Michael and Us

What if a middle-aged Toronto-based businessman decided to become Robert De Niro? Friends, you don't have to wonder! We discuss the hilarious vanity project REAL GANGSTERS!™ (2013), by Canada's answer to Tommy Wiseau. Join us on Patreon for an extra episode every week - https://www.patreon.com/michaelandus "Ottawa’s Air Canada strike debacle shows it failed to learn from history" by Barry Eidlin - https://www.theglobeandmail.com/business/commentary/article-air-canada-strike-flight-attendants-union-cupe/ "The Air Canada strike wasn’t just a win for workers. It was also a wrench in Mark Carney’s plans" by Luke Savage - https://www.thestar.com/opinion/contributors/the-air-canada-strike-wasnt-just-a-win-for-workers-it-was-also-a-wrench/article_723e12c5-a225-4565-b044-206eeef18c49.html Will's classic interview with Tommy Wiseau - https://www.patreon.com/posts/bonus-will-tommy-22188229 "How Did an Oscar-Nominated Legend End Up in This Painfully Amateurish Horror Film?" by Vadim Rizov - https://www.vanityfair.com/hollywood/2015/11/james-caan-sicilian-vampire

We make one last, final, terminal - we really mean it, this is the last one unless they make a second season! - visit to our favourite British institution, John Cleese's bizarre GB News chat show THE DINOSAUR HOUR. We discuss the show's final episode, "Religion," which doesn't deliver on quite the terms you might expect from the co-author of Life of Brian. PATREON-EXCLUSIVE EPISODE - https://www.patreon.com/posts/648-extinction-136964730

In 1994, Hong Kongers were counting down to the looming Mainland handover. But some of them were also counting down to the expiry date on a can of pineapples. We discuss Wong Kar-wai's CHUNGKING EXPRESS (1994), a quintessentially Hong Kong movie with universal resonance. PLUS: Checking in on Canada's Mark Carney government, and the unconscionable western media response to Israel's targeting of Palestinian journalists. * Join us on Patreon for an extra episode every week - https://www.patreon.com/michaelandus Luke's substack - https://www.lukewsavage.com/ Come see Will will at one of the stops on his book tour: LOS ANGELES - August 30, book signing and Q&A with Dana Gould at Artbook - https://www.eventbrite.com/e/ed-wood-made-in-hollywood-usa-la-book-launch-with-will-sloan-dana-gould-tickets-1560019523389 LOS ANGELES - August 30, "Ed Wood on VHS" at WHAMMY - https://www.eventbrite.ca/e/ed-wood-on-vhs-feat-the-sinister-urge-1960-presented-by-will-sloan-tickets-1568174324619 CHICAGO - August 31, "Trust Fall" at Davis Theater - https://davistheater.com/special_events/trust-fall/ TORONTO - September 12, Glen or Glenda screening at the Paradise Theatre - https://paradiseonbloor.com/movies/glen-or-glenda/ * "Mark Carney won on a promise of strong but fair Canada. This is how he is betraying that vision" by Luke Savage - https://www.thestar.com/opinion/contributors/mark-carney-won-on-a-promise-of-strong-but-fair-canada-this-is-how-he/article_4d53c228-bf60-411d-b6e3-be93669eba8e.html "Postmedia masquerading pro-Israel 'advocacy polemics' as news" by Jeremy Appel - https://www.readtheorchard.org/p/postmedia-masquerading-pro-israel "Chungking Express: Electric Youth" by Amy Taubin - https://www.criterion.com/current/posts/766-chungking-express-electric-youth "Poet of Time: Wong Kar-wai on Chungking Express" by Tony Rayns - https://www.bfi.org.uk/sight-and-sound/features/poet-time-wong-kar-wai-chungking-express

Released just months after the attack on Pearl Harbor, Ernst Lubitsch's TO BE OR NOT TO BE (1942) combined farce and thrills in Nazi-occupied Poland. A satire that was once considered "too soon" has aged into one of the great anti-fascists landmarks of cinema. PLUS: Remembering the golden age of "Twitter comedians." PATREON-EXCLUSIVE EPISODE - https://www.patreon.com/posts/136400200

In WAR OF THE WORLDS (2025), Ice Cube stars as a Homeland Security analyst who uncovers a Deep State surveillance plot AND foils an alien invasion - all without ever leaving his Zoom window. We watched the certified Bad Movie that's sweeping the nation. Join us on Patreon for an extra episode every week - https://www.patreon.com/michaelandus Luke's substack - https://www.lukewsavage.com/ Come see Will will at one of the stops on his book tour: LOS ANGELES - August 30, book signing and Q&A with Dana Gould at Artbook - https://www.eventbrite.com/e/ed-wood-made-in-hollywood-usa-la-book-launch-with-will-sloan-dana-gould-tickets-1560019523389 LOS ANGELES - August 30, "Ed Wood on VHS" at WHAMMY - https://www.eventbrite.ca/e/ed-wood-on-vhs-feat-the-sinister-urge-1960-presented-by-will-sloan-tickets-1568174324619 CHICAGO - August 31, "Trust Fall" at Davis Theater - https://davistheater.com/special_events/trust-fall/ TORONTO - September 12, Glen or Glenda screening at the Paradise Theatre - https://paradiseonbloor.com/movies/glen-or-glenda/

Donald Trump has said repeatedly that Billy Wilder's SUNSET BOULEVARD (1950) is one of his favorite movies. We revisit one of Hollywood's enduring classics and try to figure out if the current president identifies more with Norma Desmond or Joe Gillis. PLUS: Are we entering the worst season for political memoirs of all time? "President Trump isn’t happy about the Oscar for ‘Parasite.’ What movies does he like?" by Josh Rottenberg - https://www.latimes.com/entertainment-arts/movies/story/2020-02-21/president-trump-favorite-movies-parasite-oscar "The Worst Campaign Book Season of All Time Is Here" by Katherine Krueger - https://www.discourseblog.com/p/the-worst-campaign-book-season-of

Ari Aster's EDDINGTON (2025) takes us back to the lockdown year of 2020, satirizing the many archetypes and discourses - right, left, and centre - that flourished during the pandemic. We attempt to analyze what, if anything, Aster is saying, and dredge up a lot of unpleasant sense-memories in the process! PATREON-EXCLUSIVE EPISODE - https://www.patreon.com/posts/135554313

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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/

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

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

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

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

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

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/

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

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

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

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/

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Made in the rubble of postwar Japan, RECORD OF A TENEMENT GENTLEMAN (1947) finds Yasujirō 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

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

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/

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

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/

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

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

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

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/

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

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

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

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/

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

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/