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

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 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

Leni Riefenstahl remains the most famous of all Nazi propagandists, but to what extent can films like Triumph of the Will be rescued from their fascist origins. The revelatory new documentary RIEFENSTAHL (2024) argues persuasively: not at all.

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

"Fascinating Fascism" by Susan Sontag - https://www.nybooks.com/articles/1975/02/06/fascinating-fascism/

#654 - Fascinating Fascism

Sometimes we just want to watch a good movie. That's why we're taking a trip to the San Fernando Valley to discuss Paul Thomas Anderson's breakthrough film, BOOGIE NIGHTS (1997). Ever heard of it? PLUS: Jeffrey Epstein and the British government.

PATREON-EXCLUSIVE EPISODE - https://www.patreon.com/posts/139157291

PREVIEW - #655 - The Boogie Night Episode

By popular demand, we discuss John Boorman's notorious post-sexual-revolution fantasy freakout ZARDOZ (1974), in which Sean Connery in a red diaper reconnects a future dystopia with its loins. PLUS: We discuss the man of the hour, our modern Cicero, Mr. Jimmy Kimmel.

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

"Rand Paul brings back antiwoke capitalism" by Carl Beijer - https://www.peoplesline.org/p/rand-paul-brings-back-antiwoke-capitalism

#656 - From Zardoz with Love

It's time to lose ourselves in the music, the moment. At the behest of our Superdelegate patron tier, we investigate the online phenomenon known as (deep, heavy sigh) EPIC RAP BATTLES OF HISTORY... and find ourselves meditating on the evolution of online humour. PLUS: Two legendary New York filmmakers weigh in on the mayoral race, and Armond White sticks up for Leni Riefenstahl!

PATREON-EXCLUSIVE EPISODE - https://www.patreon.com/posts/657-epic-crap-139676354

PREVIEW - #657 - Epic Crap Battles

Lurking in the deep, dark depths of Tubi, we found an ultra-low-budget, gender-swapped rip-off of Get Out... with Eric Roberts in the Bradley Whitford role. You are not prepared for WOKE (2024). PLUS: The Jimmy Kimmel scandal gives us renewed reason to ask: is politics downstream from culture?

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

#658 - Eric Roberts Squared

In light of recent revelations about legendary Tennessee sheriff Buford Pusser, we delved back into the Walking Tall cinematic universe with the final entry in the franchise to date, the Kevin Sorbo vehicle WALKING TALL: LONE JUSTICE (2007). In this entry, the stick-wielding sheriff moves from the rural south to big-city Dallas. PLUS: We investigate the National Review's list of the best conservative movies.

PATREON-EXCLUSIVE EPISODE - https://www.patreon.com/posts/659-into-pusser-140245478

PREVIEW - #659 - Into the Pusser-verse

Sitting in New York, not much happening. Sitting in Cleveland, not much happening. How about we go to Florida? We discuss Jim Jarmusch's breakout film STRANGER THAN PARADISE (1984), a film that heroically swan against the current of Reagan-era culture and politics.

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

OTTAWA - See Luke take part in a live podcast recording at Press Forward's Future of Independent Media Summit on Friday, October 3 - https://press-forward.ca/introducing-the-2025-future-of-independent-media-summit-in-ottawa/

NEW YORK - See Will present Plan 9 from Outer Space and sign copies of his book Ed Wood: Made in Hollywood USA at Metrograph on Thursday, October 9 - https://metrograph.com/film/?vista_film_id=9999004527

" 'Protect Empathy at All Costs. And Live Groovy Lives.' An Interview with Jim Jarmusch" by Bilge Ebiri - https://www.vulture.com/article/jim-jarmusch-father-mother-sister-brother-interview.html

#660 - Missed Connections

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

Popular tracks