#565 - Morbid Symptoms

Is crime a disease? And have we possibly found the cure? We're always up for a right-wing action movie on this podcast, so it was about time we got to the irresistible Sylvester Stallone vehicle COBRA (1986).

First, Will reports on visiting that most American of landmarks, Graceland. Then, we take the temperature of the U.S. presidential election in its waning days, and learn some interesting facts about the "Canadian Victims of Communism" memorial. Finally, we discuss I'M FROM HOLLYWOOD (1989), a documentary about one of the greatest pieces of performance art of all time: the Andy Kaufman/Jerry Lawler wrestling feud. Join us on Patreon for an extra episode every week - https://www.patreon.com/michaelandus ST. CATHARINE'S - See Luke moderate the book launch event for Shifting Gears: Canadian Autoworkers and the Changing Landscape of Labour Politics. Friday, October 11, 7pm, Niagara Artists Centre - https://www.ubcpress.ca/st-catharines-book-launch-for-shifting-gears TORONTO - See Will introduce a rare screening of the Jackie Chan film Fantasy Mission Force. Tuesday, November 5, 7pm, Fox Theatre - https://www.foxtheatre.ca/movies/important-cinema-club-masterpiece-classics-fantasy-mission-force/ "The #Resistance Is Back. Be Afraid." by Katherine Krueger - https://www.thenation.com/article/politics/resistance-kamala-harris-online/ Kaufman and Lawler on Letterman - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FL9PGJslS6A&t=1s&ab_channel=Letterman

The new Netflix documentary WHAT'S NEXT: THE FUTURE WITH BILL GATES (2024) positions the Microsoft founder as "one of the good billionaires." But what are the limits to his brand of philanthropy? And how neutral and objective are these documentaries on the big streaming platforms? Luke welcomes Tim Schwab (author of The Bill Gates Problem: Reckoning with the Myth of the Good Billionaire) to discuss why he declined to participate in the documentary, and what he uncovered about its making. Buy The Bill Gates Problem by Tim Schwab - https://us.macmillan.com/books/9781250291431/thebillgatesproblem "Why I refused to participate in the Netflix docu-series on Bill Gates" by Tim Schwab - https://timschwab.substack.com/p/why-i-refused-to-participate-in-the Join us on Patreon for an extra episode every week - https://www.patreon.com/michaelandus

In the exciting conclusion of our discussion of David Lynch's MULHOLLAND DRIVE (2001), Betty becomes Diane and fantasy merges with reality... or perhaps "reality" and "fantasy" are never whole extricable? PATREON-EXCLUSIVE EPISODE - https://www.patreon.com/posts/563-mulholland-2-113260819

Movies can transport us to strange and wonderful dreamworld, including a world where a UK Prime Minister faces real risk of arrest from the International Court of Justice. From director Roman Polanski comes the greatest movie ever made about pesky extradition treaties: THE GHOST WRITER (2010). Join us on Patreon for an extra episode every week: https://www.patreon.com/michaelandus Guy Maddin retrospective in LA - https://www.americancinematheque.com/series/guy-maddin-an-american-cinematheque-retrospective/

Hollywood produces dreams on an industrial scale, but it also feeds our own dreams back to us. And no movie has ever understood Hollywood better than David Lynch's MULHOLLAND DRIVE (2001). In the first of a two-part discussion, we dissect David Lynch's masterpiece. PLUS: The hallmarks of bad conservative, left-wing, and liberal writing, as seen through the lens of one Mr. Jordan Peterson. PATREON-EXCLUSIVE EPISODE - https://www.patreon.com/posts/112719438

First we saw him bring whimsy to the medical sector in Patch Adams... then we saw him make the army wacky in Good Morning Vietnam... now, we reach the conclusion of our "Robin Williams Trilogy" by going back to his mightiest-ever battle against the forces of fuddy-duddiness: DEAD POETS SOCIETY (1989). PLUS: A spectre is haunting Europe... the spectre of centre-left capitulation to the far-right. Join us on Patreon for an extra episode every week - https://www.patreon.com/michaelandus See Luke moderate the Toronto book launch for Shifting Gears: Canadian Autoworkers and the Changing Landscape of Labour Politics - Friday, September 20 (tonight) at 7pm, Workers Action Centre - https://www.facebook.com/events/1187379669241057

What if we appified death? What if we commodified grieving? In David Cronenberg's new film THE SHROUDS (2024), entrepreneurialism comes for the hereafter. PLUS: Reflections on the Trump-Harris debate. PATREON-EXCLUSIVE EPISODE - https://www.patreon.com/posts/559-dead-and-it-112172037

Is it ethical for a journalist to also act as a spy for a foreign government? We consider the far-fetched claims of one of Canada's worst journalists, Adam Zivo. PLUS: In this very special episode, we catch up on some news items of Canadian interest, including the declining polling for Justin Trudeau's liberals, and the rising number of far-right Canadian influencers. Follow us on Patreon for an extra episode every week - https://www.patreon.com/michaelandus "This National Post Columnist Says He Spied for a Foreign Intelligence Agency. Experts Call His Behaviour ‘Unethical’ and ‘Absurd’" by Luke Lebrun - https://pressprogress.ca/this-national-post-columnist-says-he-spied-for-a-foreign-intelligence-agency-experts-call-his-behaviour-unethical-and-absurd/ "I cover the far right for a living. This is why I wasn’t surprised to find Canadians embedded in an alleged Russian propaganda scheme" by Luke Lebrun - https://www.thestar.com/opinion/contributors/i-cover-the-far-right-for-a-living-this-is-why-i-wasnt-surprised-to/article_56042920-6c7c-11ef-aa82-9302cac8f9d3.html "It Turns Out Hillary Clinton, Not Russian Bots, Lost the 2016 Election" by Luke Savage - https://jacobin.com/2023/01/hillary-clinton-russian-bots-2016-presidential-election-trump "In Toronto's Weirdest Cinema, a Portrait of the Artist I'd Never Become" by Adam Zivo - https://quillette.com/2022/01/18/in-torontos-weirdest-cinema-a-portrait-of-the-artist-id-never-become/ Follow Luke Lebrun - https://x.com/_llebrun

Our Superdelegate patron tier voted for us to discuss GARDEN STATE (2004), a millennial touchstone that may or may not have "aged well." We discuss Manic Pixie Dream Girls, whether or not the Shins are "cringe," and our own lost youths. PATREON-EXCLUSIVE EPISODE - https://www.patreon.com/posts/111698763