From: Slate V on Tue, Sep 29 2009 5:21 PM

In this episode of Open Book, author Mary Gaitskill discusses the trashy novels that influenced her writing and explains why "Veronica" took so many years to complete. Open Book is a co-production of Slate V and the NYU Creative Writing Program. Click

From: Slate V on Tue, Sep 29 2009 5:21 PM

In this episode of Open Book, author Amy Hempel describes her fear of writing a bad sentence and other quirks of her writing process. Open Book is a co-production of Slate V and the NYU Creative Writing Program.

From: Slate V on Tue, Sep 29 2009 5:20 PM

In this episode of Open Book, Pulitzer Prize-winning poet Jorie Graham discusses writing out loud and her mystical maternal encounter with Emily Dickinson. Open Book is a co-production of Slate V and the NYU Creative Writing Program. Click

From: Slate V on Tue, Sep 29 2009 5:20 PM

A moderately ambitious woman who is dating the ultimate slacker seeks guidance from Slate’s advice columnist, Prudence.

From: Slate V on Tue, Sep 29 2009 5:20 PM

Slate’s advice columnist, Prudence, counsels a woman whose boyfriend doesn't give a sheet about making the bed.

From: Slate V on Tue, Sep 29 2009 5:20 PM

Slate’s advice columnist, Prudence, counsels a woman who's conflicted about a fellow mother’s boozing habits.

From: Slate V on Tue, Sep 29 2009 5:20 PM

Slate contributor Seth Stevenson test-drives several European bicycles designed to make the daily two-wheeled commute more pleasant.

From: Slate V on Tue, Sep 29 2009 5:20 PM

A woman whose pregnant friends are spamming her with photos of their bellies and babies-to-be seeks guidance from Slate’s advice columnist, Prudence.

From: Slate V on Tue, Sep 29 2009 5:20 PM

Need to persuade someone who found your lost iPhone to return it? There’s an app for that—a belligerent, aggrieved, threatening app. Watch our exclusive preview. (Written and produced by Scott Blaszak.)

From: Slate V on Tue, Sep 29 2009 5:20 PM

Slate’s Farhad Manjoo, with the help of his trusty hand model sidekick, test-drives the iPhone dictionary app Ninja Words.

From: Slate V on Tue, Sep 29 2009 5:20 PM

Slate’s advice columnist, Prudence, gives counsel to a young man who recently stumbled upon an e-mail that proves his father is having an affair.

From: Slate V on Tue, Sep 29 2009 5:20 PM

What’s the best way to market a condom? A sampling of ads from around the world shows that a lot depends on the prevailing attitudes about sex.

From: Slate V on Tue, Sep 29 2009 5:20 PM

For her latest film role, Meryl Streep perfectly mimics TV chef Julia Child’s unique patter. It’s just the latest of many accents Streep has mastered over her long career.

From: Slate V on Tue, Sep 29 2009 5:20 PM

A man asks Slate’s advice columnist, Prudence, what to do when his obese, diabetic sister-in-law asks him to get her some marijuana to ease her pain.

From: Slate V on Tue, Sep 29 2009 5:20 PM

Slate’s advice columnist, Prudence, counsels a woman who is fed up with her parents' misguided attempts to relate to her Filipino-American husband.

From: Slate V on Tue, Sep 29 2009 5:20 PM

Slate’s advice columnist, Prudence, gives counsel to a man who can't bear that his teenage niece is far from the sharpest tool in the shed.

From: Slate V on Tue, Sep 29 2009 5:20 PM

Beyond mantras and massage, yoga instructors have some dirty little secrets, as Catie Lazarus discovered.

From: Slate V on Tue, Sep 29 2009 5:20 PM

Slate’s advice columnist, Prudence, counsels a young woman who wonders if her pixie haircut is driving away potential suitors.

From: Slate V on Tue, Sep 29 2009 5:20 PM

As a new NFL season gets under way, Slate V imagines what pro football would look like if it was played inside the classic video game The Oregon Trail.

From: Slate V on Tue, Sep 29 2009 5:20 PM

From a sustainability standpoint, what’s the best way to dry your hands in a public restroom — using paper towels or an electric hand dryer? Slate's Nina Shen Rastogi has the answer.