Welcome to Oscar Talk.

In case you’re new to the site and/or the podcast, Oscar Talk is a weekly kudocast, your one-stop awards chat shop between yours truly and Anne Thompson of Thompson on Hollywood. The podcast is weekly, every Friday throughout the season, charting the ups and downs of contenders along the way. Plenty of things change en route to Oscar’s stage and we’re here to address it all as it unfolds.

Two of the final four hold-outs of the season screened since we last met, “Les Misérables” and “Zero Dark Thirty,” and both were received well. We discuss our thoughts on both and their potential impact on the race.

The Gotham Awards happened earlier in the week and the Independent Spirit Award nominations were announced the very next day. Is the state of indie film really reflected here? We talk about those who were and are in play.

We focus on the Best Documentary Feature category for the first time this year, running through a number of contenders.

And finally, reader questions. We address queries concerning the renaissance of documentary filmmaking and the density of quality films in the Oscar race this year.

Have a listen to the new podcast below. If the file cuts off for you at any time, try the back-up download link at the bottom of this post. You to subscribe to Oscar Talk via iTunes here. And as always, if you have a question you’d like us to address on a future podcast, send it to OscarTalk@HitFix.com.

“Here I Come” courtesy of Stuart Park.