Awards season is officially underway, and Ireland had plenty to celebrate after Jessie Buckley’s Golden Globe win for her performance in Hamnet, which has now put her firmly in the Oscar conversation. 

But beyond the headlines and highlight clips, today’s podcast asks a bigger question: what do awards ceremonies actually mean in 2026? Do they still shape careers? Or have they become glossy, self-referential spectacles designed mainly to generate social media moments? 

Shane Beatty is joined by Screen Time’s John Fardy, who’s spent years on red carpets and inside awards bubbles, to take the temperature of an industry that still loves a trophy. Journalist and critic Zara Hedderman weighs in on whether ceremonies like the Golden Globes, Oscars and Grammys still help people discover great work — or simply confirm what’s already popular and well-funded. 

The conversation ranges from studio influence and campaign culture to the growing power of algorithms, streaming platforms, and online buzz. They discuss why younger audiences know the awards but rarely watch the shows, whether fan-voted prizes fix or worsen credibility problems, and why controversial wins or snubs can sometimes overshadow the art itself. 

There’s also a look at politics on the awards stage, including Jonathan Glazer’s Oscar speech for The Zone of Interest, and whether moments like that prove there’s still integrity — and impact — left in the spectacle.