Decoder Ring | “Videomate: Men” (Encore)
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: “The ...
Decoder Ring | How Protein Muscled Its Way to the Top
Americans are currently besotted with protein. It’s touted as being good for muscle growth, weight loss, skincare, mental acuity, longevity, and much ...
Decoder Ring | Cozy Autumn Mysteries
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 games, s...
Decoder Ring | The Red String Board Conspiracy
There’s a ubiquitous prop in just about every police procedural and conspiracy thriller: a cork board pinned with documents, newspaper clippings, and ...
When We All Get to Heaven | Setting the Table
In 1993, more than 10 years into the AIDS epidemic, the Metropolitan Community Church of San Francisco (MCC-SF) tries to remember all they’ve lost. We...
Decoder Ring | What the Cuck?!
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...
Decoder Ring | Why Do Actors Act Like They Can Sing?
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...
Decoder Ring | Jane Fonda’s Workout, Part 2: Hanoi Jane’s VHS Revolution (Encore)
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 epi...
Decoder Ring | Jane Fonda’s Workout, Part 1: Jane and Leni (Encore)
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...
Decoder Ring | How to Hunt a Mammoth, and Other Experiments in Archaeology
Experimental archeology is, simply put, archeology that involves running experiments. Where traditional archaeologists may study, research, analyze, a...