At some point in the 15 years since its release, THE SOCIAL NETWORK (2010) became a historical document. We're joined by our official Silicon Valley correspondent Wendy Liu to discuss why its complicated perspective on startup culture resonated so strongly, and what the passage of time has revealed about people like Zuckerberg. And of course, we get into the Aaron Sorkin of it all.

PATREON-EXCLUSIVE EPISODE - https://www.patreon.com/posts/130141170

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

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

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/

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

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

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

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

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

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