Michael and Us

Luke Savage and Will Sloan

4.5 (604)
SOCIETY & CULTURE
UPDATED BIWEEKLY

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

DEC 22

#679 - Manufacturing Consensus

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 Resistance History" by Charlotte E. Rosen - https://proteanmag.com/2025/01/20/the-end-of-resistance-history/ "The Fight for the Four Freedoms" by Harvey J. Kaye - https://www.simonandschuster.ca/books/The-Fight-for-the-Four-Freedoms/Harvey-J-Kaye/9781451691443 "Take Hold of Our History" by Harvey J. Kaye - https://www.collectiveinkbooks.com/zer0-books/our-books/take-hold-of-our-history Our two previous episodes on Michael Moore Hates America (2004) https://soundcloud.com/michael-and-us/episode-8-michael-moore-hates-america https://www.patreon.com/posts/300-300th-61042533

53 min
DEC 16

PREVIEW - #678 - 2020 Dinesh's America

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

3 min
DEC 15

#677 - Guilty Pleasures

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 - https://www.patreon.com/michaelandus

1 hr
DEC 12

PREVIEW - #676 - Politics and the English Language

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

9 min
DEC 8

#675 - Where the Lions Weep

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 Rosenbaum - https://jonathanrosenbaum.net/2024/05/a-matter-of-life-and-death-ai-artificial-intelligence-tk/ Call for submissions: "The Journal of Stoogeological Studies Vol. 2" - https://x.com/WillSloanEsq/status/1995213884635193456

57 min
DEC 4

PREVIEW - #674 - Waldorf Salad

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

4 min
NOV 30

#673 - Virtual Encountering on a Global Scale

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

49 min
NOV 28

PREVIEW - #672 - Happiness Where Are You

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

3 min

See All (500)

4.5

out of 5

604 Ratings

The Michael and Us Game

Jun 21

The Actual Rapper Cam'Ron

listen to every episode but only until Luke mentions having worked for the UofToronto student newspaper
A great unique hangout

Dec 15

Ragman300

A show that often focuses on Canadian politics and the films of Eric Roberts should never be this entertaining. I can’t enough and had to get the Patreon. Both hosts are smart and funny.
Garbage.

Oct 7

RobertDenby

Expressed a wish that China would nuke US cities. This show cratered.
My favorite podcast ever

Oct 4

Hawkinsj977

I don’t listen to or love podcasts (love podcasts? Ugh.) like I did in my late teens in the 00s, but despite that I still listen to and look forward to the Michael and Us podcast twice a week. I still listen to a few others, but nobody else has all three qualities that I think you need to make an amazing podcast. The “relaxed formality” that they bring to the show which you need to make a podcast a podcast; they actually have original voices, if there’s anything that has turned me from a guy that listens to a dozen podcasts to a guy that listens to a few podcasts is the fact that most shows are made by nice people talking about interesting things, but their takes are like the received wisdom they got from social media. At which point you might as well listen to an audiobook. And finally, they’re smart and funny. Also you’re guaranteed an episode about the Nostalgia Critic once every 18 months.

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