I'm Stephen Metcalf, and this is the Slate Culture Gab Fest Monster Boss edition.

It's Wednesday, April 28th, 2021. On today's show, the Oscars in a pandemic year made for a strange

award show and some dismal

ratings, but we still care. We still care who wins, who loses, the triumphs, the snubs. We'll recap

the night and its meaning, whatever that may be, in altered times. And then nobody is a giant

oxymoron of a movie. It's a Bob Odenkirk action flick. We were made curious when critics

said it kind of works. Why not? Let's see what it's like to have Saul kick Russian mobster ass.

And so we watched it. And finally, yet another Hollywood open secret is finally getting really open.

It's getting widely aired. Scott Rudin has long been known as a boss from hell, an abusive

and petty tyrant. Legions of former employees are now making their stories known. We discuss his

and the general concept of toxic workplaces. Joining me today is Julia Turner, the deputy

managing editor of the LA Times. Julia, hey. Hello. And of course, Dana Stevens is the film critic for Slate.com.

Hey, Dana.

Hello, hello.

Excited to talk Oscars with both of you guys.

Especially now that Julia is the queen of LA entertainment media.

That's what it says on my business card.

Wow, I just remembered that business cards exist.

I haven't had occasion to deploy or receive a business card in so long.

All right.

This was the 93rd Oscars, and probably, I have to think, one of the more exceptional in the history of the award show.

Many movies, almost nobody saw

...