Slate Daily Feed

On this week’s show, the hosts begin by asking the question: What even is Garfield? Jim Davis’ overfed, Monday-hating (even though he’s jobless) cultural figure first appeared in comic strips in the late 1970s, and since then, has been surprisingly resilient, most recently conquering the summer box-office with The Garfield Movie. But who is Garfield, and more perhaps more importantly, why is he a thing? To answer these questions, each host watched (or endured) a different Garfield entity, including Garfield: The Movie (2004), Garfield: A Tail of Two Kitties (2006), and the latest film starring Chris Pratt as the titular cat. Then, the three discuss suspense and its nature in relation to fiction, inspired by Kathryn Schulz’s essay for The New Yorker, “The Secrets of Suspense.” It’s a curious, fantastic essay that questions the human impulse to know what happens next. Finally, it’s a visit from the Gabfest’s oldest and closest Friend of the Pod, June Thomas, who speaks with the panel about her essential new boo