John Swansburg. (Photo: Slate).

Slate's editorial director John Swansburg was on Reddit today, answering readers' questions, which the counterintuitive webmag handily made into an easily digestible post.

What did we learn? Good question! Well, if given the choice between fighting one panda-sized David Plotz and 100 David Plotz-sized pandas, Mr. Swansburg would choose the latter. In the event of a Zombie attack, Mr. Swansburg "would surrender immediately and throw [himself] on the mercy of the undead," he wrote. But then again, he is "not a zombie guy, never have been." Sometimes, his own writing can be a powerful tool for social change. For example, ever since he wrote about how much he hates birthday dinners in 2008, Mr. Swansburg hasn't been invited to a single one. He views this accomplishment as a direct result of his seminal piece. 

"I'm proud to say that I have been told by several people that my piece has been instrumental in thwarting plans for birthday dinners. An email chain starts suggesting such an event, and someone on the list sends around my piece, and the dinner is scuttled," he wrote. "That's why I got into this business. Changing lives. I like to think that my own lack of birthday dinner invites is a result of having changed behavioral norms. But more likely people just think I'm anti-social now."

What about practical advice? Like, say, how to write for Slate.

Like most editors, Mr. Swansburg likes good cover letters. Be concise, but not too concise. Be familiar, but not too familiar. Get that Slate tone down. And remember, everyone likes flattery.

"Most important, perhaps, is conveying that you know the place you're applying to. I like it when someone gets across that they read Slate, they like Slate, they really could imagine contributing to Slate," Mr. Swansburg replied when asked for advice by a soon-to-graduate college journalism major with no actual job experience. "I suppose some part of that is falling prey to flattery, but I want to know you've done your homework and thought about the job and the employer." Mr. Swansburg points out that Slate is a free web mag, so there is really no excuse.

What about the future of long form journalism?

Mr. Swansburg is optimistic, even though Slate has gotten "faster and shorter" in the past six years, people still click on the long stories. And Instapaper! And The Atavist! "I think the future is bright. Personally, I find myself reading more of it than ever. I'm a huge Instapaper guy, both because I like reading in the app and because it helps me clip pieces during the day for reading in the evening. And places like the Atavist are creating new platforms, and revenue models, for long-form work, which is exciting."

And finally, using the email sign-off "tight lines," which Mr. Swansburg recently admitted to, is almost as embarrassing as thinking that "the symmetry of J.R. Swansburg Jr." is "kinda badass." But then, we all make mistakes when we are young. "I'm not proud of it, but it happened," Mr. Swansburg said of his email signature.

Surprisingly, not a trend story. (The Onion)

Poor Justin Peters. The Slate scribe probably hadn't heard about The Times Is on It Twitter account when he signed up to do what most of us would consider the impossible (or at least the super-foolish): Try to "embody" seven trends created discovered by the NYT’s Style Section, to become the most stylish man in New York. (Except, obviously, Brooklyn.)

So what did these seven trends entail? Growing a beard ("Oh, to Be Just Another Bearded Face," May 30); using cockney slang ("Americans Are Barmy Over Britishisms," Oct. 10); putting 30 pillows on the bed ("A Nation Lulled to Sleep," Feb 10); a happy hour dance party/gym class ("Would You Like a Cocktail With That Workout?" March 7); wearing a man-bun and imitating gap teeth with tooth-black ("Generation Gap: Look Who’s Smiling Now," Feb 15 and "Spare a Hair Band? A Man Bun to Go," Jan. 25), and getting a "he-wax" ("A He-Wax for Him," April 10).

Luckily, those seven trends weren't done simultaneously, or else we doubt Mr. Peters would have survived the ordeal. (Getting a genital wax while working out with energy shots? Blimey!) He did, however, yell at several non-bearded men at Brooklyn Flea, harassed exhibitors at the Agenda: NYC trade show, and had a really good night's sleep (among other things). Conclusion? Trying to keep up with trend stories will make other people think you are insane, or an idiot, or a writer. Like when Mr. Peters tries to mock a beardless gentleman, because according to the Times, some men now "face ridicule" for not having facial hair.

We just want to know: Where does he stand on wearing pantyhose with Spanx? Skirts? My god, there are just so many things we need to know about, trend-wise!

Slate Logo. (Credit: Slate).

Slate readers can now assign Slate writers stories. How's that for counterintuitive?

In a stunt reminiscent of a Slate explainer, the website is turning assumptions slightly askew and then making a case for that assumption. For the next week, that assumption is the editorial process whereby an editor assigns a writer a story, a writer writes it and then a reader reads it. But not this week at Slate. Readers are submitting the story ideas.

But there are still rules. Let's not get carried away. This whole experiment isn't going to descend into some kind of reader-led anarchy. Pitches must be 150 words or less. The submission period ends on October 17. Then readers will be vote. And then the writers will write it.

To get readers thinking, Slate has some prompts.

"What ad should Seth Stevenson write about? Which Senate race should John Dickerson weigh in on? What crazy social experiment should David Plotz and Hanna Rosin try to replicate next? We’re counting on you to dream up great assignments for our writers to tackle, to point out the subjects we aren’t covering but should," wrote Slate.

What hasn't Slate explained yet? We honestly can't think of a single thing, but we have no doubt that the website's faithful will.

At least, that's what it seems that Slate is hoping for: "The book includes Katie’s unique take on everything from politics to pop culture to her own life, so the night is sure to be interesting. Maybe even messy," writes Slate. Let's hope!

But wait. Put that credit card back in your pocket before buying that $25 ticket.  Slate has a discount offer. "Even better news: Enter the code SLATENYPL to get a $10 discount on your ticket. See you there!" Slate enthusiastically writes.With the money saved, why not buy book and prep your indignation.  Or even better, read Ms. Roiphe's column and use the extra cash to plan an affair over whiskey sours. Get messy!

The event is on October 10. The conversation feels like it has been going on since the early 90's.

Maybe it's another David Plotz, we thought! Not so: on the day of publication of The End of Men by Hanna Rosin (pictured), as the pair were undergoing a jokey publicity tour, Mr. Plotz wrote another Amazon review. "I'm Hanna Rosin's husband, so I'm obviously biased," he wrote, "but I have also lived with this book and this subject for two years, and I can tell you confidently that Hanna has written an absolutely gripping and thought-provoking book about why the world has changed so fast." Six of fourteen Amazon readers found the review helpful.

Four out of Mr. Plotz's five Amazon user reviews grant the subject the perfect five stars (including a rave review for The Bush Tragedy, written by Jacob Weisberg, the editor-in-chief of Slate Group and a man Mr. Plotz calls "a colleague and friend"). The one negative review was for a Black & Decker toaster oven. "The timer did not function, causing me to nearly set fire to my kitchen when the first piece of toast I put in incinerated," Mr. Plotz wrote. "Also, it came without an instruction manual."

Hanna Rosin

“Last night we did a version of this where we walked down the aisle!” said Atlantic senior editor Hanna Rosin at the beginning of a debate last Wednesday at the Maritime Hotel, on occasion of the publication of her book, The End of Men. “It was like our wedding!”

She had just come onstage along with an unlikely interlocutor: her husband David Plotz, the editor of Slate. The couple were conducting a road show of sorts to debate whether or not the male gender was less nimble in the current economy, they appeared together in Washington the night before and were scheduled to appear on Today together on Thursday. The sell—woman declares male gender dead (or, at least, her book jacket does), and here’s her loving husband!—was irresistible, and the pair played it up at the Maritime reading. Mr. Plotz referred to himself, early in the evening, as “Mr. Rosin,” and instructed his debate partner, “You need to stay on mic, sweetie. Just hold it! It’s very simple.”

For her part, Ms. Rosin bristled good-naturedly at a tough question, saying “It’s weird! Because you’re my husband! And you’re Charlie Rose-ing me!”

Not every viewer was entranced, however. We noticed New York Times Magazine editor Hugo Lindgren, who excerpted The End of Men for a recent, characteristically splashy cover spread in his publication. The editor spent much of the speech whispering loudly to one male and one female friend.

“Do you like my boots?” Mr. Lindgren asked his male friend, pulling up the leg of his trousers to peacock.

“Yeah! Do you like mine?” asked his male friend, as Ms. Rosin spoke.

The debate was won by Ms. Rosin, but by then Mr. Lindgren was already gone.

"I spent almost eight years working in cable news before I decided earlier this year to exit the industry in  a quiet, dignified fashion, so naturally the show piqued my curiosity," he wrote. "Sorkin deserves credit for nailing a lot of the details of the milieu. But given how many of the little things he gets right, it’s surprising that he gets a few of the big ones so wrong.

One thing Mr. Sorkin gets right, according to Mr. Muto, is the "old guard news honcho," who likes to talk about how journalism worked "back-in-my-day." In the show, it's the bow-tied news division president, Charlie, played by Sam Waterston. At Fox News, that role is played by none other than president Roger Ailes.

"Fox News president Roger Ailes is known for regaling staff with stories about his TV past during speeches at company functions. I personally heard at least three retellings of the time he worked for The Mike Douglas Show and had to set up a functioning bowling alley in the studio with less than 24-hours notice."

According to Poynter, Mr. Muto is no longer working for Gawker, although the company will continue to support him legally in the criminal investigation over information he leaked to Gawker.

And apparently he's not the only fan-boy. Slate podcast downloads "typically reach five to six figures per episode."

General interest papers like The Boston Globe are abandoning podcasting—waste of time and resources, they say—publications with narrow audiences and opinion-driven content like Slate can make a killing, reports Nieman. Brand mentions in Slate podcasts are the most expensive ads the company sells and have the highest sell-through rate.

"What makes it work is not a groundbreaking format but an expertly arranged mix of personalities: editor David Plotz and writers Emily Bazelon and John Dickerson have an infectious rapport,"  Andrew Phelps wrote.

Editor Tony Ortega did not immediately respond to The Observer's request for comment about Ms. Benedikt's replacement.

In other Village Voice news, Republican New York Congressman Bob Turner will hold a press conference outside the alt-weekly's office later today, asking Voice parent company Village Voice Media to remove the adult services section from its lucrative online classifieds site, Backpage.com. The site's use as a hub for underage prostitution has been criticized by politicians, human rights activists, religious groups and journalists Nicholas Kristof and Anderson Cooper, causing dozens of advertisers, including Starbucks, MillerCoors, AT&T, and US Bank to boycott the paper.

The first installment is illustrated by Derf Backderf.

Slate announced a new special section today, the Slate Book Review, which will take over the site's homepage the first weekend of every month, beginning tomorrow. Slate Book Review will triple the amount of books coverage on the site, the New York Times reports.

The section is edited by senior culture editor Dan Kois, formerly of New York. Its first installment features reviews and essays by David Weigel, Allison Benedikt, Dana Stevens and Paul Ford, among others, and illustrations by Derf Backderf.

Slate's new section may serve as a corrective to industry-wide trends. While stand-alone book review sections have disappeared from just about every newspaper except The New York Times, Slate is devoting homepage real estate and editorial manpower to books, including those without major marketing campaigns. A few pieces are available online today, including Wesley Morris's review of Kevin Young's The Grey Album, which we haven't seen reviewed anywhere else.

But the limitations of doing so online are never clearer than when Mr. Kois suggests we might read it when we "take [our] laptop to brunch." That's a sacrilege big enough to restore our faith in print.