logo
episode-header-image
Mar 2020
39m 7s

The Shop Around the Corner

Slate Podcasts
About this episode

Slate Plus members get ad-free podcasts and bonus episodes of shows like Dear Prudence and Slow Burn. Sign up now to listen and support our work.

The 1998 romantic comedy You've Got Mail starring Tom Hanks and Meg Ryan is about the brutal fight between an independent bookstore, The Shop Around the Corner, and Fox Books, an obvious Barnes & Noble stand-in. On this episode of Decoder Ring we explore the real life conflict that inspired the movie and displaced independent booksellers on the upper west side of Manhattan. This conflict illustrates how, for a brief time, Barnes & Noble was a symbol of predatory capitalism, only to be usurped by the uniting force at the heart of the film: the internet.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Up next
Oct 8
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 what appeared to be a simple hotel room chair. But for those in the know, it was much more than that: It was a “cuck chair,” an onli ... Show More
56m 13s
Sep 24
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 without much singing experience regularly go to great lengths to impersonate the most beloved vocalists of our time. Why not simply p ... Show More
1h 1m
Sep 10
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 episode, originally released in 2020, we deconstruct the tape itself, how it was made, and why anyone thought it was a good idea in t ... Show More
52m 59s
Recommended Episodes
May 2017
Bully
Skidmore, Missouri is a very small town. In the '70s, there was only one bar, one grocery store, and one bully. Ken McElroy was so ruthless and intimidating that even police officers looked the other way. He terrorized the town for decades, until they finally fought back. We spok ... Show More
30m 39s
Oct 2020
S&S Liquor Store Murders, “A Family Affair” | MURDERISH Ep. 068
On October 27, 1988, McLean County Coroner William Anderson had just come from the Central Catholic vs. University High School football game. Afterward, he was due to meet with members of his re-election campaign to go over strategies. Before the meeting, Anderson was volunteered ... Show More
1h 12m
Dec 2021
EP150: The Christmas Store, The Bigger the Bureaucracy, the Smaller the Customer and The Chicago-area Maintenance Man Who Wrote a Hallmark Christmas Movie
On this episode of Our American Stories, Jonathan Mattox of the Oxford-Ole Miss Rotary Club shares how The Christmas store originated and the impact it has had on the lives of thousands of children; Mike Leven was President and Chief Operating Officer of Las Vegas Sands Corp. One ... Show More
38m 17s
Jan 2024
Love On The Dole by Walter Greenwood
We are joined by the writer Andrew Hankinson to discuss Walter Greenwood’s classic novel of Northern working-class life. First published in 1933, Love on the Dole, revolves explores the fortunes of the Hardcastle family, who live in industrial Salford in the 1930s, just as the De ... Show More
1h 3m
Aug 2020
Books I love, saltwater & spies
In this episode of Thick & Thin I divulge my entertainment faves of the moment: tv shows, movies, books & songwriters. I then dive into the story of Kate Warne, a woman who so effortlessly saved Abraham Lincoln from assassination among other feats, aka the first female private de ... Show More
45m 58s
Nov 2018
The Ring
Two brilliant women—one black, one white—assemble a spy ring in the rebel capital of Richmond, Virginia that eventually attempts a ‘mission impossible’ inside the military planning rooms of Confederate President Jefferson Davis. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoi ... Show More
33m 35s
Feb 2023
True Crime Is Murdering Documentaries
Matt is joined by New York Magazine features writer Reeves Wiedeman to discuss his latest piece, about the complicated state of documentaries right now. Reeves talks about how the true crime genre and the celebrity-produced documentary space have dominated the market for buyers, ... Show More
33m 25s
Oct 2023
Decoder Ring: When Art Pranksters Invaded Melrose Place
In the mid-1990s, the prime time drama Melrose Place became a home to hundreds of pieces of contemporary art—and no one noticed. In this episode, Isaac Butler tells the story of the artist collective that smuggled subversive quilts, sperm-shaped pool floats, and dozens of other p ... Show More
41m 34s
Listen to millions of songs and podcasts on Anghami