Michael and Us

After 25 years of conservative political dominance, the indie black comedy THE LAST SUPPER (1996) asked: should liberals just try killing their political opponents? We drive our DeLorean back to the '90s and analyze a very particular moment in Gen-X political comedy. PATREON-EXCLUSIVE EPISODE - https://www.patreon.com/michaelandus/posts/721-tedious-slog-160912726

In the year 2000, Al Gore conceded a presidential election he won to George W. Bush in attempt to save the legitimacy of American institutions. Safe to say he succeeded in that goal. We discuss Jay Roach's RECOUNT (2008), a star-studded dramatization of the stolen election that kicked off the New American Century. Introducing the Michael & Us website/database - https://michael-and-us.com/ Full episode guide - https://michael-and-us.com/episodes

In about 10 short years, Star Wars has gone from Hollywood's top franchise to a summer box office also-ran. We checked out STAR WARS: THE MANDALORIAN AND GROGU (2026) to try to understand the decline. PATREON-EXCLUSIVE EPISODE - https://www.patreon.com/posts/160203437

Like all empires, the Hollywood studio system had its decadent stage. We discuss Joel and Ethan Coen's HAIL, CAESAR! (2016), which pits an idealogue for the Hollywood studio system against a cabal of communist writers. PLUS: We discuss The Fall of the House of Colbert, and a hot new Washington Post podcast that gets "biz-zay." Join us on Patreon for an extra episode every week - https://www.patreon.com/michaelandus Listen to Luke discuss the future of the left with Jacobin founding editor Bhaskar Sunkara - https://www.lukewsavage.com/p/time-for-socialism-ft-bhaskar-sunkara

As a Toronto-based podcast, we are duty-bound to cover Matt Johnson and Jay McCarrol's NIRVANNA THE BAND THE SHOW THE MOVIE (2025). We travel back to 2008 the discuss one of the most requested movies in our show's history. PATREON-EXCLUSIVE EPISODE - https://www.patreon.com/posts/717-nirvanna-pod-159525773

We keep bringing up the beloved American film critic Roger Ebert over and over again, and we've decided it's time to finally exorcise this demon. Before we put Roger in the penalty box for a while, we're going to put our accumulated knowledge to good use and play a long-threatened game: The Roger Ebert Mystery Box Challenge, in which we attempt to predict his reviews for movies we've covered on this podcast. The balcony is open! Join us on Patreon for an extra episode every week - patreon.com/michaelandus

One of the pillars of the cursed "Everything is Connected" trend of the 2000s, Alejandro González Iñárritu's BABEL (2006) offers a de-politicized look at our global village. Josh Lewis (of Sleazoids podcast fame) fills in for Luke to discuss one very heavy exampe of White Elephant Art. Join us on Patreon for an extra episode every week - https://www.patreon.com/michaelandus Check out Sleazoids - https://www.sleazoidspodcast.com/ If you're in Toronto on June 8, 2026, come see Josh present Michael Mann's Blackhat at the Paradise - https://paradiseonbloor.com/movies/blackhat-directors-cut/

After too long a drought, we return to the writing of Armond White, the legendarily contrarian conservative film critic (currently with the National Review) whose writing has texture like no one else's. We focus on his recent defense of Pete Hegseth via Quentin Tarantino's Pulp Fiction. PLUS: Is Remains of the Day a #grindset classic? PATREON-EXCLUSIVE EPISODE - https://www.patreon.com/posts/714-pulp-158271632

A year into the Great Recession, one film was brave enough to ask, "But what about the corporate consultants?" We discuss Jason Reitman's onetime critical darling UP IN THE AIR (2009), a film that invites us to have sympathy for the downsizers. Join us on Patreon for an extra episode every week - https://www.patreon.com/michaelandus

In a special collaboration with Bob Mackey and Henry Gilbert of the Talking Simpsons and What A Cartoon! podcasts, we discuss Satoshi Kon's PERFECT BLUE (1997), the anime classic that imagined a world in which obsessive fan culture stoked by the internet leads to the dissolution of one J-pop star's reality. Would you believe that people have called it prescient? PATREON-EXCLUSIVE EPISODE - https://www.patreon.com/posts/712-perfect-blue-157652359

He's the first YouTube billionaire, and he did it by being more algorithm than man. We discuss Mr. Beast, and the new flesh. PLUS: There's a hot new content creator on the block, and his name is... Bob Dylan? Join us on Patreon for an extra episode every week - https://www.patreon.com/michaelandus "Bob Dylan’s Mysterious AI Experiment: Something Is Happening Here, But We Don’t Know What It Is" by Ian Grant - https://www.gq.com/story/bob-dylans-mysterious-experiment "How a kid cracked YouTube’s secret code" by Lucas Shaw and Mark Bergen - https://www.detroitnews.com/story/life/2021/01/01/how-kid-cracked-youtubes-secret-code/4100868001/ "The Beast Within Capitalism" by Nathan J. Robinson - https://www.currentaffairs.org/news/2023/02/the-beast-within-capitalism "The Wasteland" by Luke Savage - https://www.lukewsavage.com/p/the-wasteland The specific Mr. Beast video we watched - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0e3GPea1Tyg&t=1s

Spring has sprung, which means we're talkin' softball. After briefly ruminating on the beauty of the game, and checking the pulse of our beloved Jays, we discuss one of the best baseball movies of recent (or any) years: EEPHUS (2024), a very funny meditation on friendship, tradition, and the passage of time. PATREON-EXCLUSIVE EPISODE - https://www.patreon.com/posts/157037597

We once again travel back to the dark heart of the Bush era by discussing one of the biggest cultural events of the 2000s. Ron Howard's THE DA VINCI CODE (2006) adapted Dan Brown's turgid bestseller into an even more turgid blockbuster. Join us on Patreon for an extra episode every week - https://www.patreon.com/michaelandus

Alright what are we talking about today? PATREON-EXCLUSIVE EPISODE - https://www.patreon.com/posts/707-chinese-155905797

We recap a contentious week between the Trump Administration and the Vatican before moving on to discuss our own true lord and savior, Snake Plissken. At the request of our Superdelegate patron tier, we discuss John Carpenter's immortal tribute to da greatest city in da world, ESCAPE FROM NEW YORK (1981). PLUS: It's just like old times... Michael Moore has angered the right. Join us on Patreon for an extra episode every week - https://www.patreon.com/michaelandus "The Apocalypse is Here" by Michael Moore - https://www.michaelmoore.com/p/the-apocalypse-is-here

No era hits like the late-late-late-Clinton Era. We discuss the shameless Oscar bait that didn't catch anything, PAY IT FORWARD (2000), in which a precocious boy creates a pyramid scheme for kindness. Join us on Patreon for an extra episode every week - https://www.patreon.com/michaelandus TORONTO - See Luke interview Jacobin Magazine founder Bhaskar Sunkara at the 2025 Ellen Meiskins Wood Lecture. Wednesday, April 22 at 6pm, Toronto Metropolitan University, George Vari Engineering and Computer Centre. Get tickets: https://broadbentinstitute.ca/events/2026-ellen-meiksins-wood-lecture/

In the tumultuous election cycle of 2019-2020, Alexandra Pelosi once again travelled the country to take Uncle Sam's temperature. So far, so typical. But the movie she emerged with, AMERICAN SELFIE: ONE NATION SHOOTS HERSELF (2020), ended up being her darkest, bleakest vision yet. PLUS: Luke sings the praises of James Joyce's Ulysses! PATREON-EXCLUSIVE EPISODE - https://www.patreon.com/posts/705-filling-with-155264651

At the height of the Reagan Era, a simple man from abroad came to the heart of liberal America and reminded New Yorkers of traditional values. He also had trouble figuring out how a bidet worked. Folks, it's the CROCODILE DUNDEE (1986) episode. PLUS: Stephen Marche on AI, and Avi Lewis wins the NDP leadership race. Join us on Patreon for an extra episode every week - https://www.patreon.com/michaelandus "How Did This Get Made" podcast with the writer of Crocodile Dundee in Los Angeles - https://www.earwolf.com/episode/crocodile-dundee-in-los-angeles/

the past is always present - but especially at a Christmas dinner party in Dublin at the turn of the 20th century. We discuss John Huston's THE DEAD (1987), his film adaptation of the great final story from Joyce's Dubliners. PATREON-EXCLUSIVE EPISODE - https://www.patreon.com/posts/703-dubliners-154688385

He was one of the biggest recording artists of his time, but it took Hollywood to make him safe for your parents. We discuss the Eminem vehicle 8 MILE (2002), a true landmark of millennial culture. PLUS: Bidding a fond (?) farewell to Robert Mueller. Join us on Patreon for an extra episode every week - https://www.patreon.com/michaelandus For two weeks we're offering HEAVILY DISCOUNTED PAID SUBSCRIPTIONS. Use code 22DE3 to get 50% for your first month.