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Michael and Us

Michael and Us

Luke Savage and Will Sloan

Tv & Film

4.6 • 668 Ratings

Overview

A podcast about culture, politics, and our crumbl…

522 Episodes

PREVIEW - #642 - Penn and Teller's Bullshit

In the 2000s, there was one form of political iconoclasm that was guaranteed to never get you in any trouble, and it was called libertarianism. At the behest of our Superdelegate patron tier, we return to... (deep, heavy sigh)... PENN & TELLER: BULLSHIT!, with special attention to the episodes "College" and "Safety Hysteria," and remember a popular form of "skepticism" that sounds an awful lot like just being a Republican. PATREON-EXCLUSIVE EPISODE - https://www.patreon.com/posts/135327052

Transcribed - Published: 30 July 2025

#641 - Every Man for Himself and God Against All

In Werner Herzog's INTO THE INFERNO (2016), a self-described cinematic poet teams with a Cambridge scientist for a documentary about volcanos that marries scientific inquiry with a healthy respect for myth and legend. And we also get to visit North Korea. PLUS: Who is the greatest podcaster of all time? Join us on Patreon for an extra episode every week - https://www.patreon.com/michaelandus

Transcribed - Published: 25 July 2025

PREVIEW - #640 - Discretionary Time (Newsroom Part 16)

The timeline of Aaron Sorkin's THE NEWSROOM is getting further and further into the 2012 presidential election... so it only makes sense that Season 2 Episode 6 ("One Step Too Many") is the horniest episode yet! We catch up on some shocking developments in the "Genoa tip," and find out the true meaning of "discretionary time." PATREON-EXCLUSIVE EPISODE - https://www.patreon.com/posts/640-time-part-16-134860722

Transcribed - Published: 24 July 2025

#639 - Let There Be Light

A superstar atheist has a near-death experience and becomes a born-again Christian in LET THERE BE LIGHT (2017), the directorial debut of Kevin Sorbo. We take a spiritual journey that leads us to the same destination as any other: to an ad for an app. Join us on Patreon for an extra episode every week - https://www.patreon.com/michaelandus

Transcribed - Published: 19 July 2025

#639 - Pod is Not Great

A superstar atheist has a near-death experience and becomes a born-again Christian in LET THERE BE LIGHT (2017), the directorial debut of Kevin Sorbo. We take a spiritual journey that leads us to the same destination as any other: to an ad for an app. Join us on Patreon for an extra episode every week - https://www.patreon.com/michaelandus

Transcribed - Published: 19 July 2025

PREVIEW - #638 - Class of '68

In a tumultuous year of American history, Frederick Wiseman's cinéma vérité classic HIGH SCHOOL (1968) depicts an ordinary Philadelphia school as a system of authority and repression. Some things never change! PLUS: Grok has been saying some unfortunate things lately. PATREON-EXCLUSIVE EPISODE - https://www.patreon.com/posts/134229948

Transcribed - Published: 16 July 2025

#637 - Approved by the Angel Guild

Angel Studios, the company that gave you Sound of Freedom, has become a major player in the faith-based movie market... so we wanted to check out one of their movies that's NOT about child trafficking. So we watched Neal McDonough's THE LAST RODEO (2025), and found some interesting new developments in the Christian movie world. PLUS: Catching up on recent events - Zohran Mamdani! Jeffrey Epstein! And of course, that Big, Beautiful Bill! Join us on Patreon for an extra episode every week - https://www.patreon.com/michaelandus Our episode on Sound of Freedom - https://www.patreon.com/posts/448-sound-of-87093158 TORONTO: See Will introduce Detour on July 15 - https://www.foxtheatre.ca/movies/the-important-cinema-club-masterpiece-classics-detour-1945/ SEATTLE: See Will present an Ed Wood double feature on July 25 - https://thebeacon.film/calendar/movie/ed-wood-made-in-hollywood-usa-w-will-sloan

Transcribed - Published: 11 July 2025

PREVIEW - #636 - Righteous Daughters of Jihadi Excellence (Newsroom Part 15)

From war crimes overseas to revenge porn at home, it all comes back to social media. In Season 2 episode 5 of THE NEWSROOM ("News Night with Will McAvoy"), a dizzying number of Twitter- and Buzzfeed-related plots swirl around a single broadcast... and there's still a little time for a Trayvon Martin subplot, too. PATREON-EXCLUSIVE EPISODE - https://www.patreon.com/posts/636-righteous-of-133446350

Transcribed - Published: 11 July 2025

#635 - Fall of the Dinosaur Hour

In our last (for now) dive into John Cleese's bizarre centrist chat-show THE DINOSAUR HOUR, our host find himself flummoxed by the unabashedly right-wing politics of special guest Caitlyn Jenner. We saved the best for last! Follow long at home - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GnYS6TxmLmc&t=1642s&ab_channel=GBNews Join us on Patreon for an extra episode every week - https://www.patreon.com/michaelandus

Transcribed - Published: 30 June 2025

PREVIEW - #634 - Old Skin on the New Rules

We all know where Bill Maher stands on the issues nowadays... but where was the bleeding edge of the centre-left in the Iraq War era? We dug up his Bush-era special BILL MAHER: VICTORY BEGINS AT HOME (2003) to investigate. PLUS: Remember Bruce Lee? He's back - in A.I. form! PATREON-EXCLUSIVE EPISODE - https://www.patreon.com/posts/132304807

Transcribed - Published: 25 June 2025

#633 - More Than Enough to Stream at Home

As Torontonians, we couldn't pass up the chance to watch Netflix's new documentary about our ex-mayor, the late Rob Ford. But while TRAINWRECK: MAYOR OF MAYHEM (2025) collects most of the classic Ford moments into one slick package, it leaves the real meaning of Ford on the margins. PLUS: Has the consent-manufacturing industry seemed a bit weak these days to you? Join us on Patreon for an extra episode every week - https://www.patreon.com/michaelandus "Farewell to Ford Nation?" by Luke Savage - https://jacobin.com/2016/03/rob-ford-toronto-canada-mayor-austerity "I Just Got Back From the Centrist Rally. It Was Weird as Hell" by Aída Chávez - https://www.thenation.com/article/politics/welcomefest-dispatch-centrism-abundance/

Transcribed - Published: 20 June 2025

PREVIEW - #632 - Blonde on Blonde (Newsroom Part 14)

In Episode 14 of THE NEWSROOM ("Unintended Consequences"), we get to hear what Will McAvoy REALLY thinks about this whole Occupy Wall Street business, and it doesn't disappoint - unlike the rest of the episode. PLUS: George W. Bush's movie taste revealed! PATREON-EXCLUSIVE EPISODE - https://www.patreon.com/posts/131797776

Transcribed - Published: 19 June 2025

#631 - Rhapsody in Neon

We continue our informal retrospective of dirty-looking New York movies with the Safdie Brothers' GOOD TIME (2017), a rare modern NYC movie that shows what the city really looks like. PLUS: Checking in on the New York mayoral race, and a challenging question about a prominent Canadian celebrity. Join us on Patreon for an extra episode every week - https://www.patreon.com/michaelandus The David Cayley podcast archive - https://www.davidcayley.com/podcasts

Transcribed - Published: 15 June 2025

PREVIEW - #630 - The Day the Clapter Died

It's time to unload on one of our favourite guys. It's time for the long-awaited deep-dive into the comedy albums of the King of the K-Hive, Greg Proops. PATREON-EXCLUSIVE EPISODE - https://www.patreon.com/posts/131273255

Transcribed - Published: 12 June 2025

#629 - Slow Train Coming

With a high-profile mayoral election on the horizon in Da Big Apple, we're in a New York frame of mind on this episode. We were also in the mood for a good-ass movie, so we watched THE TAKING OF PELHAM ONE TWO THREE (1974), the subway-set New York heist classic where everyone is ugly and annoyed. PLUS: We check in on everyone's favourite disgraced Manhattan politician. Join us on Patreon for an extra episode every week - https://www.patreon.com/michaelandus "The Paucity of Abundance" by Luke Savage - https://www.lukewsavage.com/p/the-paucity-of-abundance "The Parable of a Communally-Bought Lot" by Freddie deBoer - https://freddiedeboer.substack.com/p/the-parable-of-a-communally-bought

Transcribed - Published: 6 June 2025

PREVIEW - #628 - The Ballad of Willie Pete (Newsroom Part 13)

Will and Luke hash out their differences w/r/t appreciating Aaron Sorkin as they tackle Season 2 Episode 3 of THE NEWSROOM ("Willie Pete"), which offers a surprisingly cogent critique of "the boys on the bus" as well as a lot more of Sorkin's peculiar gender politics. PLUS: We check in on our favourite Who's Line is it Anyway cast member. PATREON-EXCLUSIVE EPISODE - https://www.patreon.com/posts/628-ballad-of-13-130688755

Transcribed - Published: 6 June 2025

#627 - Fully-Automated Luxury Partner

A little over a decade ago, Spike Jonze's HER (2013) imagined a world where artificial intelligence had progressed to the point where a man might strike up a plausible romance with Siri. We check in on its dystopian (?) vision to see what about it has come true, and in what way. PLUS: Doing a vibe check on "the 51st state," and an upsetting update about our favourite band. Join us on Patreon for an extra episode every week - https://www.patreon.com/michaelandus DALLAS - See Will (virtually) introduce Glen or Glenda at the Spacy Microcinema on June 19 - https://www.spacydtx.com/list/evan-gordon-presents-glen-or-glenda SEATTLE - See Will present an Ed Wood double feature at the Beacon Theater on July 25 - https://thebeacon.film/calendar/movie/ed-wood-made-in-hollywood-usa-w-will-sloan Subscribe to Luke's Substack - https://www.lukewsavage.com/

Transcribed - Published: 2 June 2025

PREVIEW - #626 - Metaquest (w/ Wendy Liu)

At some point in the 15 years since its release, THE SOCIAL NETWORK (2010) became a historical document. We're joined by our official Silicon Valley correspondent Wendy Liu to discuss why its complicated perspective on startup culture resonated so strongly, and what the passage of time has revealed about people like Zuckerberg. And of course, we get into the Aaron Sorkin of it all. PATREON-EXCLUSIVE EPISODE - https://www.patreon.com/posts/130141170

Transcribed - Published: 29 May 2025

#625 - Due Process (Newsroom Part 12)

When the Twin Towers fell on that September day, who was there to comfort us? In Season 2, Episode 2 of THE NEWSROOM ("The Genoa Tip"), we learn that it was - of course - Will McAvoy. We also learn a little more about his Republican politics in this complicated episode. PLUS: We pay tribute to a fallen superstar of the podcast, and Will explains to Luke what THE ROCK (Michael Bay, 1996) is. JOIN US ON PATREON FOR AN EXTRA EPISODE EVERY WEEK - https://www.patreon.com/michaelandus Catch up on our coverage of Season 1 of The Newsroom with this handy playlist - https://www.patreon.com/collection/1429433

Transcribed - Published: 25 May 2025

PREVIEW - #624 - Twilight of the Dinosaur Hour

We return to one of our favourite topics: John Cleese's baffling GB News chat show THE DINOSAUR HOUR. In this episode, John and a panel of cranks and reactionaries try to define "woke," and we find that we've entered exactly the right room for an argument. PATREON-EXCLUSIVE EPISODE - https://www.patreon.com/posts/624-twilight-of-129612151

Transcribed - Published: 22 May 2025

#623 - Occupy Sorkin (Newsroom Part 11)

After a healthy break, we finally return to Aaron Sorkin's THE NEWSROOM. In the first episode of season two ("First Thing We Do, Let's Kill All the Lawyers"), we find Will McAvoy and his team learning of a movement to Occupy Wall Street and debating the ethics of predator drones. PLUS: A roundup of American politics news, including David Hogg, Joe Biden, and a Woodstock for centrists. Join us on Patreon for an extra episode every week - https://www.patreon.com/michaelandus Catch up on our coverage of The Newsroom's first season - https://www.patreon.com/collection/1429433 See Luke interview Grace Blakeley at the 2025 Ellen Meiksins Wood Lecture on May 20 - https://broadbentinstitute.ca/events/2025-ellen-meiksins-wood-lecture/ Subscribe to Luke's Substack - https://www.lukewsavage.com/ Will's book Ed Wood: Made in Hollywood USA - https://orbooks.com/catalog/ed-wood/

Transcribed - Published: 16 May 2025

PREVIEW - #622 - Highbrow Anxiety (w/ Alex Ross)

It's time to go dumpster diving in the wreckage of 2010s internet culture! Will is joined by Alex Ross to discuss THE CINEMA SNOB MOVIE (2012), a vehicle for infamous Channel Awesome contributor Brand Jones that takes a stand against highbrow cinephilia. We remember its unique strain of anti-intellectual faux-populism so you don't have to! PATREON-EXCLUSIVE EPISODE - https://www.patreon.com/posts/128722242

Transcribed - Published: 12 May 2025

PREVIEW - #621 - Three Jolly Fisherman

In the suburbs of Toronto in the 1960s, a group home for emotionally troubled youth specialized in a wildly experimental form to treatment. We discuss Allan King's cinéma vérité classic WARRENDALE (1967), in which the camera is nearly as intimate as the therapy. PLUS: Louis Theroux visits Israeli settlers, and why can't Pink Floyd just get along? PATREON-EXCLUSIVE EPISODE - https://www.patreon.com/posts/128199756

Transcribed - Published: 5 May 2025

#620 - Creation In Pectore

In last year's Oscar contender CONCLAVE (2024), the election of a new pope at Vatican City becomes a centrist parable for navigating an era of political extremes. PLUS: We recap the strangest Canadian election of the century so far. Join us on Patreon for an extra episode every week - https://www.patreon.com/michaelandus Check out Will's book Ed Wood: Made in Hollywood USA - https://orbooks.com/catalog/ed-wood/ Subscribe to Luke's Substack - https://www.lukewsavage.com/ "Conclave, and the liberal abyss," by Reuben of Haringey - https://fromthisbrokenhill.substack.com/p/conclave-and-the-liberal-abyss

Transcribed - Published: 2 May 2025

#619 - A Celebration of Specialness

In the delightful TRUE STORIES (1986), David Byrne offered a whimsical view of the late Reagan era through the lens of a fictional Texas town. We consider the politics - or lack thereof - of Byrne's Warholian gaze on America and Her Problems. PLUS: Checking in Thomas Friedman. Join us on Patreon for an extra episode every week - https://www.patreon.com/michaelandus "David Byrne on True Stories" by Kory Grow - https://www.rollingstone.com/tv-movies/tv-movie-features/david-byrne-true-stories-interview-754919/ "David Byrne’s History Of Avoiding Unions Dates Back To The 1980s" by Daniel Marans - https://www.huffpost.com/entry/david-byrne-history-of-union-avoidance_n_647e6c0fe4b0047ed782e1ad

Transcribed - Published: 30 April 2025

PREVIEW - #618 - That Barton Fink Feeling

A socially-conscious East Coast playwright gets a taste of Hollywood in BARTON FINK (1991). We discuss Barton, Madman Mundt, and "the common man." PLUS: One last check-in on the Canadian election. PATREON-EXCLUSIVE EPISODE - https://www.patreon.com/posts/127528125

Transcribed - Published: 26 April 2025

PREVIEW - #617 - No Country for Little Tramps

In this solo documentary episode, Will considers the events that led to Charlie Chaplin's political exile from the United States in 1952, and the lessons he offers for the current era of neo-McCarthyism. PATREON-EXCLUSIVE EPISODE - https://www.patreon.com/posts/127261077

Transcribed - Published: 23 April 2025

#616 - When the Whistle Blows

Sure, he's incredibly annoying now, but how funny was Ricky Gervais in his prime? We return to our old mandate of interrogating things we liked when we were teenagers by revisiting his acclaimed sitcom EXTRAS and its Christmas Special. PLUS: Did you know that Will wrote a book? Join us on Patreon for an extra episode every week - https://www.patreon.com/michaelandus Pre-order Will's book ED WOOD: MADE IN HOLLYWOOD USA - https://orbooks.com/catalog/ed-wood/ While you're there, why not also order Luke's book THE DEAD CENTER? - https://orbooks.com/catalog/the-dead-center/ "The British Monarchy Will Not Survive Late Capitalism — And Harry and Meghan Are Proof" by Luke Savage - https://jacobin.com/2021/03/british-monarchy-neoliberal-age-prince-harry-meghan-markle

Transcribed - Published: 21 April 2025

PREVIEW - #615 - Vengeance Must Be Profound

In LONDON HAS FALLEN (2016), Gerard Butler has to save both the American President AND Great Britain from Middle Eastern terrorists... and ends up killing a lot of people who may or may not be cops! PLUS: Damn, it's a great time to be a Columbia University alum! PATREON-EXCLUSIVE EPISODE - https://www.patreon.com/posts/126894013

Transcribed - Published: 17 April 2025

#614 - Record of a Tenement Gentleman

Made in the rubble of postwar Japan, RECORD OF A TENEMENT GENTLEMAN (1947) finds YasujirĹŤ Ozu exploring his familiar preoccupations of family and modernity through a different kind of setting. PLUS: Is the Canadian election a done deal? Join us on Patreon for an extra episode every week - https://www.patreon.com/michaelandus

Transcribed - Published: 12 April 2025

PREVIEW - #613 - The Paucity of Hope

In the summer of 2016, with a guaranteed Hillary Clinton presidency was on the horizon, the Obama Era enjoyed a premature victory-lap with SOUTHSIDE WITH YOU (2016). Seen nine years later, this Sundance drama about the Obamas' first date has, shall we say, aged poorly. PLUS: Did you know that Elon Musk's family has a (very racist) Canadian connection? PATREON-EXCLUSIV EPISODE - https://www.patreon.com/posts/126209063

Transcribed - Published: 8 April 2025

#612 - The Classical Work That All of Us Have Done

In 2011, William Shatner directed a documentary where he interviewed all of his fellow Star Trek captains. But the resulting film, THE CAPTAINS (2011), accidentally became the beloved ham's hilarious, revealing, and occasionally moving self-portrait. PLUS: How the Trump tariffs upended Canadian politics. Join us on Patreon for an extra episode every week - https://www.patreon.com/michaelandus The Newsroom: Season 1 - A Michael & Us Playlist - https://www.patreon.com/collection/1429433 TORONTO: See Will introduce VEERANA at the Fox Theatre on Tuesday, April 8 - https://www.foxtheatre.ca/movies/important-cinema-club-masterpiece-classics-veerana/

Transcribed - Published: 5 April 2025

PREVIEW - #611 - Technology and Empire

In a moment when Canada is under existential threat, we look back on a great Canadian thinker who argued that Our Home and Native Land was already an American colony by the mid-20th century. In this special solo episode, Luke discusses George Grant, a self-described conservative who became an icon for the Canadian left, and his 1965 book "Lament for a Nation" PATREON-EXCLUSIVE EPISODE - https://www.patreon.com/posts/125887028

Transcribed - Published: 3 April 2025

#610 - The Greater Fool (Newsroom Part 10)

In the SEASON FINALE of our coverage of Aaron Sorkin's THE NEWSROOM, we find the show's many threads continuing, if not coalescing, in Episode 10 ("The Greater Fool"). We assess where the show has taken us so far, and assess the good (not much) and the bad (plenty). Join us on Patreon for an extra episode every week - https://www.patreon.com/michaelandus "The End of Resistance History" by Charlotte E. Rosen - https://proteanmag.com/2025/01/20/the-end-of-resistance-history/

Transcribed - Published: 1 April 2025

PREVIEW - #609 - Gather Ye Rosebuds (Newsroom Part 9

What if presidential candidates had to submit to a REAL debate with REAL questions? What if they had to face the most hectoring moderator of all tie? In episode 9 of THE NEWSROOM ("The Blackout Part II: Mock Debate"), Will McAvoy tests out that very idea. PATREON-EXCLUSIVE EPISODE - https://www.patreon.com/posts/125384007

Transcribed - Published: 28 March 2025

#608 - Freedom Dues

In THE SPOOK WHO SAT BY THE DOOR (1973), a black man hired as a "token" by the CIA uses his training to start a black nationalist uprising. It couldn't be a more apt time to revisit this classic of radical American cinema. PLUS: Who's excited for the Abundance Agenda? Join us on Patreon for an extra episode every week - https://www.patreon.com/michaelandus "On the Legacy and Importance of The Spook Who Sat by the Door" by Robert Daniels - https://www.rogerebert.com/festivals/ciff-2024-on-the-legacy-and-importance-of-the-spook-who-sat-by-the-door "Zaslav's Hamptons-Hollywood Vanity Project" by Matthew Belloni - https://puck.news/zaslavs-hamptons-hollywood-vanity-project/ "Leak Reveals Trump’s Full Bonkers Plan for the Kennedy Center" - https://www.thedailybeast.com/leak-reveals-trumps-full-bonkers-plan-for-the-kennedy-center/ Luke's interview with Benjamin Teitelbaum - https://www.patreon.com/posts/interview-putins-64721929 "Radical Academics for the Status Quo" by Liza Featherstone - https://jacobin.com/2019/12/radical-academics-judith-butler-kamala-harris-donation

Transcribed - Published: 23 March 2025

PREVIEW - #607 - The Passion of Nancy Grace (Newsroom Part 8)

Episode 8 of THE NEWSROOM ("The Blackout, Part 1: Tragedy Porn") finds Aaron Sorkin considering media ethics through lens of three 2011-era scandals of varying magnitude: Anthony Weiner, Casey Anthony, and NSA surveillance. His conclusions find him returning to some pet grievances. PATREON-EXCLUSIVE EPISODE - https://www.patreon.com/posts/124709344

Transcribed - Published: 17 March 2025

#606 - Sound of Freedom Fries

From immigration anxieties to "enhanced interrogation" to globalism to elite sex trafficking, TAKEN (2008) is a virtual dictionary of right-wing grievances - including some that weren't even popular yet. We discuss the most entertaining reactionary action movie of its time. PLUS: Mark Carney, Mahmoud Khalil, Mel Gibson, and of course, Donald Trump. Join us on Patreon for an extra episode every week - https://www.patreon.com/michaelandus See Will present VEERANA at the Fox Theatre on April 8 at 9pm - https://www.foxtheatre.ca/movies/important-cinema-club-masterpiece-classics-veerana/ Luke's Substack - https://www.lukewsavage.com/

Transcribed - Published: 13 March 2025

PREVIEW - #605 - Fahrenheit 5/11 (Newsroom Part 7)

We finally arrive at the legendary Bin Laden episode of THE NEWSROOM ("5/11") and discover that surrounding that iconic clip on the airplane is Aaron Sorkin's most revealing meditation yet on what he thinks journalism should be. PATREON-EXCLUSIVE EPISODE - https://www.patreon.com/posts/124082719

Transcribed - Published: 10 March 2025

#604 - Prestige Slop, Part 2

We return to Netflix's political miniseries ZERO DAY to find out what happened to Robert De Niro's Biden-ish ex-president... and discover something startlingly close to a liberal QAnon. PLUS: Well it turns out the U.S./Canada trade war is on! Join us on Patreon for an extra episode every week - https://www.patreon.com/michaelandus "Is Lenny Bruce Funny?" by Will Sloan - https://hazlitt.net/feature/lenny-bruce-funny

Transcribed - Published: 5 March 2025

PREVIEW - #603 - Hail, Coens!

The Coen Brothers' BURN AFTER READING (2008) offers a jaundiced take on Washington and its institutions at the tail end of the Bush era. We were in a desperate need of a good time, and the Coen Brothers can always be depended on to deliver. PLUS: Chinese blockbusters vs. American blockbusters - who will own this century? PATREON-EXCLUSIVE EPISODE - https://www.patreon.com/posts/123667636

Transcribed - Published: 4 March 2025

#602 - Prestige Slop

Imagine someone fed the last 10-or-so years of American liberal politics into an A.I. machine and told it to create a Netflix miniseries. Friends... you don't have to imagine. We discuss Robert De Niro in ZERO DAY (2025), the bilge water at the bottom of the prestige-TV. PLUS: Checking in on the Canadian Liberal Party leadership race, and what ever happened to the Garfield Eats guy? Join us on Patreon for an extra episode every week - https://www.patreon.com/michaelandus "The problem with Carney-ism" by Luke Savage - https://www.lukewsavage.com/p/the-problem-with-carney-ism "How TV Became Respectable Without Getting Better" by Matt Christman - https://www.currentaffairs.org/news/2017/05/how-tv-became-respectable-without-getting-better "Casual Viewing" by Will Tavlin - https://www.nplusonemag.com/issue-49/essays/casual-viewing/

Transcribed - Published: 1 March 2025

PREVIEW - #601 - Machine Gun Preacher (w/ Alex Shephard)

What if the makers of the God's Not Dead movies attempted a violent action film that combined John Wick and Taken with a Christian message? Friends, you don't have to imagine. Alex Shephard steps in for Luke on this episode to discuss David A.R. White (aka "Pastor Dave") in BECKMAN (2020). PLUS: What does Jeff Bezos's takeover of the Washington Post opinion section mean for journalism? And how long will the Trump/Musk honeymoon period last? PATREON-EXCLUSIVE EPISODE - https://www.patreon.com/posts/123202129

Transcribed - Published: 26 February 2025

#600 - The 600th Episode Spectacular

When you speak into a microphone for 600 episodes across nine years, you're going to forget a lot of it. So to celebrate a very special anniversary, Will quizzes Luke about some of the most forgotten-about episode in Michael & Us history. Do YOU remember that Jerry Springer starred in a movie?? PLUS: SNL, James Bond, and a brief history of Keith Olbermann. Join us on Patreon for an extra episode every week - https://www.patreon.com/michaelandus Will's Substack - https://willsloan.substack.com/ Luke's Substack - https://www.lukewsavage.com/

Transcribed - Published: 23 February 2025

PREVIEW - #599 - Olbermanncore (Newsroom Part 6)

In episode six of THE NEWSROOM ("Bullies"), Aaron Sorkin brings some much-needed shading and complexity to the character of Will McAvoy. But of course, "complexity" and "self-flattery" can sometimes overlap. PATREON-EXCLUSIVE EPISODE - https://www.patreon.com/posts/599-newsroom-6

Transcribed - Published: 19 February 2025

#598 - We Have Lingered In Puddles of Melted Gremlins

With its Trumpian billionaire presiding over a steamrolling everything-company, Joe Dante's GREMLINS 2: THE NEW BATCH (1990) satirized the 1980s while also predicting the present day. We discuss a classic anti-Spielbergian blockbuster that wasn't. PLUS: Updates on the Canada/U.S. tariff battle, and who are the most readable conservative writers? Join us on Patreon for an extra episode every week - https://www.patreon.com/michaelandus

Transcribed - Published: 15 February 2025

PREVIEW - #597 - Live from Tahrir Square (Newsroom Part 5)

The Arab Spring hits THE NEWSROOM in its fifth episode ("Amen"), but once again Aaron Sorkin finds himself more concerned with Will McAvoy's workplace dramas, including a nefarious attempt by the ACN morning show to bring his downfall. PLUS: Was the '60s "the decade where everything changed"? At least one magazine cover believes so! PATREON-EXCLUSIVE EPISODE - https://www.patreon.com/posts/122160705

Transcribed - Published: 12 February 2025

#596 - The Union Forever

Paul Schrader's BLUE COLLAR (1978) follows three struggling auto workers who rob their union office and uncover a world of corruption. It's one of the great films about organized labour because it's one of the great films about solidarity. PLUS: We celebrate Canada's victory in the trade war, and check in on the politics of "Art the Clown." Check out Luke's Substack - https://www.lukewsavage.com/ Join us on Patreon for an extra episode every week - https://www.patreon.com/michaelandus

Transcribed - Published: 5 February 2025

PREVIEW - #595 - On High in Blue Tomorrows Part 2

David Lynch's most frightening and abrasive movie leads to his most hopeful conclusion. It's part two of our discussion of INLAND EMPIRE (2006). PATREON-EXCLUSIVE EPISODE - https://www.patreon.com/posts/595-on-high-in-2-121440636

Transcribed - Published: 3 February 2025

#594 - Guilty Pleasures (Newsroom Part 4)

Our journey through Aaron Sorkin's THE NEWSROOM arrives at Episode 4 ("I'll Try to Fix You"), in which the power of a conscientiously-run newsroom helps save Gabby Giffords' life, and Will McAvoy takes a courageous stand against gossip in all its forms. The news is overwhelmingly bad right now, so we frankly had a nice time retreating to 2012. Join us on Patreon for an extra episode every week - https://www.patreon.com/michaelandus

Transcribed - Published: 1 February 2025

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