Michael and Us

Latest Episodes:

PREVIEW - #350 - Return of the Michael and Us Mailbag, Part 1 Jul 20, 2022

Show notes

PATREON EPISODE - https://www.patreon.com/posts/69344608 You had questions, we have answers. The hosts expound on a wide range of topics - everything from Stephen Harper to A24 to pornography to baked potatoes - in this, the first of a two-part mailbag episode.

#349 - The Donkey Revolution Jul 18, 2022

Show notes

Many people threatened to move to Canada when George W. Bush was re-elected in 2004, but the dramedy BLUE STATE (2007) imagines a character who actually did it. Many references to 2004-era liberal ephemera ensue, and the hosts of the Michael & Us podcast are sharply divided on this milquetoast indie starring Breckin Meyer and Anna Paquin.

PREVIEW - #348 - From 2010 to Eternity Jul 13, 2022

Show notes

PATREON EPISODE - https://www.patreon.com/posts/69021053 As a culture and politics podcast, we take seriously our responsibility to cover culture and politics. On this episode, we synthesize these two worlds powerfully, with discussion of... ✓ The Biden administration: what's going wrong? ✓ Kevin Smith and Clerks III ✓ Politico offers a new savior for the Democratic Party (hint: it's Jon Stewart)

#347 - Always Be Closing Jul 11, 2022

Show notes

Before he was an archconservative, David Mamet wrote a great play and movie about a group of salesmen grinding in a system where morality does not exist. Our Superdelegate patron tier has voted for us to discuss GLENGARRY GLEN ROSS (1992). Fuck you - THAT'S our name. PLUS: We say goodbye to Boris.

PREVIEW - #346 - The Bad Take Oympics Jul 04, 2022

Show notes

PATREON EPISODE - https://www.patreon.com/posts/346-bad-take-68662564 In these difficult times, the bad takes are flying fast and furious. To deal with the problem, we've staged a Bad Takes Olympics, where we discuss recent earth-shattering ideas from such heavyweights as Rob Reiner, Paul Mason, and Hans Zimmer. PLUS: the boys reminisce about a lost Toronto.

#345 - At Long Last, the Forrest Gump Episode Jul 02, 2022

Show notes

It's an extremely discouraging political moment for our neighbors in the United States, so we decided the time was right to finally examine one of the quintessential cinematic articulations of American exceptionalism, FORREST GUMP (1994). Is life, in fact, like a box of chocolates? We investigate. "The Man Who Loved Presidents: On John Meacham" by Thomas Frank - https://harpers.org/archive/2021/07/jon-meacham-thomas-frank-soul-of-america/ "Tom Hanks Explains It All" by David Marchese - https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2022/06/13/magazine/tom-hanks-interview.html

#344 - Socialism with Disneyan Characteristics Jun 28, 2022

Show notes

The Buzz Lightyear origin movie LIGHTYEAR (2022) has become a cultural lightning-rod in the right-wing moral panic over "grooming." We discuss this controversy (which is ridiculous, by the way), and then discuss the movie, in which we can learn a little bit about how the Disney Company views itself. Support the National Network of Abortion Funds - https://abortionfunds.org/ Abortion Funds in Every State - https://donations4abortion.com/ The Repro Legal Defense Fund - https://reprolegaldefensefund.org/

PREVIEW - #343 - Golden Age Jun 25, 2022

Show notes

PATREON EPISODE - https://www.patreon.com/posts/68234387 In 1930, Luis Buñuel and Salvador Dalí set out to make a barbed attack on bourgeois society and its institutions. The result, L'AGE D'OR (1930), nearly got its financiers excommunicated from the Catholic Church. We discuss a classic of surrealist cinema. PLUS: We discuss the U.S. Supreme Court's repeal of Roe v. Wade. Donate to abortion funds in every state: https://donations4abortion.com/

PREVIEW - #342 - Black Friday Jun 21, 2022

Show notes

PATREON EPISODE - https://www.patreon.com/posts/342-black-friday-68045387 In 1970, the October Crisis in Quebec led to the first government-mandated suspension of civil liberties in Canada during peacetime. The documentary ACTION: THE OCTOBER CRISIS OF 1970 (1974) gives us opportunity discuss the conditions of French/English Canadian tensions that led to the kidnapping of two politicians by a militant Quebec separatist group, and the long shadow that this brief period of martial law has cast on Canada. PLUS: Yet again, we discuss that menace to society, Tom Hanks.

#341 - Metaverse of Madness Jun 19, 2022

Show notes

Long before the "metaverse" loomed over us, David Cronenberg's EXISTENZ (1999) imagined a completely immersive virtual environment that is even less cozy than our own. We discuss the film's porous boundary between reality and unreality, and explain why Cronenberg is one of the few Canadian filmmakers who really "gets" Canada. PLUS: Looking back at a moral panic over right-wing art from the early '90s.

Our TOPPODCAST Picks

Follow Us

Stay Connected

Related Podcasts

Links

Stay Connected