The H&H Podcast

Richard Hanania and Chris Nicholson discuss Better Call Saul, Season 6: Episode 7. They talk about the underlying philosophy of the show, that of its main protagonists, and its outlook on human nature. Near the end, Richard and Chris speculate on how the show will end. For their previous discussion about the Breaking Bad universe, see here. For the video of this discussion, and where you can leave comments, click here.

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Chris Nicholson joins Richard Hanania for a new weekly series discussing Better Call Saul. In their first episode, they talk about big ideas in the Breaking Bad universe. Richard argues that one of the main messages of the shows is that there is a weak correlation between likability and morality in individuals, something it is very easy to fool ourselves about. Can people’s personalities and moral outlook change? What is it that separates the characters who are completely irredeemable from those that are more nuanced? Are there different types of “good” characters, and what is the relationship between rule following and morality? Finally, the conversation touches on the treatment, or lack thereof, of race and gender issues in the shows, and what the producers are trying to tell us about the American legal system and institutions more broadly. Watch the video here.

This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.richardhanania.com/subscribe

I recently spoke with Rob Henderson about the HBO show Succession. We both have found the series a smart and compelling take on our contemporary politics.

Some themes we touch on: differences between conservative and liberal elites; the unusual lack of diversity for a series in our “Current Year” atmosphere; how we define “pervert” and whether one of the Roy children qualifies; the portrayal of both the conservative and liberal perspectives on political divides; why even those on the left are probably more likely to find a portrayal of a conservative family more interesting than one of a liberal family; and how the show captures intellectual currents and dynamics within the conservative movement. At one point, a character actually says the words “He’s a neocon pretending to be a paleocon!”

The show includes a clear stand-in for Bernie Sanders. I also see depictions of Mike Pence, Marco Rubio, the version of Tucker that exists in the liberal imagination, and a senator representing some kind of integralist-alt right synthesis. Is there a Trump? His shadow hangs over the whole show, and we discuss the arguments for and against his existence in its universe.

I explain to Rob why I think that one particular episode serves as a kind of artistic representation of my article, “Why is Everything Liberal?”, while the series as a whole is also consistent with themes from “Liberals Read, Conservatives Watch TV.”

You can listen to the podcast here, or watch the video at YouTube. You can comment on the episode on the Substack page for the video.

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Rob Henderson and Richard Hanania discuss the film Patton (1970). They talk about what it's like in 2021 trying to understand a movie released in 1970 portraying the America of the Second World War. Rob and Richard analyze the military's role in society; what the movie tells us about American culture during WWII and in the generation after; and divisions between elites and the masses in the US across time. Watch on YouTube here.

On Nixon’s obsession with the movie.

Patton on Sicilians.

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Richard Hanania and Rob Henderson review Parasite (2019). Discussion includes class differences between the US and South Korea, masculinity and class, and whether the movie had a right wing or left wing message. Watch the YouTube video here. Spoilers for the movie throughout, and spoilers for The Sopranos at about 22:30-23:30 (22:00-23:00 in the video).

This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.richardhanania.com/subscribe

I discuss The Many Saints of Newark (2021) with Rob Henderson. For reference, see our earlier discussion on The Sopranos, in podcast and video form.

Listen here, or watch the video below. This movie was a major disappointment, and made me wonder the extent to which great art can be made anymore.

We talk about woke themes, how race and gender relations are portrayed in the movie, whether the supernatural exists in the Sopranos universe, the role of psychiatry in modern liberal thought, how establishment liberalism has become feminized over the years and inconsistencies between the movie and the show.

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I am joined by Rob Henderson to talk about the HBO show "White Lotus" (2021). We discuss the show's treatment of race, sex, class, generational differences, wokeness, and much more.

Up until this point I have paywalled these discussions while putting them on YouTube for free, but I doubt anyone is actually subscribing to the Substack just for our TV and movies stuff, so I’m thinking I’m just going to make them all free from now on.

The subscription thing will now be completely voluntary, though I would like to provide something for subscribers. I’m thinking of having an hour or so on Zoom, and just letting people pop in and talk to me about whatever. I don’t know if there’s any actual demand for this, so let me know by replying to this e-mail or leaving a comment if you’re interested.

Here’s Andrew Sullivan’s review of the show, referenced in the discussion.

This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.richardhanania.com/subscribe