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In our first episode with a South American guest, writer and podcaster Gus Lanzetta joins the pod from São Paulo, Brazil to discuss Vin “The Movies” Diesel on the eve of the worldwide release of F9.

Gus has deep knowledge of the Fast & Furious franchise as a former correspondent for Rolling Stone Brazil but he suggested we talk about Vin’s best performance as a screen actor in Sidney Lumet’s entertaining 2006 courtroom comedy/drama Find Me Guilty (based on a true story with a screenplay based on the actual trial transcripts). He plays Jackie DiNorscio, a Mafia soldier swept up in a mass prosecution of organized crime figures in New Jersey in 1985, the longest Mafia trial in American history. Jackie makes the foolhardy decision to act as his own lawyer in the case instead of selling out his friends and family by cooperating with the prosecutors. It’s of a piece with Lumet’s career-long interest in the criminal justice system and the plight of the one man clinging to their integrity under tremendous pressure.

Gus also draws parallels between Find Me Guilty and the systemic corruption of the Bolsonaro government and tells us his perspective on life in São Paulo during Brazil's tragic and ongoing mishandling of the pandemic.

Plus Gus tells me why I need to catch up with the Fast & Furious family as the long-running franchise heads towards the finish line.

Follow Gus Lanzetta on Twitter.

Gus also co-hosts a popular Brazilian Portuguese pop culture podcast - Popcult 

Here's the link to order Gus's new book on starting your own podcast, Ouvindo vozes

Trailer for Find Me Guilty (Lumet, 2006)