<p>Shuffling under the mortal coil this week (aka hosting the Gabfest), it’s our OG players Steve, Dana, and Julia. Like a morose Danish prince contemplating a human skull, they gaze upon the Oscar nominated <em>Hamnet</em>, based on the novel by Maggie O’Farrell inspired by William Shakespeare’s life. Directed by Chloé Zhao and starring Jessie Buckley and Paul Mescal, <em>Hamnet </em>has brought some critics to tears and left others cold. Our hosts share where they landed.</p><br><p>Next, they boot up the Netflix content machine to view <em>The Rip</em>, a new cop caper reuniting Matt Damon and Ben Affleck. Do the boys from Boston (illogically playing <em>Miami</em> cops) make good again? Finally, they welcome <em>New Yorker </em>writer Clare Malone to discuss <a href="https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2026/01/26/inside-bari-weisss-hostile-takeover-of-cbs-news" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">her recent profile of the deeply polarizing, newly-appointed head of CBS News Bari Weiss</a>.&nbsp;</p><br><p>In a special add-on, Isaac Butler leaves a voice memo to share his vituperative take on <em>Hamnet—</em><a href="https://slate.com/culture/2026/01/hamnet-golden-globes-2026-winners-shakespeare-movie-oscars.html" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">as outlined in a recent Slate piece</a>. The <em>Hamnet </em>discourse continues in a bonus&nbsp; episode exclusively for Slate Plus subscribers wherein the gang unpacks the film’s ending. Is the play indeed the thing?</p><br><p><strong>Endorsements</strong></p><br><p><strong>Dana: </strong>The book <a href="https://bookshop.org/p/books/hamnet-maggie-o-farrell/d8af232bf0b72169?ean=9781984898876&amp;next=t" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"><em>Hamnet</em> by Maggie O’Farrell</a> especially the <a href="https://www.audible.com/pd/Hamnet-Audiobook/B0F1DNRDN2?ipRedirectOverride=true&amp;overrideBaseCountry=true&amp;bp_o=true&amp;language=en_US&amp;source_code=GPAPP30DTRIAL5480813240005&amp;gclsrc=aw.ds&amp;gad_source=1&amp;gad_campaignid=20983884474&amp;gclid=Cj0KCQiA4eHLBhCzARIsAJ2NZoK4oJZGFWMO1IzXKxtmQcjlBGe9HM7riS8V8G6rH_tf5LKhE-aibcwaAjG8EALw_wcB" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">audiobook version read by Jessie Buckley</a>.</p><br><p><strong>Julia</strong>: The hilarious video of Matt Damon and Ben Affleck with Jimmy Fallon naming <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FhC76xAq7oE" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">all the towns in Massachusetts on <em>The Tonight Show</em></a>, the sober, intelligent<em> New York Times </em>opinion round table between Lydia Polgreen, David French, and Michelle Goldberg about <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2026/01/26/opinion/minneapolis-alex-pretti-ice-shooting.html" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">ICE raids in Minneapolis and the killing of Alex Pretti</a>, and the still deeply timely film <a href="https://www.netflix.com/watch/82040265?source=35" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"><em>I’m Still Here</em></a><em>.</em></p><br><p><strong>Steve: </strong>The film <a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt27714581/fullcredits/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"><em>Sentimental Value</em></a> and the double album<em> </em><a href="https://music.apple.com/us/album/sing-the-children-over-sand-in-my-shoe/1329190667" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"><em>Sing the Children Over &amp; Sand In My Shoe</em></a><em> </em>by the singer/songwriter Kath Bloom as well as the Kath Bloom cover “<a href="https://open.spotify.com/track/0w0P92h6tRnQ8XU43ZAcEu?si=9159c7ec2a764e3e" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Come Here</a>” by the band The Concretes.</p><br><p>--</p><p>Email us your thoughts at <a href="mailto:[email protected]" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">[email protected]</a>.&nbsp;</p><br><p>Podcast production by Kevin Bendis. Production assistance by Daniel Hirsch.</p><hr><p style='color:grey; font-size:0.75em;'> Hosted on Acast. See <a style='color:grey;' target='_blank' rel='noopener noreferrer' href='https://acast.com/privacy'>acast.com/privacy</a> for more information.</p>