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I'm Stephen Metcalf, and this is the Slate Culture Gab Fest Morning in America edition.

This is also the daily podcast from slate.com for Wednesday, February 3rd, 2010.

On today's program, it's award season.

We're going to talk about the Grammys and the Oscars, Death and D. Dying in America with Megan O'Rourke, and the death of J.D. Salinger. Joining me today are, I'll just go around the table since there are so many of us, Megan, O'Rourke, ex-editor of Slate, contributor to Double X, and good friend. We're very, very glad to have you back.

Thank you. Glad to be here.

Troy Patterson is Slate, contributor to double X and good friend. We're very, very glad to have you back.

Thank you. I'm glad to be here. Troy Patterson is Slate's TV critic, and Troy, it's nice to see you. My pleasure is always. We'll breeze through this because we know you're in a hurry. Dana, everyone's in a hurry today, actually. It's a new level of chaos. That's a big ad for the gab. Hey guys, we're all here.

Hurry, quick, quick, say stuff.

Right, and I'm actually reporting live from a daycare. of chaos. Well, that's a big ad for the gabist. Hey, guys, we're all here in hurry. Quick, quick, quick.

Say stuff.

Right.

And I'm actually reporting live from a dayquil haze today. So this should be a new low for the show. So we're all in a hurry and you're just floating right on. Floating right through. Dana Stevens is the movie critic for Slate. So, Dana, I'm going to start with you, if that's all right.

Why don't you tell us who's been nominated for what?

And it's the Oscar nominations, we should say, came out earlier this week. Tell us who's been nominated for what? What leaps out at you?

Well, as far as what leaps out, I mean, I guess the big talking point in this year's Oscars is the expansion of the best picture category to 10, which is completely odd still what exactly that's going to mean for the Oscars. But if you look at what the 10 nominations for Best Picture are, you can, the padding pops out very clearly. It's very obvious sort of what the real serious nominees are. And this is not to make light of the films that are the padding, but they're not the kind of movies that normally make it into Best Picture. No, because some of them are very good. I mean, for example, up, I don't think would have been a nominee if we didn't have that extra space.

but what else is a surprise in here, let's see.

Well, there's a couple acting surprises, I think.

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