The Slate Culture Gab Fest is sponsored by Eagle Heart, Paradise Rising, starring Chris Elliott, Maria Thayer, and Brett Gelman.

Season 3 premieres November 14th at midnight on Adult Swim.

And by Stamps.com.

Buy and print official U.S. postage using your own computer and printer, and have your postal carrier pick up the packages.

Sign up for a no-risk trial and get up to $55 in free postage when you visit

Stamps.com and use the promo code CultureFest.

The following podcast contains explicit language.

I'm Stephen Metcalf, and this is the Slate Culture Gab Fest, Ignoring My Own Beautiful Face Edition.

It's Wednesday, November 20th, 2013.

On today's show, The New Movie Dallas Buyers Club, it stars Matthew McConaughey as a man heroically fighting his own HIV and the medical establishment. And then we discussed the new book about Rupert Murdoch with its author, the NPR media correspondent, David Fulkenflick. And finally, the death of an adjunct professor. Is it really the morality tale it's been taken for? We'll discuss with Slate's own Laura Anderson. Joining me today is Slate's deputy editor, Julia Turner. Hello, Julia. Hi, Steve. And of course, Slate's film critic, Dana Stevens. Hey, Dana. Hey, Steve. I like that we can see your face this week. We haven't mentioned that we're face-timing for the first time during the taping of a show. So we can actually see you up in the Ghent Bureau. We can see you in the beautiful wooden beams on your ceiling above your head. Yes, I know. There are lovely rustic beams, and maybe it makes up for the kind of odd picture-in-picture phenomenon of looking at your faces juxtapose next to my face. Yeah, it's like doing the show into a mirror. It's a little strange. I feel like I should be shaving maybe while I do worse.

We have a very good view of your chin stubbles, so maybe we can make it a collaborative affair.

That's very funny.

All right.

Well, Dallas Buyers Club tells the story of Ron Woodruff, a Texas good old boy rodeo rider, who, after being diagnosed with HIV in the mid-1980s, began

aggressively self-medicating. And after surviving the 30-day death sentence given to him by

traditional doctors, he created a buyer's club to help others suffering from the virus to obtain

black market and gray market medications. The film, I should say, is directed by Jean-Marc Falaire.

I hope Dana can tell me who that is exactly, and it stars Matthew McConaughey and Jared Lido.

All right, well, before we dig in, why don't we start with a clip? Julia, do you want to set this one up?

Yes, so what we're hearing in this clip will be Matthew McConaughey, who has tried to smuggle a bunch of drugs into the country for his clients, members of the Dallas Bires Club, and he's been stopped and intercepted by an FDA agent.

So this is their confrontation.

Walker, Dorset, Blan, Newsom, Jeff Coe.

...