Michael and Us

Latest Episodes:

#625 - Due Process (Newsroom Part 12) May 25, 2025

Show notes

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

PREVIEW - #624 - Twilight of the Dinosaur Hour May 22, 2025

Show notes

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

#623 - Occupy Sorkin (Newsroom Part 11) May 16, 2025

Show notes

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/

PREVIEW - #622 - Highbrow Anxiety (w/ Alex Ross) May 12, 2025

Show notes

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

PREVIEW - #621 - Three Jolly Fisherman May 05, 2025

Show notes

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

#620 - Creation In Pectore May 02, 2025

Show notes

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

#619 - A Celebration of Specialness Apr 30, 2025

Show notes

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

PREVIEW - #618 - That Barton Fink Feeling Apr 26, 2025

Show notes

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

PREVIEW - #617 - No Country for Little Tramps Apr 23, 2025

Show notes

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

#616 - When the Whistle Blows Apr 21, 2025

Show notes

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

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