Michael and Us

Mar 04 2025 500 ep. 28 mins 1.9k
Michael and Us Podcast artwork

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

  TV & Film
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#604 - Prestige Slop, Part 2

Mar 04 2025 45 mins  
We return to Netflix's political miniseries ZERO DAY to find out what happened to Robert De Niro's Biden-ish ex-president... and discover something startlingly close to a liberal QAnon. PLUS: Well it turns out the U.S./Canada trade war is on! Join us on Patreon for an extra episode every week - https://www.patreon.com/michaelandus "Is Lenny Bruce Funny?" by Will Sloan - https://h

PREVIEW - #603 - Hail, Coens!

Mar 03 2025 3 mins  
The Coen Brothers' BURN AFTER READING (2008) offers a jaundiced take on Washington and its institutions at the tail end of the Bush era. We were in a desperate need of a good time, and the Coen Brothers can always be depended on to deliver. PLUS: Chinese blockbusters vs. American blockbusters - who will own this century? PATREON-EXCLUSIVE EPISODE - https://www.patreon.com/posts/12

#602 - Prestige Slop

Feb 28 2025 54 mins  
Imagine someone fed the last 10-or-so years of American liberal politics into an A.I. machine and told it to create a Netflix miniseries. Friends... you don't have to imagine. We discuss Robert De Niro in ZERO DAY (2025), the bilge water at the bottom of the prestige-TV. PLUS: Checking in on the Canadian Liberal Party leadership race, and what ever happened to the Garfield Eats guy

PREVIEW - #601 - Machine Gun Preacher (w/ Alex Shephard)

Feb 25 2025 1 mins  
What if the makers of the God's Not Dead movies attempted a violent action film that combined John Wick and Taken with a Christian message? Friends, you don't have to imagine. Alex Shephard steps in for Luke on this episode to discuss David A.R. White (aka "Pastor Dave") in BECKMAN (2020). PLUS: What does Jeff Bezos's takeover of the Washington Post opinion section mean for journal

#600 - The 600th Episode Spectacular

Feb 22 2025 49 mins  
When you speak into a microphone for 600 episodes across nine years, you're going to forget a lot of it. So to celebrate a very special anniversary, Will quizzes Luke about some of the most forgotten-about episode in Michael & Us history. Do YOU remember that Jerry Springer starred in a movie?? PLUS: SNL, James Bond, and a brief history of Keith Olbermann. Join us on Patreon for a

PREVIEW - #599 - Olbermanncore (Newsroom Part 6)

Feb 18 2025 8 mins  
In episode six of THE NEWSROOM ("Bullies"), Aaron Sorkin brings some much-needed shading and complexity to the character of Will McAvoy. But of course, "complexity" and "self-flattery" can sometimes overlap. PATREON-EXCLUSIVE EPISODE - https://www.patreon.com/posts/599-newsroom-6

#598 - We Have Lingered In Puddles of Melted Gremlins

Feb 14 2025 50 mins  
With its Trumpian billionaire presiding over a steamrolling everything-company, Joe Dante's GREMLINS 2: THE NEW BATCH (1990) satirized the 1980s while also predicting the present day. We discuss a classic anti-Spielbergian blockbuster that wasn't. PLUS: Updates on the Canada/U.S. tariff battle, and who are the most readable conservative writers? Join us on Patreon for an extra epi

PREVIEW - #597 - Live from Tahrir Square (Newsroom Part 5)

Feb 11 2025 4 mins  
The Arab Spring hits THE NEWSROOM in its fifth episode ("Amen"), but once again Aaron Sorkin finds himself more concerned with Will McAvoy's workplace dramas, including a nefarious attempt by the ACN morning show to bring his downfall. PLUS: Was the '60s "the decade where everything changed"? At least one magazine cover believes so! PATREON-EXCLUSIVE EPISODE - https://www.patreon.

#596 - The Union Forever

Feb 04 2025 47 mins  
Paul Schrader's BLUE COLLAR (1978) follows three struggling auto workers who rob their union office and uncover a world of corruption. It's one of the great films about organized labour because it's one of the great films about solidarity. PLUS: We celebrate Canada's victory in the trade war, and check in on the politics of "Art the Clown." Check out Luke's Substack - https://www.

PREVIEW - #595 - On High in Blue Tomorrows Part 2

Feb 02 2025 4 mins  
David Lynch's most frightening and abrasive movie leads to his most hopeful conclusion. It's part two of our discussion of INLAND EMPIRE (2006). PATREON-EXCLUSIVE EPISODE - https://www.patreon.com/posts/595-on-high-in-2-121440636