PATREON EPISODE - https://www.patreon.com/posts/66509310

In DELTA FARCE (2007), "blue collar" comedian Larry the Cable Guy goes to fight in Iraq, but winds up in Mexico. That's right, folks - it's another document from the Bush era. We discuss conservative comedy and touch on the legendary Larry/David Cross feud that tore a nation asunder. PLUS: Luke reveals a traumatic memory involving the Ninja Turtles.

Michael and Us

PREVIEW - #333 - Weekend Warriors

Sure, he's incredibly annoying now, but how funny was Ricky Gervais in his prime? We return to our old mandate of interrogating things we liked when we were teenagers by revisiting his acclaimed sitcom EXTRAS and its Christmas Special. PLUS: Did you know that Will wrote a book?

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

Pre-order Will's book ED WOOD: MADE IN HOLLYWOOD USA - https://orbooks.com/catalog/ed-wood/

While you're there, why not also order Luke's book THE DEAD CENTER? - https://orbooks.com/catalog/the-dead-center/

"The British Monarchy Will Not Survive Late Capitalism — And Harry and Meghan Are Proof" by Luke Savage - https://jacobin.com/2021/03/british-monarchy-neoliberal-age-prince-harry-meghan-markle

#616 - When the Whistle Blows

In the delightful TRUE STORIES (1986), David Byrne offered a whimsical view of the late Reagan era through the lens of a fictional Texas town. We consider the politics - or lack thereof - of Byrne's Warholian gaze on America and Her Problems. PLUS: Checking in Thomas Friedman.

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

"David Byrne on True Stories" by Kory Grow - https://www.rollingstone.com/tv-movies/tv-movie-features/david-byrne-true-stories-interview-754919/

"David Byrne’s History Of Avoiding Unions Dates Back To The 1980s" by Daniel Marans - https://www.huffpost.com/entry/david-byrne-history-of-union-avoidance_n_647e6c0fe4b0047ed782e1ad

#619 - A Celebration of Specialness

In last year's Oscar contender CONCLAVE (2024), the election of a new pope at Vatican City becomes a centrist parable for navigating an era of political extremes. PLUS: We recap the strangest Canadian election of the century so far.

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

Check out Will's book Ed Wood: Made in Hollywood USA - https://orbooks.com/catalog/ed-wood/

Subscribe to Luke's Substack - https://www.lukewsavage.com/

"Conclave, and the liberal abyss," by Reuben of Haringey - https://fromthisbrokenhill.substack.com/p/conclave-and-the-liberal-abyss

#620 - Creation In Pectore

A little over a decade ago, Spike Jonze's HER (2013) imagined a world where artificial intelligence had progressed to the point where a man might strike up a plausible romance with Siri. We check in on its dystopian (?) vision to see what about it has come true, and in what way. PLUS: Doing a vibe check on "the 51st state," and an upsetting update about our favourite band.

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

DALLAS - See Will (virtually) introduce Glen or Glenda at the Spacy Microcinema on June 19 - https://www.spacydtx.com/list/evan-gordon-presents-glen-or-glenda

SEATTLE - See Will present an Ed Wood double feature at the Beacon Theater on July 25 - https://thebeacon.film/calendar/movie/ed-wood-made-in-hollywood-usa-w-will-sloan

Subscribe to Luke's Substack - https://www.lukewsavage.com/

#627 - Fully-Automated Luxury Partner

With a high-profile mayoral election on the horizon in Da Big Apple, we're in a New York frame of mind on this episode. We were also in the mood for a good-ass movie, so we watched THE TAKING OF PELHAM ONE TWO THREE (1974), the subway-set New York heist classic where everyone is ugly and annoyed. PLUS: We check in on everyone's favourite disgraced Manhattan politician.

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

"The Paucity of Abundance" by Luke Savage - https://www.lukewsavage.com/p/the-paucity-of-abundance

"The Parable of a Communally-Bought Lot" by Freddie deBoer - https://freddiedeboer.substack.com/p/the-parable-of-a-communally-bought

#629 - Slow Train Coming

It's time to unload on one of our favourite guys. It's time for the long-awaited deep-dive into the comedy albums of the King of the K-Hive, Greg Proops.

PATREON-EXCLUSIVE EPISODE - https://www.patreon.com/posts/131273255

PREVIEW - #630 - The Day the Clapter Died

We continue our informal retrospective of dirty-looking New York movies with the Safdie Brothers' GOOD TIME (2017), a rare modern NYC movie that shows what the city really looks like. PLUS: Checking in on the New York mayoral race, and a challenging question about a prominent Canadian celebrity.

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

The David Cayley podcast archive - https://www.davidcayley.com/podcasts

#631 - Rhapsody in Neon

In Episode 14 of THE NEWSROOM ("Unintended Consequences"), we get to hear what Will McAvoy REALLY thinks about this whole Occupy Wall Street business, and it doesn't disappoint - unlike the rest of the episode. PLUS: George W. Bush's movie taste revealed!

PATREON-EXCLUSIVE EPISODE - https://www.patreon.com/posts/131797776

PREVIEW - #632 - Blonde on Blonde (Newsroom Part 14)

As Torontonians, we couldn't pass up the chance to watch Netflix's new documentary about our ex-mayor, the late Rob Ford. But while TRAINWRECK: MAYOR OF MAYHEM (2025) collects most of the classic Ford moments into one slick package, it leaves the real meaning of Ford on the margins. PLUS: Has the consent-manufacturing industry seemed a bit weak these days to you?

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

"Farewell to Ford Nation?" by Luke Savage - https://jacobin.com/2016/03/rob-ford-toronto-canada-mayor-austerity

"I Just Got Back From the Centrist Rally. It Was Weird as Hell" by Aída Chávez - https://www.thenation.com/article/politics/welcomefest-dispatch-centrism-abundance/

#633 - More Than Enough to Stream at Home

We all know where Bill Maher stands on the issues nowadays... but where was the bleeding edge of the centre-left in the Iraq War era? We dug up his Bush-era special BILL MAHER: VICTORY BEGINS AT HOME (2003) to investigate. PLUS: Remember Bruce Lee? He's back - in A.I. form!

PATREON-EXCLUSIVE EPISODE - https://www.patreon.com/posts/132304807

PREVIEW - #634 - Old Skin on the New Rules

In our last (for now) dive into John Cleese's bizarre centrist chat-show THE DINOSAUR HOUR, our host find himself flummoxed by the unabashedly right-wing politics of special guest Caitlyn Jenner. We saved the best for last!

Follow long at home - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GnYS6TxmLmc&t=1642s&ab_channel=GBNews

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

#635 - Fall of the Dinosaur Hour

From war crimes overseas to revenge porn at home, it all comes back to social media. In Season 2 episode 5 of THE NEWSROOM ("News Night with Will McAvoy"), a dizzying number of Twitter- and Buzzfeed-related plots swirl around a single broadcast... and there's still a little time for a Trayvon Martin subplot, too.

PATREON-EXCLUSIVE EPISODE - https://www.patreon.com/posts/636-righteous-of-133446350

PREVIEW - #636 - Righteous Daughters of Jihadi Excellence (Newsroom Part 15)

Angel Studios, the company that gave you Sound of Freedom, has become a major player in the faith-based movie market... so we wanted to check out one of their movies that's NOT about child trafficking. So we watched Neal McDonough's THE LAST RODEO (2025), and found some interesting new developments in the Christian movie world. PLUS: Catching up on recent events - Zohran Mamdani! Jeffrey Epstein! And of course, that Big, Beautiful Bill!

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

Our episode on Sound of Freedom - https://www.patreon.com/posts/448-sound-of-87093158

TORONTO: See Will introduce Detour on July 15 - https://www.foxtheatre.ca/movies/the-important-cinema-club-masterpiece-classics-detour-1945/

SEATTLE: See Will present an Ed Wood double feature on July 25 - https://thebeacon.film/calendar/movie/ed-wood-made-in-hollywood-usa-w-will-sloan

#637 - Approved by the Angel Guild

In a tumultuous year of American history, Frederick Wiseman's cinéma vérité classic HIGH SCHOOL (1968) depicts an ordinary Philadelphia school as a system of authority and repression. Some things never change! PLUS: Grok has been saying some unfortunate things lately.

PATREON-EXCLUSIVE EPISODE - https://www.patreon.com/posts/134229948

PREVIEW - #638 - Class of '68

A superstar atheist has a near-death experience and becomes a born-again Christian in LET THERE BE LIGHT (2017), the directorial debut of Kevin Sorbo. We take a spiritual journey that leads us to the same destination as any other: to an ad for an app.

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

#639 - Pod is Not Great

The timeline of Aaron Sorkin's THE NEWSROOM is getting further and further into the 2012 presidential election... so it only makes sense that Season 2 Episode 6 ("One Step Too Many") is the horniest episode yet! We catch up on some shocking developments in the "Genoa tip," and find out the true meaning of "discretionary time."

PATREON-EXCLUSIVE EPISODE - https://www.patreon.com/posts/640-time-part-16-134860722

PREVIEW - #640 - Discretionary Time (Newsroom Part 16)

In Werner Herzog's INTO THE INFERNO (2016), a self-described cinematic poet teams with a Cambridge scientist for a documentary about volcanos that marries scientific inquiry with a healthy respect for myth and legend. And we also get to visit North Korea. PLUS: Who is the greatest podcaster of all time?

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

#641 - Every Man for Himself and God Against All

In the 2000s, there was one form of political iconoclasm that was guaranteed to never get you in any trouble, and it was called libertarianism. At the behest of our Superdelegate patron tier, we return to... (deep, heavy sigh)... PENN & TELLER: BULLSHIT!, with special attention to the episodes "College" and "Safety Hysteria," and remember a popular form of "skepticism" that sounds an awful lot like just being a Republican.

PATREON-EXCLUSIVE EPISODE - https://www.patreon.com/posts/135327052

PREVIEW - #642 - Penn and Teller's Bullshit

Ari Aster's EDDINGTON (2025) takes us back to the lockdown year of 2020, satirizing the many archetypes and discourses - right, left, and centre - that flourished during the pandemic. We attempt to analyze what, if anything, Aster is saying, and dredge up a lot of unpleasant sense-memories in the process!

PATREON-EXCLUSIVE EPISODE - https://www.patreon.com/posts/135554313

PREVIEW - #643 - In Search of Lost Timelines

Donald Trump has said repeatedly that Billy Wilder's SUNSET BOULEVARD (1950) is one of his favorite movies. We revisit one of Hollywood's enduring classics and try to figure out if the current president identifies more with Norma Desmond or Joe Gillis. PLUS: Are we entering the worst season for political memoirs of all time?

"President Trump isn’t happy about the Oscar for ‘Parasite.’ What movies does he like?" by Josh Rottenberg - https://www.latimes.com/entertainment-arts/movies/story/2020-02-21/president-trump-favorite-movies-parasite-oscar

"The Worst Campaign Book Season of All Time Is Here" by Katherine Krueger - https://www.discourseblog.com/p/the-worst-campaign-book-season-of

#644 - Her Celluloid Self

In WAR OF THE WORLDS (2025), Ice Cube stars as a Homeland Security analyst who uncovers a Deep State surveillance plot AND foils an alien invasion - all without ever leaving his Zoom window. We watched the certified Bad Movie that's sweeping the nation.

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

Luke's substack - https://www.lukewsavage.com/

Come see Will will at one of the stops on his book tour:

LOS ANGELES - August 30, book signing and Q&A with Dana Gould at Artbook - https://www.eventbrite.com/e/ed-wood-made-in-hollywood-usa-la-book-launch-with-will-sloan-dana-gould-tickets-1560019523389

LOS ANGELES - August 30, "Ed Wood on VHS" at WHAMMY - https://www.eventbrite.ca/e/ed-wood-on-vhs-feat-the-sinister-urge-1960-presented-by-will-sloan-tickets-1568174324619

CHICAGO - August 31, "Trust Fall" at Davis Theater - https://davistheater.com/special_events/trust-fall/

TORONTO - September 12, Glen or Glenda screening at the Paradise Theatre - https://paradiseonbloor.com/movies/glen-or-glenda/

#645 - NatSec: Shock and Terror

Released just months after the attack on Pearl Harbor, Ernst Lubitsch's TO BE OR NOT TO BE (1942) combined farce and thrills in Nazi-occupied Poland. A satire that was once considered "too soon" has aged into one of the great anti-fascists landmarks of cinema. PLUS: Remembering the golden age of "Twitter comedians."

PATREON-EXCLUSIVE EPISODE - https://www.patreon.com/posts/136400200

PREVIEW - #646 - To Be or Not to Be

In 1994, Hong Kongers were counting down to the looming Mainland handover. But some of them were also counting down to the expiry date on a can of pineapples. We discuss Wong Kar-wai's CHUNGKING EXPRESS (1994), a quintessentially Hong Kong movie with universal resonance. PLUS: Checking in on Canada's Mark Carney government, and the unconscionable western media response to Israel's targeting of Palestinian journalists.

*

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

Luke's substack - https://www.lukewsavage.com/

Come see Will will at one of the stops on his book tour:

LOS ANGELES - August 30, book signing and Q&A with Dana Gould at Artbook - https://www.eventbrite.com/e/ed-wood-made-in-hollywood-usa-la-book-launch-with-will-sloan-dana-gould-tickets-1560019523389

LOS ANGELES - August 30, "Ed Wood on VHS" at WHAMMY - https://www.eventbrite.ca/e/ed-wood-on-vhs-feat-the-sinister-urge-1960-presented-by-will-sloan-tickets-1568174324619

CHICAGO - August 31, "Trust Fall" at Davis Theater - https://davistheater.com/special_events/trust-fall/

TORONTO - September 12, Glen or Glenda screening at the Paradise Theatre - https://paradiseonbloor.com/movies/glen-or-glenda/

*

"Mark Carney won on a promise of strong but fair Canada. This is how he is betraying that vision" by Luke Savage - https://www.thestar.com/opinion/contributors/mark-carney-won-on-a-promise-of-strong-but-fair-canada-this-is-how-he/article_4d53c228-bf60-411d-b6e3-be93669eba8e.html

"Postmedia masquerading pro-Israel 'advocacy polemics' as news" by Jeremy Appel - https://www.readtheorchard.org/p/postmedia-masquerading-pro-israel

"Chungking Express: Electric Youth" by Amy Taubin - https://www.criterion.com/current/posts/766-chungking-express-electric-youth

"Poet of Time: Wong Kar-wai on Chungking Express" by Tony Rayns - https://www.bfi.org.uk/sight-and-sound/features/poet-time-wong-kar-wai-chungking-express

#647 - Chungking Express

We make one last, final, terminal - we really mean it, this is the last one unless they make a second season! - visit to our favourite British institution, John Cleese's bizarre GB News chat show THE DINOSAUR HOUR. We discuss the show's final episode, "Religion," which doesn't deliver on quite the terms you might expect from the co-author of Life of Brian.

PATREON-EXCLUSIVE EPISODE - https://www.patreon.com/posts/648-extinction-136964730

PREVIEW - #648 - Exctinction of the Dinosaur Hour

What if a middle-aged Toronto-based businessman decided to become Robert De Niro? Friends, you don't have to wonder! We discuss the hilarious vanity project REAL GANGSTERS!™ (2013), by Canada's answer to Tommy Wiseau.

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

"Ottawa’s Air Canada strike debacle shows it failed to learn from history" by Barry Eidlin - https://www.theglobeandmail.com/business/commentary/article-air-canada-strike-flight-attendants-union-cupe/

"The Air Canada strike wasn’t just a win for workers. It was also a wrench in Mark Carney’s plans" by Luke Savage - https://www.thestar.com/opinion/contributors/the-air-canada-strike-wasnt-just-a-win-for-workers-it-was-also-a-wrench/article_723e12c5-a225-4565-b044-206eeef18c49.html

Will's classic interview with Tommy Wiseau - https://www.patreon.com/posts/bonus-will-tommy-22188229

"How Did an Oscar-Nominated Legend End Up in This Painfully Amateurish Horror Film?" by Vadim Rizov - https://www.vanityfair.com/hollywood/2015/11/james-caan-sicilian-vampire



#649 - Once Upon a Time on King Street

How far is one of America's most famous liberal creators willing to accommodate a critique of institutional power? We return to Aaron Sorkin's THE NEWSROOM with Season 2 Episode 7 ("Red Team III"), which brings the "Operation Genoa" story to a startling conclusion. PLUS: Checking in on Gavin Newsom's new Based rebrand.

PATREON-EXCLUSIVE EPISODE - https://www.patreon.com/posts/650-i-love-lucy-137519725

PREVIEW - #650 - An 'I Love Lucy' Number (Newsroom Part 17)

The same year that American Pie became a cultural phenomenon, BUT I'M A CHEERLEADER (1999) re-invented the teen comedy from a queer angle. We try to figure out why the mainstream reception was so hostile. PLUS: So, what exactly is going on with the Cracker Barrel??

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

#651 - Break the Barrel

Before they defined Canada's political landscape - and became adversaries on the question of Quebecois independence - Pierre Trudeau and René Lévesque were allies on the road to the Quiet Revolution. We discuss Donald Brittain's documentary THE CHAMPIONS, PART 1: UNLIKELY WARRIORS (1978) and the growing pains of Canada in its postwar era.

PATREON-EXCLUSIVE EPISODE - https://www.patreon.com/posts/652-cite-libre-138171420

PREVIEW - #652 - Cité libre

Kevin Sorbo wants you to know that having a gun and using it is perfectly compatible with Christianity. We discuss THE RELIANT (2019), a right-wing Christian movie in which the Second Amendment survives the fall of civilization. PLUS: Speaking of right-wing movies, it looks like ol' Sheriff Buford Pusser was hiding a secret.

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

Our classic episode on the original Walking Tall - https://www.patreon.com/posts/503-suggested-by-99355800

#653 - Fervent House Media

A podcast about culture, politics, and our crumbling world. Hosted by Luke Savage and Will Sloan.

Exclusive subscriber-only episodes: https://www.patreon.com/michaelandus/overview

Michael and Us

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