Michael and Us

In a tumultuous year of American history, Frederick Wiseman's cinéma vérité classic HIGH SCHOOL (1968) depicts an ordinary Philadelphia school as a system of authority and repression. Some things never change! PLUS: Grok has been saying some unfortunate things lately.

PATREON-EXCLUSIVE EPISODE - https://www.patreon.com/posts/134229948

Angel Studios, the company that gave you Sound of Freedom, has become a major player in the faith-based movie market... so we wanted to check out one of their movies that's NOT about child trafficking. So we watched Neal McDonough's THE LAST RODEO (2025), and found some interesting new developments in the Christian movie world. PLUS: Catching up on recent events - Zohran Mamdani! Jeffrey Epstein! And of course, that Big, Beautiful Bill!

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

Our episode on Sound of Freedom - https://www.patreon.com/posts/448-sound-of-87093158

TORONTO: See Will introduce Detour on July 15 - https://www.foxtheatre.ca/movies/the-important-cinema-club-masterpiece-classics-detour-1945/

SEATTLE: See Will present an Ed Wood double feature on July 25 - https://thebeacon.film/calendar/movie/ed-wood-made-in-hollywood-usa-w-will-sloan

From war crimes overseas to revenge porn at home, it all comes back to social media. In Season 2 episode 5 of THE NEWSROOM ("News Night with Will McAvoy"), a dizzying number of Twitter- and Buzzfeed-related plots swirl around a single broadcast... and there's still a little time for a Trayvon Martin subplot, too.

PATREON-EXCLUSIVE EPISODE - https://www.patreon.com/posts/636-righteous-of-133446350

In our last (for now) dive into John Cleese's bizarre centrist chat-show THE DINOSAUR HOUR, our host find himself flummoxed by the unabashedly right-wing politics of special guest Caitlyn Jenner. We saved the best for last!

Follow long at home - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GnYS6TxmLmc&t=1642s&ab_channel=GBNews

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

We all know where Bill Maher stands on the issues nowadays... but where was the bleeding edge of the centre-left in the Iraq War era? We dug up his Bush-era special BILL MAHER: VICTORY BEGINS AT HOME (2003) to investigate. PLUS: Remember Bruce Lee? He's back - in A.I. form!

PATREON-EXCLUSIVE EPISODE - https://www.patreon.com/posts/132304807

As Torontonians, we couldn't pass up the chance to watch Netflix's new documentary about our ex-mayor, the late Rob Ford. But while TRAINWRECK: MAYOR OF MAYHEM (2025) collects most of the classic Ford moments into one slick package, it leaves the real meaning of Ford on the margins. PLUS: Has the consent-manufacturing industry seemed a bit weak these days to you?

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

"Farewell to Ford Nation?" by Luke Savage - https://jacobin.com/2016/03/rob-ford-toronto-canada-mayor-austerity

"I Just Got Back From the Centrist Rally. It Was Weird as Hell" by Aída Chávez - https://www.thenation.com/article/politics/welcomefest-dispatch-centrism-abundance/

In Episode 14 of THE NEWSROOM ("Unintended Consequences"), we get to hear what Will McAvoy REALLY thinks about this whole Occupy Wall Street business, and it doesn't disappoint - unlike the rest of the episode. PLUS: George W. Bush's movie taste revealed!

PATREON-EXCLUSIVE EPISODE - https://www.patreon.com/posts/131797776

We continue our informal retrospective of dirty-looking New York movies with the Safdie Brothers' GOOD TIME (2017), a rare modern NYC movie that shows what the city really looks like. PLUS: Checking in on the New York mayoral race, and a challenging question about a prominent Canadian celebrity.

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

The David Cayley podcast archive - https://www.davidcayley.com/podcasts

It's time to unload on one of our favourite guys. It's time for the long-awaited deep-dive into the comedy albums of the King of the K-Hive, Greg Proops.

PATREON-EXCLUSIVE EPISODE - https://www.patreon.com/posts/131273255

With a high-profile mayoral election on the horizon in Da Big Apple, we're in a New York frame of mind on this episode. We were also in the mood for a good-ass movie, so we watched THE TAKING OF PELHAM ONE TWO THREE (1974), the subway-set New York heist classic where everyone is ugly and annoyed. PLUS: We check in on everyone's favourite disgraced Manhattan politician.

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

"The Paucity of Abundance" by Luke Savage - https://www.lukewsavage.com/p/the-paucity-of-abundance

"The Parable of a Communally-Bought Lot" by Freddie deBoer - https://freddiedeboer.substack.com/p/the-parable-of-a-communally-bought