<p>On this week’s show, Dana and Steve are joined by long-time FOP Isaac Butler (and author of the forthcoming book <a href="https://www.amazon.com/Perfect-Moment-Birth-Americas-Culture/dp/1639733493" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"><em>The Perfect Moment: God, Sex, Art, and the Birth of America's Culture Wars</em></a>.) They step into this week’s cultural trenches by way of an animatronic beaver den in Pixar’s <em>Hoppers</em>. Does the kooky eco-romp revive Pixar from its much-discussed slump? They discuss.</p><br><p>Next, they step to the frontlines of middle-age malaise in the new HBO limited series <em>DTF St. Louis, </em>a sex comedy and meditation on male friendship mashed up with a murder mystery starring Jason Bateman, David Harbour, and Linda Cardellini.</p><br><p>Finally, they debrief on the various battles for golden men in a recap and analysis of the 98th Academy Awards. Are the Oscars a real measure of artistic value? What do this year’s ceremony and winners say about the state of cinema? Why are they so long? Your questions answered here.</p><br><p>In an exclusive bonus episode for Slate Plus subscribers, the panel takes up a recent excerpt from Michael Pollan’s new book <a href="https://bookshop.org/p/books/a-world-appears-a-journey-into-consciousness-michael-pollan/47e179e0a2408aa0" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"><em>A World Appears: A Journey into Consciousness</em></a>.</p><br><p><br></p><p><strong>Endorsements</strong></p><p><strong>Isaac</strong>: An earlier instance of Jason Bateman playing sinister, the 2015 thriller <a href="https://watch.plex.tv/movie/the-gift-2015?utm_content=5d776b7f23d5a3001f51113d&amp;utm_medium=deeplink&amp;utm_source=google-catalog" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"><em>The Gift</em></a>, directed by Joel Edgerton. (Also, don’t forget to pre-order <a href="https://www.amazon.com/Perfect-Moment-Birth-Americas-Culture/dp/1639733493" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"><em>The Perfect Moment: God, Sex, Art, and the Birth of America's Culture Wars</em></a>)</p><br><p><strong>Steve</strong>: The work of the recently deceased philosopher <a href="https://jacobin.com/2026/03/habermas-obituary-critical-theory-philosophy" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Jürgen Habermas</a>. As a starting off point, read the Wikipedia page of his early work <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Structural_Transformation_of_the_Public_Sphere" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"><em>The Structural Transformation of the Public Sphere</em></a><em>.&nbsp;</em></p><br><p><strong>Dana</strong>: For more beaver-related slapstick, the exceedingly low-budget 2022 debut—produced for just $150,000— of director Mike Cheslik <a href="https://mubi.com/en/us/films/hundreds-of-beavers" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"><em>Hundreds of Beavers</em></a>.&nbsp;</p><br><p>---</p><br><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 Benjamin Frisch. 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>