In his 2016 film Hypernormalization, Adam Curtis uses the Soviet Union of the late 1970s–a society that everyone knew was crumbling but for which no one could imagine an alternative, forcing politicians and citizens alike to maintain the pretense of management–as a model for the West today. In the wake of the horror unfolding across the U.S., where no one knows how or has the political will to solve the problems confronting us, A&E discuss how Kenosha signifies a new wrinkle in American history, a shift to something much more dark on the horizon.

Reminiscing about the good old days with Ice-T, A&E recall also the genius of the Black Panthers and the new Fred Hampton biopic on its way: Shaka King's Judas and the Black Messiah. Plus: Frantz Fanon and indigenous resistance in the face of police violence.

COVID-19 has laid bare what was already apparent to many of us: America is the Bizarro World of the DC Comics universe. "Me want pandemic get worse. Me no want people get health care. Government confirm UFO." There is no modern precedent for any of this, and no framework for how any of us can or should respond. At the same time, there is no significant intellectual or media culture on the Left to address the situation. It's all careerism and cynicism. The consequence? Alex Jones. And real life Lex Luthors like Jeff Bezos.

Much as it abandoned working class politics at least a generation ago, the political left abandoned theology to the detriment of not only itself but America as a project. So let's pick it up again. And what better place to start than the only Christian theology that matters in the 21st Century: Liberation Theology. A&E discuss, referencing James H. Cone, Homebrewed Christianity, Kanye West, and Jay Bakker. Plus: Fight Club.

As Jean Genet once noted, the only way to escape horror is to dive into it. Head-first. Or, as Zizek and others have argued, there is a hopelessness to the present situation that might be just what the world needs. A&E discuss, using Cuaron’s Children of Men and Orwell’s 1984 as points of reference.

Today's theme: Gnosticism! After beginning with a discussion of Greil Marcus's transcendent book Lipstick Traces, the boys talk punk, secret histories, "fake news," COVID, and film as late examples of late gnostic thinking. Plus Spike Lee's Do the Right Thing.

With Ex back, A&E take up the twin questions of police violence and the public response by way of Frantz Fanon, MLK, Malcom X, and–obviously–Weird Al Yankovic’s take on Ghandi from his 1989 film UHF.

Part two of our addendum to our 2019 episode on Joker. Cold Case: Hammerskjold aside, points of discussion, include Trump, Bernie, climate change, racism, and the social instability that was evident even before COVID-19.

Amos is rejoined by friend and colleague Joe to discuss a series of films that emerged simultaneous to Joker in 2019 and complement/extend that film’s political argument, including Luce and Cold Case Hammerskjöld.

Just when we were at our wits end, a ray of sunshine poked its way through the clouds. That ray is former Minnesota Governor Jesse “The Body” Ventura–who is mulling a run for president. Plus: the democrats still hedge at Medicare for All, despite the pandemic, and instead suggest we put all those uninsured people on a health plan literally named for a G.I Joe international crime syndicate.