Michael and Us

We catch up on the news - including the long-awaited ouster of Keir Starmer in the U.K., the slow death of the CBC in Canada, and the DSA victories in New York. Then, Will offers a report on the Cinema Shift Festival, an event ominously described as "Canada's First Curated AI Narrative Film Festival." So just how good (or bad) are AI-generated short films nowadays? Do real filmmakers have anything to fear? The answer may not surprise you.

PATREON-EXCLUSIVE EPISODE - https://www.patreon.com/michaelandus/posts/725-artificially-162311924

At the long-awaited behest of our Superdelegate patron tier, we look back one of the landmarks of 2000s-era Indie Twee, LITTLE MISS SUNSHINE (2006)... and find a film that embodies that Second-Term Bush Era like few others.

Join us on Patreon for an extra episode every week - https://patreon.com/michaelandus

Check out the new Michael & Us website and episode guide - https://michael-and-us.com/

Check out Will's new zine The Journal of Stoogeological Studies Vol. 2 - https://www.amazon.com/Journal-Stoogeological-Studies-Vol/dp/B0H3QDT32K/

TORONTO: Check out Will's Journal of Stoogeological Studies event at Eyesore Cinema on Tuesday, June 30 - https://www.eventbrite.ca/e/the-journal-of-stoogeological-studies-vol-2-zine-launch-party-registration-1991290645926

It's the late 1990s, and your kids are being terrorized by the greatest menace to ever hit the schoolyard... steroids. We welcome Adam Johnson (of the Citations Needed podcast) to walk us through THE SUBSTITUTE 3: WINNER TAKES ALL (1999), the third entry in the beloved direct-to-video action franchise about murdering teenagers.

PATREON-EXCLUSIVE EPISODE - https://www.patreon.com/michaelandus/posts/723-accept-no-w-161527620

Across this podcast's long existence, we have attempted to give you a magisterial study of the art and politics of the 2000s. And no comprehensive study of that time would be complete without Jerry Seinfeld's BEE MOVIE (2007). So here, friends, is what happens when the worker bees of the world unite.

Join us on Patreon for an extra episode every week - http://patreon.com/michaelandus

Check out the brand new Michael & Us online database and episode guide - https://michael-and-us.com/

After 25 years of conservative political dominance, the indie black comedy THE LAST SUPPER (1996) asked: should liberals just try killing their political opponents? We drive our DeLorean back to the '90s and analyze a very particular moment in Gen-X political comedy.

PATREON-EXCLUSIVE EPISODE - https://www.patreon.com/michaelandus/posts/721-tedious-slog-160912726