Michael and Us
Luke Savage and Will Sloan
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
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Top 10 Michael and Us Episodes
Goodpods has curated a list of the 10 best Michael and Us episodes, ranked by the number of listens and likes each episode have garnered from our listeners. If you are listening to Michael and Us for the first time, there's no better place to start than with one of these standout episodes. If you are a fan of the show, vote for your favorite Michael and Us episode by adding your comments to the episode page.
#250 - Conquest of the Useless
Michael and Us
07/09/21 • 49 min
The classic documentary BURDEN OF DREAMS (1982) captures director Werner Herzog as he's mounting the most ambitious feat of his career: attempting to haul a literal steamship over a literal mountain for his film Fitzcarraldo. We discuss how this legendary saga of directorial megalomania in a world where directorial megalomania has gone out of fashion. PLUS: the complicated reasons why there are no nice things in American politics.
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#248 - Enemy at the Gaetz
Michael and Us
07/03/21 • 55 min
The HBO documentary THE SWAMP (2020) follows three "maverick" Republican congressmen who seek to fulfil Donald Trump's promise to "drain the swamp," even if that means alienating their party leaders. But what you really need to know about this documentary is that the main one is Matt Gaetz, and he is a huge doofus. PLUS: thoughts on Canada Day, Alex Gibney's Agents of Chaos, and a look back at the media coverage of the War in Iraq.
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#254 - Bugs Bunny is Dead, Long Live Bugs Bunny!
Michael and Us
07/22/21 • 45 min
You may love Bugs Bunny, but you will never own him. That's the thesis of SPACE JAM: A NEW LEGACY (2021), which sends Bugs and LeBron James through a tour of WarnerMedia's intellectual property while never letting you forget that its WarnerMedia's intellectual property. "Th- th- th- th- that's bad, folks!" PLUS: Vanity Fair in the '20s, Jeff Bezos in space, and some alarming new trends in movie marketing. "Space Jam: A New Legacy Is a Peek Into the Bleak, Cynical Future of Film" by Alex Shephard - https://newrepublic.com/article/163008/space-jam-new-legacy-peek-bleak-cynical-future-film
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#257 - Rank Punditry
Michael and Us
08/06/21 • 42 min
With an election looming in Canada, we decided to look back on a time when Justin Trudeau's father received his punishment at the hands of the Canadian media. The National Film Board of Canada documentary HISTORY ON THE RUN: THE MEDIA AND THE '79 ELECTION (1979) chronicles the unusual media landscape that led to a nine-month interruption in Pierre Trudeau's long tenure as Prime Minister. We discuss how media shapes and responds to election narratives, how things have changed since 1979, and the unusual Trudeau/Joe Clark/Ed Broadbent election. PLUS: rank punditry about Justin Trudeau's chances.
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#266 - Ghosts
Michael and Us
09/10/21 • 42 min
In Apichatpong Weerasethakul's UNCLE BOONMEE WHO CAN RECALL HIS PAST LIVES (2010), the boundaries between life and death, past and present, ghost and human, and human and animal fade away. We discuss some possible philosophical and political readings of this cryptic masterpiece. PLUS: the 20th anniversary of 9/11 and the media is covering the Canadian election. "Why Justin Trudeau’s snap election is backfiring" by Luke Savage - https://www.newstatesman.com/world/north-america/2021/09/why-justin-trudeau-s-snap-election-backfiring
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#259 - Oliver's Twist (w/ Anders Lee)
Michael and Us
08/13/21 • 37 min
In 1994, the most vilified member of the Reagan administration tried to stage a political comeback, and it almost worked. The documentary A PERFECT CANDIDATE (1996) follows Oliver North's attempt to unseat Democrat Chuck Robb as a Virginia senator, and captures the political currents in both Virginia and the United States as a whole. Pod Damn America and Redacted Tonight's Anders Lee fills in for Luke to discuss. Follow Anders Lee on Twitter - https://twitter.com/andersleehere Follow Pod Damn America - https://twitter.com/andersleehere
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#261 - Money Never Tweets
Michael and Us
08/20/21 • 42 min
In 1987, Oliver Stone introduced the world to a man who was not your daddy's capitalist: Gordon Gekko. We revisit WALL STREET to consider the strengths and limitations of its distinctly New Deal Liberal perspective on American capitalism; to marinate in the particular left-liberal Boomer perspective of Stone; and determine once and for all if greed is, in fact, good.
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#3 - Canadian Bacon
Michael and Us
06/17/16 • 30 min
Will and Luke's depressing journey through the oeuvre of Michael Moore makes an obligatory stop at the master's one and only fiction film. Our heroes dig up a poorly-regarded and mostly forgotten comedy from 20+ years ago only to bury it all over again. In the process, they explore its class politics, its post-Gulf War media satire, and its status as a Clinton-era "End of History" relic.
PREVIEW - #104 - Capitalist Realism
Michael and Us
05/31/19 • 1 min
PATREON EXCLUSIVE: https://www.patreon.com/posts/27271114 Can satire save the republic? Saturday Night Live certainly didn't when they invited then-candidate Donald Trump to host in the fall of 2015. We finally explore one of the pillars of American comedy by examining one of its all-time worst episodes. PLUS: the reactionary politics of one of Britain's best-loved citizens!
PREVIEW - #147 - Postmodern Times
Michael and Us
04/03/20 • 2 min
PATREON-EXCLUSIVE EPISODE - https://www.patreon.com/posts/35617018 Steven Spielberg's READY PLAYER ONE posits a world in which society is crumbling and the only escape is a virtual fantasyland. Sound familiar? The twist: Steven Spielberg does not regard this as a dystopia. We watch the blockbuster maestro's paean to the geek culture he spawned and decipher its reactionary politics. PLUS: your hosts reflect on life in quarantine.
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FAQ
How many episodes does Michael and Us have?
Michael and Us currently has 636 episodes available.
What topics does Michael and Us cover?
The podcast is about Podcasts and Tv & Film.
What is the most popular episode on Michael and Us?
The episode title '#261 - Money Never Tweets' is the most popular.
What is the average episode length on Michael and Us?
The average episode length on Michael and Us is 28 minutes.
How often are episodes of Michael and Us released?
Episodes of Michael and Us are typically released every 4 days, 10 hours.
When was the first episode of Michael and Us?
The first episode of Michael and Us was released on Jun 3, 2016.
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