Michael and Us

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/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???

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/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?

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 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.

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.

We finally watch one of our most requested movies: the political parable ELECTION (1999), which presents a vision of American politics circa 1999 as represented by three student candidates and one faculty power-broken in a high school election. PLUS: Neera Tanden, the Golden Globes, and what happens to culture when the zeitgeist is taken away? Subscribe to our Patreon for exclusive episodes: https://www.patreon.com/michaelandus

We plunge once again into the filmography of Alexandra Pelosi, who in addition to being Nancy's daughter is a prolific maker of not-very-good political documentaries. In RIGHT AMERICA, FEELING WRONGED (2009), she follows the John McCain campaign in its final, desperate weeks, interviewing dozens of ill-mannered Republicans who feel left out of the Obama wave. The result is her bleakest and angriest film - though still not exactly what one might call "good." PLUS: Pete Buttigieg's memoir, revisionist celebrity documentaries, and is there a Republican Party exodus? Tune into the first Michael and Us livestream. On Friday, February 27 at 6pm, Michael and Us Nation will watch 1995's BATMAN FOREVER together, as a family. Details at https://www.patreon.com/michaelandus

PATREON EXCLUSIVE - https://www.patreon.com/posts/47869131 For this month's Superdelegate pick, we watched Bernardo Bertolucci's masterpiece The Conformist (1970), about a secret police officer in fascist Italy assigned to assassinate a left-wing intellectual who was once his university professor. We discuss what it means to be a fascist, and the lure of seeking normalcy even within an evil system. PLUS: 50 Shades of Grey, old movies, and what, exactly, is "the canon"?

PATREON EXCLUSIVE - https://www.patreon.com/posts/interview-smoke-47833534 Joe Biden issued an executive order recommitting the United States to the Paris climate agreement and rescinding the construction permit for the Keystone XL Pipeline, moves that have been heralded throughout the media as the beginning of a new era for climate policy in the United States. But what are the real prospects for the transformative policies actually needed to combat climate change in the years ahead? What will Biden’s much-touted green jobs initiative do in practice? And how has the fossil fuel industry responded to Biden’s early moves? Luke talks to the New Republic’s Katie Aronoff (coauthor of A Planet to Win: Why We Need a Green New Deal, coeditor of We Own the Future: Democratic Socialism — American Style, and author of the forthcoming Overheated: How Capitalism Broke the Planet — and How We Fight Back) about climate policy under Biden.

Just when we thought we'd found the bottom of the barrel, we scrape a little bit further. From executive producers Van Jones and Meghan McCain, THE REUNITED STATES (2021) seeks to open a new chapter on the American story by highlighting people trying to bridge the left and right. But does a political "movement" that believes in nothing more than "listening to each other" actually do anything to address the issues allegedly dividing us? (Hint: no).

PATREON EPISODE - https://www.patreon.com/posts/47524164 John Waters' transgressive masterpiece FEMALE TROUBLE (1974) envisions a moral and aesthetic universe everything ugly is beautiful and vice versa. We discuss the film's radically queer vision, and the way it dissolves the barrier between high and low culture. We also discuss the seismic impact that John Waters had on one of the cohosts as a young man (hint: it's Will), and how an iconoclast becomes an elder statesman. PLUS: Trump's (non-)impeachment, Woody Allen's new movie, and why it can be more productive to criticize liberals than conservatives.

For decades the most visible socialist in Britain, the late Labour Party MP Tony Benn is the rare instance of a left-wing politician who became even more radical as his political career progressed. The 1990 documentary TONY BENN: AGAINST THE TIDE, 1973-6 looks back at four years where radical change seemed possible and Benn was at the height of his power within Labour. We discuss his thwarted political vision, and how his politics remained consistent through the dark winters of Thatcher and Blair. PLUS: American media under Biden, and the death of Larry Flynt. Watch the documentary: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4h9qv1HQ4w8&ab_channel=ModernLonelyTV "Tony Benn Spent His Life Fighting for Democracy and Socialism" by Leo Panitch and Colin Leys - https://www.jacobinmag.com/2020/04/tony-benn-birthday-labour-party-uk-new-left

PATREON BONUS - https://www.patreon.com/posts/47344547 Sometime after the Second World War, neoliberal economics became the default economic theory. How did this happen? And is there any hope for a return to New Deal economics? Our own Luke Savage talks to Marshall Steinbaum (writer and assistant professor of economics at the University of Utah) about how the neoclassical right’s astonishingly successful intellectual revolution came about, its core beliefs, and the profoundly antidemocratic animus it owes to the liberalism of the nineteenth century.

PATREON EPISODE - https://www.patreon.com/posts/47190155 At the height of his fame, Steven Seagal directed and starred in his passion project: ON DEADLY GROUND (1994), a big-budget action movie about saving the environment and bringing down Big Oil. This legendary disaster is the ultimate Seagal film. Come join us as we have some fun hitting the low-hanging piñata that is the Mojo Priest. PLUS: the ominous Proposition 22 - where it came from, and what it represents.

The story of two men competing for the world Donkey Kong championship becomes a metaphor for so much in society, from celebrity culture to institutional power. We revisit THE KING OF KONG: A FISTFUL OF QUARTERS (2007) and celebrate two universal archetypes: Steve Wiebe and Billy Mitchell. PLUS: fiery hot takes on the Golden Globes, the Democrats' impending midterm strategy, and the lingering discourse on the Bernie mittens meme. "PIXEL BURN - A King, Konquered: The Fall of Billy Mitchell" - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tNLqrOqUtEM&ab_channel=Bitscreed

PATREON EXCLUSIVE - https://www.patreon.com/posts/interview-exit-w-47079354 We all got a kick out of watching the Redditors beat the hedge funds. But can finance be democratized within the framework of capitalism? That answer may not surprise you! Luke talks to Edward Ongweso Jr., a labor and technology reporter at Motherboard and cohost of the This Machine Kills podcast, about the Robinhood trading app and the implications of l'affaire Gamestop.

PATREON EPISODE - https://www.patreon.com/posts/46893915 The Superdelegates have voted and forced us to watch Jerry Seinfeld's Netflix show COMEDIANS IN CARS GETTING COFFEE. Jerry and a range of ultra-rich showbiz pals (from Ricky Gervais to Bill Maher to Ellen Degeneres to... uh, Barack Obama) go for a spin, roast a brew, and engage in lighthearted chatter that will have you asking if America's most beloved sitcom star might actually be a sociopath. PLUS: thoughts on QAnon, "the Year of the Mod," and the sad return of America's most venerable media brand.

PATREON BONUS - https://www.patreon.com/posts/46829970 What is QAnon? Where did it come from? And where does it go now that "the Storm" didn't happen? Luke talks to Daily Beast reporter and QAnon expert Will Sommer about this most ridiculous of Trump-era phenomena.

Between the collapse of the Soviet Union and the War on Terror, James Bond went on a mission to find... relevance. We watched GOLDENEYE (1995), the first end-of-history Bond film, to find how 007 fit into the New World Order. PLUS: reflections on the inauguration, Canada's wacky system of governance, and the passing of Larry King.

PATREON EPISODE - https://www.patreon.com/posts/46613211 In 2014, Arthur Chu launched a winning streak on Jeopardy that made him one of the show's most famous (and hated) contestants. He then worked to parlay his newfound celebrity into a career as a writer/speaker on politics and nerd culture. There's a very good chance you are blocked by him on Twitter. We were joined our old pal Alex Ross to watch the surprisingly depressing documentary WHO IS ARTHUR CHU? (2017), discover where it all went wrong for Arthur, and diagnose a root problem in liberal online discourse. PLUS: thoughts on Joe Biden's inauguration and Bernie Sanders' coat/mittens.

After the upheaval of 1968, Jean-Luc Godard said goodbye to commercial cinema to create a new kind of radical Marxist filmmaking. With TOUT VA BIEN (1972), Godard and his filmmaking partner Jean-Pierre Gorin tried to meet the audience halfway. Taking place in a moment when the student protests, the French New Wave, and even Godard's own militant phase were receding from view, this fascinating Brechtian exercise starring Jane Fonda and Yves Montand may or may not have room for optimism. PLUS: bold predictions about the incoming Biden administration, and the politics of another cinematic legend: James Bond. Check out our Patreon for exclusive bonus episodes: https://www.patreon.com/michaelandus

PATREON EPISODE - https://www.patreon.com/posts/46305967 When Toronto mayor Rob Ford was at his lowest ebb, one reporter remained his loyal stenographer. When a BBQ restaurant owner was arrested for disobeying COVID regulations, one reporter called him a freedom fighter. When Billy Ray Cyrus was conquering the charts, one reporter stood up for him against imagined enemies. The City of Toronto has lived with buffoonish reporter Joe Warmington, and now you will too. PLUS: memories of the Rob Ford years, Ben Shapiro in Politico, and why season two of The Wire is good, actually.

Martin Scorsese's new Netflix documentary PRETEND IT'S A CITY (2021) is nothing more or less than a series of jokes and riffs by former writer and current professional curmudgeon Fran Lebowitz. We take a dive into this New York institution and discover what happens when a legendary wit is sorely lacking a worldview. PLUS: new lockdown restrictions, what happens to politics and the media post-Trump, and Marvel vs. 1950s America. "Pretend It's an Insight" by Will Sloan - https://willsloanesq.wordpress.com/2021/01/10/pretend-its-an-insight/

PATREON EPISODE - https://www.patreon.com/posts/46004627 For our 200th episode, we're once again returning to our roots. We took another look at Michael Moore's first and best film, ROGER & ME (1989), and found an unsparing depiction of American capitalism that has only grown better with age. PLUS: big-tech censorship, Trump's deplatforming, and Tim Allen discovers Plato.

In the aftermath of the siege on the Capitol, we looked at a movie that depicts America as at war with itself. The 2020 action-satire THE HUNT is an "equal-opportunity offender" in which Liberal Elites hunt MAGA Chuds for sport - and like most "equal-opportunity offenders," it misses all the real targets. PLUS: thoughts on the Georgia runoff elections.

PATREON EPISODE - https://www.patreon.com/posts/45808512 It's the first episode chosen by our SuperDelegate Patreon tier, and they mercifully chose a good movie: Stanley Kubrick's BARRY LYNDON (1975). We discuss the stark materialist philosophy of Kubrick's vision of a small man against the backdrop of history. PLUS: the libertarian take on human rights, staying sane in winter quarantine, and - you guessed it - Frank Stallone.

A lot of us are feeling cold, isolated, and depressed right now, so what better time to revisit Ingmar Bergman's WINTER LIGHT (1963)? We discuss crises of various kinds of faith, and the personal and political implications of the silence of God. PLUS: Why won't the pundit class (and specifically Paul Krugman) get behind a $2000 stimulus?

PATREON EPISODE - https://www.patreon.com/posts/45507789 If there's one thing we can all agree on, it's that 2020 has been a great year. To mark the end of another year of podcasting, we looked back on the movies we discussed since January, highlighting some of the key titles that captured the mood. We also hold the first-ever Michael & Us Academy Awards, handing out coveted trophies in categories ranging from Worst Movie to Best End-of-History Movie. What won? What lost? Only one way to find out.

For our annual holiday episode, we finally did the inevitable: a deep-dive into the ideology of Disney/Tim Allen joint THE SANTA CLAUSE (1994). We got a little drunk with holiday cheer on this one, folks.

PATREON-EXCLUSIVE EPISODE - https://www.patreon.com/posts/45231887 To see out the Trump era, we looked back on an early piece of #Resistance kitsch: the feature-length (well, 50-minute) Funny or Die production DONALD TRUMP'S THE ART OF THE DEAL: THE MOVIE (2016), starring Johnny Depp. We examine how this all-star comedy really should have prepared us for how unprepared the culture industry would be to deal with #45. PLUS: Barack Obama's top movies of 2020, thoughts on The Art of the Deal (the book), and reflections on passages by Leo Tolstoy, Christopher Hitchens, and Adolph Reed Jr.

The '90s brought a wave of movies about divorced or absentee fathers/husbands, and none had more explosions than James Cameron's TRUE LIES (1994). We revisited this action classic to decipher how the Arnold Schwarzenegger/Jamie Lee Curtis marriage is a metaphor for America at the "End of History." PLUS: Pete Buttigig at McKinsey, Wong Kar-wai's "restorations," and Tom Cruise yelling about COVID.

PATREON-EXCLUSIVE EPISODE - https://www.patreon.com/posts/44978933 In one of our wildest and wooliest episodes yet, we introduce the Michael & Us community to one of our longest-standing obsessions: Pittsburgh-based right-wing movie critic Fiore Mastracci. Join us as we relish the inimitable prose of the man who no less than the Guardian newspaper called "the world's worst movie critic." PLUS: rambling, free-flowing shit-shooting about everything from Obama's memoir to British comedy to Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them.

Terry Gilliam sought to update George Orwell for the 1980s with his career-defining film BRAZIL (1985), but his future dystopia isn't animated by an ideology like Oceania's. We attempt to untangle the satire of a movie where bureaucracy itself is the problem. PLUS: we hash out our thoughts on Netflix's The Crown and the travails of Johnny Depp.

PATREON-EXCLUSIVE EPISODE - https://www.patreon.com/posts/44728064 From self-described Democratic Socialist to current-day darling of the online right, George Orwell's reputation is in flux. We look at Orwell through three of his most famous essays, situating him within the socialist tradition while also identifying/contextualizing his reactionary streak.

Before he became a conservative warrior, John Rambo was just a mixed-up vet. We're joined by Jacobin deputy editor Micah Uetricht to parse the ambiguous politics of FIRST BLOOD (1982), where Sylvester Stallone is just as frazzled by right-wing cops as he is by left-wing protestors. We also situate the film among other Vietnam War movies, and compare the Vietnam canon to Iraq War cinema. PLUS: Luke has been reading Obama's autobiography and has some thoughts. Check out Micah's podcast The Vast Majority - https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-vast-majority/id1462787412 Check out Bigger Than Bernie: How We Go from the Sanders Campaign to Democratic Socialism, by Micah and Meagan Day - https://www.versobooks.com/books/3167-bigger-than-bernie

PATREON-EXCLUSIVE EPISODE - https://www.patreon.com/posts/44409791 We return to the legendary and problematic writer, quipster, and socialist-turned-warmonger Christopher Hitchens. We discuss notable essays from his not-particularly-good late-period essay collection ARGUABLY, including his purplish prose on Harry Potter, Gore Vidal, and pesky waiters at restaurants. We also analyze why we remains a figure of fascination for us, despite everything. PLUS: random attacks on writers we don't especially like. Our first Hitchens episode: https://www.patreon.com/posts/124-fahrenhitch-30842827

Before he was the President's attorney, he was America's Mayor. Made not long after 9/11 briefly turned Giuliani into one of the most beloved men in America, RUDY: THE RUDY GIULIANI STORY (2003) still can't hide the stone cold fact that its subject (played by James Woods!) is a complete piece of shit. We discuss Giuliani's long and sordid career, up to and including his recent hijinx. PLUS: learning to love the Snyder Cut, remembering Obama's 2009 message to David Brooks, and the loss of a beloved Toronto landmark.

PATREON-EXCLUSIVE EPISODE - https://www.patreon.com/posts/44083560 Everybody knows that the dice are loaded and that the good guys lost, but also that like the tidal flood beneath the lunar sway - imperial, mysterious in amorous array - democracy is coming to the USA. We explore these contradictions and others as we do a deep dive into Leonard Cohen. We discuss the classic Canadian documentary LADIES AND GENTLEMEN... MR. LEONARD COHEN (1965) and his legendary performance at the Isle of Wight Festival 1970. PLUS: thoughts on pandemic politics as the lockdown looms again in North America.

We travel to Lumberton to plumb the dark depths of David Lynch's BLUE VELVET (1986), in which good and evil are forces that are intertwined - and not a strict dichotomy. We discuss how critics then and now have received the film's provocations, and our own relationships to Lynch's work. PLUS: red states vs blue states, Joe Biden's cabinet, and Tim Allen's discovery of Marxism.

PATREON-EXCLUSIVE EPISODE - https://www.patreon.com/posts/43832093 For decades, Pauline Kael reigned as the most feared and respected film critic in America, and even today carries a greater literary reputation than any of her peers. The not-very-good documentary WHAT SHE SAID: THE ART OF PAULINE KAEL (2018) tries to make a case for the New Yorker critic as an iconoclastic thinker... but inadvertently reveals her many limitations. We're joined by our old friend Violet Lucca (host of The Harper's Podcast) to discuss her much-imitated prose style, her ideas about art and trash, and the limits of a shoot-from-the-hip critical methodology. PLUS: post-election malaise, and the return of the XFL.

With Biden's victory all but confirmed, we discuss the aftermath of the U.S. presidential election: the narratives being spun to explain the results, Trump's response, why four years of Biden/McConnell will almost certainly be bad, and why there still may be cause of optimism. Then we discuss a movie for times like this: Charlie Chaplin's career-destroying anti-capitalist black MONSIEUR VERDOUX (1947), a film that told America, "Things are bad, and have always been bad."

PATREON BONUS - https://www.patreon.com/posts/43547482 As Trump and Biden duke it out for the last few votes, we're joined by Branko Marcetic to discuss another fantastic showing by the Democratic Party. What went wrong? What does the future hold? What are the reasons for optimism, if any? We recorded this one fast and loose over Zoom, so pardon any audio imperfections.

In this spooky Halloween episode, we consider the politics of horror by looking at the ultimate slasher film, John Carpenter's classic HALLOWEEN (1978). We discuss the way that the horror genre has traditionally served as an outlet for society's fears and traumas, and how this suburban horror story in particular articulated a certain post-'60s, pre-Reagan reactionary current in America. Don't worry, we like this movie, we promise we won't ruin it for you. PLUS: eve-of-the-election punditry and childhood Halloween memories.

PATREON-EXCLUSIVE EPISODE - https://www.patreon.com/posts/43221887 Just when Luke thought he was out, they pull him back in. In another crossover event with the Current Affairs podcast, our resident West Wing expert chats with Briahna Joy Gray (National Press Secretary for the Bernie Sanders 2020 presidential campaign, and co-host of the Bad Faith podcast) and Nathan J. Robinson (Editor-in-Chief of Current Affairs magazine) about the high-profile 2020 West Wing reunion special. How have Aaron Sorkin's politics adapted to the new reality? Folks, take a wild guess.

PATREON BONUS - https://www.patreon.com/posts/43213235 We had to do it. We discuss the new Borat movie, the difference between "good" and "bad" liberal comedy, and the difference between liberal and left comedy. "Notes on Borat Subsequent Moviefilm" by Will Sloan - https://willsloanesq.wordpress.com/2020/10/25/notes-on-borat-subsequent-moviefilm/ Our episode on the original Borat - https://soundcloud.com/michael-and-us/episode-30-borat

After he named names for HUAC, Elia Kazan made a movie about an informer. We watched ON THE WATERFRONT (1954), one of the great American films by the most famous American rat, and discuss its personal meaning for Kazan, and the historical context behind its powerful depiction of working-class New York. PLUS: a free-flowing discussion of celebrity and politics. "Revisiting On the Waterfront" by Kathy M. Newman - https://www.jacobinmag.com/2014/07/revisiting-on-the-waterfront/

PATREON-EXCLUSIVE EPISODE - https://www.patreon.com/posts/42981654 Since ancient times, a sacred caste of people known as "comedians" have told a secret joke - so powerful, so dangerous, that mere mortals like ourselves could never grasp it. The documentary THE ARISTOCRATS (2005) busts open the vault to reveal... not much at all. We analyze what this unbearably-smug and insidery documentary tells us about comedy. PLUS: fiery hot takes on Jeffrey Toobin and John Carpenter.

A former prickly TV personality tries to become a better man... a former president tries to refine his brand... on the pilot episode of the stupefyingly dull Netflix talk show MY NEXT GUEST NEEDS NO INTRODUCTION... WITH DAVID LETTERMAN (2018), the onetime innovator of late night is joined by Barack Obama for a gruelling conversation. PLUS: batten down the hatches for Ron Howard's "Hillbilly Elegy."

PATREON-EXCLUSIVE EPISODE - https://www.patreon.com/posts/42744256 What is real? What is fake? What is art? Is there such thing as expertise, and who should be the arbiter? Is there such thing as objective reality? When is a lie more true than the truth? Orson Welles's groundbreaking essay film F FOR FAKE (1973) doesn't provide answers to these questions, so we do our best to fill in the gaps. PLUS: we brainstorm ideas for the inevitable Austin Powers 4.

Some topics are too vast, too vital for us to cover on our own. Today, we address one such topic. We invited Jacobin Magazine's Meagan Day and Branko Marcetic for a roundtable discussion of Nora Ephron's YOU'VE GOT MAIL (1998), starring Tom Hanks and Meg Ryan. We discover that this parable for gentrification may be the key to all of politics and culture in the 1990s. PLUS: thoughts on the Harris-Pence VP debate and the famous fly. "Want to Know What a Return to 'Normal' Will Look Like? Stare Into Mike Pence's Dead Eyes" by Branko Marcetic - https://www.jacobinmag.com/2020/10/mike-pence-vp-vice-presidential-debate-trump

PATREON-EXCLUSIVE EPISODE - https://www.patreon.com/posts/42484228 What happens to a man when he becomes the biggest star in the world overnight? The hair-raising documentary JIM & ANDY: THE GREAT BEYOND (2017) sees Jim Carrey reflecting on the experience of playing Andy Kaufman in Man on the Moon (1999), during which he claimed to fully inhabit the identity of the long-dead comedian. The film offers an unsparing depiction of what fame does to the human brain. PLUS: we look back at our childhood love of Carrey, and discuss Carrey as Ace Ventura AND Joe Biden.

What does it mean to be "America's Critic"? What does it take to be the most powerful critic the world has ever known? Several months back we discussed "Siskel & Ebert," but now we turn our attention specifically to Roger Ebert, the Pulitzer-winner who may forever be America's best-known film critic. We watch the Ebert documentary LIFE ITSELF (2014), and ponder the movie's questionable assertion that "He did not get caught up in certain ideologies of what cinema should be." PLUS: why are liberals sending thoughts and prayers to the president? NOTE: As a special experiment for the month of October 2020, we will be posting two episodes per week - one free, one Patreon-exclusive. Like the show and want more? Go to https://www.patreon.com/michaelandus. Episode #152 ("Rule of Thumb" Part 1) - https://soundcloud.com/michael-and-us/152-rule-of-thumb "Roger Ebert's Zero-Star Movies" by Will Sloan - https://hazlitt.net/feature/roger-eberts-zero-star-movies

PATREON-EXCLUSIVE EPISODE - https://www.patreon.com/posts/42221857 By popular demand, we tackle the Russophobic kitsch of INDIANA JONES AND THE KINGDOM OF THE CRYSTAL SKULL (2008), examining how the franchise's uncritical perspective on old-fashioned entertainment leads to an uncritical acceptance of its values. PLUS: fiery hot takes on Trump's tax returns and the first Biden/Trump presidential debate.

The theory that times of strife produce great art is put to the test with Jay Roach's pandemic movie COASTAL ELITES (2020), and fails resoundingly. Bette Midler, Issa Rae, Dan Levy, and others deliver monologues excoriating the Cheeto-in-Chief while making clear that the title "Coastal Elites" is only barely ironic. PLUS: the death of RBG, the collapse of LaserQuest, and the unlikely return of Screw Magazine.

PATREON-EXCLUSIVE EPISODE - https://www.patreon.com/posts/41754206 Hellooooo we're the nostalgia critics and we remembered KICKASSIA (2010) so you don't have to. A decade ago, the head honchos of an online content mill called Channel Awesome brought all their contributors together for a feature-length movie... but only later was it revealed that the production was plagued by mismanagement and abuse. We drove ourselves mad watching a "movie" comprised entirely of inside jokes from videos that were online 10 years ago. PLUS: we consider Pepe the Frog.

In the weeks after 9/11, Sir Paul McCartney gathered together his rock'n'roll friends for an all-star salute to the first responders. A behind-the-scenes look at the event, Albert Maysles' THE LOVE WE MAKE (2011) is a hair-raising depiction of what it's like to be the most famous man in the world, and a time capsule of America right after the towers fell. It's also a real-life Ricky Gervais show. PLUS: James Bond, Bill Clinton, and the state of the election.

PATREON-EXCLUSIVE EPISODE - https://www.patreon.com/posts/41305114 Since the beginning, one of the functions of the podcast has been to reevaluate people, ideas, and cultural phenomena that were important to us when we were younger. And so, we finally get to Woody Allen. We discuss how the allegations against him have impacted how we view his work, and explore the implications of his "whatever works" philosophy. We also watch one of his best and darkest films, CRIMES AND MISDEMEANORS (1989), and debate its vision of morality in a godless universe. PLUS: Ed Markey defeats Joe Kennedy, and one of our hosts pines for the Jerry Lewis Telethon.

Filmmaker and Twitter personality Rob Reiner looked back at the Kennedy/Johnson era through the lens of the Obama era in LBJ (2016), the story of how an idealist's vision can only be achieved by a pragmatism... and how the pragmatist's centrism may or may not have actually camouflaged an idealist the whole time. A piece of Boomer-porn, this movie is unmistakably the vision of a Joe Biden primary voter. PLUS: fiery hot thoughts on the Canadian Conservative Party leadership race, the Ed Markey/Joe Kennedy III battle, and the controversial release of TENET.

PATREON-EXCLUSIVE EPISODE - https://www.patreon.com/posts/40757532 In 2008, a great statesman named John McCain was led astray in his presidential bid by an ill-considered VP pick and a shifting zeitgeist that saw a shift away from his brand of gentlemanly politics. At least, that's the premise of Jay Roach's HBO movie GAME CHANGE (2012), based on the Mark Halperin book. We discuss why the film depends a little too heavily on the received wisdom of McCain, and how its vision of politics feels uniquely outmoded in the year 2020. PLUS: fiery hot takes on the 2020 Democratic National Convention.

We revisited Charlie Chaplin's Sadly Still Relevant® classic MODERN TIMES (1936) to ask: what are the politics of the Little Tramp... and what are the politics of his famous author? We discuss how Chaplin depicted work, class, and poverty, and the many ways that people have interpreted him. PLUS: Joe Biden as FDR (or not), and thee unholy return of Blockbuster Video.

No less than Jean-Luc Godard called Jonathan Rosenbaum the best living American film critic, and for decades his hugely influential writing has been political, internationally conscious, skeptical of received wisdom, and enormously curious about forms of cinema beyond mainstream. Our own Will Sloan talks to Rosenbaum to discuss his career, his politics, and how the cinematic landscape has changed since the ‘90s. A Rosenbaum Reading List: List-o-Mania - https://www.chicagoreader.com/chicago/list-o-mania/Content?oid=896619 Stupidity as Redemption (Forest Gump) - https://www.jonathanrosenbaum.net/2019/03/stupidity-as-redemption/ Cutting Heroes Down to Size (Small Soldiers and Saving Private Ryan) - https://www.jonathanrosenbaum.net/2018/12/cutting-heroes-down-to-size/ In Dreams Begin Responsibilities (Eyes Wide Shut) - https://www.jonathanrosenbaum.net/2020/02/in-dreams-begin-responsibilities/ The World According to Harvey and Bob - https://www.chicagoreader.com/chicago/the-world-according-to-harvey-and-bob/Content?oid=887735 Declaration of Independents: Hardly Working - https://www.jonathanrosenbaum.net/2020/05/hardly-working-2/ Good Morning: Structures and Strictures in Suburbia - https://www.criterion.com/current/posts/4543-good-morning-structures-and-strictures-in-suburbia His 20th Century (Godard's Histoire[s] du Cinema) - https://www.jonathanrosenbaum.net/2018/07/his-20th-century/

PATREON-EXCLUSIVE EPISODE: https://www.patreon.com/posts/165-its-small-in-40236676 This week we satisfied our inexplicable but long-held desire to revisit the legendary Dana Carvey career-killer THE MASTER OF DISGUISE (2002), which led us down the rabbit hole of revisiting Carvey's era-defining impersonation of George H.W. Bush on SNL. We discuss comedy and ideology, and reflect on what makes someone turtley enough for both the Lincoln Bedroom and the Turtle Club. PLUS: fiery hto takes on the Ellen Degeneres scandal and the primary victories of Rashida Tlaib and Cori Bush.

Everyone agrees that money in politics is a problem, but in MEET THE DONORS: DOES MONEY TALK? (2016), filmmaker Alexandra (daughter of Nancy) Pelosi asks: is it really? She interviews some of the biggest political donors in America to find out why they donate and what they expect for their donations, and finds out... not a whole lot. Politics - what a concept! PLUS: we discuss the state of the left in electoral politics, and definitively identify the worst Twitter feed in the world.

PATREON-EXCLUSIVE EPISODE - https://www.patreon.com/posts/39738674 Two things that Yasujiro Ozu teaches us: that change is ineluctable, and also deeply tragic. We look at the Japanese master's 1959 film GOOD MORNING and discuss modernity vs. tradition, why not all "progress" is progress, and Ozu's boundless capacity for empathy. PLUS: we check in with our old pal Michael Moore

We're unlocking our April 19, 2019 Patreon episode with the late, great Michael Brooks in which we discussed the "Intellectual Dark Web" and one of its stupidest practitioners, Dave Rubin. Check out "Against the Web: A Cosmopolitan Answer to the New Right" by Michael Brooks - https://www.johnhuntpublishing.com/zer0-books/our-books/against-web

We delve into the wild world of video game journalism with the help of two veterans of the industry, Bob Mackey and Henry Gilbert (of TALKING SIMPSONS podcast fame). We discuss bad labor conditions, heavy corporate influence, why GamerGate hit games journalism so hard, and why so few game journalists make it past age 35. Guess what: there are some parallels between games journalism and political and cultural journalism. Check out Talking Simpsons on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/talkingsimpsons And on their free feed: https://talkingsimpsons.libsyn.com/ Also, check out What a Cartoon: https://whatacartoonfeed.libsyn.com/

PATREON-EXCLUSIVE EPISODE - https://www.patreon.com/posts/39239654 Orson Welles' THE MAGNIFICENT AMBERSONS (1942) tells the tragic story of an old-money family crushed by the wheel of progress, and has a complicated relationship with both old-money and progress. At least until the studio-imposed happy ending. We discuss a mangled masterpiece, and consider Orson Welles as an ideological challenge to Hollywood. PLUS: bad freelance writing experiences, and the "Cancel Culture" debate.

PATREON BONUS - https://www.patreon.com/posts/39117214 As a special Patreon bonus, here is the inevitable episode on Jon Stewart's widely beloved and acclaimed IRRESISTIBLE - a powerful team-up between Michael & Us and Current Affairs Magazine. Travel back with us to 2004, won't you?

Less than a year after Trump's inauguration, Steven Spielberg rushed out an urgent message: "Journalism will save us!" We finally get around to watching THE POST (2017), discussing the limits of Spielberg's particular worldview. PLUS: movies and video games under COVID, and memories of the video games based on movies we played in our youth.

PATREON-EXCLUSIVE EPISODE - https://www.patreon.com/posts/38666142 Listen you screwheads, here is a podcast who would not take it anymore. We revisited Martin Scorsese's TAXI DRIVER (perhaps you've heard of it?), the original Incel™ movie; discussed its perspective on gender, politics, and alienation; and considered how it plays in the a world where Travis Bickle is all around us.

We venture back into the oeuvre of conservative firebrand Dinesh D'Souza and watch AMERICA: IMAGINE THE WORLD WITHOUT HER (2014). Seeking to offer a counter-narrative to Howard Zinn's counter-narrative, D'Souza dusts off his trademark thesis that, actually, America is NOT racist - although if it is, it's the Democrats who are REALLY racist. This was a rough one, folks. We suffer for you, the listener.

PATREON-EXCLUSIVE EPISODE - https://www.patreon.com/posts/38213135 By popular demand, we travel to Scranton, Pennsylvania to visit the denizens of Dunder Mifflin. We watched two episodes of THE OFFICE (U.S.) on the theme of Enforced Workplace Fun - "The Dundies" and "Company Picnic" - and discussed the show's evolution, and how its jaundiced take on the workplace both converges and diverges from its British source material. PLUS: how Coronavirus is paving the way from a work-from-home dystopia, and the (possible) death of NOW Magazine.

While leaders from across the political spectrum continue to warn about "outside agitators," we watched INVASION U.S.A. (1952), a semi-legendary scare film about a hypothetical Communist invasion of the United States. PLUS: thoughts on the protests, the discourse, and Justin Trudeau's 21-second pause.

PATREON-EXCLUSIVE EPISODE: https://www.patreon.com/posts/37719007 First, we discuss the protests in the United States, their bipartisan causes, and the ways that Blue Checkmark discourse seeks to delegitimize them. Then we discuss a quintessential Michael & Us movie, bringing together many of the themes and motifs that have defined this podcast: CAN MR. SMITH GET TO WASHINGTON ANYMORE? (2006), about the "insurgent" congressional candidacy of future-convicted-felon Jeff Smith against a machine-backed dynastic candidate in Missouri. Few films have better illustrated the limits of the American political imagination circa 2004 than this. PLUS: personal tales of the purest, most intense kind of politics there is : local politics.

Oscar Micheaux was the first African American to direct a feature-length film, and no other filmmaker of his age tackled the issues facing black America so directly and painfully. We watched his masterpiece WITHIN OUR GATES (1920) and discussed Micheaux's complicated career and the "race films" of the early 20th century. PLUS: Gone with the Wind! Glossy Time-Life magazines! Luke discusses debating capitalism v. socialism! Will works out his feelings towards Toronto's Garfield-themed restaurant!

PATREON-EXCLUSIVE EPISODE - https://www.patreon.com/posts/37268002 THE SPECIAL RELATIONSHIP (2010) charts the complicated dynamic between political allies/personal rivals Bill Clinton (Dennis Quaid) and Tony Blair (Michael Sheen). This light docudrama gives us opportunity to consider the nature of Britain and the U.S.'s "Special Relationship," the political moment that sparked Blairism and Clintonism, and to what extent the personal relationships of world leaders matter. PLUS: Jean-Luc Godard and the Ontario French school curriculum.

For over two decades, Gene Siskel and Roger Ebert were America's most influential movie critics. Their show SISKEL & EBERT was partly consumer-report movie criticism, and partly a sitcom about two extremely-similar men who didn't particularly like each other. Revisiting the "Thumbs Up!"/"Thumbs Down!" titans gives Will and Luke opportunity to ponder questions about criticism, the canon, and how Siskel and Ebert represented "normalcy." PLUS: spirited discussion of Jerry Seinfeld and Bruce Lee.

PATREON-EXCLUSIVE EPISODE - https://www.patreon.com/posts/151-rant-in-b-36641960 It's finally here - the Bill Hicks episode. To many a young man, this swaggering, tell-it-like-it-is comedian was a revelation. But how well does his work hold up in a landscape he has so enormously influenced? We watched his 1992 special REVELATIONS to find out. Spoiler: our hosts have decidedly mixed feelings. PLUS: political comedy, Lenny Bruce, and Bill Hicks' bizarre Toronto connection.

For episode #150, we're looking back at another of our formative heroes, the godfather of gonzo journalism, Hunter S. Thompson. We reflect on his era-defining book FEAR AND LOATHING IN LAS VEGAS through the lens of Terry Gilliam's 1998 film adaptation. One of these things holds up, and another does not (can you guess which?). Along the way, we discuss gonzo journalism, the 1960s, and the strengths and limitations of both Thompson and Gilliam.

PATREON-EXCLUSIVE EPISODE: https://www.patreon.com/posts/149-from-to-36101522 We travel back to Weimer Germany to celebrate a time of great and flourishing culture, and also to look for the emergence of the horrors soon to come. We watched the silent classic THE CABINET OF DR. CALIGARI (1920) to discuss how its tortured production history led to a self-contradicting film about authority that Captured The Zeitgeist™.

** We've unlocked a little Patreon content for you, folks. There's more where that came from at https://www.patreon.com/michaelandus ** To mark the end of Bernie Sanders' 2020 presidential campaign, Luke talks to writer Carl Beijer about what went right, what went wrong, and why socialism isn't just a passing identity. Plus: What was Elizabeth Warren's impact? And can Joe Biden actually win? (Uh... well, anything can theoretically happen, right?) "Voters Won't Risk Their Lives for Joe Biden" by Carl Beijer - https://jacobinmag.com/2020/04/2020-democratic-party-presidential-election-coronavirus-biden "Bernie Lost. But His Legacy Will Only Grow" by Luke Savage - https://www.jacobinmag.com/2020/04/bernie-2020-campaign-democratic-establishment

With the 2020 Democratic Primary fading away, we look back at an earlier primary and watch Robert Drew's iconic cinema-verite documentary PRIMARY (1960). We discuss "objective" journalism, the Kennedy myth, how presidential campaigns have changed, and why Hubert Humphrey is actually the hero of the film. PLUS: inevitably, some thoughts on the 2020 primary.

PATREON-EXCLUSIVE EPISODE - https://www.patreon.com/posts/35617018 Steven Spielberg's READY PLAYER ONE posits a world in which society is crumbling and the only escape is a virtual fantasyland. Sound familiar? The twist: Steven Spielberg does not regard this as a dystopia. We watch the blockbuster maestro's paean to the geek culture he spawned and decipher its reactionary politics. PLUS: your hosts reflect on life in quarantine.

We're in the midst of a pandemic. We're trapped indoors. We're desperately avoiding contact with the hordes that might infect us. Folks... it's time to watch George A. Romero's DAWN OF THE DEAD (1978). "The Idle Proletariat: Dawn of the Dead, Consumer Ideology, and the Loss of Productive Labor," by Kyle William Bishop - http://www.thecyberhood.net/documents/papers/zombies_10.pdf

Get the full episode: https://www.patreon.com/posts/current-affairs-35011872 Luke & Will team up with Nathan J. Robinson and Aisling McCrea for a special crossover of the Michael and Us and Current Affairs podcasts. Together, they ruminate on Louis Theroux's three-part documentary series The Most Hated Family in America, which followed the extremist Westboro Baptist Church from 2007 to 2019, and which unwittingly created a time capsule that offers insight into the liberal viewpoint on religion and dogma in the 2000s.

Coronavirus. Donald Trump. Joe Biden. Luke recovering from a cold. Yes, there's a lot ailing the world right now. So, this week we treated ourselves to a GOOD movie: Hal Ashby's BEING THERE (1979), starring Peter Sellers as a simple gardener who is mistaken for a political prophet. PLUS: we gauge the state of the Democratic Primary, and Luke goes on an epic rant about the Jumanji franchise.

PATREON-EXCLUSIVE EPISODE: https://www.patreon.com/posts/144-womb-of-ones-34659615 Our beautiful boy Luke is grounded with illness this week, but Will valiantly soldiers on! Friend-of-the-show Violet Lucca (web editor at Harper's) makes her triumphant return to the show to discuss the history of abortion on film, from 1916's eugenicist WHERE ARE MY CHILDREN to FAST TIMES AT RIDGEMONT HIGH to 4 MONTHS, 3 WEEKS AND 2 DAYS to the acclaimed new film PORTRAIT OF A LADY ON FIRE. We discuss how male- and female-authored films have depicted abortion differently, and the "both sides" films of the '90s/2000s. "A Womb of One's Own" by Violet Lucca - https://www.bfi.org.uk/news-opinion/sight-sound-magazine/features/history-abortion-film-celine-sciamma-portrait-lady-fire-termination-pregnancy

John Rambo is back, and he wants to build that wall! We watched Sylvester Stallone in the extremely Trump-era action movie RAMBO: LAST BLOOD (2019), in which the Vietnam vet wages a whole different kind of war at the U.S./Mexican border. PLUS: the agonies and ecstasies of canvassing, and the peculiar relationship between Film Twitter and Elizabeth Warren.

PATREON-EXCLUSIVE EPISODE: https://www.patreon.com/posts/34247035 It's the Toronto episode, folks! Luke and Will came of age during the 2003-2010 tenure of left-wing Toronto mayor David Miller, and saw their illusions broken by his successor, Rob Ford. Against this backdrop, they were profoundly influenced by Toronto's alternative media, particularly such alt-weeklies as NOW Magazine, Eye Weekly (R.I.P.), and The Grid (R.I.P.). With alternative media now in a state of decline and/or transformation, we reflect on this formative era through several key alt-weekly articles. We invited legendary Toronto journalist Jonathan Goldsbie (news editor at Canadaland, former staff writer at NOW Magazine, and host of the Doug Ford podcast "Wag the Doug") for a free-flowing discussion of Toronto and its media. PLUS: we remember the day the Rob Ford "crack scandal" broke, and reflect on the most important movie of the 20th century, Tim Allen's JUNGLE 2 JUNGLE.

An environmental catastrophe has hit Springfield! This week we're joined by Henry Gilbert and Bob Mackey of the TALKING SIMPSONS podcast to discuss the Simpson family's sole foray into cinema, THE SIMPSONS MOVIE (2007). We discuss the vaguely anti-authoritarian politics of the long-running show; the distinctly mid-2000s politics of the movie; and the way The Simpsons' unique perspective was eventually flattened. Talking Simpsons free feed: https://talkingsimpsons.libsyn.com/ Talking Simpsons Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/talkingsimpsons Follow our guests @bobservo @hEnereyG

PATREON-EXCLUSIVE EPISODE: https://www.patreon.com/posts/33858389 Warren Beatty's 1998 satire BULWORTH defined a cinematic archetype: The Politician Who Tears Down The Artifice Of Politics And Tells It Like It Is. Beatty stars as a '60s idealist turned Third Way sellout who decides to become a fiery left-wing truth-teller... who raps. We revisit this defining document of the Clinton Era in the age of Bernie Sanders... and also brace ourselves for the ultimate Hollywood Liberal movie about race. PLUS: the Iowa caucus, the January movie releases, and Oscar Fever!

Set against the backdrop of the country music industry and a soft-populist presidential campaign, Robert Altman's masterpiece NASHVILLE (1975) seeks to encompass all of America. Luke and Will discuss what this behemoth of a movie has to say about fame, politics, and relationship between the coasts and the "Heartland." PLUS: discussion of the three most important progressive firebrands of our era, Pete Buttigieg, Alan Dershowitz, and Film Twitter personality Bob "The Moviebob" Chipman.

PATREON-EXCLUSIVE EPISODE - https://www.patreon.com/posts/33421572 Sanders v. Warren? Fuggedaboutit. On this episode, we revisit a primary season bloodfight of yore by watching the January 21, 2008 Democratic Party debate between Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton (oh, and John Edwards is in there too). We reflect on their bitter primary battle, noting how their feud was both more vicious and less substantive than the ones dominating the current race. PLUS: Hillary's comments about Bernie, the myth of the Sanders-aligned non-voter, and a fond farewell to the great Terry Jones.

Yes folks, it's another "Politics - what a concept!" movie, so strap in. When did America's news media lose its way? According to Jason Reitman's THE FRONT RUNNER (2018), it happened when Gary Hart exited the 1988 Democrat primary over a "personal indiscretion." Luke and Will explore why this movie was uniquely suited to land like a thud in a post-Trump, post-MeToo world. PLUS: Luke and Will reflect on the Golden Age of Toronto Twitter (circa the Rob Ford era), and Luke reports on Matt Taibbi's new book "Hate Inc."

PATREON-EXCLUSIVE EPISODE: https://www.patreon.com/posts/33038713 A benevolent patrician fights a vulgar populist in Tim Burton's game-changing comic-book adaptation BATMAN (1989). We discuss the film's distinctly Reagan-era vision of an urban hellscape, and theorize how Michael Keaton's Batman and Jack Nicholson's Joker symbolize two different style of corporate branding.

It was the best of decades, it was the worst of decades. Mostly the worst. We say goodbye to 2019 by discussing the year's most acclaimed film, Bong Joon Ho's PARASITE, asking: Why has such a rabidly anti-capitalist thriller been approved by Barack Obama, Elon Musk, and The Economist? PLUS: We reflect on what the 2010s meant to film and politics.

PATREON-EXCLUSIVE EPISODE: https://www.patreon.com/posts/32631287 We descend into madness discussing STAR WARS EPISODE IX: THE RISE OF SKYWALKER, a movie that symbolizes just about everything wrong with culture today.

It's the annual Michael & Us Christmas Spectacular, and have we got a holiday turkey for you! A Vietnam vet tackles his deadliest battle yet - the War on Christmas - in the hilarious right-wing drama LAST OUNCE OF COURAGE (2012). Watch a disgruntled Christian reclaim Christmas and fight the ACLU in this, the first film we've ever watched that is officially Chuck Norris Approved®. PLUS: we measure the state of the #NeverTrump movement. "What's Left of Liberalism" by Sam Adler-Bell - https://theoutline.com/post/7687/what-is-left-of-liberalism-ahmari-french WATCH "Last Ounce of Courage" on YouTube! - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y2biJXs37mY

PATREON-EXCLUSIVE EPISODE: https://www.patreon.com/posts/32296799Pumped after our deep-dive into The West Wing, we decide to tackle Aaron Sorkin's less-successful attempt to capture the zeitgeist, THE NEWSROOM. We revisit its pilot episode, in which Will McAvoy (Jeff Daniels) epically owns a college girl by telling her that America is not great. In the process, we explore why the show is both an embarrassing relic of 2012, and also an ominous foreshadowing of the current-day Extremely Online Alt-Center. PLUS: Luke trembles with anticipation on the eve of the British election, while Will suffers an acute case of Star Wars Fever.

You know it. You love. You hate it. You love to hate it, and vice versa. It's THE WEST WING, the show that helped set the limits of the liberal imagination for a generation. Luke works through his long and complicated relationship to Aaron Sorkin's world by subjecting Will to three seminal Season 4 episodes: "Debate Camp," "Game On," and "Election Night." PLUS: Will considers the life and legacy of the late film critic John Simon, and Luke tells horrifying tales of seeing David Brooks at a recent instalment of the Munk Debate. "The Obamanauts" by Corey Robin - https://www.dissentmagazine.org/article/the-obamanauts "How Liberals Fell in Love with The West Wing" by Luke Savage - https://www.currentaffairs.org/2017/04/how-liberals-fell-in-love-with-the-west-wing "On John Simon" by Christopher Bonanos - https://www.vulture.com/2019/11/obituary-critic-john-simon-1925-2019.html

PATREON-EXCLUSIVE EPISODE: https://www.patreon.com/posts/31947728 To atone for antagonizing comedy legend Eric Idle on Twitter, Luke and Will have a good time revisiting MONTY PYTHON'S LIFE OF BRIAN (1979), the most overtly political film from Britain's most famous comedy troupe. They analyze the film's skeptical view of religious and political groups, and its thesis that "You don't need to follow anyone. You are all individuals." PLUS: What's the deal with all those "How To Argue With Your Trump-Supporting Uncle" articles that pop up every Thanksgiving?

Luke visits his friend and cohost Will in Twitter Jail, where he has been consigned after tweeting a death threat against a Disney character. They take aim at the Disney Company and watch SAVING MR. BANKS (2013), the touching and inspiring story of how wealthy oligarch Walt Disney wrestled humble author P.L. Travers' intellectual property away from her when she was financially desperate. The boys also discuss their distaste for Tom Hanks and the Fraser Institute's interpretation of MARY POPPINS as communist propaganda.

PATREON-EXCLUSIVE EPISODE - https://www.patreon.com/posts/31616652 With the downfall of Don Cherry, the Michael & Us boys ascend to the position of Canada's Top Public Intellectuals. They celebrate by watching ALAN PARTRIDGE'S SCISSORED ISLE (2016), a very funny mockumentary starring comic genius/Labour supporter Steve Coogan as his signature character, the reactionary talk-show host Alan Partridge. PLUS: Who's better - Hillary or Obama? The answer may surprise you!

On this episode, Luke and Will explore one of their shared passions - a show that blew their young minds with the revelation that art could be appropriated; that the institution of a "movie" did not automatically deserve respect; and that opened up whole worlds of strange and offbeat cinema. We watch MYSTERY SCIENCE THEATER 3000: THE MOVIE (1996) and discuss the politics of "bad," the Cold War ideas of THIS ISLAND EARTH, and the changing way that concepts like MST3K are distributed. PLUS: fiery hot takes on the NOW Magazine Reader's Choice Awards!

PATREON-EXCLUSIVE EPISODE: https://www.patreon.com/posts/31263114 The internet - what a concept! On this special Extremely Online episode, we look back on the cyberspace of our youth, and also consider how the modern-day internet has fostered celebrity within niches within niches within subcultures. To illustrate the latter point, we watch a new feature film by some of our favourite YouTubers. PLUS: reflections on such peculiar web-based phenomena as the Nostalgia Critic and the Space Jam website.

Luke's recent trip to the U.K. has us pondering British politics. We watch the 2011 BBC documentary HEATH VS WILSON: THE 10 YEAR DUEL, which contrasts two British Prime Ministers: Labour's Harold Wilson and the Tories' Edward Heath, and consider a time when the working class could bring a Tory government to its knees. PLUS: we hash over the Canadian federal election, the Disney Company, the Kinks, Monty Python, and Judge Judy's big 2020 endorsement. Check out Luke on Novara Media: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dyqipW_ekgg And on the TRASHFUTURE podcast: https://trashfuturepodcast.podbean.com/e/jagmeet-me-in-temecula-feat-luke-savage/

PATREON-EXCLUSIVE EPISODE: https://www.patreon.com/posts/124-fahrenhitch-30842827 Left-wing voices in the mainstream media were hard to come by in the mid-2000s, which may be why so many of us settled for leftist-turned-Iraq-War-defender Christopher Hitchens. TEXAS: AMERICA SUPERSIZED (2004) sees "Hitch" doing his best Louis Theroux impersonation as he wanders through Texas -- a state he admiringly views as a synecdoche for America. We discuss Hitchens' path from obscure columnist to famous warmonger; why he appealed to precocious teen boys; and how he laid the groundwork for the Intellectual Dark Web™.

As the Joker discourse rages on, we pay a visit to the original Joker, Rupert Pupkin. We look at Martin Scorsese's dark media satire THE KING OF COMEDY (1982) and consider what it tells us about fame, class, and thwarted ambitions. "Hollywood from Vietnam to Reagan" by Robin Wood - https://cup.columbia.edu/book/hollywood-from-vietnam-to-reaganand-beyond/9780231129664

PATREON-EXCLUSIVE EPISODE - https://www.patreon.com/posts/30505364 We discuss art, religion, and Grand Societal Narratives through THE MAGICIAN (1958), a film by Luke's favourite filmmaker, Ingmar Bergman (well, he's no Morgan Spurlock...). PLUS: anti- and anti-anti-theism on the left, the Canadian election, and more from our favourite YouTube vloggers.

We spend most of our waking hours at work... and we're also expected to like it. But what if you have to work a soul-crushing job at a mid-sized paper merchant in Slough, Great Britain under the management of David Brent? Will and Luke consider the compromises and humiliations that come with working for a living by watching one of their very favourite pieces of pop culture: Ricky Gervais and Stephen Merchant's THE OFFICE. Plus: hair-raising tales from jobs past, and another discussion about the clown prince of crime. "Why Do I Need to Love a Company to Work There?" by Abi Wilkinson - https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/shopping-and-consumer-news/12129461/Why-do-I-need-to-love-a-company-to-work-there.html Follow the podcast on Twitter: @MichaelandUs

PATREON EXCLUSIVE EPISODE - https://www.patreon.com/posts/30110073 As a blackface scandal threatens to derail his re-election campaign, we look back at Canadian Prime Minister and international media brand Justin Trudeau - the "progressive" leader who wasn't. We watched GOD SAVE JUSTIN TRUDEAU (2014), a documentary about Trudeau's 2014 boxing match with Conservative senator Patrick Brazeau, which struggles to depict Pierre Elliott Trudeau's son as a political outsider.

The top 10 Democratic Party 2020 contenders met in Texas on September 12, 2019... and mere hours later, we have our fiery hot response! Biden, Bernie, Beto, Booker, Warren, Klobuchar, and several others we're already fogetting... Who won??? Who lost??? Who's surging??? Who had the best zinger??? These are the questions we don't answer, but we DO hash out some thoughts about other things.

PATREON-EXCLUSIVE EPISODE - https://www.patreon.com/posts/29765571 What causes crime? The bad people. How do we deal with it? With a big honkin' machine gun. That's the thesis behind Michael Winner's mind-bogglingly reactionary cult classic DEATH WISH 3 (1985), the most ridiculous of the Charles Bronson-led vigilante action series. Luke, Will, and their good pal Branko Marcetic kick back and have a boys' night with this disgusting but hilarious piece of trash. PLUS: chaos in the U.K., movie madness in Toronto, and listener feedback!

What can we learn from Beto O'Rourke's trajectory from 2018 rising-star to 2019 flameout? We're joined by our old friend Chris Berube to revisit O'Rourke's brief period as a liberal cause celebre through the HBO/Crooked Media documentary RUNNING WITH BETO. Chris tells us about his experiences following Beto on the campaign trail for the popular podcast "Underdog." PLUS: the state of the Dem primary, and the latest evil machinations of the Disney company.

PATREON-EXCLUSIVE EPISODE: https://www.patreon.com/posts/116-comic-conned-29365538 "Nerd culture" is everywhere. Have the nerds won? Or have they merely been co-opted? We look for answers in Morgan Spurlock's puff-piece documentary COMIC-CON EPISODE IV: A FAN'S HOPE (2011), which struggles to position San Diego Comic Con as a grassroots phenomenon. Find out the surprising connection between corporate fan culture and the Democratic primaries! PLUS: we discuss the most dangerous person of our time... Susan Sarandon?

80 years before Jeff Bezos owned the Washington Post, a wealthy heir named Charles Foster Kane picked up a struggling New York newspaper. We watched Orson Welles' CITIZEN KANE (perhaps you've heard of it?) to see what it could tell us about oligarchy and the media. PLUS: Joe Biden's "gaffes," Bernie Sanders v. the Washington Post, a rightward turn in Canadian media, and the clown prince of crime. "You Must Be This Conservative To Ride: The Inside Story of Postmedia’s Right Turn" by Sean Craig - https://www.canadalandshow.com/the-conservative-transformation-of-postmedia/ "Why Joe Biden's Campaign is Struggling" by Philip Elliott - https://time.com/5634771/joe-biden-problems/ "Orson Welles as Ideological Challenge" by Jonathan Rosenbaum Part 1: http://www.jonathanrosenbaum.net/2018/02/orson-welles-as-ideological-challenge/ Part 2: http://www.jonathanrosenbaum.net/2018/02/orson-welles-as-ideological-challenge-part-2/ See Luke discuss Canadian philosopher George Grant at House of Anasi Bookstore on August 21, 7pm - https://www.eventbrite.com/e/great-books-toronto-reading-george-grant-with-house-of-anansi-press-tickets-68004933587

PATREON-EXCLUSIVE EPISODE: https://www.patreon.com/posts/29051578 Power corrupts, whether it's in France before the revolution, or Italy in the waning days of fascism, or in international airspace on Jeffrey Epstein's plane. As the Epstein story exposes the rot at the core of the modern elite, we find parallels in Pier Paolo Pasolini's anti-fascist (read: anti-capitalist) classic SALÒ, OR THE 120 DAYS OF SODOM (1975). PLUS: the Marquis de Sade, Bernie Sanders on Joe Rogan, the sorry state of film culture, and Michael Moore on Chapo Trap House.

The rubes and the hicks think that the politicians are squeaky-clean. But insiders like you and me? We understand that politics is a game... and the winner is whoever plays it best. That's the thesis of RACE FOR THE WHITE HOUSE (2016), a CNN docutainment series about the wheeling-and-dealings of presidential campaigns. We recall such titanic bouts as Kennedy v. Nixon, Bush v. Dukakis, and Clinton v. Bush, and ask, as we so often do: "Okay, but what were these campaigns ABOUT?" PLUS: the Democratic Party debates, the summer movies, and Luke's online brush with the First Family. "Joe Biden Was a Trainwreck in Last Night's Debate" by Luke Savage - https://www.jacobinmag.com/2019/08/joe-biden-democratic-debate "The Human Factor" by Will Sloan - https://willsloanesq.wordpress.com/2019/07/27/the-human-factor/

PATREON EXCLUSIVE EPISODE - https://www.patreon.com/posts/112-bubble-boys-28625748 Like a lot of us, Alexandra Pelosi (daughter of Nancy) was shocked by the 2016 election. How could this have happened? Believing that we aren't getting "outside our bubble" enough, she takes a road trip of the red states to ask Trump voters why they voted Trump. What does she do with these findings? She collects them in OUTSIDE THE BUBBLE: ON THE ROAD WITH ALEXANDRA PELOSI (2018), a documentary that posits "conversation" as not the means to an end, but the end itself. This is a rough one, folks. PLUS: Britain's new Prime Minister, John Delaney, and the return of Toronto's coolest ex-politician.

Two years before 9/11, and nine years before the financial collapse, AMERICAN BEAUTY gazed upon the End of History and said: "...is that all there is?" And then it also asked, "Isn't that wife a real shrew, huh??" We revisit this painfully dated Best Picture winner and discover beauty all around us. PLUS: "The Squad" vs the Dem establishment, and the decline of Netroots Nation. "Nancy Pelosi Has Lost Control" by Zach Carter - https://www.huffingtonpost.ca/entry/nancy-pelosi-has-lost-control_n_5d2cb605e4b032ea741220ad "How the Democratic Netroots Died" by Bill Scher - https://www.politico.com/magazine/story/2019/07/17/democratic-netroots-markos-moulitsas-227363

PATREON EXCLUSIVE - https://www.patreon.com/posts/110-netroots-28326205 In the mid-2000s, a hot new thing called the "blogosphere" shook the very foundations of American politics, creating a progressive media ecosystem that helped launch the presidential candidacy of... er, Howard Dean. The 2006 documentary BLOG WARS chronicles this moment, with a particular emphasis on Daily Kos founder and Nancy Pelosi superfan Markos Moulitsas. We discuss the ideological project (or lack thereof) of the mid-2000s liberal blogosphere, and track the evolution of the online left. PLUS: Pete Buttigieg's "National Service Program," the changing media landscape, Adam Sandler, and a report for Burlington, Vermont.

Did you know that Nancy Pelosi's daughter Alexandra is a documentary filmmaker? During the 2000 election, she hopped on George W. Bush's campaign bus and chronicled life as a politics reporter... and inadvertently revealed why so much politics journalism is abject trash. This week, we watched JOURNEYS WITH GEORGE (2002) and felt a lot of fear and loathing on this campaign trail. PLUS: the Democratic Party debates, David Foster Wallace, and Stanley Kubrick.

PATREON EXCLUSIVE EPISODE: https://www.patreon.com/posts/27929927 They may be out of fashion, but they're not going gently into that good night. In November 2018, Bill and Hillary Clinton embarked on a stadium tour to discuss The Trump Era. Will & Luke missed out on their notoriously unsuccessful Toronto gig at the time... but thanks to the magic of the internet, now anyone can spend An Evening With the Clintons in Toronto. What do these tribunes of the End of History have to tell us about our modern world? Tune in to find out! PLUS: the state of the 2020 race, and more harsh words for mankind's greatest enemy, Tom Hanks.

Singer. Filmmaker. Talk show host. Energy drink mogul. His name is Frank D'Angelo, and his new movie is the mind-melting cops-and-criminals saga MAKING A DEAL WITH THE DEVIL (2019). Direct from the world premiere, Will & Luke report on the newest offering from one of Canada's most distinctive public figures.

PATREON EXCLUSIVE - https://www.patreon.com/posts/27616625 What if the guy who ate McDonald's for 30 days in SUPER SIZE ME tried to capture Osama Bin Laden? That's the ridiculous gimmick at the heart of WHERE IN THE WORLD IS OSAMA BIN LADEN (2008), a little-loved documentary by the now-disgraced Morgan Spurlock. We injected this ghastly relic of the Bush era straight into our veins. PLUS: we discuss the radical history of Canadian socialist icon Tommy Douglas, and Will reveals how he altered Morgan Spurlock's legacy forever.

Before Brexit, before the "chicken coup," and before Labour's surprising showing in the 2017 British election, newly-minted Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn gave Vice Media unusual access for their short documentary "Jeremy Corbyn: The Outsider." This 2016 time-capsule gives us opportunity to consider where the left-wing leader came from, how he got there, how he's still here, and where he might be going. PLUS: we riff on some listener mail, and discuss Toronto's hottest new gentrifier! "Jeremy Corbyn: The Outsider" - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=94ptAcbfKP0

PATREON EXCLUSIVE: https://www.patreon.com/posts/27271114 Can satire save the republic? Saturday Night Live certainly didn't when they invited then-candidate Donald Trump to host in the fall of 2015. We finally explore one of the pillars of American comedy by examining one of its all-time worst episodes. PLUS: the reactionary politics of one of Britain's best-loved citizens!

In the early 20th century, artists tried to grapple with the trauma of World War I, while regimes in the Soviet Union and Germany sought to use art as a tool of power. Legendary art critic Robert Hughes surveyed dadaism, expressionism, futurism, and the Russian avant-garde in his 1980 BBC documentary series SHOCK OF THE NEW. We ask the age-old question, "Can art inspire social/political change?"... and also ask: "Should it even try?" PLUS: the hosts grapple with the divide between high and low culture, and Luke shares his love of Star Trek.

PATREON EXCLUSIVE: https://www.patreon.com/posts/102-state-of-26935300 We discuss THE ONION MOVIE (2008) was an ill-starred attempt to adapt the beloved satirical newspaper to the big screen. PLUS: "Diamond" Joe Biden, Mystery Science Theater 3000, and the early days of one of Toronto's best-known personalities.

In the middle of the Obama era, Tim Heidecker and Eric Wareheim made a comedy about how our world is a dystopia. America was not ready for TIM AND ERIC'S BILLION DOLLAR MOVIE (2012), but seven years later, it's starting to look like one of the key films of the decade. We discuss shopping-mall culture, irony, and horrifying tales from working in a call centre. "Decker" by Nick Pinkerton - https://www.filmcomment.com/blog/bombast-decker/ "Vic Berger Presents Jim Bakker's Buckets" - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rOH37W0jPpA

We toast to 100 episodes by revisiting the movie that started it all. That's right, folks - let's take another journey on Michael Moore's Slacker Uprising tour. PREMIUM EPISODE: https://www.patreon.com/posts/100-slacker-26583236

The year is 2008. The U.S. presidential election is tied. And the tiebreaking vote comes down to one less-than-average man. That's the ridiculous premise of Kevin Costner's nonpartisan political satire SWING VOTE (2008). PLUS: Mayor Pete, celebs v. bloggers, and the place of the hoi polloi in politics. It's our Unwashed Masses Spectacular!

We dive into what the New York Times has called "the Intellectual Dark Web" by focusing on one of its leading lights: Dave Rubin. We enlist Michael Brooks (host of "The Michael Brooks Show" and contributor to "The Majority Report") to help contextualise Rubin in the continuum of online right-wing commentators. FULL EPISODE: https://www.patreon.com/posts/26221174

Before he was a two-term governor, he was a seven-time Mr. Olympia. We consider Arnold Schwarzenegger through the star-making 1977 documentary PUMPING IRON and discover just how ruthless a self-made man can be. We also explore the wild world of YouTube fitness culture. PLUS: Ilhan Omar and Paul Krugman.

PREMIUM EPISODE: https://www.patreon.com/posts/96-15-minutes-of-25899530 We visit to Judge Judy's courtroom and learn that justice truly is blind. PLUS: we hash out our biggest-ever disagreement.

With the Mueller investigation over, we look back at the one time a president was brought down by dogged investigation into a conspiracy with ALL THE PRESIDENT'S MEN (1976). PLUS: journalism, Bob Woodward, and the Canadian liberal #Resistance. "The Deferential Spirit" by Joan Didion - https://www.nybooks.com/articles/1996/09/19/the-deferential-spirit/ "The Real Working Class is Invisible to the Media" by Luke Savage - https://jacobinmag.com/2019/03/no-longer-newsworthy-review-working-class-media

Thank You for Smoking (2006) Subscribe for premium episodes: www.patreon.com/michaelandus

On the one hand, you've got the destructive excesses of American foreign policy. On the other, you've got... a bunch of slightly-annoying Hollywood libs. Trey Parker and Matt Stone's TEAM AMERICA: WORLD POLICE (2004)took on both targets -- and like most "equal opportunity offenders," it's built on false equivalences. PLUS: we discuss Beto O'Rourke's shiny new candidacy and the dilettanteish creative pursuits of the idle rich.

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We're going back to The End Of History™, and no filmmaker articulated the ambient despair of the '90s quite like Richard Linklater. We look back at his beloved films SLACKER (1991) and DAZED AND CONFUSED (1993) and parse their politics. PLUS: nostalgia, the suburbs, Resistance Twitter, and fiery hot takes on the Oscars.

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Corporations are people, my friend... and so is Governor Mitt Romney. That's the thesis of MITT (2014), a fawning documentary about the Bain Capital founder's two presidential bids. By revealing nothing, this all-access portrait reveals more than it thinks. PLUS: we check in on the original 6ix Dad, and measure the temperature of some 2020 hopefuls.

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In the early 2000s, Rick Mercer -- Canada's own Jon Stewart -- travelled to the United States to ask them about Canada. The resulting comedy special, "Talking to Americans," because a bona fide national phenomenon. We look back at this cultural relic, and Mercer's long-running weekly show "The Mercer Report," to find out what they teach us about our home and native land. Bundle up, folks -- it's our most Canadian episode yet! ANNOUNCEMENT: the MICHAEL AND US podcast is doing a FAN EPISODE. Do YOU have burning questions for Luke and Will? Send your questions to michaelanduspodcast@gmail.com by Tuesday, February 5. Questions will be read on a Patreon-exclusive episode of this podcast: https://www.patreon.com/michaelandus

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In 1968, right-wing William F. Buckley and left-wing Gore Vidal feuded for 10 nights on TV. The 2015 documentary BEST OF ENEMIES suggests these broadcasts led to a coarsening of the culture. The Michael & Us boys interrogate the thesis. PLUS: analyzing the right-wing perspective of the left-wing intellectual tradition; Luke's feud with Peter Hitchens; and tales from the Columbia Journalism School.

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John Travolta stars as a barely-fictionalized Bill Clinton in Mike Nichols' 1998 sorta-satire about how politics crushes idealism. We excavate this once-praised relic from the End of History, and are left with the question: what, exactly, was "idealism" in the Clinton era? "Bridges to Nowhere" by Nathaniel Friedman - https://thebaffler.com/salvos/bridges-to-nowhere-friedman

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Do you think the holidays have drifted too far from Jesus? Conservative superstar Kirk Cameron is here to reassure you that, actually, God is fine with consumerism. For our holiday spectacular, we examine the 2014 essay film KIRK CAMERON'S SAVING CHRISTMAS. New Patreon episode coming this week. "Liberalism in Theory and Practice," by Luke Savage - jacobinmag.com/2018/12/liberalism-theory-practice-obama-trudeau

Evangelical Christianity was the great boogeyman of the George W. Bush era. We revisit the film that helped define it in the liberal imagination, JESUS CAMP (2006), and consider what became of Evangelicals in the Trump era. PLUS: a call for unity against our greatest enemy, Tom Hanks.

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In 2004, a group of liberal comedians and commentators came together to break the conservative monopoly on talk radio. The result was the ill-fated Air America. We watched the candid 2005 HBO documentary LEFT OF THE DIAL to analyze what went wrong. PLUS: Luke reflects on the passing of Harry Leslie Smith. Thank you to listener Will Chapman for the suggestion. Also, apologies that one of the hosts keeps mistaking Randhi Rhodes' name as "Randhi Reid." It was a late night, folks. "Harry Leslie Smith (1923 - 2018)" by Luke Savage - https://jacobinmag.com/2018/11/harry-leslie-smith-nhs-labour-obituary

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"But OK. You want to make my day, huh...?" At the 2012 Republican National Convention, America's most durable movie star confronted an invisible Barack Obama. We revisit the speech that made history. This is some hot bonus content to make up for the fact we didn't post anything last week. NOTE FOR SUBSCRIBERS: A new full-length premium episode is coming this week.

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In our Halloween spooktacular, we look back at the Reagan/Bush era via the Bush/Cheney era via DONNIE DARKO (2001).

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Everything is political, folks -- even the writer/director/star of THE ROOM (2003). Luke and Will re-examine one of their shared passions by watching THE NEIGHBORS -- Mr. Wiseau's little-loved follow-up to his generation-defining "so-bad-it's-good" hit -- and consider the politics of cult cinema and vanity projects. PLUS: "cannabis" mania sweeps Canada! "The Streaming Void" by Judy Berman - https://thebaffler.com/salvos/the-streaming-void-berman PATREON EXCLUSIVE: Will interviews Tommy Wiseau (2011) - https://www.patreon.com/michaelandus

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In his 2013 documentary THE UNKNOWN KNOWN, legendary filmmaker Errol Morris tried to do to Donald Rumsfeld what he did to Robert McNamara in THE FOG OF WAR. Unfortunately, there's no penetrating this empty shell.

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The podcast returns to its roots. We saw the new Michael Moore movie.

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Released shortly before the 2004 election, GOING UPRIVER: THE LONG WAR OF JOHN KERRY was both a rebuttal to the Swift Boat Veterans for Truth, and an attempt to position the Democratic Party nominee as a symbol of the Boomer generation. It had, shall we say, a short shelf life. PLUS: we offer fiery hot takes about Canada's most sinister institution, the Munk Debates.

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Mere months before the events of May 1968, French New Wave figurehead Jean-Luc Godard captured the lighter side of left-wing student revolutionaries with his classic LA CHINOISE (1967). A few years later, he tried to create a new kind of radical leftist cinema with BRITISH SOUNDS (1970). Will and Luke compare these two landmarks in a great artist's political awakening; grapple with the ultimate failure of his political project; and consider the cultural contexts from which they emerged. PLUS: the hosts share harrowing stories of living in the crumbling city of Toronto!

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With Dinesh D'Souza-mania once again sweeping the nation, Will and Luke look back at the newly-pardoned conservative firebrand's 2016 effort HILLARY'S AMERICA: THE SECRET HISTORY OF THE DEMOCRATIC PARTY.

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Television, dancing, drive-in movies... it all leads to sex, and sex leads to the Communist takeover. Director Ron Ormond (a prolific exploitation filmmaker turned Born Again Christian) teamed up with fire-and-brimstone southern preacher Estus Pirkle to create IF FOOTMEN TIRE YOU, WHAT WILL HORSES DO? (1971), an unforgettable Christian anti-Communist propaganda film. We explore how it anticipates the current right-wing panic over "postmodern neomarxism."

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We watched the new HBO special BILL MAHER: LIVE FROM OKLAHOMA (2018) and discussed how Maher represents the worst tendencies of both comedy AND punditry.

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A little-known amateur documentary about the 2004 Democratic Party primaries becomes an excuse for us to meditate on the Howard Dean phenomenon. We watched Heath Eiden's LESSONS FROM AN AMERICAN PRIMARY (also known as DEAN AND ME: ROADSHOW OF AN AMERICAN PRIMARY). See the film here: https://vimeo.com/145356474

Folks, it's time for some Canadian content. Reeling from the disastrous Ontario election, Luke and Will confront their new premier -- Doug "brother of Rob" Ford -- head-on. That's right, folks: it's time to revisit the Ford Brothers' notorious 2014 YouTube show. Please direct all questions and comments to fordnation2014@gmail.com.

Our quest to excavate every piece of cultural detritus from the Bush era continues with a look back at Oliver Stone's weirdly apolitical biopic W. (2008), released less than a month before Obama's election. Luke and Will discuss whether or not George W. Bush is, in fact, a guy they'd like to grab a beer with. PLUS: fiery hot takes about the Ontario provincial election.

What happens when a wealthy entertainer keeps getting dragged on Twitter for his transphobic jokes? In his new Netflix special, Ricky Gervais seeks revenge against the online masses. Luke and Will explore the politics (or lack thereof) of his comedy, and grapple with the difficult experience of watching a beloved artist go bad. "What in God’s Name Happened to Ricky Gervais?" by Brendan James - https://thebaffler.com/latest/what-happened-to-ricky-gervais-james

Ben Stein (of "Bueller...? Bueller...?" fame) goes on a crusade against Darwinism in the godawful 2008 polemic EXPELLED: NO INTELLIGENCE ALLOWED. The boys discuss consider how the film's particular brand of dated Late Bush Era™ conservatism shows traces of today's right-wing Campus Free Speech™ talking-points. This is a bad one, folks! "Conservatism Against Democracy" by Luke Savage - https://www.policyalternatives.ca/publications/monitor/conservatism-against-democracy "Justin Trudeau is waging a phony war against inequality" by Luke Savage - https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2018/may/03/justin-trudeau-phony-war-against-inequality "Revisiting Monty Python" by Will Sloan - https://willsloanesq.wordpress.com/2018/04/16/revisiting-monty-python/

We continue our analysis of libertarian funnymen Trey Parker and Matt Stone by delving into "ManBearPig," "Trapped in the Closet," "I'm a Little Bit Country," and "Something Wall-Mart This Way Comes." PLUS: a report on Toronto's prestigious Real Estate & Bit Coin Wealth Expo featuring Pitbull and Sylvester Stallone!

We begin our multi-part investigation into libertarian bad-boys Trey Parker and Matt Stone with a look back at their 1999 film SOUTH PARK: BIGGER, LONGER & UNCUT. Plus: Luke shares his thoughts on David Frum's new book (spoiler: he didn't like it). "Frumocracy" by Luke Savage - https://jacobinmag.com/2018/03/trumpocracy-david-frum-review-trump-republicans

In 1992, strategists James Carville and George Stephanopoulos changed the way campaigns are waged... or did they??? We revisit THE WAR ROOM (1993), D.A. Pennebaker and Chris Hegedus's acclaimed documentary about the Clinton/Bush election, and remember just how dispiriting the '90s were. "The Rise and Fall of Clintonism" by Ryan Cooper - https://www.thenation.com/article/the-rise-and-fall-of-clintonism/ "Is Trump the New Clinton" by Musa al-Gharbi - https://thebaffler.com/latest/is-trump-the-new-clinton-al-gharbi

Luke and Will welcome back conspiracy expert Alex Ross to discuss the Citizen Kane of 9/11 Truther documentaries, and why it's bad.

What is "good" conservative art? And does it even matter when the result is a movie that turned Chris Kyle into a right-wing saint? Will and Luke welcome writer John Semley to discuss the complicated artistry of Clint Eastwood. Plus: the lads discuss superstar billionaire Elon Musk and Canada's most visible public intellectual. John Semley on Clint Eastwood - https://www.theglobeandmail.com/arts/film/understanding-the-art-and-politics-of-clinteastwood/article37767417/ "Democratize the Universe" - https://www.jacobinmag.com/2015/03/space-industry-extraction-levine

MICHAEL AND US travels east to examine China's most popular political artist, Jackie Chan. Will and Luke watch his Beijing-approved propaganda film CHINESE ZODIAC (2012), about a treasure-hunter who repatriates stolen antiques. "Jackie Chan: The Anti-Ai Weiwei," by Will Sloan - https://hazlitt.net/feature/jackie-chan-anti-ai-weiwei The Important Cinema Club on Jackie Chan - https://soundcloud.com/the-important-cinema-club/100-the-jackie-chan-spectacular

What if Jon Stewart became Bulworth, but was played by Robin Williams? We excavated Barry Levinson's nonpartisan satire MAN OF THE YEAR (2006) from its Bush-era grave. Luke's article "The Curse of Bipartisanship" for Current Affairs - https://www.currentaffairs.org/2018/01/the-curse-of-bipartisanship

The hosts take a break from cinema to enjoy 90 minutes of spirited debate with two great candidates! Travel back to 2004 to revisit the beating heart of the MICHAEL & US cosmos: the first presidential debate between George W. Bush and John Kerry.

He was voted the seventh-greatest Canadian in a poll by the CBC. He is one of Canada's most beloved broadcasters. He is godawful. In the long-promised second part of their Canada 150 celebration, Will and Luke consider the legacy of Don Cherry and watch the 2012 made-for-TV biopic WRATH OF GRAPES: THE DON CHERRY STORY II.

In summer 2017, a fresh-faced socialist MP by the name of Jeremy Corbyn shocked the world by overcoming intra-party hostility to snatch away Theresa May's foreordained parliamentary majority. The BBC documentary LABOUR - THE SUMMER THAT CHANGED EVERYTHING winds up being both a chronicle of a surprising election and a meta-commentary on the media's role in politics.

The hosts revisit the 2006 documentary RALPH NADER: AN UNREASONABLE MAN in a post-Bernie Sanders world and discuss the virtues and limitations of Nader's 2000 presidential campaign. They also ponder the question: did Nader cost Gore the 2000 election? (Answer: no) "Why Bernie Sanders was right to run as a Democrat," a Washington Post op-ed by Nader - https://www.washingtonpost.com/posteverything/wp/2016/03/25/ralph-nader-why-bernie-sanders-was-right-to-run-as-a-democrat/ Joseph Uranowski's MICHAEL & US Bingo Sheet - now sweeping the nation! - https://twitter.com/Uranowski/status/925844903816556546

Our heroes revisit the impossibly candid 2016 documentary WEINER and ask: how did Anthony Weiner flame out while Donald Trump survived?

Past guest Alex Ross returns to the podcast to discuss the "1984" of the Bush era, V FOR VENDETTA. Plus: our heroes analyze the McDonalds/Szechuan sauce controversy

In the waning days of the Reagan administration, it took "Rowdy" Roddy Piper to expose the rot at the heart of America. Will and Luke welcome back Film Comment's Violet Lucca to discuss John Carpenter's left-wing exploitation classic THEY LIVE (1988). Plus: Will describes his adventure seeing Michael Moore's THE TERMS OF MY SURRENDER on Broadway. And it all leads to a freewheeling discussion about left-wing criticism and corporate culture.

With the Rebel Media imploding and Steve Bannon returning to Breitbart, the hosts of MICHAEL & US look back at the heyday of another #FakeNews boogeyman, Fox News. They watch Robert Greenwald's 2004 exposé OUTFOXED: RUPERT MURDOCH'S WAR ON JOURNALISM.

The U.S. may or may not be at war with North Korea by the time you read this, but folks, nothing stops the MICHAEL AND US podcast. On this episode, our heroes look at Sergei Eisenstein's Soviet propaganda classic.

As the Russia scandal continues to plague the White House, Will and Luke check in on the recent cinematic work of honorary Russian citizen/friend of Vladimir Putin/Aikido Ace, Steven Seagal. They watch his low-budget DEATH WISH-for-the-Trump-era action film CODE OF HONOR (2016).

Every generation gets the Archie Bunker it deserves, folks. The recent cancellation of Tim Allen's right-wing sitcom LAST MAN STANDING sent shockwaves through the conservative blogosphere. Will and Luke take a many tour through the most popular TV show you've never heard of.

Before The West Wing, before The Newsroom, before Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip, there was The American President. Will and Luke revisit this Aaron Sorkin-scripted Oval Office romantic comedy from the Clinton era, and look for the seeds of Sorkin's later work.

Is this the movie that predicted both Donald Trump and Fox News? Will and Luke travel to Lonesome Rhodes's Cracker Barrel to watch A FACE IN THE CROWD, from legendary filmmaker and rat Elia Kazan.

Will and Luke begin their celebration of Canada's 150th birthday with a look back at the most talked-about Canadian film of the century. The reminisce about the late Toronto mayor Rob Ford, and their nostalgic journey takes them through Ford ephemera like FILTH CITY (a recent, Ford-inspired feature film) and the first episode of Sun News's short-lived FORD NATION. It's a jumbo-sized discussion of all things Ford!

While Alex Jones is stuck in family court, Will, Luke, and special guest Alex Ross examine the InfoWars pundit's career. They look at the 2009 documentary THE OBAMA DECEPTION, plus the 2001 episode of Jon Ronson's THE SECRET RULERS OF THE WORLD chronicling Jones's trip to Bohemian Grove. You will never defeat the human spirit! EVER!!!!!!!!!

In 2006, Sacha Baron Cohen sought to expose the dark heart of Bush-era America. Will and Luke are joined by Violet Lucca (Digital Producer at Film Comment) on this journey back to Kazakhstan. "Ma waaaiiiffe."

This was inevitable.

"Is Nolan equating the legit protest of Occupy Wall Street with Bane's terrorism? You be the judge." - Peter Travers, Rolling Stone

After departing Vice Media, but before becoming an alt-right superstar, ageing provocateur Gavin McInnes tried his hand at filmmaking. Will and Luke examine 2013's HOW TO BE A MAN (co-written by and starring McInnes) for seeds of the alt-right, and try to account for this dreary goofball's appeal.

In 1940, Charlie Chaplin put his fame and money on the line to satirize Hitler. Will and Luke consider this beloved classic within the context of... (*wait for it*)... the Trump era.

Our heroes return to the cinematic canon of Stephen K. Bannon with an analysis of his 2010 financial-crisis documentary GENERATION ZERO. It's the right-wing version of HYPERNORMALISATION you never knew you needed!

In their first episode of the Trump administration, Will and Luke explore their complicated feelings towards beloved liberal comic/pundit Jon Stewart. They explore "The Rally to Restore Sanity" and Stewart's 2014 directorial debut ROSEWATER.

In the waning days of the Bush era, at the height of the New Atheist movement, liberal firebrand Bill Maher travelled the world to mock the faithful, and left a trail of smugness in his wake. Will and Luke spent a lot of time talking about "Rogue One" to delay talking about this wretched film.

Will and Luke travel back to 1915 to examine the grandaddy of political cinema. It's very racist.

Sarah Palin: the next President of the United States? The idea was vaguely plausible in 2011, when Steve Bannon -- yes, that Steve Bannon -- directed this documentary hagiography about the Alaskan governor's rise to prominence. Will and Luke try to find the seeds of Trumpism in this rightly forgotten film. Also, apologies for the overblown audio in most of this episode -- like a certain former governor of Alaska, I am an incompetent doofus.

Will and Luke have heard the weary cries of a nation. Like Bruce Wayne escaping Bane's hell-pit, they are back to provide a beleaguered world with much-needed healing. In their first episode of the post-Michael Moore era, they look at the most famous propaganda film of all time. Does the name "Donald Trump" come up? All will be revealed...

Every hero has a journey. Every journey has an end. As if anticipating the FINAL EPISODE of this podcast, Michael Moore dropped a brand new film about Donald Trump, Hillary Clinton, and America on the eve of an election. Will and Luke watched MICHAEL MOORE IN TRUMPLAND, and feverishly debate whether it was better or worse than SLACKER UPRISING.

A kinder, gentler Michael Moore invades Europe in his final documentary to date. Will and Luke took an extra long time this week detailing why they didn't care for it. Incredibly, this is not the final episode...

Did you know that Michael Moore acted in a John Travolta/Lisa Kudrow comedy? Or that he made a sequel to ROGER & ME? Or that he directed a Rage Against the Machine music video? This week, Will and Luke dive into the dark matter of Moore's career, dredging up LUCKY NUMBERS (2000), PETS OR MEAT: THE RETURN TO FLINT (1992), and the "Sleep Now in the Fire" video.

Will and Luke venture one last time into the world of right-wing anti-Michael Moore documentaries. This week, they look at CELSIUS 41.11: THE TEMPERATURE AT WHICH THE BRAIN... BEGINS TO DIE, a rightfully forgotten rebuttal to FAHRENHEIT 9/11 produced by Citizens United (yes, THAT Citizens United). Plus: they launch an earnest campaign to get Michael Moore on the show.

Will and Luke go back to the end of the end of history, when George W. Bush and Al Gore were battling for the presidency, to examine the second and final season of Michael Moore's "The Awful Truth." Also, Luke recounts how he exposed the dark heart of the @MeanwhileInCan Twitter account.

Will and Luke venture into Michael Moore's TV work and revisit the first season of The Awful Truth. Get ready to think about the Clinton/Lewinsky scandal again!

Michael Moore's period of relevance wheezes to a conclusion with 2009's CAPITALISM: A LOVE STORY, which examines the decline of the American empire one year after the financial collapse and two years before Occupy Wall Street. After struggling mightily to muster the energy to revisit this film, Will and Luke conclude that it is (for better and worse)a career-summing work.

Believe it or not, there was once a time when Michael Moore was a thing that people cared about very deeply. In 2004, just weeks before the re-election of George W. Bush, a Mormon college in Utah Valley was engulfed in outrage when it invited our friend from Flint to deliver a speech. This week, Will and Luke dig up THIS DIVIDED STATE, a documentary about the controversy, and consider what it says about the nature of political discourse. They also do a dramatic reading of one of Michael Moore's horrible 2016-era blog posts.

In the waning days of the Bush administration, AIRPLANE/NAKED GUN creator turned 9/11 Republican David Zucker took satiric aim at Michael Moore. But does AN AMERICAN CAROL (2008), starring Chris Farley's brother and a host of right-wing celebrities, bring the laffs? Will and Luke are on the case. (Spoiler: good lord, it's terrible)

After several weeks in the Republican wilderness, Will and Luke finally return to the oeuvre of Michael Moore. They watched his 2007 universal healthcare polemic SICKO, and in an astonishing turn of events, actually kinda liked it.

This week, our heroes watch another anti-Moore documentary, but this one was made by liberals! (Ostensibly). But despite appearances by Noam Chomsky, Christopher Hitchens, and Ralph Nader, MANUFACTURING DISSENT is the worst movie that Will and Luke have yet endured for this misbegotten podcast.

In this special bonus episode, Will and Luke are joined by returning guest Chris Berube to explore the most financially successful right-wing documentary of the post-Michael Moore age. It's the movie that, according to its maker, swayed 1 million votes to Mitt Romney* and landed its director in prison**. It's 2016: OBAMA'S AMERICA, by the one and only Dinesh D'Souza. *Almost certainly untrue **He was actually indicted for campaign finance law violations

Will and Luke continue their voyage through the anti-Michael Moore documentaries of the mid-2000s with MICHAEL MOORE HATES AMERICA, a Michael Moore-style documentary about Michael Moore himself. Filmmaker Michael Wilson travels the country in pursuit of an interview with Moore, but discovers America instead. Along the way, he haplessly tries to explain to Albert Maysles why the title "MICHAEL MOORE HATES AMERICA" is actually a satiric comment on 2004-era political discourse; ambushes Dinesh D'Souza; and listens raptly to our modern Cicero, Penn Jillette. Holy crap, this movie is terrible.

Luke and Will take a detour from the Michael Moore canon to begin a three-week exploration of the anti-Moore documentaries released in the immediate wake of FAHRENHEIT 9/11. First up: FAHRENHYPE 9/11, a straight-to-video rebuttal documentary starring a who's-who of 2004-era neoconservatism. Incredibly enough, it's not very good.

George W. Bush. Lila Lipscomb. James Bath. Britney Spears. Yes, friends - this week, Will and Luke are taking you back to the heady days of 2004, when America's fate hung in the balance and Michael Moore was one of the most talked-about men in the world. Yes, this is the episode you've been waiting for. It's time to let the eagle soar. It's time for FAHRENHEIT 9/11.

It was the movie that blew our heroes' minds when they were teenagers - but does it hold up? This week, Will Sloan, Luke Savage, and special guest Chris Berube revisit Michael Moore's Oscar-winning BOWLING FOR COLUMBINE. These three Canadians will unlock the doors... of your hearts.

Michael Moore went from chronicling the downfall of Flint, Michigan to documenting his own friggin book tour in THE BIG ONE, his first feature-length documentary after ROGER & ME. Will and Luke discover that this forgotten relic of the Clinton era is forgotten for a reason, but still find plenty to say about neoliberalism, film marketing, and their own wasted Friday night. PLUS: our heroes pinpoint possibly the worst scene(s) in any Michael Moore movie.

Will and Luke's depressing journey through the oeuvre of Michael Moore makes an obligatory stop at the master's one and only fiction film. Our heroes dig up a poorly-regarded and mostly forgotten comedy from 20+ years ago only to bury it all over again. In the process, they explore its class politics, its post-Gulf War media satire, and its status as a Clinton-era "End of History" relic.

Will and Luke go back to the beginning and revisit arguably the only Michael Moore film that a sensible person might still watch in the year 2016.

The adventure begins as Will Sloan and Luke Savage revisit Michael Moore's little-seen documentary about his 2004 "Slacker Uprising" tour.