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On this week’s episode, the critics discuss American Hustle, David O. Russell’s period gangster film starring Christian Bale, Amy Adams, Bradley Cooper, and Jennifer Lawrence. Featuring navel-baring necklines, big hair, and “fellas” good and bad, the film is loosely based on the Abscam scandal of the early ’80s. Next, the critics welcome Willa Paskin, Slate’s TV critic, to discuss her favorite shows of 2013. Why does she deem Borgen, a Danish political drama featuring a functioning parliament and a healthy marriage, the best show of the year? Finally, inspired by James Bennet, editor in chief of the Atlantic, the critics discuss the state of “long-form journalism” in the digital age. What role should length play in a magazine without page constraints?

Links to some of the things we discussed this week follow:

• Dana’s review of American Hustle on Slate
• Dana’s “best movies of 2013” list on Slate
• Silver Linings Playbook, directed by David O. Russell
• The Fighter, directed by David O. Russell
• Goodfellas, directed by Martin Scorsese
• Slate’s Evan Hughes breaks down the facts and fiction of American Hustle
• Argo, directed by Ben Affleck
• Jules and Jim, directed by François Truffaut
• The Master, directed by Paul Thomas Anderson
• Willa Paskin’s “top 10 TV shows of 2013” on Slate
• Borgen
• Friday Night Lights
• Mad Men
• The Good Wife
• The Fall, an Irish-British crime drama starring Gillian Anderson
• James Bennet’s essay “Against Long-Form Journalism” at the Atlantic
• Tom Scocca’s anti-smarm polemic on Gawker
• Best American Magazine Writing 2013, with an introduction by James Bennet
• “Snow Fall,” an interactive reporting piece on the New York Times website
• Stephen Colbert’s poetic take down of Slate’s “Minutes to Read” feature

Endorsements:

Dana: P.S. 22’s fifth-grade chorus in Staten Island, N.Y. In particular, their rendition of Katy Perry’s “Roar”

Julia: Northern Soul compilation albums. Especially Keep the Faith Vol. 8 featuring “Emperor of My Baby’s Heart” by Kurt Harris

Steve: The Stunt Man (1980), starring the late Peter O’Toole.

Outro: Katy Perry’s “Roar,” as performed by P.S. 22’s fifth-grade chorus

You can email us at culturefest@slate.com.

This podcast was produced by Ann Heppermann. Our intern is Anna Shechtman.

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