DIRS.INFO The most relevant business & tech news

☆ Best Podcasts of 2023: Amy Poehler, ‘Heavyweight,’ Willa Paskin
▼ + stars: | 2023-12-04 | by ( Reggie Ugwu | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +3 min

As always, consider this list not an objective ranking but a kind of tip sheet — more Michelin Guide than the World’s 50 Best Restaurants. Casual and avid podcast listeners alike should come away with a clear sense of what the medium can do. ‘Decoder Ring’Willa Paskin’s deep-dive investigations into questions you never thought to ask (Is Parmesan cheese “authentic” Italian? In its fifth year, “Decoder Ring” was as unpredictable (does parking infrastructure count as “culture”? (Listen to “Decoder” Ring from Slate.)

Persons: Phoebe Judge, Lauren Spohrer, Aretha Franklin, Willa Paskin’s, —, Mike Hixenbaugh, Antonia Hylton’s, “, Hylton Organizations: Michelin, —, Criminal, Vox, Slate, Christian, NBC News Locations: Italian, Yellowstone Park, Dallas, Hixenbaugh

“Barbie” is premiering this weekend and is trying to pull off a seemingly impossible task: taking a doll best known for reinforcing conventional stereotypes of women and rebranding it as a symbol of feminism, all without coming off as a shameless ad for the doll’s maker, Mattel. Willa Paskin, a journalist and host of Slate’s Decoder Ring podcast, recounts her conversation with the film’s director, Greta Gerwig, about how she approached the challenge.

Persons: “ Barbie ”, Willa Paskin, Greta Gerwig Organizations: Mattel

☆ Greta Gerwig’s ‘Barbie’ Dream Job
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-11 | by ( Willa Paskin | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +3 min

Someone more cynical than Gerwig might have been less moved by Mattel’s corporate epiphany, 60 years into existence, that Barbie could sustain being a size 6, but cynicism is clearly not Gerwig’s way. The movie sidesteps whatever role Barbie might play in perpetuating a narrow, idealized femininity; instead it gives this particular Barbie a crash course in modern misogyny. After decades of fretting about girls’ wanting to be as perfect as Barbie, Gerwig serves up a Barbie struggling to be as resilient as us. This woman is played by the 91-year-old, Oscar-winning costume designer Ann Roth, a friend of Gerwig’s. If I don’t have that scene, I don’t know what it is or what I’ve done.”

Persons: Barbie, ”, “, Gerwig, Ruth Handler, Rhea Perlman, Ariana Greenblatt, Ann Roth, Gerwig’s, —, ‘, ” Gerwig Organizations: Mattel Locations: Barbieland, Los Angeles

☆ 6 Podcasts to Help You Take an Actual Break This Summer
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-03 | by ( Emma Dibdin | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +3 min

The name is a deliberate misnomer; there are no actual crimes on “Petty Crimes,” just the kinds of trivial mini-battles that inevitably arise when strangers coexist. Starter episode: “Signed, Karma”In a saturated marketplace of meditation apps, Headspace is a long-running mainstay. Hosted by Robin Hopkins, an actress and writer, “Dear Headspace” centers on listener-submitted questions about mental health, relationships, life transitions and more. In each episode, Hopkins answers questions alongside a rotating cast of Headspace meditation teachers, whose voices will be familiar to users of the app. This BBC radio program is tailor-made for those moments — immersive soundscapes from around the world, interspersed with snippets of gentle narration.

Persons: “ Adele ”, “, ”, Griff Stark, —, Cassie, Robin Hopkins, Hopkins, Kessonga, Slate’s Willa Paskin, Sherlock Organizations: Ceara O’Sullivan, BBC Locations: Ennis, America, Nashville

Search resuls for: "Willa Paskin"

4 mentions found