Unclear and Present Danger

For episode 19 of Unclear and Present Danger, Jamelle and John watch “In the Line of Duty: Ambush in Waco,” a ripped-from-the-headlines-style movie about the siege at Waco. They use the movie as an occasion to discuss right-wing extremism, abuse and overreach among federal law enforcement, and how both played themselves out in American culture.

Connor Lynch produced this episode. Artwork by Rachel Eck.

Contact us!

Follow us on Twitter!

John Ganz

Jamelle Bouie

Links from the episode!

New York Times front-page for May 23, 1993

“Bring the War Home: The White Power Movement and Paramilitary America” by Kathleen Belew

American Experience: Ruby Ridge

“Waco: The Rules of Engagement,” a 1997 documentary on the siege and its fallout.

Jamelle, for one, has been very excited about this episode, an analysis of Joel Schumacher’s 1993 film “Falling Down.” In the conversation, Jamelle and John discuss the populist moment of the early 1990s, the discourse around the “angry white man,” the class politics (or lack thereof) of the film, and the erosion of the post-war anti-fascist consensus.

Connor Lynch produced this episode. Artwork by Rachel Eck.

Contact us!

Follow us on Twitter!

John Ganz

Jamelle Bouie

Links from the episode!

New York Times front-page for February 26, 1993

Carol Clover on “Falling Down” in Sight and Sound magazine.

A New York Time story on the “race to win over the angry white male” from 1995.

In this episode of Unclear and President Danger, Jamelle and John discuss “Sniper,” a delightful piece of genre trash that also happens to speak to some of the paranoias and prejudices of the era. To that point, their conversation veers from the anti-Bill Clinton conspiracy theories of the early 1990s to the militia aesthetic that emerged later in the decade.

Contact us!

Follow us on Twitter!

John Ganz

Jamelle Bouie

Links from the episode!

New York Times front page for January 29, 1993

“The Panama Deception” documentary

Wikipedia page for “Soldier of Fortune” magazine.

For episode 16 of Unclear and Present Danger, Jamelle and John discuss “Under Siege,” 1992 action thriller directed by Andrew Davis and starring Steven Seagal in what is clearly his best role. We talk about Seagal’s career, Hollywood’s view of the American military in this era of filmmaking, and the strange, almost left-wing politics of this movie in particular. Jamelle also attempts a bad impression of Seagal. It’s a good time.

“Under Siege” is available for rent on Amazon and iTunes.

Our logo, as always, is courtesy of the great Rachel Eck, who you can find on Instagram.

Contact us!

Follow us on Twitter!

John Ganz

Jamelle Bouie

Links from the episode!

New York Times frontpage for October 9, 1992

Steven Seagal’s infamously unwatchable appearance on Saturday Night Live.

Scene in “Austin Powers” where Austin learns the Cold War is over.

On episode 15 of Unclear and Present Danger, Jamelle and John are joined by Mike Duncan (Revolutions podcast, “Hero of Two Worlds: The Marquis de Lafayette in the Age of Revolution”) to discuss the delightful 1992 thriller Sneakers. It’s a movie about a tech mogul who hopes to stage an information revolution and, not surprisingly, John, Jamelle and Mike discuss the internet, social revolutions, and the challenge of building something out of nothing.

Our logo, as always, is courtesy of the great Rachel Eck, who you can find on Instagram.

Contact us!

Follow us on Twitter!

John Ganz

Jamelle Bouie

Mike Duncan

Links from the episode!

New York Times front-page for September 11, 1992

Sneakers Computer Press Kit

“Marxism and Politics” by Ralph Miliband

It’s episode 14 of Unclear and Present Danger and we’re talking Oliver Stone’s ridiculous yet incredibly-compelling conspiracy thriller, JFK. Jamelle and John are joined by the historian Alexis Coe to discuss the film, as well as the real John F. Kennedy, his life and legacy. This is a long and fruitful conversation, that covers everything from the Boomer wish-fulfillment which animates the movie to the political consequences of conspiracy-thinking.

Once again, our new logo is courtesy of the great Rachel Eck! You can find her on Instagram.

Contact us!

Follow us on Twitter!

John Ganz

Jamelle Bouie

Alexis Coe

Links from the episode!

New York Times front-page for December 20, 1991

Oliver Stone’s New York Times op-ed defending the film.

Miller Center of Public Affairs page on the Kennedy presidency.

Politico Magazine on John F. Kennedy and Margaret Coit

Once Upon a Secret: My Affair with President John F. Kennedy and Its Aftermath by Mimi Alford

Is a Star Trek movie a political and military thriller? We think so! Which is why, for this thirteenth episode of Unclear and Present Danger, Jamelle and John (and their guest, Sam Adler-Bell of the “Know Your Enemy” podcast) discussed Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country. They talked about the nature of Star Trek’s utopianism, questioned whether the Federation is actually a good thing, and gave a close reading of the film’s Cold War allegory.

Our new logo is courtesy of the great Rachel Eck! You can find her on Instagram.

Contact us!

Follow us on Twitter!

John Ganz

Jamelle Bouie

Sam Adler-Bell

Links from the episode!

New York Times front-page for December 6, 1991

IMDB page for Nicholas Meyer

The Fifty-Year Mission: The Complete, Uncensored, Unauthorized Oral History of Star Trek: The First 25 Years

On episode 12 of Unclear and Present and Danger, Jamelle and John talk about, and puzzle over, the 1991 action comedy (comedic thriller?) “Company Business.” They have an extended discussion of Gene Hackman’s career, talk Mikhail Gorbachev and the collapse of the Soviet Union, and think about the surge of populism that struck American politics in the early 1990s.

Our new logo is courtesy of the great Rachel Eck! You can find her on Instagram.

Contact us!

Follow us on Twitter!

John Ganz

Jamelle Bouie

Links from the episode!

New York Times front-page for September 6, 1991

Martin Chilton’s 2020 profile of Gene Hackman

“Collapse: The Fall of the Soviet Union” by Vladislav M. Zubok

On this 11th episode of Unclear and Present Danger, Jamelle and John are joined by the journalist and author Jonathan Katz to talk John Milius' 1991 Vietnam drama, “Flight of the Intruder.” Among many other things, they talk Milius' work and career, the place of Vietnam in American’s historical memory, the political impact of the Gulf War, and the search for meaning through conflict.

Our logo is courtesy of the great Rachel Eck! You can find her on Instagram.

Contact us!

Follow us on Twitter!

John Ganz

Jamelle Bouie

Jonathan Katz

Links from the episode!

New York Times front-page for January 18, 1991

Roger Ebert’s review

The American Conservative on John Milius

In this tenth episode of Unclear and Present Danger, Jamelle and John talk a little about this week’s movie, the 1991 submarine farce “Going Under,” but devote most of the episode to discussing the war in Ukraine, Vladimir Putin’s regime in Russia, and the way the world has underestimated the power of democracy.

Also, you might notice that we have a new logo. That is courtesy of the great Rachel Eck! You can find her on Instagram.

Contact us!

Follow us on Twitter!

John Ganz

Jamelle Bouie

Links from the episode!

New York Times for Friday, August 23, 1991

A comprehensive explainer of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine at Jewish Currents magazine.

Wikipedia entry for the French Revolutionary Army

Wikipedia entry for the United States Colored Troops