On this week’s show, the panel is first joined by Mark Harris, cultural historian and the author of Pictures at a Revolution: Five Movies and the Birth of the New Hollywood, to discuss the 96th Academy Awards: a fun, glitzy return to form filled with surprisingly political moments. Then, the three review FX’s Shōgun, a massive epic set in 17th century Japan that many are calling “the new Game of Thrones.” But does it live up to the hype? Finally, the trio examines “Behind F1’s Velvet Curtain,” Kate Wagner’s spellbinding 5,000-word piece about the world of Formula 1 racing that Road & Track published then promptly yanked from the internet without explanation. Although Wagner’s piece is no longer live on Road & Track, you can still read it on Wayback Machine’s internet archive.

In the exclusive Slate Plus segment, Mark Harris returns to talk about his New York Times essay, “How Bad Can It Get for Hollywood?” which details what we can expect from movies in 2024 (spoiler alert: it’s not looking good). 

Email us at culturefest@slate.com. 

Outro music: “8-Bit Hop” by Ash Sculptures

Endorsements:

Dana: HINT.FM’s Wind Map, which illustrates “the delicate tracery of wind flowing over the US.” 

Julia: Tejal Rao’s recipe for Kale Sauce Pasta, adapted from Joshua McFadden.   

Steve: “What Physicists Have Been Missing” by theoretical physicist Sabine Hossenfelder. 

Podcast production by Jared Downing. Production assistance by Kat Hong.

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