We travel to Lumberton to plumb the dark depths of David Lynch's BLUE VELVET (1986), in which good and evil are forces that are intertwined - and not a strict dichotomy. We discuss how critics then and now have received the film's provocations, and our own relationships to Lynch's work. PLUS: red states vs blue states, Joe Biden's cabinet, and Tim Allen's discovery of Marxism.

PATREON-EXCLUSIVE EPISODE - https://www.patreon.com/posts/43832093

For decades, Pauline Kael reigned as the most feared and respected film critic in America, and even today carries a greater literary reputation than any of her peers. The not-very-good documentary WHAT SHE SAID: THE ART OF PAULINE KAEL (2018) tries to make a case for the New Yorker critic as an iconoclastic thinker... but inadvertently reveals her many limitations. We're joined by our old friend Violet Lucca (host of The Harper's Podcast) to discuss her much-imitated prose style, her ideas about art and trash, and the limits of a shoot-from-the-hip critical methodology. PLUS: post-election malaise, and the return of the XFL.

With Biden's victory all but confirmed, we discuss the aftermath of the U.S. presidential election: the narratives being spun to explain the results, Trump's response, why four years of Biden/McConnell will almost certainly be bad, and why there still may be cause of optimism. Then we discuss a movie for times like this: Charlie Chaplin's career-destroying anti-capitalist black MONSIEUR VERDOUX (1947), a film that told America, "Things are bad, and have always been bad."

PATREON BONUS - https://www.patreon.com/posts/43547482

As Trump and Biden duke it out for the last few votes, we're joined by Branko Marcetic to discuss another fantastic showing by the Democratic Party. What went wrong? What does the future hold? What are the reasons for optimism, if any? We recorded this one fast and loose over Zoom, so pardon any audio imperfections.

In this spooky Halloween episode, we consider the politics of horror by looking at the ultimate slasher film, John Carpenter's classic HALLOWEEN (1978). We discuss the way that the horror genre has traditionally served as an outlet for society's fears and traumas, and how this suburban horror story in particular articulated a certain post-'60s, pre-Reagan reactionary current in America. Don't worry, we like this movie, we promise we won't ruin it for you. PLUS: eve-of-the-election punditry and childhood Halloween memories.

PATREON-EXCLUSIVE EPISODE - https://www.patreon.com/posts/43221887

Just when Luke thought he was out, they pull him back in. In another crossover event with the Current Affairs podcast, our resident West Wing expert chats with Briahna Joy Gray (National Press Secretary for the Bernie Sanders 2020 presidential campaign, and co-host of the Bad Faith podcast) and Nathan J. Robinson (Editor-in-Chief of Current Affairs magazine) about the high-profile 2020 West Wing reunion special. How have Aaron Sorkin's politics adapted to the new reality? Folks, take a wild guess.

PATREON BONUS - https://www.patreon.com/posts/43213235

We had to do it. We discuss the new Borat movie, the difference between "good" and "bad" liberal comedy, and the difference between liberal and left comedy.

"Notes on Borat Subsequent Moviefilm" by Will Sloan - https://willsloanesq.wordpress.com/2020/10/25/notes-on-borat-subsequent-moviefilm/

Our episode on the original Borat - https://soundcloud.com/michael-and-us/episode-30-borat

After he named names for HUAC, Elia Kazan made a movie about an informer. We watched ON THE WATERFRONT (1954), one of the great American films by the most famous American rat, and discuss its personal meaning for Kazan, and the historical context behind its powerful depiction of working-class New York. PLUS: a free-flowing discussion of celebrity and politics.

"Revisiting On the Waterfront" by Kathy M. Newman - https://www.jacobinmag.com/2014/07/revisiting-on-the-waterfront/

PATREON-EXCLUSIVE EPISODE - https://www.patreon.com/posts/42981654

Since ancient times, a sacred caste of people known as "comedians" have told a secret joke - so powerful, so dangerous, that mere mortals like ourselves could never grasp it. The documentary THE ARISTOCRATS (2005) busts open the vault to reveal... not much at all. We analyze what this unbearably-smug and insidery documentary tells us about comedy. PLUS: fiery hot takes on Jeffrey Toobin and John Carpenter.

A former prickly TV personality tries to become a better man... a former president tries to refine his brand... on the pilot episode of the stupefyingly dull Netflix talk show MY NEXT GUEST NEEDS NO INTRODUCTION... WITH DAVID LETTERMAN (2018), the onetime innovator of late night is joined by Barack Obama for a gruelling conversation. PLUS: batten down the hatches for Ron Howard's "Hillbilly Elegy."