Welcome to Oscar Talk.

In case you’re new to the site and/or the podcast, Oscar Talk is a one-stop awards chat shop between yours truly and Anne Thompson of Thompson on Hollywood. The podcast is broadcast in special installments 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.

On the docket today…

– CHANGES: Oscar Talk is scaling back to a roughly monthly-ish schedule of 9-10 specials.

– LOOKING BACK: 2013 so far. It’s been months since last we spoke.

– FALL FEST PREVIEW: Venice, Telluride and Toronto are set to kick off the season.

– LOOKING AHEAD: An interesting and diverse season lies on the horizon.

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.