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This week on Slate Plus, Stephen, Dana and Julia discuss where to start with philosophy.

On this week’s Slate Culture Gabfest, the critics discuss the animated series Steven Universe, Cartoon Network’s hidden “gem,” and the ways that this children’s show explores some unexpectedly deep emotions. Then, the Political Gabfest’s Emily Bazelon joins the show to talk about how the Trump presidency has breathed new life into Saturday Night Live’s political satire over the past few weeks. The show now dominates late night, but do the Trump Cabinet parodies need to be funny to provide psychic relief? Finally, the gabbers are joined by Ben H. Winters to discuss Slate’s Trump Story Project, a series of short stories about the imagined future of the Trump administration.

Links to some of the things we discussed this week:

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Endorsements

Dana: “Our Part in the Darkness” by Rabih Amaleddine in the New Yorker

Julia: Prince’s playlist from his appearance on New Girl

Stephen: Self-Constitution: Agency, Identity and Integrity by Christine M. Korsgaard

Outro: “Wild and Free” by Curtis Mayfield

You can email us at culturefest@slate.com.

This podcast was produced by Benjamin Frisch. Our intern is Daniel Schroeder.

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