

And the Runner-Up Is
Kevin Jacobsen
"And the Runner-Up Is" is the Oscar history podcast that highlights past races at the Academy Awards, including Best Picture and Best Actress. Host Kevin Jacobsen and special guests break down why winners won, why losers lost, and which films and contenders were the likely runners-up, falling just short of taking home the gold.
Episodes
Mentioned books

Jul 31, 2025 • 25min
A Woman Robbed: Geena Davis and Whoopi Goldberg
Listen to this PREVIEW of the 24th episode of A Woman Robbed, a special bonus series you can hear on the And the Runner-Up Is Patreon exclusive feed! A Woman Robbed is a series in which Kevin is joined by a special guest in discussing women who had significant Oscar buzz heading into the nominations but were ultimately robbed/snubbed/omitted from the Best Actress lineup. In this episode, Kevin speaks with Chelsea Eichholz about two Best Supporting Actress Oscar winners who were overlooked for a leading performance: Geena Davis ("A League of Their Own") and Whoopi Goldberg ("Sister Act"). We discuss their performances, talk about why they came up short, and reveal whether we would have nominated them. You can listen to the full episode of A Woman Robbed by going to patreon.com/andtherunnerupis and contributing at the $5 per month tier. Clips included in this episode: "A League of Their Own" - Columbia Pictures

Jun 26, 2025 • 25min
A Woman Robbed: Sally Field and Kristen Wiig
Listen to this PREVIEW of the 23rd episode of A Woman Robbed, a special bonus series you can hear on the And the Runner-Up Is Patreon exclusive feed! A Woman Robbed is a series in which Kevin is joined by a special guest in discussing women who had significant Oscar buzz heading into the nominations but were ultimately robbed/snubbed/omitted from the Best Actress lineup. In this episode, Kevin speaks with Eoin Daly about two performances from women-led ensemble films that weren't nominated for Best Actress at the Oscars: Sally Field ("Steel Magnolias") and Kristen Wiig ("Bridesmaids"). We discuss their performances, talk about why they came up short, and reveal whether we would have nominated them. You can listen to the full episode of A Woman Robbed by going to patreon.com/andtherunnerupis and contributing at the $3 per month tier. Clips included in this episode: "Steel Magnolias" - Tri-Star Pictures

May 14, 2025 • 22min
A Woman Robbed: Natalie Portman and Marianne Jean-Baptiste
Listen to this PREVIEW of the 22nd episode of A Woman Robbed, a special bonus series you can hear on the And the Runner-Up Is Patreon exclusive feed! A Woman Robbed is a series in which Kevin is joined by a special guest in discussing women who had significant Oscar buzz heading into the nominations but were ultimately robbed/snubbed/omitted from the Best Actress lineup. In this episode, Kevin speaks with Steffi Acain about two performances of the 2020s that weren't nominated for Best Actress at the Oscars: Natalie Portman ("May December") and Marianne Jean-Baptiste ("Hard Truths"). We discuss their performances, talk about why they came up short, and reveal whether we would have nominated them. You can listen to the full episode of A Woman Robbed by going to patreon.com/andtherunnerupis and contributing at the $3 per month tier. Clips included in this episode: "May December" - Netflix

Apr 23, 2025 • 25min
A Woman Robbed: Kirsten Dunst and Lupita Nyong'o
Listen to this PREVIEW of the 21st episode of A Woman Robbed, a special bonus series you can hear on the And the Runner-Up Is Patreon exclusive feed! A Woman Robbed is a series in which Kevin is joined by a special guest in discussing women who had significant Oscar buzz heading into the nominations but were ultimately robbed/snubbed/omitted from the Best Actress lineup. In this episode, Kevin speaks with Chris Feil about two performances of the 2010s that weren't nominated for Best Actress at the Oscars: Kirsten Dunst ("Melancholia") and Lupita Nyong'o ("Us"). We discuss their performances, talk about why they came up short, and reveal whether we would have nominated them. You can listen to the full episode of A Woman Robbed by going to patreon.com/andtherunnerupis and contributing at the $3 per month tier. Clips included in this episode: "Melancholia" - Magnolia Pictures

Apr 9, 2025 • 25min
A Woman Robbed: Isabelle Huppert and Uma Thurman
Listen to this PREVIEW of the 20th episode of A Woman Robbed, a special bonus series you can hear on the And the Runner-Up Is Patreon exclusive feed! A Woman Robbed is a series in which Kevin is joined by a special guest in discussing women who had significant Oscar buzz heading into the nominations but were ultimately robbed/snubbed/omitted from the Best Actress lineup. In this episode, Kevin speaks with Cláudio Alves about two performances of the 2000s that weren't nominated for Best Actress at the Oscars: Isabelle Huppert ("The Piano Teacher") and Uma Thurman ("Kill Bill"). We discuss their performances, talk about why they came up short, and reveal whether we would have nominated them. You can listen to the full episode of A Woman Robbed by going to patreon.com/andtherunnerupis and contributing at the $3 per month tier. Clips included in this episode: "The Piano Teacher" - Kino International

Mar 19, 2025 • 1h 45min
Best Actress: The Finale
This week on And the Runner-Up Is, Kevin welcomes back AwardsWatch editor-in-chief Erik Anderson for a very special conversation looking back on the Best Actress series, talking about some of my favorite years to cover, my podcasting process, and answering your questions! Thank you all so much for listening, especially those who have been there from the beginning. Buy And the Runner-Up Is merch at https://www.teepublic.com/stores/and-the-runner-up-is?ref_id=24261! Support And the Runner-Up Is on Patreon at patreon.com/andtherunnerupis! Follow And the Runner-Up Is on Twitter, Instagram, and Bluesky Theme/End Music: "Diamonds" by Iouri Sazonov Additional Music: "Storming Cinema Ident" by Edward Blakeley Artwork: Brian O'Meara

Mar 12, 2025 • 3h 14min
2024 Best Actress (feat. Andrew Carden)
This week on And the Runner-Up Is, Kevin welcomes back The Awards Connection's Andrew Carden to discuss the 2024 Oscar race for Best Actress, where Mikey Madison won for her performance in "Anora," beating Cynthia Erivo in "Wicked," Karla Sofía Gascón in "Emilia Pérez," Demi Moore in "The Substance," and Fernanda Torres in "I'm Still Here." We discuss all of these nominated performances and determine who we think was the runner-up to Madison. This is it, folks! 0:00 - 14:12 - Introduction 14:13 - 32:51 - Cynthia Erivo 32:52 - 52:05 - Karla Sofía Gascón 52:06 - 1:20:13 - Demi Moore 1:20:14 - 1:40:17 - Fernanda Torres 1:40:18 - 2:03:19 - Mikey Madison 2:03:20 - 3:06:17 - Why Mikey Madison won / listener questions 3:06:18 - 3:14:04 - Who was the runner-up? Buy And the Runner-Up Is merch at https://www.teepublic.com/stores/and-the-runner-up-is?ref_id=24261! Support And the Runner-Up Is on Patreon at patreon.com/andtherunnerupis! Follow And the Runner-Up Is on Twitter, Instagram, and Bluesky Theme/End Music: "Diamonds" by Iouri Sazonov Additional Music: "Storming Cinema Ident" by Edward Blakeley Artwork: Brian O'Meara

Feb 26, 2025 • 3h 22min
2023 Best Actress (feat. Joyce Eng)
This week on And the Runner-Up Is, Kevin welcomes back Gold Derby features editor Joyce Eng to discuss the 2023 Oscar race for Best Actress, where Emma Stone won for her performance in "Poor Things," beating Annette Bening in "Nyad," Lily Gladstone in "Killers of the Flower Moon," Sandra Hüller in "Anatomy of a Fall," and Carey Mulligan in "Maestro." We discuss all of these nominated performances and determine who we think was the runner-up to Stone. 0:00 - 9:50 - Introduction 9:51 - 33:48 - Annette Bening 33:49 - 58:18 - Lily Gladstone 58:19 - 1:20:17 - Sandra Hüller 1:20:18 - 1:42:07 - Carey Mulligan 1:42:08 - 2:06:44 - Emma Stone 2:06:45 - 3:16:32 - Why Emma Stone won / listener questions 3:16:33 - 3:21:44 - Who was the runner-up? Buy And the Runner-Up Is merch at https://www.teepublic.com/stores/and-the-runner-up-is?ref_id=24261! Support And the Runner-Up Is on Patreon at patreon.com/andtherunnerupis! Follow And the Runner-Up Is on Twitter, Instagram, and Bluesky Theme/End Music: "Diamonds" by Iouri Sazonov Additional Music: "Storming Cinema Ident" by Edward Blakeley Artwork: Brian O'Meara

Feb 19, 2025 • 3h 20min
2022 Best Actress (feat. Sebastian Gronback)
This week on And the Runner-Up Is, Kevin welcomes back his partner Sebastian Gronback to discuss the 2022 Oscar race for Best Actress, where Michelle Yeoh won for her performance in "Everything Everywhere All at Once," beating Cate Blanchett in "Tár," Ana de Armas in "Blonde," Andrea Riseborough in "To Leslie," and Michelle Williams in "The Fabelmans." We discuss all of these nominated performances and determine who we think was the runner-up to Yeoh. 0:00 - 11:35 - Introduction 11:36 - 39:44 - Cate Blanchett 39:45 - 1:03:01 - Ana de Armas 1:03:02 - 1:23:19 - Andrea Riseborough 1:23:20 - 1:47:23 - Michelle Williams 1:47:24 - 2:16:44 - Michelle Yeoh 2:16:45 - 3:16:13 - Why Michelle Yeoh won / listener questions 3:16:14 - 3:19:55 - Who was the runner-up? Buy And the Runner-Up Is merch at https://www.teepublic.com/stores/and-the-runner-up-is?ref_id=24261! Support And the Runner-Up Is on Patreon at patreon.com/andtherunnerupis! Follow And the Runner-Up Is on Twitter, Instagram, and Bluesky Theme/End Music: "Diamonds" by Iouri Sazonov Additional Music: "Storming Cinema Ident" by Edward Blakeley Artwork: Brian O'Meara

Feb 12, 2025 • 3h 19min
2021 Best Actress (feat. Bryan Sudfield)
This week on And the Runner-Up Is, Kevin welcomes Life Moves Pretty Fast podcast host Bryan Sudfield to discuss the 2021 Oscar race for Best Actress, where Jessica Chastain won for her performance in "The Eyes of Tammy Faye," beating Olivia Colman in "The Lost Daughter," Penélope Cruz in "Parallel Mothers," Nicole Kidman in "Being the Ricardos," and Kristen Stewart in "Spencer." We discuss all of these nominated performances and determine who we think was the runner-up to Chastain. 0:00 - 11:29 - Introduction 11:30 - 32:13 - Olivia Colman 32:14 - 1:00:12 - Penélope Cruz 1:00:13 - 1:26:33 - Nicole Kidman 1:26:34 - 2:01:20 - Kristen Stewart 2:01:21 - 2:24:58 - Jessica Chastain 2:24:59 - 3:13:41 - Why Jessica Chastain won / listener questions 3:13:42 - 3:18:33 - Who was the runner-up? Buy And the Runner-Up Is merch at https://www.teepublic.com/stores/and-the-runner-up-is?ref_id=24261! Support And the Runner-Up Is on Patreon at patreon.com/andtherunnerupis! Follow And the Runner-Up Is on Twitter, Instagram, and Bluesky Theme/End Music: "Diamonds" by Iouri Sazonov Additional Music: "Storming Cinema Ident" by Edward Blakeley Artwork: Brian O'Meara


