This week, the hosts discuss The Pitt, September 5, and cruelty as the style of the GOP.

This week, the hosts discuss One of Them Days, Asura, and the men of YouTube.

This week, the hosts discuss A Complete Unknown, On Call, and David Lynch’s legacy.

This week, the hosts discuss two awards contenders and the Justin Baldoni v. Blake Lively debacle.

This week, the hosts discuss The Brutalist, Carry-On, and Slate’s ‘24 Movie Club.

This week, the hosts answer listener-submitted questions!

This week, the hosts discuss A Man on the Inside, Seed of the Sacred Fig, and the rise of the influencer.

This week, the hosts discuss Nightbitch, Black Doves, and what happens when an assassin becomes a folk hero.

This week, the hosts discuss Steve McQueen’s latest film, Get Millie Black, and copyrighting a “vibe”.

This week, the hosts discuss Wicked, Gladiator II, and the 25 most important American recipes of the past 100 years.

This week, the hosts discuss Say Nothing, Emilia Pérez on Netflix, and a new biography of Johnny Carson.

This week, the hosts discuss A Real Pain, Max’s reboot of Like Water for Chocolate, and the future of news media,

This week, the hosts discuss Quincy Jones’ legacy, Conclave, and a new Martha Stewart documentary.

On this week’s show, Slate senior editor Rebecca Onion sits in for Julia Turner. First, the hosts examine Dahomey, an audacious new documentary by acclaimed filmmaker Mati Diop (Atlantics.)‌ With a one hour, eight minute run time, Dahomey is an incredibly rich text in a very small package, and contemplates the repatriation of 26 royal treasures plundered from the Kingdom of Dahomey as they journey back to their homeland, which now lies within the Republic of Benin.

On this week’s show, the panel falls for Anora, a new movie from writer-director Sean Baker (Tangerine, The Florida Project) that’s as arrestingly tender as it is sexy, funny, and unpredictable. The whirlwind Cinderella story won the Palme d’Or at Cannes this year, and will likely become an Oscar frontrunner due to its star-making performances and humanistic depiction of life on the margins and sex work. One host calls it “the best American movie in the past 25 years.”

On this week’s show, Julia and Stephen are joined by Slate writer and senior editor, Sam Adams. Why do we tell fictional stories about real people?‌ The panel ponders this question as they discuss two biopics: The Apprentice and Saturday Night. The Apprentice is an uncanny portrait of Donald Trump, a young striver under the tutelage – and spell – of his mentor, Roy Cohn. But does the film offer any new information or ideas? Saturday Night, on the other hand, is the often obnoxious tale of the frenetic 90-minute countdown before Saturday Night Live’s first broadcast in 1975. Finally, the panel is joined by The Atlantic staff writer Charlie Warzel to discuss his recent and prescient piece, “I’m Running Out of Ways to Explain How Bad This Is.”

On this week’s show, Dana and Stephen are joined by Supreme Friend of the Podcast (SFOP) Isaac Butler, author of The Method:‌ How the Twentieth Century Learned to‌ Act. The trio first explores The Wild Robot, DreamWork Animation’s handcrafted, lovingly made film that’s the surprise of the year. Lupita Nyong’o voices ROZ, an old-fashioned robot powered by supremely advanced A.I. who must learn about and adapt to her new wild surroundings.

On this week’s show, the hosts are joined by a very special fourth panelist: Wesley Morris, a critic at The New York Times and the host of The Wonder of Stevie, a new podcast on Audible. First, the quartet explores The Substance, a lurid, monstrous body horror flick by writer-director Coralie Fargeat. Demi Moore stars as Elisabeth Sparkle, a fading Hollywood icon who is so repulsed by the idea of aging, that she purchase a black-market drug known as “the substance.”‌ The film caused a commotion at Cannes this year, where audience members reportedly walked out in disgust and the remaining crowd gave it a 13-minute standing ovation. Then, the panel dives into The Wonder of Stevie with its host. The new six-part Audible series explores the career of Stevie Wonder and “uncovers the untold story of an extraordinary artistic journey that shaped the greatest creative era in popular music history.”‌ On the show, Wesley is joined by guests including Barack and Michelle Obama, Questlove, Smokey Robinson, and more. Finally, the hosts discuss A.I. slop and the onslaught of online garbage and language model detritus. This conversation was inspired by Max Read’s piece for New York Magazine, “Drowning in Slop.”‌

This week, the hosts discuss Max’s The Penguin, My Old Ass, and a classic advice Reddit forum.

This week, the hosts discuss Rebel Ridge, His Three Daughters, and Franz Nicolay’s new book.

This week, the hosts discuss Beetlejuice Beetlejuice, FX’s English Teacher, and the machinations of podcast chemistry.

This week, the hosts discuss KAOS on Netflix, Close Your Eyes, and the enshittification of Spotify.

This week, the hosts discuss Bad Monkey, the return of Homicide: Life on the Street, and A.I.’s writing chops.

This week, the hosts discuss HBO’s Industry, Aliens: Romulus, and the tween relationship with Sephora.

This week, the hosts discuss It Ends With Us, Apple TV+’s Time Bandits, and the plight of Yelp.