We mark Queen Elizabeth's passing by looking at towering work of royalist kitsch, THE KING'S SPEECH (2010). We discuss how this Oscar-winner humanizes the monarchy in order to uphold it.

See Luke speak at the Toronto International Festival of Authors on September 27 - https://festivalofauthors.ca/event/critical-conversation-new-working-class/

Hear Will on Canadaland - https://www.canadaland.com/podcast/815-our-royals-our-elves/

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

Michael and Us

#366 - Coronation Training Montage

We've gazed into the abyss many times before but the Ray Romano/Gene Hackman comedy WELCOME TO MOOSEPORT (2004) - in which a former U.S. president runs for mayor against a small-town handyman - comes close to breaking us. PLUS: We recap the U.S. midterms, and ask: Is Ron DeSantis a serious threat to Donald Trump? (Short answer: no)

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#380 - Occupy Mooseport

As we enter 2023, it's time for our annual look back on the movies that defined our podcast over the past 12 months. In our third Year-in-Review Extravaganza, we're handing out awards for Best Movie, Worst Movie, Best End-of-History Movie, Thing We Liked Growing Up That Holds Up Relatively Well, Best Tubi Movie, and more. Will Alexandra Pelosi win an award? Will Dinesh D'Souza go home empty-handed? What about Trump vs. the Illuminati? Tune in to find out!

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

#391 - The Third Annual Michael & Us Year-in-Review Extravaganza

Upon its release, Steven Soderbergh's TRAFFIC (2000) offered something novel: a cinematic tapestry that criticized America's War on Drugs. More than 20 years later, we consider its strengths, as well as the impact that time has diminished. PLUS: Let's read a little from Prince Harry autobiography, shall we?

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

#394 - The View from Nowhere

A misanthropic catalog of shocking images from around the world, the bizarre, unpleasant, baldly racist, and extremely influential MONDO CANE (1962) was a pioneering "shockumentary." We revisit this strange and ugly artefact to discuss why it was taken so seriously in its day.

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#396 - Mondo Argumento

Ukraine’s leader Volodymyr Zelensky admitted he refused to implement the 2015 Minsk II peace deal with Russia. Germany and France said Kiev used the agreement to “buy time” to prepare for war. Israel's ex Prime Minister Naftali Bennett revealed the West "blocked" attempt to hold negotiations.

VIDEO: https://youtube.com/watch?v=QLJDROnssgA

Sources and more information here: https://geopoliticaleconomy.com/2023/02/10/ukraine-zelensky-minsk-peace-russia

West killed peace proposal to end Ukraine war, Russia supported negotiated settlement: https://geopoliticaleconomy.com/2022/09/03/west-peace-proposal-ukraine-russia

US, UK, France promised USSR not to expand NATO east of Germany, newly discovered document proves: https://geopoliticaleconomy.com/2022/02/20/us-uk-france-russia-expand-nato-east-germany

US gov’t body plots to break up Russia in name of ‘decolonization’: https://geopoliticaleconomy.com/2022/06/23/us-government-decolonize-russia

Ukraine’s Zelensky sabotaged peace deal with Russia, West blocked negotiations

The amateur documentary MY YANG GANG DIARY (2021) gives us opportunity to look back on the presidential candidacy of Andrew Yang. We discuss how the "Not left, not right, but forward" candidate offered a vision of radical centrism.

"What Happened to Andrew Yang?" by Akela Lacy - https://theintercept.com/2021/08/15/andrew-yang-new-york-mayor/

#403 - Fully Automated Luxury Centrism

Economist Radhika Desai and Ben Norton discuss the neoliberal myth of "globalization", the contradictions of US hegemony, and the crisis of capitalism.

VIDEO: https://youtube.com/watch?v=GRKHCwVzvTs

This is part 1 in a series discussing Radhika's new book "Capitalism, Coronavirus, and War: A Geopolitical Economy".

You can download Radhika's book for free here: https://geopoliticaleconomy.com/2023/02/17/capitalism-coronavirus-war-geopolitical-economy-radhika-desai

Other episodes in the series: https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLDAi0NdlN8hNZoKp0XsLFwSxxlMQu6ye8

You can get Radhika's previous book "Geopolitical Economy: After US Hegemony, Globalization, and Empire" here: https://plutobooks.com/9781849648400/geopolitical-economy

The 'globalization' myth, US hegemony, and crisis of capitalism, with Radhika Desai

"A soy-banter Nicolas Cage Dracula movie" was too enticing a pitch to pass up, so we hit up our local multiplex to see RENFIELD (2023). PLUS: Do conservatives need "a populist Dracula"? At least one right-wing outlet thinks so!

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#425 - A Populist Dracula

Our sacred quest to tackle every political comedy inevitably reaches the Will Ferrell/Zack Galifianakis vehicle THE CAMPAIGN (2012). We discuss what a middle-of-the-road comedy from smack dab in the middle of the Obama era captures of its time and ambience. PLUS: Checking in on some of the wackier characters in the Toronto mayoral race.

#436 - Let's See What's On Netflix...

Released in the middle of the Obama era, George Clooney's THE IDES OF MARCH (2011) has a lot to tell us about a time when the horizons of possibility were contracting. That's right, folks - it's time to have fun with a good, old-fashioned Politics Movie™.

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#454 - The Liberal Imagination

A podcast about political cinema and our crumbling world. Hosted by Will Sloan and Luke Savage.

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

#396 - Mondo Argumento

Michael and Us

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