Listen to Culture Gabfest No. 528 with Dana Stevens, David Sims, and Stephen Metcalf with the audio player below.

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On Slate Plus, the hosts discuss which directors—living or dead—they’d write a blank check to.

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This week, Steve and Dana are joined by the Atlantic’s David Sims for an Orson Welles–themed double feature of The Other Side of the Wind and its companion documentary, They’ll Love Me When I’m Dead. The former is being billed as the legendary director’s final film, but with over a hundred hours of footage to choose from, can we fairly call it his? Next, the gabbers consult Slate music critic Carl Wilson on Robyn’s new album, Honey—her first in eight years—and her journey from teenage ur-Britney to superstar “in the footsteps of Madonna.” Finally, they tackle David’s podcast, Blank Check, which traces the careers of directors who leverage early success for their own passion projects, however outrageous they may be.

Links to some of the things we discussed this week:

• The Other Side of the Wind

• They’ll Love Me When I’m Dead

• “Orson Welles’ Final Movie Is Premiering on Netflix. After 48 Years, It Feels Remarkably Finished” by Sam Adams in Slate

• Robyn’s Honey

• “Robyn’s Honey May Not Have the Sugar-Rush Highs We Want, but It Has the Healing Powers We Need” by Carl Wilson in Slate

• Blank Check With Griffin & David

• “Hulk” by David Sims and Griffin Newman on Audioboom

Endorsements:

Dana: Orson Welles’ F for Fake

David: Outlaw King starring Chris Pine

Steve: Charlie Haden and Brad Mehldau’s Long Ago and Far Away, plus a forceful condemnation of the new Penguin edition of The Gulag Archipelago (and specifically its introduction by Jordan Peterson)

Outro: “Au Privave” by Charlie Haden and Brad Mehldau

You can email us at culturefest@slate.com.

This podcast was produced by Benjamin Frisch. Our production assistant is Alex Barasch.

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