There Are Many Great Paintings. Why Does Everyone Know the Mona Lisa?

"We are really lucky to get lots of listener suggestions for the show, more good questions than we can possibly answer in a mailbag episode once or twice a year. So we're starting a new segment we call... Decoder Rings Back! Every month, host Willa Paskin will personally call up a listener to answer their question. In this inaugural installment of Decoder Rings Back, Willa calls up listener Dustin Malek about his cultural mystery:"

"Future episodes of Decoder Rings Backwill only be available to Slate Plus subscribers. So if you want to be sure not to miss them, sign up for Slate Plus! You'll get exclusive episodes and ad-free listening not just on our show, but 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."

"This episode was produced by Max Freedman. Decoder Ring is also produced by Katie Shepherd and Evan Chung, our supervising producer. Merritt Jacob is Senior Technical Director. If you have any cultural mysteries you want us to decode, email us at [e-mail] or leave a message on our hotline at [phone]. Sources for This Episode Cumming, Laura. " The man who stole the Mona Lisa," The Guardian, August 5, 2011. Hoobler, Dorothy, and Thomas Hoobler. " Stealing Mona Lisa," Vanity Fair, April 16, 2009."

A new monthly segment called Decoder Rings Back will feature personal calls to listeners to answer cultural questions. The inaugural installment connects with listener Dustin Malek to probe why the Mona Lisa became the world's most famous painting and recounts the 1911 heist that elevated its public profile. Future installments will be exclusive to Slate Plus subscribers, offering ad-free listening and bonus episodes across Slate podcasts, with subscription links on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and slate.com/decoderplus. Production credits list Max Freedman, Katie Shepherd, Evan Chung, and Merritt Jacob. Listeners can submit mysteries via [e-mail] or [phone]. Cited sources include The Guardian, Vanity Fair, and scholarly works on Leonardo da Vinci and Parisian crimes.

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