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PODCAST

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

society & culture

All Episodes

00:53:00

#679 - Manufacturing Consensus

Michael and Us ·

2025/12/22

What happens when a historian who loves the American presidency is faced with a president like Donald Trump? We discuss the HBO documentary THE SOUL OF AMERICA (2020), about Joe Biden's favourite historian, Jon Meacham, as he struggles to make sense of the Trump era.Join us on Patreon for an extra episode every week - https://www.patreon.com/michaelandus "The Man Who Loved Presidents" by Thomas Frank - https://harpers.org/archive/2021/07/jon-meacham-thomas-frank-soul-of-america/ "The End of

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00:02:53

PREVIEW - #678 - 2020 Dinesh's America

Michael and Us ·

2025/12/16

On the eve of the 2020 election, legendary conservative filmmaker Dinesh D'Souza declared war against socialism - which, according to him, encompasses everything from COVID lockdowns to gun control to the Lyin' Fake News Media. We discuss TRUMP CARD (2020).PATREON-EXCLUSIVE EPISODE - https://www.patreon.com/posts/145991797

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01:00:07

#677 - Guilty Pleasures

Michael and Us ·

2025/12/15

On this episode, the hosts divulge some of their guiltiest pleasures, from Judge Judy to Kenny G to the writings of a couple of bona-fide right-wing pundits. They also interrogate the immortal question: should you truly feel guilty about something that brings you pleasure? (Spoiler: Yes. Sometimes you should.) PLUS: the Warner Bros sale, public domain day, an a surprising new front in the right-wing culture war. Join us on Patreon for an extra episode every week -

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00:08:46

PREVIEW - #676 - Politics and the English Language

Michael and Us ·

2025/12/12

George Orwell's famous essay "Politics and the English Language" leads us into a discussion of good language, good thought, and their relationship. PATREON-EXCLUSIVE EPISODE - https://www.patreon.com/posts/145712151

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00:56:42

#675 - Where the Lions Weep

Michael and Us ·

2025/12/08

Ten years before Siri and quarter-century before Grok, Steven Spielberg and the late Stanley Kubrick considered a new form of humanity in A.I. ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE (2001). We discuss a meeting of the minds between two very distinctive authorial voices.Join us on Patreon for an extra episode every week - https://www.patreon.com/michaelandus "The Best of Both Worlds" by Jonathan Rosenbaum - https://jonathanrosenbaum.net/2024/01/the-best-of-both-worlds/ "A Matter of Life and Death" by Jonathan

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00:04:26

PREVIEW - #674 - Waldorf Salad

Michael and Us ·

2025/12/04

As a coda to our exhaustive study of his show The Dinosaur Hour, we thought it was only fair to discuss John Cleese from when he was at his peak. We consider what it means that FAWLTY TOWERS is Britain's most beloved sitcom, and the incisive commentary about British/American relations in "Waldorf Salad." PLUS: Speaking of British legends, for some reason we get really into discussing Simon Cowell.PATREON-EXCLUSIVE EPISODE - https://www.patreon.com/posts/145077527

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00:49:19

#673 - Virtual Encountering on a Global Scale

Michael and Us ·

2025/11/30

In A HOLOGRAM FOR THE KING (2016), Tom Hanks is a depressed American businessman trying to find himself in Saudi Arabia. It's the lamest fish-out-of-water self-actualization comedy/drama we've ever tackled! PLUS: We discuss Doug Ford's war on renters in Ontario, and - of course - address the news of Rush Hour 4.Join us on Patreon for an extra episode every week - https://www.patreon.com/michaelandus

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00:03:10

PREVIEW - #672 - Happiness Where Are You

Michael and Us ·

2025/11/28

A year before American Beauty offered its Oscar-ready glimpse beneath the placid surface of suburbia, Todd Solondz offered a truly unsparing depiction of same with HAPPINESS (1998). We discuss this legendary succès de scandale, and how it makes laughter indistinguishable from horror.PATREON-EXCLUSIVE EPISODE - https://www.patreon.com/posts/144566731

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00:54:23

#671 - The Discreet Charm of the Urban Haute Bourgeoisie

Michael and Us ·

2025/11/22

Set in a world of young people and old money, Whit Stillman's METROPOLITAN (1990) offers an affectionate but melancholic view of the elite. We sort through the layers of ambiguity in this charming ode to the "Urban Haute Bourgeoisie." PLUS: A spectre is haunting the world - the spectre of Jeffrey Epstein.Join us on Patreon for an extra episode every week - https://www.patreon.com/michaelandus "Donald Trump, Jeffrey Epstein, and Israel" by Branko Marcetic -

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00:02:43

PREVIEW - #670 - Space Oddity

Michael and Us ·

2025/11/20

A few years after Stanley Kubrick envisioned humankind ascending to a new plane with the dawn of space exploration, John Carpenter and Dan O'Bannon's proudly low-budget DARK STAR (1974) imagined a working-class space odyssey. In space, no one can hear you feel exploited.PATREON-EXCLUSIVE EPISODE - https://www.patreon.com/posts/670-space-oddity-143962526

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00:49:56

#669 - Just a Slob Like One of Us

Michael and Us ·

2025/11/14

At the turn of the millennium, one New Jersey-based auteur nailed his 130 minutes' worth of theses on the Catholic Church's door. We discuss Kevin Smith's DOGMA (1999) - the much-maligned director's biggest swing for the fences. PLUS: Is there a revolt within the Conservative Party of Canada?Join us on Patreon for an extra episode every week - https://www.patreon.com/michaelandus TORONTO: See Will introduce Steven Seagal's On Deadly Ground at the Fox Theatre on Wednesday, November 19 -

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00:03:39

PREVIEW - #668 - At Long Last, the EDtv Episode

Michael and Us ·

2025/11/11

Long remembered as "The movie that isn't The Truman Show," Ron Howard EDtv (1999) imagined a world where an average guy became a 24/7 TV superstar. We examine how the ways in which this relic of the '90s did and did not anticipate reality TV, social media, and the current-day self-surveillance state. PATREON-EXCLUSIVE EPISODE - https://www.patreon.com/posts/143347681

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00:51:00

#667 - A War Room with a View

Michael and Us ·

2025/11/07

Just as Zohran Mamdani's New York mayoral campaign has written a new playbook for Democratic Party politics... we look back at the old playbook. We investigate THE RETURN OF THE WAR ROOM (2008), D.A. Pennebaker and Chris Hegedus's sequel to their 1993 documentary classic.Join us on Patreon for an extra episode every week - https://www.patreon.com/michaelandus Jack Califano's shots of CPAC - https://x.com/LukewSavage/status/1986174741481234616

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00:04:50

PREVIEW - #666 - The Veer of Libidinous Intellect

Michael and Us ·

2025/11/04

David Cronenberg's COSMOPOLIS (2012) imagines a world where a young Wall Street billionaire is insulated in his limousine while society collapses around him. Luckily it's a work of purest fiction. PLUS: We take the temperature of the New York mayoral election, and have our longest sustained sports-related conversation ever. PATREON-EXCLUSIVE EPISODE - https://www.patreon.com/posts/142824792

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01:04:21

#665 - Cheesy Movies

Michael and Us ·

2025/11/02

It's a Gen-X and millennial touchstone that anticipated the next generation's parasocial content. But how does MYSTERY SCIENCE THEATER 3000 hold up in the present moment? We investigate via one of the show's most beloved episodes, "Space Mutiny."JOIN US ON PATREON FOR AN EXTRA EPISODE EVERY WEEK - https://www.patreon.com/michaelandus "In her new book, Biden’s former press secretary lets Democrats have it" by Becca Rothfeld -

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00:23:10

PATREON PREVIEW - Luke Unfiltered Two-Part Q&A Episode

Michael and Us ·

2025/11/02

In a special, Patreon-exclusive two-part AMA episode, Luke answers listener questions. PATREON-EXCLUSIVE - https://www.patreon.com/posts/luke-unfiltered-142286283

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00:41:51

#664 - The Night They Censored Fred Allen

Michael and Us ·

2025/10/26

"When a radio comedian's program is finally finished it slinks down Memory Lane into the limbo of yesterday's happy hours." So said the most brilliant comedian in old-time radio, Fred Allen, in his 1955 memoir. In this special solo documentary episode, Will considers the legacy of the pioneering comedian who is all but forgotten today, and considers how yesterday's cutting-edge can be invisible to contemporary eyes.Join us on Patreon for an extra episode every week -

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00:58:41

#663 - A Nice, Chill Episode

Michael and Us ·

2025/10/19

The boys enjoy a nice, casual conversation like friends sometimes have - and invite you along to join! Topics discussed include Trump on the cover of Time Magazine, Bari Weiss at CBS, Justin Trudeau's love life, and films we've been watching.Join us on Patreon for an extra episode every week - https://www.patreon.com/michaelandus

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01:10:11

#662 - Essential Paragraphs

Michael and Us ·

2025/10/12

On this very special episode, we share some of the most important individual paragraphs of writing in our lives - paragraphs that have planted acorns in our brains that have grown over time into mighty oaks. We revisit Thomas Mann, Christopher Hitchens, Jean-Luc Godard, and other luminaries. PLUS: Checking in on Bari Weiss at CBS. Join us on Patreon for an extra episode every week - https://www.patreon.com/michaelandus Our classic Leonard Cohen episode -

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00:05:34

PREVIEW - #661 - Our Elections are the Envy of the...

Michael and Us ·

2025/10/12

We finally reach the end of Season Two of Aaron Sorkin's THE NEWSROOM. The two-parter finale ELECTION NIGHT PART I and II sends us on a nostalgic reverie back to the 2012 - the last election before everything changed. PLUS: Government shutdowns and Kamala Harris's memoir. PATREON-EXCLUSIVE EPISODE - https://www.patreon.com/posts/661-our-are-envy-140674442

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208 results

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