
#718 - Would That It Were So Simple
From Michael and Us by Luke Savage and Will Sloan
May 31, 2026 · 1h 1m
About this episode
The episode discusses the Hollywood studio system and the film HAIL, CAESAR!, along with other political and cultural topics.
Like all empires, the Hollywood studio system had its decadent stage. We discuss Joel and Ethan Coen's HAIL, CAESAR! (2016), which pits an idealogue for the Hollywood studio system against a cabal of communist writers. PLUS: We discuss The Fall of the House of Colbert, and a hot new Washington Post podcast that gets "biz-zay." Join us on Patreon for an extra episode every week - https://www.patreon.com/michaelandus Listen to Luke discuss the future of the left with Jacobin founding editor Bhaskar Sunkara - https://www.lukewsavage.com/p/time-for-socialism-ft-bhaskar-sunkara
People in this episode
Hosts: Luke Savage, Will Sloan
Guest: Bhaskar Sunkara
Topics covered
- Hollywood studio system
- communism
- film analysis
- podcast discussion
- political ideology
Keywords
- Hollywood
- Coen Brothers
- HAIL, CAESAR!
- communism
- politics
- podcast
- film
- culture
Mentioned in this episode
Organizations: Washington Post
Books & works: HAIL, CAESAR!
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