes (Encore) | 2024-03-27 |