Michael and Us (Luke Savage and Will Sloan, Jacobin)

PATREON EPISODE - https://www.patreon.com/posts/48447924 Let's travel to yesterday's tomorrow... today! We discuss a range of 20th century kitsch that envisions the capitalist utopia of the 21st century, including Jean-Marc Côté's "En L’An 2000" artworks, as well as two short films that Mystery Science Theater 3000 fans will know well: the General Motors propaganda film DESIGN FOR DREAMING (1956) and the Seattle World's Fair adventure CENTURY 21 CALLING (1962). All these artefacts imagine a world in which technology has freed us from work... but social relations remain unchanged. PLUS: the defeat of a higher minimum wage, and the looming spectre of Space Jam 2.

PATREON EXCLUSIVE - https://www.patreon.com/posts/48621488 Much has changed in the Labour Party since the devastating electoral defeat it experienced in December 2019. A year into Keir Starmer's leadership, Luke talks to Labour MP Jon Trickett about the legacy of the election, Starmer's triangulation on the corporation tax, and the need for the Labour Party to advance a bold, activist agenda in the pandemic era.

America is divided, capitalism is to blame, and the only solution is... more capitalism. That's the thesis of STARS AND STRIFE (2020), another centrist documentary from the last election in which the architects of oligarchy and globalization, and big money in politics call for... an end to those things. Niall Ferguson, Rahm Emanuel, Amy Chua, Alan Greenspan, and Francis Fukuyama are just a few of the titans who deliver wildly contradictory prescriptions to America's ills in this truly dreadful documentary. We're joined by New Republic staff writer Alex Shephard to discuss. PLUS: the ongoing grift of David Brooks. "David Brooks and the Endless Grift of the Conservative Commentariat" by Alex Shephard - https://newrepublic.com/article/161621/david-brooks-endless-grift-conservative-commentariat

PATREON EPISODE - https://www.patreon.com/posts/48762874 In FIST OF FURY (1972), Bruce Lee stands up for his Chinese countrymen against their Japanese colonial oppressors, and became a hero of the dispossessed and marginalized everywhere. We discuss the most overtly nationalist film of the action legend's short career, and also consider Lee's unique position as the first global Asian superstar. PLUS: How long can Andrew Cuomo keep this crazy boat afloat?

In 2020, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau faced one of his biggest scandals yet when a charitable organization to which his family had longstanding (and lucrative) ties was given a plum contract to build a high-profile volunteer program for Canadian youth. The ensuing conflict of interest scandal brought down WE Charity (formerly Free the Children), the brainchild of Canuck philanthropy wunderkinds Craig & Mark Kielburger. We watched THE PRICE WE PAID (2021), fine new investigative documentary by the CBC's The Fifth Estate series, which broke down the WE Scandal and the shady practices of the disgraced charity. We discuss how WE Charity is a perfect symbol for the deep rot in the soul of corporate philanthropy. PLUS: the Alberta government's war with Netflix; Celebrity Apprentice memories; and an introduction to the world's best/worst Oscar blogger. Watch "The Price WE Paid" - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FC_wos7MwHo&ab_channel=TheFifthEstate "Jason Kenney’s Energy War Room Launches Campaign to Stop Netflix Children’s Cartoon About ‘Bigfoot’" by PressProgress - https://pressprogress.ca/jason-kenneys-energy-war-room-launches-campaign-to-stop-netflix-childrens-cartoon-about-bigfoot/ Jeffrey Wells's "Hollywood Elsewhere" blog - https://hollywood-elsewhere.com/

PATREON EPISODE - https://www.patreon.com/posts/49010494 Several months ago, we watched KICKASSIA, the first of several horrific movies directed by internet comedian Doug "The Nostalgia Critic" Walker as part of his "Channel Awesome" empire. The experience nearly drove us mad. This week, our old friend Alex Ross subs in for Luke and heroically wades through SUBURBAN KNIGHTS (2012), the 130-minute (!!!!!) sequel. Nearly everyone involved with this movie has since disowned it, and we discuss how this mind-melting movie has become a fascinating time capsule of a long-gone internet subculture AND of a plainly toxic workplace. PLUS: Homer Simpson is a millennial now???

The forces of liberal democracy (Jimmy Stewart) and rugged frontier self-reliance (John Wayne) come head-to-head in John Ford's masterpiece THE MAN WHO SHOT LIBERTY VALANCE (1962) - an elegiac look at a Wild West becoming tamed by progress. Aisling McCrea (contributing editor and podmaster general at Current Affairs magazine) fills in for Luke to discuss who shot Lee Marvin's chaotic outlaw, and what it means. The answers may surprise you! PLUS: the death of "mythos" in cultural criticism, and the history of "the Dilbert guy." Check out the Current Affairs podcast - https://www.currentaffairs.org/podcast "Satanic Panics and the Death of Mythos" by Aisling McCrea - https://www.currentaffairs.org/2021/02/satanic-panics-and-the-death-of-mythos "The Adams Principle" by Aisling McCrea - https://www.currentaffairs.org/2020/10/the-adams-principle "Dilbert: A Reckoning" by Miles Wray - https://www.theawl.com/2017/12/dilbert-a-reckoning/

PATREON EPISODE - https://www.patreon.com/posts/49309128 In 2006, Neil Young reunited with Crosby, Stills, and Nash to embark on a tour that he hoped would raise consciousness against the Iraq War, swing the midterms for the Democrats, and establish a link between the protest music of the '60s and the George W. Bush era. Jack Frayne-Reid (cohost of the Reel Politik podcast) fills in for Luke to discuss Neil Young's documentary CSNY/DEJA VU (2008), and the mild pleasures and serious limitations of Young's Iraq War-themed music. PLUS: the strange story of former Labour MP Mike Gapes.

With the British monarchy at its lowest ebb of popularity since the week after Diana's death, we consider these two moments within the context of the wretched institution's ignoble history. We watch Christopher Hitchens' documentary DIANA: THE MOURNING AFTER (1998) - a controversial dissenting take on the Diana myth - and also discuss Netflix's THE CROWN and the Harry/Meghan phenomenon. In the process, we speculate how the existential threat facing this frankly worthless institution might lead to an unholy reinvention. PLUS: a rueful look back at James Berardinelli, the most popular web-based critic of the '90s. "The British Monarchy Will Not Survive Late Capitalism — And Harry and Meghan Are Proof" by Luke Savage - https://www.jacobinmag.com/2021/03/british-monarchy-neoliberal-age-prince-harry-meghan-markle

Patreon Episode - https://www.patreon.com/posts/49602781 The latest Superdelegate selection is the Canadian cult classic CUBE (1997), in which a handful of people need to find their way out a mysterious, deadly structure comprised of many identical cubes. The structure is, of course, a metaphor for our society, but what, exactly, is its ideology? We offer a theory. PLUS: the return of Godzilla, Luke's days as a child actor, and why the Biden years will be The Era of the Mods.

Filmed over three years, the new HBO docuseries Q: INTO THE STORM (2021) seeks to find an answer to the question that plagued the Trump years: who is Q, the mysterious leader of the "QAnon" movement? The documentary offers a provisional answer... but of course, there is no one simple explanation for how QAnon came to dominate the past few years. We discuss the backwash of the Trump era, PLUS: a report on Fox News' new late-night talk show "Gutfeld!" "Howard Dean pushes Biden to oppose generic COVID-19 vaccines for developing countries" by Lee Fang - https://theintercept.com/2021/04/08/howard-dean-biden-covid-vaccines/ "Is Gutfeld! the Worst Show on Television?" by Alex Shephard - https://newrepublic.com/article/161985/gutfeld-worst-show-television Check out our Patreon for exclusive bonus episodes: https://www.patreon.com/michaelandus

Get it - https://www.patreon.com/posts/49872356 Yes folks, we're returning once again to our roots. In a special crossover episode with The West Wing Thing podcast, we join forces with Dave Anthony and Josh Olson dissect Aaron Sorkin's recent appearance on Michael Moore's podcast "Rumble." Does the encounter bring out the best or the worst in both men? PLUS: we discuss the pleasures and perils of "Rumble with Michael Moore" itself. Check out The West Wing Thing - https://westwingthing.libsyn.com/

A gay communist atheist directing the most reverential film ever made about Jesus Christ? It happened! Pier Paolo Pasolini's THE GOSPEL ACCORDING TO ST. MATTHEW (1964) uses neorealist aesthetics to emphasize the material side of Jesus's life over the divine, and foregrounds His politics over his miracles. PLUS: the pleasures and perils of being extremely online during a pandemic, and what conservatives say about democracy behind closed doors. "A Cinema of Poetry" by Patrick Rumble - https://www.artforum.com/film/patrick-rumble-on-pier-paolo-pasolini-38175 "Behind Closed Doors, Republican Plutocrats Conspiring Against Democracy Let the Mask Slip" by Luke Savage - https://www.jacobinmag.com/2021/04/voting-rights-hr1-bill-republicans-antidemocratic "Inside the Koch-Backed Effort to Block the Largest Election-Reform Bill in Half a Century" by Jane Mayer - https://www.newyorker.com/news/news-desk/inside-the-koch-backed-effort-to-block-the-largest-election-reform-bill-in-half-a-century Check out our Patreon for exclusive bonus episodes - https://www.patreon.com/michaelandus

Patreon Episode - https://www.patreon.com/posts/50195779 Under the eccentric management of CEO Adam Neumann, the baffling real estate/tech company WeWork became a multibillion-dollar Wall Street giant without ever turning a profit. The new Hulu documentary WEWORK, OR: THE THE MAKING AND BREAKING OF A $47 BILLION UNICORN (2021) explores how it all came crashing down... but we're joined by startup veteran turned leftist writer Wendy Liu (author of Abolish Silicon Valley: How to Liberate Technology from Capitalism) to discuss how its prescription falls short. Check out Abolish Silicon Valley: How to Liberate Technology from Capitalism by Wendy Liu - https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/622177/abolish-silicon-valley-by-wendy-liu/

We travel back to Nixon's America with 1974's DEATH WISH, the franchise-spawning Silent Majority hit in which Charles Bronson transforms from a bleeding-heart liberal to a gun-wielding avenging angel. We discuss how the film's reactionary politics and apocalyptic vision of an American city are still being replicated in conservative media today. PLUS: The Last Blockbuster, new advancements in product-placement technology, and an unlikely new kingpin in the NFT landscape.

When human rights lawyer Steven Donziger won a multibillion-dollar lawsuit against the oil giant Chevron, the company retaliated by setting out to destroy Donziger’s life. Now in his twentieth month of house arrest on the orders of a Chevron-linked judge, his Kafkaesque story is a window into the corrupt and corporate-captured US legal system. Visit the #FreeDonziger website - https://www.freedonziger.org/ Donate to the Steven Donziger Legal Defense Fund - https://www.donzigerdefense.com/

PATREON EPISODE - https://www.patreon.com/posts/50457119 It was one of the worst-received comedies of all time. Twenty years later, its cult following cannot be denied. On this episode, Will makes a passionate case for how the passage of time has been kind to Tom Green and FREDDY GOT FINGERED's destructive project, while Luke works through his complicated feelings. PLUS: a plethora of topics, from Doug Ford vs. Alex Jones to the White House Press Corps under Biden to an aggrieved right-wing columnist who feels wokeness has destroyed Disney World.

PATREON EXCLUSIVE: https://www.patreon.com/posts/50510542 With his HBO documentary series Q: Into the Storm, filmmaker Cullen Hoback manages to demystify QAnon, exposing the mechanisms that underpin the right-wing conspiracy theory — above all, how it gives its followers a way of making sense of the spectacular failure of so many powerful institutions. Luke talks to Hoback about Q and the series.

We finally tackle the ultimate movie about '80s Wall Street excess, AMERICAN PSYCHO (2000), which refracts Bret Easton Ellis through the prisms of Mary Harron and Christian Bale. We discuss its central performance, its many ambiguities, and why it is a quintessentially late-'90s statement on the '80s. PLUS: how capitalism is prolonging the pandemic, and why the drug companies are not your friends.

PATREON EPISODE - https://www.patreon.com/posts/50787521 It's time for another selection from our Superdelegate patron tier, and boy, they picked a doozy. On this episode, we shack up with the Bundys and dive into MARRIED... WITH CHILDREN (1987-1997), the raunchy family sitcom that became a flashpoint in the culture war. We discuss the show's bleak worldview, try to make sense of several of the most famous episodes, and discuss how conservative moral-panics like the one that greeted this show have changed in the decades since.

The year is 1965. Bob Dylan, tired of being "the voice of a generation," is on the verge of going electric... but he still has a tour of England to do. In D.A. Pennebaker's iconic documentary DONT LOOK BACK (1967), Dylan spars with journalists who question his prophet status while also trudging through protest songs that no longer mean much to him. We discuss how this film captures Dylan at a turning point. PLUS: Clint Eastwood's Richard Jewell, consuming culture in the Biden era, and reflections on Biden's first 100 days. "Joe Biden Is Not a Radical" by Luke Savage - https://www.jacobinmag.com/2021/05/joe-biden-radical-policy-liberalism-first-100-days

PATREON EPISODE - https://www.patreon.com/posts/51068447 How has it taken this long? We finally discuss David Fincher's FIGHT CLUB (1999) and its vision of consumerism, masculinity, and late '90s America. And of course we go over how the past 21 years have amplified/distorted/weakened/possibly even strengthened the experience of watching this dorm-room staple. PLUS: thoughts on Labour's disastrous performance in the 2021 U.K. local elections, and horrible tales what REALLY happened to the Three Stooges.

In the wake of the Labour Party's disastrous performance in the 2021 U.K. local elections, we're taking a look back at a key moment in recent British history. The made-for-TV movie COALITION (2015) documents the wheelings and dealings that led to Nick Clegg's Liberal-Democrats joining forces with David Cameron's Conservatives after. the 2010 election left no party with a parliamentary majority. We share some larfs over a perfectly mediocre movie, and. discuss the true meaning of "Cleggmania" and its aftermath. PLUS: Why can't Keir Starmer sell centrism like Tony Blair could? And reflections on Toronto's alt-media landscape, from NOW Magazine to Eye Weekly to The Grid. "The Grid R.I.P." - http://radiofreecanuckistan.blogspot.com/2014/07/the-grid-rip.html "Keir Starmer’s Televised Meltdown Was Decades in the Making" by Luke Savage - https://www.jacobinmag.com/2021/05/keir-starmer-bbc-meltdown-labour-election-hartlepool

PATREON EPISODE - https://www.patreon.com/posts/235-fuck-it-we-w-51343674 On this very special crossover episode, we're hanging out with our good pals from across the pond - Jack and Geraint from the great Reel Politik podcast - to share a few cheap laughs over a target that's just asking for it. Yes, we discuss "Renegades: Born in the USA," the new Spotify-exclusive podcast from Barack Obama and the boss himself, Bruce Springsteen. We discuss how the show represents much that is unfortunate about Obama's post-presidency, and how exactly it fits into Bruce Springsteen's long and glorious career as a celebrity avatar of the working class. (Don't worry, we're not going to be too hard on Bruce.) Check out Reel Politik - https://soundcloud.com/reelpolitikpodcast

THE SIMPSONS taught a generation to be skeptical of authority. And then, at some point, it stopped. We revisit one of the greatest television show with two of its greatest episodes - "Marge vs. the Monorail" and "Sideshow Bob Roberts" - before venturing into the Season 26 episode "The Musk Who Fell to Earth" with guest star (...sigh...) Elon Musk. PLUS: Netflix's Dirty Money, the shifting discourse on Israel-Palestine, and an airtight theory about what Kramer would be doing today.

PATREON EPISODE - https://www.patreon.com/posts/237-bills-brain-51613897 Microsoft founder/self-appointed global health czar/Epstein buddy Bill Gates is receiving his worst press in 20 years. To celebrate, we looked back all the way to 2019 at the documentary series INSIDE BILL'S BRAIN: DECODING BILL GATES - a hagiographic look at his selfless charity work and harmonious marriage. PLUS: Luke talks with novelist Cory Doctorow, a longtime critic of restrictive intellectual property laws, about Gates’s dogged commitment to monopolism.

PATREON BONUS - https://www.patreon.com/posts/51686456 The boys have a chat about some of their current writing projects. Luke talks about a new wave of Republican legislation that represents an assault on American democracy, and why the Democrats are likely not up for the challenge. Then Will talks about a filmmaker who he passionately loves: the gutter auteur Andy Milligan. "If Democracy Is Dying, Why Are Democrats So Complacent?" by Luke Savage - https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2021/05/democrats-voting-rights-filibuster/618964/

Why has an oligarch like Elon Musk attracted so many admirers? To answer that question, we looked at the short puff-piece documentary THE RISE OF SPACEX: ELON MUSK'S ENGINEERING MASTERPIECE (2020), which presents the story of his outer-space initiatives the way he would like them to be seen. We examine the very real political implications of his "apolitical" tech-guru brand. PLUS: an odd new footnote to Canadian WWII history, the Amazon/MGM deal, and the surprising career trajectory of Tucker Max. "The Rise of SpaceX: Elon Musk's Engineering Masterpiece" - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a_T4QayqtI4&ab_channel=ritm1

Paul Schrader's FIRST REFORMED (2017) looks at a world that might be beyond saving, and asks: "How can we go on living?" We discuss how this great film about religion, capitalism, and the environment is a rare Movie Of The Moment that actually is one. PLUS: the legacy of Canada's residential schools.

PATREON EPISODE - https://www.patreon.com/posts/52173881 Ross, Rachel, Chandler, Phoebe, Joey, Monica... even 17 years after their show ended, these characters remain as dear as real-life friends for millions of viewers. But why has a show that's so stubbornly of the '90s endured? On the occasion of the megabucks FRIENDS: THE REUNION (2021) special, a longtime Friends hater (Will) and a Friends fan-turned-quasi-apostate (Luke) attempt to provide an answer. PLUS: examining Boris Johnson's side-hustle as an author/historian!

The archetype of the shadowy, Machiavellian political strategist is potent in the popular imagination, and no strategist has leaned into this potency harder than Roger Stone. We look back at one of Trumpworld's wackier characters by watching the Netflix documentary GET ME ROGER STONE (2017) and discuss how he is both a more and less significant figure than he seems. PLUS: Roger Stone's fashion blog!

PATREON EPISODE - https://www.patreon.com/posts/243-more-things-52451160 In 1961, a famous Hollywood actor named Ronald Reagan recorded an LP warning his fellow citizens about the dangers of "socialized medicine." On this episode, we dig up RONALD REAGAN SPEAKS OUT AGAINST SOCIALIZED MEDICINE (1961) to examine how the pillars of Reagan's talking-points remain more or less unchanged 60 years later - and have even been adopted by Democrats. PLUS: Canada's kooky constitution, and the "The Great Derangement" of the late Bush era.

He once served under Gerald Ford and rose to become Bill Clinton's labor secretary, but the economist Robert Reich has more recently been been a two-time supporter of Bernie Sanders' primary runs. But in the documentary INEQUALITY FOR ALL (2013), Reich claims he's not a socialist, and wants to tackle income inequality to save capitalism. We discuss the virtues and limitations of Reich's brand of left-liberalism, and the documentary as a time capsule of the post-Occupy, pre-Trump moment. PLUS: Vanderpump Rules, the increased durability of dynastic wealth, and memories of a nearly-forgotten failed Toronto-based media venture. "Amy Schumer, and a long winter nap" by the Toronto Standard - https://www.torontostandard.com/the-sprawl/amy-schumer-and-a-long-winter-nap/

PATREON EPISODE - https://www.patreon.com/posts/52738757 The acclaimed documentary CRUMB (1994) tells the story of Robert Crumb, the legendary underground cartoonist who has channeled his pain and unleashed his darkest thoughts into some of the funniest and most offensive comics ever made. We discuss how this film captures a longtime culture war lightning-rod during a very different moment in the culture war, and try to articulate usefulness of transgressive art. PLUS: culture wars of many stripes, from the uneasy relationship between Silicon Valley and pornography to Luke's reflections on writing about liberalism for The Atlantic.

We're still not entirely sure what the mega-bestselling 2005 book "Freakonomics: A Rogue Economist Explores the Hidden Side of Everything" was about, but it seems to have had something to do with arguing that economics is all about incentives. The 2010 anthology film adaptation FREAKONOMICS explores this thin thesis across segments directed by such documentary legends as Eugene Jarecki, Alex Gibney, and (ugh) Morgan Spurlock... but its "counterintuitive" take on capitalism ends up reinforcing some ugly ideas. PLUS: the wacky institution that is the Canadian Senate, and the long right-wing preoccupation with postmodernism. "How postmodernism became the universal scapegoat of the era" by Richard Seymour - https://www.newstatesman.com/international/2021/06/how-postmodernism-became-universal-scapegoat-era

PATREON EPISODE - https://www.patreon.com/posts/53013461 We did everything we could to avoid watching Lin-Manuel Miranda's HAMILTON, but our Superdelegate patron tier finally made us confront the inevitable. We watched the 2020 Disney+ filmed recording of the biggest Broadway hit of the past decade. We found that it was - as advertised - the ultimate artistic expression of a certain kind of Obama-era liberal politics. PLUS: we gab about 1940s roadshow exploitation movies, Chet Hanks, and the state of the Biden presidency.

The HBO documentary THE SWAMP (2020) follows three "maverick" Republican congressmen who seek to fulfil Donald Trump's promise to "drain the swamp," even if that means alienating their party leaders. But what you really need to know about this documentary is that the main one is Matt Gaetz, and he is a huge doofus. PLUS: thoughts on Canada Day, Alex Gibney's Agents of Chaos, and a look back at the media coverage of the War in Iraq.

PATREON EPISODE - https://www.patreon.com/posts/53342923 Your hosts met in person to record for the first time since March 2020, and the result is their wackiest, most stream-of-consciousness episode in years! The boys crack open a few cold ones and discuss AMERICANS (2012), a short "public service" film by Sean Penn and Kid Rock that clumsily sought to build a bridge between Red and Blue America. But this is mostly an opportunity for your very inebriated hosts to shoot the breeze over such diverse topics as Wetmovie1, working in public access television, and forgotten Canadian TV shows from the '90s. So pull up a chair and share a toast!

The classic documentary BURDEN OF DREAMS (1982) captures director Werner Herzog as he's mounting the most ambitious feat of his career: attempting to haul a literal steamship over a literal mountain for his film Fitzcarraldo. We discuss how this legendary saga of directorial megalomania in a world where directorial megalomania has gone out of fashion. PLUS: the complicated reasons why there are no nice things in American politics.

PATREON EPISODE - https://www.patreon.com/posts/53583912 Gadfly documentarian Nick Broomfield claims he wanted to make a movie about the "real" Margaret Thatcher, but TRACKING DOWN MAGGIE (1994) - which documents his failed quest to land an interview with the former Prime Minister - ended up being about the limits of the strange, cloistered world of the global elite, and the limits of "access journalism." PLUS: We discuss the media reception to Richard Branson's journey into space.

At last, we have decided to stop worrying and love the bomb. We discuss Stanley Kubrick's immortal DR. STRANGELOVE (1964) and how its depiction of small, pitiable men against a vast backdrop brought the Kubrick project into sharp focus. PLUS: why the billionaire space race encapsulates what's wrong with this damnable world of ours.

PATREON EPISODE - https://www.patreon.com/posts/53847856 The former Governor of Alaska can see Nick Broomfield from her house in SARAH PALIN: YOU BETCHA! (2011), the British muckraker's irreverent documentary about Sarah Palin. Broomfield reconstructs the life and turbulent political times of the onetime Tea Party standard-bearer, and your hosts find themselves with a split verdict on his success. PLUS: we discuss two of the most important artworks mankind has ever produced: Space Jam 2 and Moby Dick.

You may love Bugs Bunny, but you will never own him. That's the thesis of SPACE JAM: A NEW LEGACY (2021), which sends Bugs and LeBron James through a tour of WarnerMedia's intellectual property while never letting you forget that its WarnerMedia's intellectual property. "Th- th- th- th- that's bad, folks!" PLUS: Vanity Fair in the '20s, Jeff Bezos in space, and some alarming new trends in movie marketing. "Space Jam: A New Legacy Is a Peek Into the Bleak, Cynical Future of Film" by Alex Shephard - https://newrepublic.com/article/163008/space-jam-new-legacy-peek-bleak-cynical-future-film

PATREON EPISODE - https://www.patreon.com/posts/54116739 Revisiting the Coen Brothers' masterpiece INSIDE LLEWYN DAVIS (2013) gives us ample opportunity to discuss the history, meaning, and politics of New York's brief but legendary folk music scene, and to try to articulate the Brothers' dark philosophy. PLUS: thoughts on the two greatest songwriters of our time: Bob Dylan and Matt Farley.

PATREON EPISODE - https://www.patreon.com/posts/256-remembering-54272869 Bill Pullman, Balthazar Getty, Robert Blake... what if we told you that these three men are all the same? That's the situation in David Lynch's LOST HIGHWAY (1997), if not real life. Perennial guest Alex Ross helps us deconstruct a prickly film, and provides a political reading that will have your galaxy brain expanding. PLUS: Luke tells about his most famous reply-guy yet!

With an election looming in Canada, we decided to look back on a time when Justin Trudeau's father received his punishment at the hands of the Canadian media. The National Film Board of Canada documentary HISTORY ON THE RUN: THE MEDIA AND THE '79 ELECTION (1979) chronicles the unusual media landscape that led to a nine-month interruption in Pierre Trudeau's long tenure as Prime Minister. We discuss how media shapes and responds to election narratives, how things have changed since 1979, and the unusual Trudeau/Joe Clark/Ed Broadbent election. PLUS: rank punditry about Justin Trudeau's chances.

PATREON EPISODE - https://www.patreon.com/posts/54650386 It was Homer Simpson who said, "What is mind? No matter. What is matter? Never mind." This aphorism is much more useful than anything in WHAT THE BLEEP DO WE KNOW!? (2004), the pseudo-science docu-fiction movie that blew a lot of minds during the Bush era. We analyze the film's brand of hokum, which exists somewhere between The Secret and Scientology. The Superdelegate patron class forced us to watch this one, gang!

In 1994, the most vilified member of the Reagan administration tried to stage a political comeback, and it almost worked. The documentary A PERFECT CANDIDATE (1996) follows Oliver North's attempt to unseat Democrat Chuck Robb as a Virginia senator, and captures the political currents in both Virginia and the United States as a whole. Pod Damn America and Redacted Tonight's Anders Lee fills in for Luke to discuss. Follow Anders Lee on Twitter - https://twitter.com/andersleehere Follow Pod Damn America - https://twitter.com/andersleehere

PATREON EPISODE - https://www.patreon.com/posts/54951772 You've probably seen the show. But you probably haven't seen the movie. We put ourselves through Jerry Springer's one and only feature film vehicle, RINGMASTER (1998), and have emerged with a clearer sense of what the king of trash TV thought he was doing. PLUS: we've both been watching reality TV lately, and are more than eager to share our findings!

In 1987, Oliver Stone introduced the world to a man who was not your daddy's capitalist: Gordon Gekko. We revisit WALL STREET to consider the strengths and limitations of its distinctly New Deal Liberal perspective on American capitalism; to marinate in the particular left-liberal Boomer perspective of Stone; and determine once and for all if greed is, in fact, good.

PATREON EPISODE - https://www.patreon.com/posts/55227370 Al Gore changed the way millions of people think about the climate crisis, but a full 15 years after the intended wake-up call of AN INCONVENIENT TRUTH (2006), the crisis is worse than ever. We look back at the documentary and analyze why Gore's brand of neoliberal environmentalism hasn't worked. PLUS: the Canadian election, The Sopranos, and tales of small-town political corruption.

Andrei Tarkovsky's debut film IVAN'S CHILDHOOD (1962) sends us into a discussion about poetic cinema, memory, Russia, and what it means to be a national filmmaker. PLUS: Spike Lee's flirtation with 9/11 truth, and check-ins with two reactionary celebrities.

PATREON EPISODE - https://www.patreon.com/posts/55508789 Our Superdelegate patrons have selected Paul Thomas Anderson's much-loved parable about American capitalism, THERE WILL BE BLOOD (2007), and we drank it up. PLUS: the state of the Canadian election, and memories of eccentric characters from our university days.

PATREON BONUS - https://www.patreon.com/posts/55643199 Just as the American media has turned on Joe Biden following the announcement of withdrawal from Afghanistan, the British media has given a rapturous reception to Tony Blair as he's waded back into the discourse. Luke talks to writer and author Richard Seymour about the British establishment’s crack-up over Afghanistan, its inability to quit Blair, the storied history of liberal justifications for war and empire, and other issues raised in his recent essay “Disaster Liberalism.”

PATREON BONUS - https://www.patreon.com/posts/duffygate-w-luke-55808939 With Will on a temporary hiatus, Michael and Us is pleased to welcome Luke LeBrun, editor of my journalistic alma mater PressProgress, for a chill discussion of media coverage in Canada's ongoing federal election. With that behind us, Luke and I turn to a decidedly low-stakes political scandal from the already forgotten Harper era (colloquially known as DuffyGate), recount some old war stories from our days covering Canada's many right wing think tanks, and talk about one our country's most ignoble institutions: the Senate. Watch CBC's The Rise and Fall of Mike Duffy: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tK2CD7P6yrM Follow Luke on Twitter: https://twitter.com/_llebrun https://pressprogress.ca/

In Apichatpong Weerasethakul's UNCLE BOONMEE WHO CAN RECALL HIS PAST LIVES (2010), the boundaries between life and death, past and present, ghost and human, and human and animal fade away. We discuss some possible philosophical and political readings of this cryptic masterpiece. PLUS: the 20th anniversary of 9/11 and the media is covering the Canadian election. "Why Justin Trudeau’s snap election is backfiring" by Luke Savage - https://www.newstatesman.com/world/north-america/2021/09/why-justin-trudeau-s-snap-election-backfiring

PATREON EPISODE - https://www.patreon.com/posts/56092187 The fastest fists of the east enter a junior partnership with the biggest mouth of the west in RUSH HOUR (1998), a film that represents the United States' view of its relationship with China during a moment of unquestioned U.S. hegemony. We discuss this Jackie Chan/Chris Tucker semi-classic, which every millennial has seen at least several times. PLUS: one of the hosts revisited Gran Torino (2008) and has some thoughts on it.

Tucker Carlson reigns as the most-watched personality on cable news. How did he get that way? How important is he really? And what does he actually believe? To answer these questions, he enlist the help of Tucker scholar and returning guest Alex Shephard, who guides us through Carlson's trajectory from a Tom Wolfe-ish magazine scribe to a Jon Stewart punching-bag to the living embodiment of the GOP's hard-right turn. "How Tucker Carlson Lost It" by Alex Shephard - https://newrepublic.com/article/163567/tucker-carlson-profile-lost-mind

PATREON EPISODE - https://www.patreon.com/posts/56380720 In 1980, the legendary journalist Gay Talese first learned of a peeping-tom who bought a motel to spy on his guests. In 2016, he finally got this man to speak on the record in a New Yorker cover story... but further reportage revealed that the peeping-tom was a less-than-reliable narrator. This scandal is the subject of the Netflix documentary VOYEUR (2017), which had us asking: even if the story is true, is it actually interesting? PLUS: final thoughts on the Canadian election, and looking back at George Carlin.

The mockumentary DEATH OF A PRESIDENT (2006) imagined what would happen if then-president George W. Bush was assassinated. Though briefly very controversial, this justly-forgotten film is a perfect encapsulation of just how conservative a liberal movie could be in the years following 9/11. PLUS: we analyze the recent Canadian federal election.

PATREON EPISODE - https://www.patreon.com/posts/56663705 When we were teenagers, George Carlin offered a gateway to more radical ways of thinking about politics and the world around us. But does his sledgehammer brand of satire hold up for us now? We re-immersed ourselves in Carlin to find out. PLUS: we discuss Andrew Yang's new political party, and dredge up our old disagreement about Andy Warhol.

PATREON BONUS - https://www.patreon.com/posts/bonus-problem-is-56805720?utm_medium=clipboard_copy&utm_source=copy_to_clipboard&utm_campaign=postshare With the scale of our current social and political crises, it’s unsurprising to see a proliferation of conspiracy theories across unusually broad swathes of society. Luke talks to Guardian columnist and activist George Monbiot about the extreme right’s appropriation of countercultural idioms and revolutionary language in the age of QAnon and COVID; the corrosion of community in the neoliberal era; and the desperate need for a new narrative of solidarity and common good in an age of resurgent fascism and ecological collapse. "It’s shocking to see so many leftwingers lured to the far right by conspiracy theories" by George Monbiot - https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2021/sep/22/leftwingers-far-right-conspiracy-theories-anti-vaxxers-power

Nine years after the bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, cinema's most enduring symbol of the perils of nuclear proliferation first crawled out of Tokyo Bay. We discuss how the original GODZILLA (1954) channeled the mood of its time. PLUS: how the media talks about the congressional wrangling over the reconciliation bill.

PATREON EPISODE - https://www.patreon.com/posts/56985194 The Superdelegate patron tier has selected BEYOND THE MAT (1999), a warts-and-all documentary about the lives of professional wrestlers like Jake "The Snake" Roberts and Mick "Mankind" Foley. We discuss what "the movie that Vince McMahon doesn't want you to see" has to say about the art and business of pro wrestling, and what pro wrestling can teach us about politics. PLUS: the Anti-Woke Film Festival and Keir Starmer.

PATREON BONUS - https://www.patreon.com/posts/bonus-political-57123129 For many, the phrase "ruling class" symbolizes jet-setting metropolitans. Historian Patrick Wyman argues that an entirely different and more banal group wield a level of power and cultural influence that is out of proportion with their identity. "American Gentry" by Patrick Wyman - https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2021/09/trump-american-gentry-wyman-elites/620151/

We have discussed many bad films on this podcast, but now we finally turn our attention to The Worst Movie Ever Made™. We analyze how Ed Wood's PLAN 9 FROM OUTER SPACE (1957) turns the movie industry's flotsam and detritus into a Hollywood dreamscape. PLUS: The Sopranos, Necromania, and Justin Trudeau's recent vacation.

PATREON EPISODE - https://www.patreon.com/posts/57270569 The great thing about bad articles is: they don't stop makin' 'em. In this chill and jolly episode, we toss around some of our most beloved bad pieces of bad writing, including articles by such living legends as Jeffrey Wells, Jonathan Chait, and Jerry Seinfeld. PLUS: we discuss Toronto's most eccentric film exhibitor.

At long last, we are finally tackling something related to The Sopranos. We discuss the many things wrong (and some things right) with the big-screen prequel THE MANY SAINTS OF NEWARK (2021); the spirit of American decline that The Sopranos captures at its best; and what the recent surge in prequels and reboots tells us about this world we live in.

PATREON EPISODE - https://www.patreon.com/posts/57533296 In some ways, no movie franchise is as responsive to trends and fads as the James Bond series. And in other ways, no franchise is more stubbornly resistant to change. We discuss how the latest entry, NO TIME TO DIE (2021), positions itself in the zeitgeist. PLUS: the Dave Chappelle discourse.

EASY RIDER (1969) has been encrusted in so many layers of Boomer nostalgia that we were wondering: is there anything still there? So we sat down and watched one of the most iconic films of the 1960s, and... the answer may surprise you! PLUS: more memories of student journalism.

PATREON EPISODE - https://www.patreon.com/posts/57836336 We're joined by our old pal Branko Marcetic to discuss the viral sensation that is the New York Times' "B*d *rt Fr*end" article. Why is it popular right now? Is either "friend" in the right or wrong? And is capitalism really the worst friend of them all? PLUS: we discuss the "debate" around the watered-down reconciliation bill.

We travel to postwar Vienna to visit THE THIRD MAN (1949) and discuss how this classic film's style perfectly articulates a bleak and despairing state of being. PLUS: thoughts on the dark 'n' gritty new Buzz Lightyear origin movie, AND we finally answer whether politics is upstream or downstream from culture.

PATREON EPISODE - https://www.patreon.com/posts/58157534 To tweak a phrase from Jeff Goldblum, so much time was spent asking IF the Superdelegate Patreon tier can vote for us to discuss Steven Spielberg's JURASSIC PARK (1993) and not whether they SHOULD. Just kidding, folks - we had a fun time revisiting this certified Popcorn Classic and discussing the ideological evolution from Spielberg's original to the 2015 reboot Jurassic World. PLUS: fiery hot takes on the new films The French Dispatch and Halloween Kills.

PATREON EPISODE - https://www.patreon.com/posts/58314876 In this very special episode, Luke talks to Academy Award-winning filmmaker Alex Gibney (Taxi to the Dark Side, Enron: The Smartest Guys in the Room, and many others) and investigate journalist David Sirota to discuss their new podcast series Meltdown. The series looks back on the 2008 financial crisis and mounts the case that the institutional response from Democrats still haunt politics today, and represents a skeleton key to understanding the current moment. NOTE: this conversation was recorded before this week's US elections, but has much to say about the results.

FALLING DOWN (1993) features Michael Douglas as an ordinary man who's mad as hell, turning into a Travis Bickle for the Rush Limbaugh era. It's Hollywood's attempt to make a serious statement about a post-Cold War malaise, and folks, it's a very, very bad movie. PLUS: we share memories of Canada''s greatest bad filmmaker.

A month or so on, we're releasing this one from behind its Patreon paywall. If you want to hear more interviews like this, and get an extra episode each week, sign up at Patreon.com/MichaelandUs. In this interview, recorded in September, Luke talks to Guardian columnist and activist George Monbiot about the extreme right’s appropriation of countercultural idioms and revolutionary language in the age of QAnon and COVID; the corrosion of community in the neoliberal era; and the desperate need for a new narrative of solidarity and common good in an age of resurgent fascism and ecological collapse. "It’s shocking to see so many leftwingers lured to the far right by conspiracy theories" by George Monbiot - www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2…i-vaxxers-power

PATREON EXCLUSIVE - https://www.patreon.com/posts/58634648 Multilevel marketing is a scam. But thanks to protection by political elites and well-funded industry propaganda, it keeps growing. Cracking down on it would be as simple as enforcing the laws against fraud — if only the political will could be found. Luke talks to MLM expert Robert FitzPatrick for a wide-ranging conversation about the history, scale, and structure of MLMs, and why there’s no such thing as a legitimate MLM.

THE QUEEN (2006) brings together a mismatched-buddy duo — one a symbol of stiff-upper-lipped British tradition (Liz Windsor), the other a radical left-wing politician (uh... Tony Blair?) — who both slowly realize that they might be able to learn from each other. We discuss why this is the ultimate film of the New Labour era.

PATREON EPISODE - https://www.patreon.com/posts/58734680 In this very special episode, the boys have a riff session about a range of movies of wildly varying quality, from the McDonald's biopic THE FOUNDER (2016) to Edgar Wright's quasi-quasi-feminist horror film LAST NIGHT IN SOHO (2021) to BERGMAN ISLAND (2021) to the hilarious Christian oddity BILL WALLACE OF CHINA (1967)

With its story of an idealistic political outsider who arrives in Washington to shake things up, Frank Capra's MR. SMITH GOES TO WASHINGTON (1939) helped codify what is perhaps the quintessential archetype of American politics. But... what does the movie actually say? To find out, we sat down and actually watched it. This one has been a long time coming, folks!

PATREON EPISODE - https://www.patreon.com/posts/287-malcolm-do-59024249 Sometimes it's fun to reach for the low-hanging fruit. On this episode, we tackle the right-wing anti-Bernie Sanders comedy FREE LUNCH EXPRESS (2021) - co-starring Kevin Sorbo, Eric Roberts, and (*deep, heavy sigh*) Malcolm McDowell - and actually learn a few things about how the right views the left.

Before there was Elon Musk, there was Tony Stark. We travelled back to 2008 to look at IRON MAN, the first entry in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, and were excited to find that it serves its ideology on a big platter and with minimal ornamentation. A video on the filming of Iron Man 2 at Edwards Air Force Base - https://vimeo.com/191818335?embedded=true&source=video_title&owner=4293012

PATREON EPISODE - https://www.patreon.com/posts/289-for-petes-w-59307399 In a jumbo-sized crossover with The West Wing Thing podcast, Luke discusses Amazon's new Pete Buttigieg documentary MAYOR PETE (2021) with Josh Olson and Dave Anthony. Relive the magic and fun of those early primaries with Pete, Chasten, Lis Smith, and the whole gang! And fall in love with the sitting United States secretary of transportation all over again! (NOTE: cohost Will is off this episode because, sadly, he has fallen down a well. Rescue teams are at the scene, and we all pray for his speedy recovery) Check out The West Wing Thing- https://westwingthing.libsyn.com/

With the Beatles once again in the zeitgeist, we decided to revisit the jukebox musical ACROSS THE UNIVERSE (2007), which positioned the lads' music as a backdrop to the social upheavals of the 1960s. Does it completely misunderstand both the music and the milieu? (Spoiler: yes)

= PATREON EPISODE - https://www.patreon.com/posts/59599572 Everyone has their price. Anything that has ever meant anything to you will be corrupted. No artwork you love really belongs to you. This is the dark message of the new Disney+ short film THE SIMPSONS IN PLUSAVERSARY (2021). PLUS: we talk about a range of TV and film, including Parks & Recreation, 2012, and the cinema of Fred Halstead.

For 78 days in 1990, a group of Mohawk protestors withstood a siege from the Canadian armed forces. The root of the conflict? A town in Quebec sought to take over their land to expand a golf course. The Oka Crisis is the subject of Alanis Obomsawin's acclaimed documentary KANEHSATAKE: 270 YEARS OF RESISTANCE (1993), which offers us an opportunity to consider how Canada treats its First Nations. Watch the film: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7yP3srFvhKs

PATREON EPISODE - https://www.patreon.com/posts/59880390 In 1999, The Matrix became a zeitgeist-catching, generation-defining phenomenon. A year earlier, DARK CITY (1998) traversed similar thematic terrain but failed to meet the same success. In this Superdelegate-selected episode, we discuss the similarities and key differences between the two films, and situation Dark City in its cultural moment.

For months we've been immersing ourselves in such Intellectual Property soups as Ready Player One, Space Jam: A New Legacy, and The Simpsons in Plusaversary, so we felt it was time to examine the animated hit that helped birth this new phenomenon: THE LEGO MOVIE (2014). PLUS: the return of COVID, a bad week for the Democrats, and the actual, honest-to-goodness phenomenon of official Rifkin's Festival NFTs. "What’s behind global covid inequalities? Corporate greed" by Luke Savage - https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2021/12/13/covid-vaccine-corporatism-inequality/ "Beyond NFT: DAMOVE company is building the future of movies & entertainment" - https://www.digitaljournal.com/pr/beyond-nft-damove-company-is-building-the-future-of-movies-entertainment#ixzz7FW3eISjz Learn more about Rifkin's Festival NFTs - https://twitter.com/RifkinsfestNft

PATREON EXCLUSIVE - https://www.patreon.com/posts/60156412 For our annual holiday episode, we return to our obsession with '90s fatherhood-in-crisis movies by watching the Arnold Schwarzenegger classic JINGLE ALL THE WAY (1996). Folks, you know it, you love it. "I am not a pervert! I am just looking for Turbo Man doll!" PLUS: we have a fun time roasting one of Canada's most annoying writers.

PATREON BONUS - https://www.patreon.com/posts/60215138 What exactly is “national conservatism” and to what extent does it represent a break from the post-Reaganite consensus as we’ve known it? Luke talked to Matthew Sitman and Sam Adler-Bell (cohosts of the Know Your Enemy podcast) about the recent National Conservative Conference (NatCon), the so-called national conservatives, and where the Right may be headed in the coming years.

PATREON EPISODE - https://www.patreon.com/posts/60369298 Drunk on the spirit of the holidays, the boys kick back their heels and have a low-key hangout where they discuss some of their very favorite things. Subjects range from Tolstoy's War and Peace to Tim Heidecker and Gregg Turkington's On Cinema at the Cinema to Terrence Malick's Days of Heaven to Monty Python and more.

In 1985, a group of plucky renegades banded together to take on the political culture in the Democratic Party - demolishing Jesse Jackson's "Rainbow Coalition" to create a coalition that could win elections. That's the thesis of CRASHING THE PARTY (2016), a hagiographic documentary that chronicles the rise of the centrist Democratic Leadership Council and its star candidate, Bill Clinton. We discuss how funny it is that the documentary came out in mid-2016, just when it appeared that the Clintonite project was almost complete. "In Anthony Banua-Simon’s Cane Fire, Hawaiians Are No Longer the Extras" by Alex Press - https://jacobinmag.com/2020/11/anthony-banua-simons-cane-fire-hawaii-documentary "Atari Democrats" by Lily Geismer - https://www.jacobinmag.com/2016/02/geismer-democratic-party-atari-tech-silicon-valley-mondale "The Obamanauts" by Corey Robin - https://www.dissentmagazine.org/article/the-obamanauts

PATREON EPISODE - https://www.patreon.com/posts/60648863 As we enter a new year, we're taking some time to look back on 2021 and reflect on some of the movies that defined our podcast over the past 12 months. In our second-annual Year-in-Review Extravaganza, we're handing out awards for Best Movie, Worst Movie, Best End-of-History Movie, Thing We Liked Growing Up That Holds Up Relatively Well, and more. PLUS: fiery hot takes on The Matrix Resurrections!

PATREON EPISODE - https://www.patreon.com/posts/60909753 Our Superdelegate patron tier has voted for us to discuss LOVE ACTUALLY (2003), and so we dutifully tackled the most pressing question of our age: is this all-star romcom a delightful holiday classic... or the dangerous, reactionary film that so many clickbait articles would have us believe it is??? PLUS: we discuss Don't Look Up and the deaths of Peter Bogdanovich and Sidney Poitier.

To mark a very special milestone, we decided to reach back to early in the podcast's history and revisit MICHAEL MOORE HATES AMERICA (2004). Mimicking Moore's own filmmaking style, this amateurish documentary sees a conservative man go on a cross-country journey to land and interview with Michael himself. We discuss why this piece of right-wing kitsch has remained so firmly lodged in our minds, and why it is such a product of its time.

PATREON EPISODE - https://www.patreon.com/posts/61295780 In a cinematic landscape glutted with reboots and cinematic universes, Lana Wachowski's THE MATRIX RESURRECTIONS (2021) is unique: an unnecessary sequel that knows it, and feels ambivalent. We discuss this divisive film's self-reflexive streak, and the many ways it tweaks the metaphors that became so iconic in 1999.

The great Canadian filmmaker Guy Maddin was assigned to make a documentary about his hometown of Winnipeg, Manitoba. He made MY WINNIPEG (2007), a hilarious, surreal dreamscape that combines autobiography, history, and fiction into a free-flowing meditation on a city and a home. We discuss the film's treatment of truth, memory, and the Canadian identity. PLUS: Luke discusses the glamorous life of being a published book author. Preorder Luke's book The Dead Center- https://www.orbooks.com/catalog/the-dead-center/ "Manitoba History - February 19, 1942: If Day" by Michael Newman - http://www.mhs.mb.ca/docs/mb_history/13/ifday.shtml Guy Maddin's "The Heart of the World" - The great Canadian filmmaker Guy Maddin was assigned to make a documentary about his hometown of Winnipeg, Manitoba. He made MY WINNIPEG (2007), a hilarious, surreal dreamscape that combines autobiography, history, and fiction into a free-flowing meditation on a city and a home. We discuss the film's treatment of truth, memory, and the Canadian identity. PLUS: Luke discusses the glamorous life of being a published book author. Preorder Luke's book The Dead Center- https://www.orbooks.com/catalog/the-dead-center/ "Manitoba History - February 19, 1942: If Day" by Michael Newman - http://www.mhs.mb.ca/docs/mb_history/13/ifday.shtml Guy Maddin's "The Heart of the World" - https://vimeo.com/115997353

PATREON EPISODE - https://www.patreon.com/posts/61596359 We begin by checking in on Canada's most tiresome public intellectual, Jordan Peterson, and analyzing one of the right's biggest enemies, "woke capitalism." Then, we turn our attention to a subject of longstanding mutual interest: the great German director Werner Herzog. Focusing on MY BEST FIEND (1999) and FIREBALL: VISITORS FROM DARKER WORLDS (2020), but extending far and wide, we discuss what we find great (and, occasionally, not-great) about the mighty auteur's work.

We discuss one of the least sentimental films about death and family, Ingmar Bergman's CRIES AND WHISPERS (1972), and provide a possible political reading of Sweden's most famous auteur.

PATREON EPISODE - https://www.patreon.com/posts/62221412 We discuss a range of important topics, including: ✓ The Trucker Convoy protest in Toronto ✓ Deep ideological readings of Chitty Chitty Bang Bang and Ace Ventura: Pet Detective ✓ Turning Point: 9/11 and the War on Terror (2021) ✓ A host's unlikely appearance in a crossword puzzle!