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">The Perfect Moment: God, Sex, Art, and the Birth of America's Culture Wars</a>.) They step into this week’s cultural trenches by way of an animatronic beaver den in Pixar’s Hoppers. Does the kooky eco-romp revive Pixar from its much-discussed slump? They discuss.Next, they step to the frontlines of middle-age malaise in the new HBO limited series DTF St. Louis, a sex comedy and meditation on male friendship mashed up with a murder mystery starring Jason Bateman, David Harbour, and Linda Cardellini.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.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">A World Appears: A Journey into Consciousness</a>.EndorsementsIsaac: An earlier instance of Jason Bateman playing sinister, the 2015 thriller <a href="https://watch.plex.tv/movie/the-gift-2015?utm_content=5d776b7f23d5a3001f51113d&utm_medium=deeplink&utm_source=google-catalog" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">The Gift</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">The Perfect Moment: God, Sex, Art, and the Birth of America's Culture Wars</a>)Steve: 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">The Structural Transformation of the Public Sphere</a>.&nbsp;Dana: 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">Hundreds of Beavers</a>.&nbsp;---Email us your thoughts at <a href="mailto:culturefest@slate.com" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">culturefest@slate.com</a>.&nbsp;Podcast production by Benjamin Frisch. Production assistance by Daniel Hirsch.<hr> 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.

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