Decoder Ring

Decoder Ring

Hosted by Willa Paskin and Evan Chung and Merritt Jacob and Max Freedman and Josh Levin and Katie Shepherd · Slate Podcasts

4.7from 3,414 ratings

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63Podcast AuthorityScore out of 100 · How it is scored
168
Episodes
69
Transcribed
3,414
Ratings
Bi-weekly
Cadence
2018
First episode

About Decoder Ring

Decoder Ring is the show about cracking cultural mysteries. In each episode, host Willa Paskin takes a cultural question, object, or habit; examines its history; and tries to figure out what it means and why it matters. Get more of Decoder Ring with Slate Plus! Join for exclusive bonus episodes of Decoder Ring and ad-free listening on all your favorite Slate podcasts. Subscribe from the Decoder Ring show page on Apple Podcasts or Spotify. Or visit slate.com/decoderplus for access wherever you listen. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy (https://acast.com/privacy) for more information.

Publisher
Slate Podcasts
Category
history · society & culture
Language
en
Explicit
No
First episode
30 Apr 2018
Latest episode
4 Nov 2026
Apple PodcastsSpotifyWebsiteRSS feed

Latest episodes

69 of 168 episodes have a transcript.

  1. 4 Nov 2026TRANSCRIPT

    Presenting: The Sporkful | Does The World Need A Better Tomato?

  2. 29 Oct 2026TRANSCRIPT

    The Spooky Saga of the Icelandic Dracula

  3. 21 Oct 2026TRANSCRIPT

    Clown Panic (Encore)

Inside a recent episode

Presenting: The Sporkful | Does The World Need A Better Tomato?

Published 4 Nov 2026 · Transcript excerpt

[…] The university made north of 20 million bucks from it, but they could have made much more. Yeah, they got a plant patent, which lasts 20 years, but they were not able to trademark the name Honeycrisp, which would have lasted much longer. That's because they made the mistake of naming the plant variety itself Honeycrisp. […]

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Who has been a guest on Decoder Ring

Names identified in recent episode analyses. Showing up to five guests.

  • Dan Pashman
  • Kenny Malone
  • Ásgeir Jónsson
  • Helen Zaltzman
  • Kristján B Jónasson

Reach and audience

Public platform figures. Ratings count people who left a rating, not total listeners.

Apple Podcasts (US)
4.6 / 5
2,080 ratings
Spotify
4.8 / 5
1,334 ratings

Podcast Authority Score: 63 / 100

A composite of feed quality, social presence, YouTube performance and engagement. Read the methodology.

Quality
88
Social presence
0
YouTube
0
Engagement
94

Contact Decoder Ring

Guest appearances
Books guests

Based on episode analysis; this does not confirm that the show is currently accepting guests.

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Questions about Decoder Ring

Who hosts Decoder Ring?

Willa Paskin and Evan Chung and Merritt Jacob and Max Freedman and Josh Levin and Katie Shepherd host the show. Published by Slate Podcasts.

How often do new episodes come out?

The show publishes bi-weekly, based on its RSS feed.

Does Decoder Ring take guests?

Yes. Guests have been identified in episode analyses.

Where can I read transcripts?

69 of 168 episodes have a transcript on Pod Engine. Full transcripts are available with a Pod Engine plan.

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