Oscar Algorithm

Oscar Algorithm

Top of Mind with Julie Rose - Radio Archive, Episode 756 , Segment 4

Episode: Our Damaged Democracy, Native American Slavery, Oscars

  • Feb 27, 2018
  • 20:35 mins

Guest: Gabriel Rossman, PhD, Associate Professor of Sociology, UCLA When Hollywood gathers to honor itself at the Academy Awards this coming Sunday, the most successful films of 2017 will be conspicuously absent. “Star Wars: The Last Jedi,” “Beauty and the Beast” and “Wonder Woman” were the year’s biggest hits based on US ticket sales, so why aren’t they in the running for best picture? UCLA sociologist Gabriel Rossman has developed an algorithm to explain – and predict – which films will get an Oscar nomination. Spoiler alert – you gotta be a serious film if you hope to win the big prize.

Other Segments

Our Damaged Democracy

22 MINS

Guest: Joseph Califano, Author, “Our Damaged Democracy: We The People Must Act” America never seems so deeply divided as it does in these politically and emotionally-charged days after a mass shooting. Survivors plead. Pundits argue and accuse. Social media burns with inflammatory rhetoric. And in the end, we know there’s a good chance any efforts at change will end up stalled in Congress. After a lifetime serving in the halls of Washington power, Joseph Califano has concluded that American democracy is damaged. But it’s not Trump’s fault. Or Obama’s fault. Or the Republicans or the Democrats. We all bear some responsibility. And that means, we can all do something to help right the ship. Califano served in the Pentagon under Robert McNamara, as a domestic White House aide to President Johnson and as US Secretary of Health, Education and Welfare under President Carter.

Guest: Joseph Califano, Author, “Our Damaged Democracy: We The People Must Act” America never seems so deeply divided as it does in these politically and emotionally-charged days after a mass shooting. Survivors plead. Pundits argue and accuse. Social media burns with inflammatory rhetoric. And in the end, we know there’s a good chance any efforts at change will end up stalled in Congress. After a lifetime serving in the halls of Washington power, Joseph Califano has concluded that American democracy is damaged. But it’s not Trump’s fault. Or Obama’s fault. Or the Republicans or the Democrats. We all bear some responsibility. And that means, we can all do something to help right the ship. Califano served in the Pentagon under Robert McNamara, as a domestic White House aide to President Johnson and as US Secretary of Health, Education and Welfare under President Carter.

At the Olympics, Green is the New Gold

19 MINS

Guest: Warren Mabee, Associate Director, Queen’s Institute for Energy and Environmental Policy, Professor and Head of the Department of Geography and planning, Queen's University The 2018 Winter Olympics, which wrapped up in South Korea over the weekend, were the largest in history with nearly 3,000 athletes from 92 countries. All those competitors and their coaches were far outnumbered by the journalists and fans who trekked to Pyeongchang, adding up to an enormous amount of greenhouse gas emissions from air travel. The irony is that if the climate continues to warm as it has, many former Winter Games locations will no longer be cold enough to consider hosting the games again. That includes Sochi, Russia and Vancouver, Canada.

Guest: Warren Mabee, Associate Director, Queen’s Institute for Energy and Environmental Policy, Professor and Head of the Department of Geography and planning, Queen's University The 2018 Winter Olympics, which wrapped up in South Korea over the weekend, were the largest in history with nearly 3,000 athletes from 92 countries. All those competitors and their coaches were far outnumbered by the journalists and fans who trekked to Pyeongchang, adding up to an enormous amount of greenhouse gas emissions from air travel. The irony is that if the climate continues to warm as it has, many former Winter Games locations will no longer be cold enough to consider hosting the games again. That includes Sochi, Russia and Vancouver, Canada.