Hit Parade | Music History and Music Trivia · Slate Podcasts

The Slate Culture Gift Guide

·48 min·4 clips

Chris Molanphy reveals that 'Yellow Submarine' started as a morose John Lennon composition before becoming a Ringo Starr bop.

This episode features Slate podcast hosts Chris Molanphy from Hit Parade, Willa Paskin from Decoder Ring, and Dana Stevens from the Culture Gab Fest sharing their curated holiday gift picks. The hosts discuss their personal and professional relationships to the tradition of gift guides before revealing specific items. Willa Paskin expresses deep ambivalence about gift guides, loving well-curated examples but feeling overwhelmed by their modern proliferation and commercial incentives. The conversation traces the history of gift guides to early 20th-century department store advertisements, citing examples from Gimbels and a 1910 Green Hut catalog. Chris Molanphy highlights a $3.95 robe from an old guide that resembles drapery or papal vestments, while Dana Stevens mentions a child's fake fur set with ermine heads and tails for $1.50. They examine a 1961 Esquire guide featuring an $85.50 portable tape recorder and note how modern gift guides, like a thick Restoration Hardware catalog or Amazon's toy circular, revive this old practice. Chris Molanphy's first gift pick is the Beatles' "Revolver" 50th Anniversary box set, remastered by Giles Martin, which includes revelatory outtakes like the early, somber version of "Yellow Submarine." Dana Stevens chooses items for a cozy movie night, starting with a silicone Salbry microwave popcorn bowl that requires no oil and an accompanying sampler of colorful Amish Country popcorn kernels. Willa Paskin's first selection is a set of ceramic cantaloupe-shaped cereal bowls from Portuguese company Bordallo Pinheiro, which she admires for their playful trompe l'oeil aesthetic. Chris Molanphy's second pick is the "Mad Men" complete series Blu-ray set, praising its cultural accuracy and extensive special features, including episode commentaries and documentaries. Dana Stevens recommends a large, cozy chenille knit blanket from Lagatta to complete the movie-watching experience. Willa Paskin's final suggestion is a set of decorative candles shaped like realistic oranges, part of a broader trend of food-shaped candles she finds visually delightful. An interesting insight is the hosts' shared view that people often use gift guides to shop for themselves rather than for others. Willa Paskin observes that the visual appeal of illustrated guides, from 1960s Esquire to modern ones, is a key part of their enduring power to create desire. The episode has a conversational and reflective tone, blending casual banter with historical trivia and personal anecdotes. It is styled as a collaborative discussion among colleagues, with each host presenting their curated picks. Listeners who enjoy cultural commentary, holiday shopping ideas, and behind-the-scenes media discussions would appreciate this episode. Those seeking a standard music history episode of Hit Parade or a purely critical debate might prefer to skip this seasonal special.

As heard by us

A gift guide that treats keepsakes as stories, not merchandise.

This holiday gift guide treats presents as objects with story and use, which suits a conversation that moves from culture picks to Beatles trivia and back again.

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Why you'd press play

If your holiday gift list needs Beatles trivia and movie-night energy, press play.

Read the full recommendation in PlayNext →

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