Michael and Us

In THE SPOOK WHO SAT BY THE DOOR (1973), a black man hired as a "token" by the CIA uses his training to start a black nationalist uprising. It couldn't be a more apt time to revisit this classic of radical American cinema. PLUS: Who's excited for the Abundance Agenda?

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

"On the Legacy and Importance of The Spook Who Sat by the Door" by Robert Daniels - https://www.rogerebert.com/festivals/ciff-2024-on-the-legacy-and-importance-of-the-spook-who-sat-by-the-door

"Zaslav's Hamptons-Hollywood Vanity Project" by Matthew Belloni - https://puck.news/zaslavs-hamptons-hollywood-vanity-project/

"Leak Reveals Trump’s Full Bonkers Plan for the Kennedy Center" - https://www.thedailybeast.com/leak-reveals-trumps-full-bonkers-plan-for-the-kennedy-center/

Luke's interview with Benjamin Teitelbaum - https://www.patreon.com/posts/interview-putins-64721929

"Radical Academics for the Status Quo" by Liza Featherstone - https://jacobin.com/2019/12/radical-academics-judith-butler-kamala-harris-donation

Episode 8 of THE NEWSROOM ("The Blackout, Part 1: Tragedy Porn") finds Aaron Sorkin considering media ethics through lens of three 2011-era scandals of varying magnitude: Anthony Weiner, Casey Anthony, and NSA surveillance. His conclusions find him returning to some pet grievances.

PATREON-EXCLUSIVE EPISODE - https://www.patreon.com/posts/124709344

From immigration anxieties to "enhanced interrogation" to globalism to elite sex trafficking, TAKEN (2008) is a virtual dictionary of right-wing grievances - including some that weren't even popular yet. We discuss the most entertaining reactionary action movie of its time. PLUS: Mark Carney, Mahmoud Khalil, Mel Gibson, and of course, Donald Trump.

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

See Will present VEERANA at the Fox Theatre on April 8 at 9pm - https://www.foxtheatre.ca/movies/important-cinema-club-masterpiece-classics-veerana/

Luke's Substack - https://www.lukewsavage.com/

We finally arrive at the legendary Bin Laden episode of THE NEWSROOM ("5/11") and discover that surrounding that iconic clip on the airplane is Aaron Sorkin's most revealing meditation yet on what he thinks journalism should be.

PATREON-EXCLUSIVE EPISODE - https://www.patreon.com/posts/124082719

We return to Netflix's political miniseries ZERO DAY to find out what happened to Robert De Niro's Biden-ish ex-president... and discover something startlingly close to a liberal QAnon. PLUS: Well it turns out the U.S./Canada trade war is on!

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

"Is Lenny Bruce Funny?" by Will Sloan - https://hazlitt.net/feature/lenny-bruce-funny

The Coen Brothers' BURN AFTER READING (2008) offers a jaundiced take on Washington and its institutions at the tail end of the Bush era. We were in a desperate need of a good time, and the Coen Brothers can always be depended on to deliver. PLUS: Chinese blockbusters vs. American blockbusters - who will own this century?

PATREON-EXCLUSIVE EPISODE - https://www.patreon.com/posts/123667636

Imagine someone fed the last 10-or-so years of American liberal politics into an A.I. machine and told it to create a Netflix miniseries. Friends... you don't have to imagine. We discuss Robert De Niro in ZERO DAY (2025), the bilge water at the bottom of the prestige-TV. PLUS: Checking in on the Canadian Liberal Party leadership race, and what ever happened to the Garfield Eats guy?

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

"The problem with Carney-ism" by Luke Savage - https://www.lukewsavage.com/p/the-problem-with-carney-ism

"How TV Became Respectable Without Getting Better" by Matt Christman - https://www.currentaffairs.org/news/2017/05/how-tv-became-respectable-without-getting-better

"Casual Viewing" by Will Tavlin - https://www.nplusonemag.com/issue-49/essays/casual-viewing/

What if the makers of the God's Not Dead movies attempted a violent action film that combined John Wick and Taken with a Christian message? Friends, you don't have to imagine. Alex Shephard steps in for Luke on this episode to discuss David A.R. White (aka "Pastor Dave") in BECKMAN (2020). PLUS: What does Jeff Bezos's takeover of the Washington Post opinion section mean for journalism? And how long will the Trump/Musk honeymoon period last?

PATREON-EXCLUSIVE EPISODE - https://www.patreon.com/posts/123202129

When you speak into a microphone for 600 episodes across nine years, you're going to forget a lot of it. So to celebrate a very special anniversary, Will quizzes Luke about some of the most forgotten-about episode in Michael & Us history. Do YOU remember that Jerry Springer starred in a movie?? PLUS: SNL, James Bond, and a brief history of Keith Olbermann.

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

Will's Substack - https://willsloan.substack.com/

Luke's Substack - https://www.lukewsavage.com/

In episode six of THE NEWSROOM ("Bullies"), Aaron Sorkin brings some much-needed shading and complexity to the character of Will McAvoy. But of course, "complexity" and "self-flattery" can sometimes overlap.

PATREON-EXCLUSIVE EPISODE - https://www.patreon.com/posts/599-newsroom-6