Barbenheimer was the summer blockbuster phenomenon of 2023 around the movies Barbie and Oppenheimer. Both movies made a box office splash and now Oppenheimer is leading in the Oscar nominations race with 13 nods. But there are plenty of lesser known films in the running, including three primarily in a foreign language, vying for best picture. To help understand which films and stars are the favorites to win we are joined this week by Pop Culture Happy Hour hosts Aisha Harris and Linda Holmes. Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoices NPR Privacy Policy

President Biden takes on his age — and, without saying his name, his opponent. Donald Trump is poised to install loyalists atop the Republican National Committee. And a surreal standoff in Haiti continues, between the government and armed gangs. Want more comprehensive analysis of the most important news of the day, plus a little fun? Subscribe to the Up First newsletter. Up First was edited Roberta Rampton, Megan Pratz, Tara Neill, Lisa Thomson and Ben Adler. It was produced by Julie Depenbrock, Ben Abrams and Kaity Kline. We get engineering support from Stacey Abbott. Our technical director is Zac Coleman. And our executive producer is Erika Aguilar. Correction: An earlier version of this episode referred to Morton Blackwell as a member of the Republican National Committee from Louisiana. He represents Virginia. Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoices NPR Privacy Policy