Hosted by Luke Savage and Will Sloan · EN

Rob Reiner's SHOCK AND AWE (2017) looks back at a handful of journalists who stood against the Bush administration's invasion of Iraq. Released in the first year of the Trump administration, it looks squarely back to the Bush era - in more ways that one. PATREON-EXCLUSIVE EPISODE - https://www.patreon.com/posts/148618908

We return to our roots by discussing a conservative documentary that attempts to take down Michael Moore. In MICHAEL & ME (2004), buffoonish talk-radio personality Larry Elder has a bone to pick with Bowling for Columbine, using facts + logic to show why gun control is racist, sexist, and anti-American. Join us on Patreon for an extra episode every week - https://www.patreon.com/michaelandus "God of the Gaps" by Robert P. Baird - https://www.nybooks.com/articles/2026/01/15/god-of-the-gaps-believe-ross-douthat/

We catch up on a very grim news week, and then discuss a documentary about a journalist who has reported a lot of very grim news weeks. In COVER-UP (2025), Laura Poitras and Mark Obenhaus paint a sympathetic portrait of Seymour Hirsch, the journalist who exposed everything from the My Lai massacre to Abu Ghraib. PLUS: Folks, it seems the right is cancelling Plato? Join us on Patreon for an extra episode every week - https://www.patreon.com/michaelandus Check out some incredible M&Us fan art by the great Josh Bayer - https://www.patreon.com/posts/fan-art-147656792

Raoul Peck's new documentary ORWELL: 2+2=5 (2025) seeks to show how George Orwell's warnings from the past are being made reality today. The results are less than the sum of their parts. PLUS: We note the passing of Norman Podhoretz. PATREON-EXCLUSIVE EPISODE - https://www.patreon.com/posts/147746762

We say goodbye to 2025 and offer a skeptical welcome to 2026 with a very special call-in episode. Topics range from Marshall McLuhan to Michael Jackson and beyond. Join us on Patreon for an extra episode every week - https://www.patreon.com/michaelandus

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

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

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

What is a quickly-made, low-effort documentary like ONE NATION UNDER TRUMP (2016) good for? Not a lot. But one thing that this ridiculous pro-Trump hagiography provided us with was a chance to marinate for long, unbroken stretches of time in the 45th president's rhetorical style. We made some unexpected discoveries about how his distinctive way of speaking led him to the presidency.