Our annual panel of pop culture experts Brodie Lancaster, Alison Willmore, Hannah Diviney and Jared Richards gather for a dissection of the zeitgeist.

Baby Reindeer, The Bear and hot rodent men: lt has been a ferocious (and sometimes feral) year for pop culture, and it seems that we’re not slowing down any time soon.

On the occasion of the 2024 Melbourne International Film Festival, host Brodie Lancaster is joined by Vulture and New York magazine film critic Alison Willmore, disability advocate and star of the new Australian film Audrey Hannah Diviney, and ABC Entertainment Reporter Jared Richards to discuss the most influential and popular film, TV, podcasts and books of the past 12 months. Expect hot takes served with a dash of frenzy and a healthy dose of reality-check.

The event was presented in partnership with The Wheeler Centre and Melbourne International Film Festival as part of MIFF Talks, a program presented by the University of Melbourne.

It was recorded on Saturday 17th August at The Wheeler Centre.

Featured music is 'The Golden Hour' by Sarah, the Illstrumentalist.

The Wheeler Centre acknowledges the Wurundjeri Woi-Wurrung people of the Kulin Nation as the Traditional Custodians of the land on which the Centre stands. We acknowledge and pay our respects to all Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples and their Elders past and present, as the custodians of the world's oldest continuous living culture.