Michael and Us

We turn our attention to a bona fide cultural phenomenon and ask: where do Homer's The Odyssey and Christopher Nolan's THE ODYSSEY (2026) intersect and diverge?

PATREON-EXCLUSIVE EPISODE - https://www.patreon.com/michaelandus/posts/738-odysseus-and-167166546

Like Anderson Cooper before us, we catch up on the news! We discuss the ups and downs of the recent senate primaries in the U.S. PLUS: What do Alex Jones and Goop have in common? And the unlikely story of the world's greatest Jerry Lewis impersonator.

TORONTO: Join us at the Toronto premiere of CHUNKS on September 1 at the Paradise Theatre. We will be participating in an onstage discussion with Amber A'Lee Frost and Nate Fisher - https://paradiseonbloor.com/movies/chunks-toronto-premiere/

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

"Infogoop" by Joshua Citarella - https://joshuacitarella.substack.com/p/infogoop

Preorder "American Socialist: The Life & Legacy of Eugene V. Debbs" - https://www.simonandschuster.com/books/American-Socialist/Shawn-Gude/9781668056738

Preorder "Your Time is Now: The Sammy Petrillo Story" - https://feralhouse.com/product/your-time-is-now/

When the financial crisis hit and Americans were losing their homes, one movie had the courage to suggest: have you considered going to community college and dating Julia Roberts? We discuss LARRY CROWNE (2011), a rare directorial offering from Tom Hanks.

PATREON-EXCLUSIVE EPISODE - https://www.patreon.com/michaelandus/posts/736-larry-crowne-166250639

Did you know that a private, monopolistic, unaccountable, and socially conservative organization has free reign to define the limits of artistic expression in the United States? We discuss Kirby Dick's expose of the MPAA and its ratings system, THIS FILM IS NOT YET RATED (2006), and how (and how not to) combat censorship. PLUS: Ebeneezer, the original bad-boy of Tinseltown, is back.

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

Check out the Michael & Us website and episode guide - https://michael-and-us.com/

To sustain the illusion of America, you need to compartmentalize or deny a lot of violence. We discuss David Cronenberg's existentialist masterpiece A HISTORY OF VIOLENCE (2005). PLUS: We mark the passing of the so-called "Godfather of the New Right," Jim Goad.

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

Check out the Michael & Us website and episode guide - https://michael-and-us.com/

So beyond being the famous turtleneck guy, what exactly did Steve Jobs do during his long tenure at Apple? According to Aaron Sorkin and Danny Boyle's STEVE JOBS (2015), he did... everything and nothing. We discuss a Great Man biopic from a writer who truly believes in Great Men.

PATREON-EXCLUSIVE EPISODE - https://www.patreon.com/michaelandus/posts/732-bicycle-for-164653829

From back in an era when Ricky Gervais was widely considered funny, he cashed all his chips on a New Atheism-themed studio comedy built around an incoherent premise. We dig up THE INVENTION OF LYING (2009) just to bury it again. PLUS: Reporting from the smoky-aired hellscape that is Southwestern Ontario.

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

Check out the Michael & Us website and episode guide - https://michael-and-us.com/

Jacques Tati rebuilt Paris from the ground up - and bankrupted himself in the process - to make his masterpiece PLAYTIME (1967), a gentle satire of ultra-modern postwar France that has a certain affection for what it's satirizing. We discuss the film that couldn't quite kill Monsieur Hulot.

PATREON-EXCLUSIVE EPISODE - https://www.patreon.com/michaelandus/posts/730-malaise-of-164033227

Like 'em or not, Angel Studios have emerged as the only explicitly right-of-centre movie company that knows what movies look like. But does their new historical drama YOUNG WASHINGTON (2026) meet that minimum standard of quality? We marked America's 250th birthday by heading to our local multiplex and hanging out with a Founding Father.

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

Check out the official Michael & Us website/episode guide - https://michael-and-us.com/

The very same year as Parasite, one of Hollywood's most accomplished filmmakers tried to take on the corrupt financial system, with less-than-spectacular results. We discuss Steven Soderbergh's answer to the Panama Papers scandal, THE LAUNDROMAT (2019).

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

Check out the Michael & Us website and database - https://michael-and-us.com/

Listen to Luke on "Pod Casty for Me" - https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-laundromat-2019-with-luke-savage/id1663139827?i=1000775312181