With a biopic about Bob Dylan about to reach screens, we examined the last time that the Voice Of His Generation attempted to translate his songwriting style to cinema. MASKED AND ANONYMOUS (2003) finds Dylan working through his ambivalent feelings about politics, while also struggling to keep up with a hilariously overqualified cast.

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The filmmaker who coined the term "ecstatic truth" becomes the subject of a memorable docu-fiction hybrid in INCIDENT AT LOCH NESS (2004), in which Werner Herzog joins forces with Hollywood screenwriter Zak Penn to create a hoax involving the Loch Ness Monster. PLUS: Are these the last days of the Justin Trudeau government?

PATREON-EXCLUSIVE EPISODE - https://www.patreon.com/posts/583-bad-producer-118175616

In the latest instalment of the God's Not Dead franchise, Pastor Dave answers a different kind of calling, and takes aim at the barrier between Church and State. We welcome back our friend Alex Shephard, staff writer at The New Republic, to discuss GOD'S NOT DEAD: IN GOD WE TRUST (2024).

Join us on Patreon for an extra episode every week - https://www.patreon.com/michaelandus

Alex Shephard at The New Republic - https://newrepublic.com/authors/alex-shephard

We all know that WWE founder and ex-CEO Vince McMahon shared a long friendship with Donald Trump, and would you believe that the two men share some stuff in common? We discuss the new Netflix documentary series MR. MCMAHON (2024), an exhaustive chronicle of a man whose "Allegations" tab on Wikipedia could fill a library.

PATREON-EXCLUSIVE EPISODE - https://www.patreon.com/posts/117741859

With the failed coup in South Korea still fresh in our memories, we looked at Bong Joon-ho's breakthrough film MEMORIES OF MURDER (2003), a procedural set against the backdrop of martial law. PLUS: From South Korea to France to the streets of Manhattan, the vibes are, shall we say, off.

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The story goes that the flower-power generation abruptly ended when the Rolling Stones held a free concert at the Altamont Speedway that went disastrously wrong. We revisited GIMME SHELTER (1970) to interrogate the myth.

PATREON-EXCLUSIVE EPISODE - https://www.patreon.com/posts/117294338

The Canadian documentary FINAL OFFER (1985) captures the contentious negotiations between General Motors and the Canadian wing of the United Auto Workers Union. We consider the conditions that allowed a the union triumph against the backdrop of Reagan/Mulroney-era austerity. PLUS: Taking the temperature on Canada's economic "vibe-cession," and what does Trump's tariff threat to Canada actually mean?

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Watch FINAL OFFER - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JYNwc0KuGTc&ab_channel=NFB

"Democratic Elites Embraced the Identity Politics They Decry" by Branko Marcetic - https://jacobin.com/2024/11/democratic-elites-identity-politics-sanders

Check out "Shifting Gears: Canadian Autoworkers and the Changing Landscape of Labour Politics" - https://www.ubcpress.ca/shifting-gears

Our episode on the Flint Sit-Down Strike - https://www.patreon.com/posts/514-sit-down-sit-101918612

While Nicaragua was being ravaged by Reagan, Alex Cox used Hollywood money to make a sharp satire of American imperialism. The result, WALKER (1987), may have killed his career... but what a way to go! PLUS: Roger Ebert as the ür-liberal critic.

PATREON-EXCLUSIVE EPISODE - https://www.patreon.com/posts/116728650

With America suddenly lurching to the right on immigration, we checked to see where one prominent Democrat documentarian stood circa 2011. In CITIZEN USA: A 50 STATE ROAD TRIP (2011), our old friend Alexandra Pelosi travels to all 50 states, flattening all of them into the same paste. PLUS: Andy Warhol, Paul/Tyson, and the real legacy of Obama's 2008 campaign.

If you absolutely must watch Citizen USA, you can rent it here - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R3CYtUBofJk&ab_channel=YouTubeMovies

A rural village braces itself for development from the big city in Ryusuke Hamaguchi's EVIL DOES NOT EXIST (2024), a beautiful movie that rhymed with certain things we've been feeling lately about democracy, capitalism, freedom, and community. PLUS: We parse Toronto Life's list of the 50 most influential Torontonians of 2024, and explore the exciting world of Eric Roberts.

PATREON-EXCLUSIVE EPISODE - https://www.patreon.com/posts/116329275