Filmed over three years, the new HBO docuseries Q: INTO THE STORM (2021) seeks to find an answer to the question that plagued the Trump years: who is Q, the mysterious leader of the "QAnon" movement? The documentary offers a provisional answer... but of course, there is no one simple explanation for how QAnon came to dominate the past few years. We discuss the backwash of the Trump era, PLUS: a report on Fox News' new late-night talk show "Gutfeld!"

"Howard Dean pushes Biden to oppose generic COVID-19 vaccines for developing countries" by Lee Fang - https://theintercept.com/2021/04/08/howard-dean-biden-covid-vaccines/

"Is Gutfeld! the Worst Show on Television?" by Alex Shephard - https://newrepublic.com/article/161985/gutfeld-worst-show-television

Check out our Patreon for exclusive bonus episodes: https://www.patreon.com/michaelandus

Michael and Us

#224 - Q Vadis?

In the wake of the Labour Party's disastrous performance in the 2021 U.K. local elections, we're taking a look back at a key moment in recent British history. The made-for-TV movie COALITION (2015) documents the wheelings and dealings that led to Nick Clegg's Liberal-Democrats joining forces with David Cameron's Conservatives after. the 2010 election left no party with a parliamentary majority. We share some larfs over a perfectly mediocre movie, and. discuss the true meaning of "Cleggmania" and its aftermath. PLUS: Why can't Keir Starmer sell centrism like Tony Blair could? And reflections on Toronto's alt-media landscape, from NOW Magazine to Eye Weekly to The Grid.

"The Grid R.I.P." - http://radiofreecanuckistan.blogspot.com/2014/07/the-grid-rip.html

"Keir Starmer’s Televised Meltdown Was Decades in the Making" by Luke Savage - https://www.jacobinmag.com/2021/05/keir-starmer-bbc-meltdown-labour-election-hartlepool

#234 - Cleggmania Revisited

We discuss the work of Nick Park, the Writer/Director behind Wallace and Gromit, and dive into THE WRONG TROUSERS, CHICKEN RUN, and CURSE OF THE WERE-RABBIT.

If you have any questions or comments, feel free to drop us a line at importantcinemaclubpodcast@gmail.com

On this week's Patreon episode, we discuss Daneil Craig's tenure as James Bond.  Become a Patreon subscriber for $5 a month and get an exclusive episode every week!

www.patreon.com/theimportantcinemaclub

#226 - The Plasticine Dreams of Nick Park

Anders and Alex interview intellectual Mike Davis on global warming, gentrification, and building a new international Left. The Red Hot Chili Peppers only briefly come up

FOR THE FULL EPISODE AND MORE SUPPORT THE SHOW @ PATREON.COM/PODDAMNAMERICA

TEASER - Cali-Form-A-New-Communist-Party w/ Mike Davis

Writer Ann Neumann on her Baffler article "Drugs for the People," and in a Moment of Truth, Jeff Dorchen stands on a principle.

https://thebaffler.com/salvos/drugs-for-the-people-neumann

1264: Breaks in the drug supply chain / Ann Neumann

This week, the Global Research News Hour brings a special presentation proximate to the anniversary of the assassination of President Kennedy. Michael Parenti delves into the reality of the elite class within society engaging in these plots in order to protect their own power. Michael Parenti is an internationally known author and lecturer. He received his Ph.D. in political science from Yale in 1962 and is one of the nation's leading progressive political thinkers.  His highly informative and entertaining books and talks have reached a wide range of audiences in North America and abroad. His books include Democracy for the Few, Superpatriotism, The Assassination of Julius Caesar, History as Mystery, and Contrary Notions.

Conspiracy and Class Power: A Talk by Michael Parenti

I am utterly gutted by the recent passing of Leo Panitch, who was the editor of The Socialist Register and a mentor to so many people like me, so I did what odd-ball podcast hosts do and I turned to the mic to get out my feelings about his legacy and what he meant to me. After a 25-minute eulogy, I replay a B-Side chat that I did with Leo back in 2017. I tricked him into talking about his life by asking him questions about people who were near and dear to him, like Ralph Miliband, Tony Benn, Jeremy Corbyn, and so on. 

Rest well, Leo. And may the rest of us re-engage with his work and legacy.

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Remembering Leo Panitch: 50 Years on the Socialist Left

Lawyer and farmer activist Avik Saha on the planned corporate takeover of Indian agriculture.

1281: India's farm law disaster / Avik Saha

Anthropologist Ida Susser on her FocaalBlog article "Covid, police brutality and race: are ongoing French mobilizations breaking through the class boundaries?" and in a Moment of Truth, Jeff Dorchen revisits the US military’s violations of the hospitality code.

http://www.focaalblog.com/2020/12/03/ida-susser-covid-police-brutality-and-race-are-ongoing-french-mobilizations-breaking-through-the-class-boundaries/

1284: Police violence, protest and working class convergence / Ida Susser

William Callison and Quinn Slobodian on their article "Coronapolitics from the Reichstag to the Capitol" for Boston Review.

https://bostonreview.net/politics/william-callison-quinn-slobodian-coronapolitics-reichstag-capitol

1285: Crisis diagonalism / William Callison + Quinn Slobodian

Attorneys Flint Taylor and Jeff Haas on their report "New Documents Suggest J. Edgar Hoover Was Involved in Fred Hampton’s Murder" for Truthout.

https://truthout.org/articles/new-documents-suggest-j-edgar-hoover-was-involved-in-fred-hamptons-murder/

1281: India's farm law disaster / Avik Saha

This Is Hell!