Very Insightful Podcast! Love the hosts and the format works very well! Wish List: Mad City- 97(not because it’s great or anything) Enemy of the State- 98 Love all the choices so far though!

Very interesting discussions based on 90’s action flix.

Love the concept. Follow politics and grew up in the 80s and 90s. Jamelle Bouie is so thoughtful and I seek out his content. So this podcast should be for me! But for me, his cohost talks too much. I may not agree with 100% of what either host says, but I think Jamelle is engaging in a discussion. John is lecturing. Even when I agree with him, it’s become annoying. Glad others like it as is so it can keep going but I need to take a break…

This is one of my favorite all-time podcasts. The hosts always have great analysis. They are also charismatic and funny. For me, it is a great look back to a time and movies i lived through.

I was thrilled with this podcast when I first heard of it, I greatly enjoy many of the movies discussed as they were part of formative movie watching experiences for me with my father and grandfather. However, I can no longer support a podcast with such deep ties to the NYT as they whitewash a genocide, neither can I continue to listen to or respect John Ganz after reading his thoughts on the genocide in Palestine that amount to little more than slightly milder traditional colonialist propaganda. I genuinely wish both John and Jamelle the best but I simply cannot engage with their voices or opinions while innocents are slaughtered and while their words and works help to legitimize it in any way.

They don’t really talk about the movies all that much but the discussion around the political context of the films is far more interesting than yet another generic movie talk podcast. I’ll often listen even when I haven’t seen the movie! Ganz can ramble on at times in a way that would be annoying from almost any other podcaster, but he’s smart and witty enough to pull it off nearly every time - actually kind of incredible. Both guys are really good, as are their guests. This all goes for their patreon show as well. 5 stars!

I came for the political discussion, I stay for the punk vs. goth analysis.

JB: I would say Kanye is a Nixonian figure.

A terrific podcast that weaves together history, politics, and culture, all while discussing great (and not-so-great) movies with just the right amount of nostalgia.

Contextualizing this time period brings these movies back to the future where insightful commentary and knowledge, once buried in the newsstands, augment your memories into a fully operational social interpretation, breathing newfound fun (or eyeroll) to the “classics.” Just listen to the Hackers episode. There’s even more in the Patreon.

I like that this is first and foremost a political podcast. I’ve already got a movie podcast in my arsenal (WHM). The insight and commentary is a great crash course in certain aspects of 90s politics. Between John and Jamelle there is more than enough expertise to help give context and background on the topics at hand and my To Read list continues to grow along with my To Watch. If you’re interested in the politics of the 90s and how the “vibes” of the time were then reflected in the culture it’s hard to imagine a better podcast than this.

Perfect movie podcast: two people mine a niche but nearly limitless vein of genre films, and discuss in depth in a interdisciplinary way. Even though many of the films they discuss are quite bad, I’m always inspired by the respect they bring to each one—watching and enjoying movies isn’t about judgment! Required additional reading: Jamelle’s letterboxd reviews.

There is such good discussion about these movies I always look forward to new episodes

The New York Times is Zionist trash

Fairly good movie podcast. They cover a genre of movies I really enjoy. Jamelle is great. But, good lord can John Ganz ramble. He has a tendency to monopolize a conversation with meandering speeches that don’t really arrive anywhere interesting. I’d really like to hear more from his cohost and guests. I’m sure they have interesting thoughts as well!

I get that their New York Times leftists, but not every movie from the 90s requires analysis through a socialist lens. “I’m disappointed that people like Harrison Ford’s Jack Ryan didn’t stop Trump.” It’s too much.

It's more than just nostalgia – it's a covert operation!

As someone who saw many of these films in theaters I appreciate the reflections of the films of this period (for better or worse) and the historical/cultural context.

A fabulous informal discussion of 1990’s politics, discussed around 1990s action movies. John: Keep talking at your normal, fast pace. Please!

One of them said he thought “rhizomatic” was a dumb word. I would prefer that they learn something about mycology before making such absolutely ridiculous statements. Rhizomatic is a fascinating and important sociological concept related to the idea that people communicate based not always on language or perceptible action but are still connected by other means. Sorry for the not great review, but I expect better, at least from Jamelle, Ganz is kind of a pr1ck.

This podcast is such a fun listen. The discussion of a movie within the context of the history, politics, and culture of its particular moment it time really makes for a fascinating and wonderful experience. It’s made me go back and rewatch many different movies with the new perspective provided in these episodes.

lots of fun, takes a serious look at action films with a self aware lens about how silly the whole endeavor is

This is a podcast *about politics* that uses movies of the time as contextualizing material, not the other way around. If you’re looking for a podcast *about movies* there are many great ones, but again this is a podcast *about politics*.

The perfect intersection of pop culture and politics. I love Jamelle Bouie’s NYT column and am so happy to have found this series, too!

Excellent discussion about a period of time I lived through but was too young to understand through the best way - pop culture and movies.

The premise of this podcast is great, using the movies of this period as a jumping off point to discuss the politics of the 1990s. What do the movies say about the changing international political situation and how Americans view themselves in the world? Excellent idea. But they often spend relatively little time discussing the actual movies before diving into the political stuff. If you have not watched the movie, you can get lost not knowing what they are talking about. And it is hard not to get the impression that they don’t actually care about the movies but just want to discuss the politics. They also end up breathing a lot of their own air, stuck in a feedback loop of progressive politics. In one episode they began ranting about over-policing in America and never acknowledged that crime is bad and police are necessary. It’s wonderful to live in that bubble until somebody breaks into your house or steals your car. In their second Hunt for Red October podcast, they seemed oblivious to the idea that Soviet communism might have been oppressive. They could really use a dissenting voice to challenge their over-confidence in their world view.

The show’s concept is good the film’s reviews are not done in tedious blow blow or even by scene by scene. Instead Bouie and Ganz do well to use them to explore topics and concepts of the era. The Audio has become worse over time. Often times Ganz sounds like he is 12 feet from the mic or underwater. Demolition Man for example is impossible too.

I really wanted to like this because I like some of the hosts’ other efforts, as well as many of the guests, but it’s just always so half baked. I don’t especially care about the NYT page from that day (honestly, what’s the point of that when the movie probably was greenlit years prior - why not just give us some big topics of the month or year?). However, my real issue with the show is how little they talk about the actual movies. The problem with talking about the things happening around this movie is they all pretty much came out around the same time and deal with the same subject matter - so on some level, every episode feels exactly the same. “This is what politics were like, this is what gender relations were like, they don’t make them like this anymore.” The only way to make this compelling is to really go deep on the movies because then the same-y context is secondary. But really, it mostly seems like the hosts just don’t have that much to say. Maybe I’ll check in again someday, but there are simply too many good movie podcasts out there to bother with this one.

Outstanding historical perspective so that our children will understand and respect their ancestors and hold their heads high when they realize how far we have come and how much more we must do, together. Not acknowledging each person’s contribution, historical and present, makes ghosts of those of us that sat in classrooms, completely disconnected and invisible to those around you. Stand up and scream it loudly—Black, Brown,Red, Yellow and White people all contributed to our society and must be recognized and valued. Thank you

Unclear and Present Danger is one of the most informative, insightful, and simultaneously entertaining podcasts I’ve ever listened to. Listening to each episode is like attending a deeply researched, eloquently delivered, and highly accessible college course that Jamelle and John have prepared about political theory, US history, and the complex stories of the late Cold War and post-Cold War world, through the lens of these very entertaining (or at least textually interesting) films. Their tagline is “what [the films] say about the politics of that decade”, but I would add “and of today” for how deeply insightful their conversations are about the earlier roots of the social and political crises we are living through now in the 2020’s. Their Patreon show about earlier era Cold War thrillers is equally compelling and highly recommended as well. I cannot praise this show highly enough.

This show is the perfect blend of entertaining movie talk and sharp thinking about the politics of the time. Fascinating to be told about the specific NYT headlines the day of each movie’s release. As an immigrant who came to USA in 2011 I have learned a huge amount.

This is a great show, and I always look forward to new episode days. The hosts are smart and engaging and always have interesting conversations that I learn from. Even when I haven’t seen the movie under discussion, I enjoy the trip back in time to the 90s NYT front page. Thanks for making this show!

Always happy when a new ep shows up. It’s a great mix of film criticism and political commentary. I’ve seen a lot of the movies they talk about, but not all of them, and it’s a great listen either way.

Really enjoy this podcast. Not only do they discuss movies I enjoy, but they provide a ton of historical and political context, much of which is new to me. The podcast is enjoyable in its own right, and it also serves as a great complement to other movie podcasts that cover different angles (We Hate Movies, ActionBoyz, Blank Check to name a few).

Really excellent show. Jamelle and Jon watch a movie, give a brief plot synopsis, then jump right into the forces / ideas floating around in society that are represented by elements of the movie reviewed (mostly). Unless the movie is total trash in which case they chat about something unrelated (the bad submarine movie). Please note, most of the discussion in these shows is not point by point analysis of the movie. It’s intended as a companion to deconstruct the show to get at interesting currents. Note both Jon and Jamelle talk, so if that bothers you find another podcast. Highly recommend if only for the 90s history lesson.

Very fun podcast that reviews many bad/mediocre movies along with some masterpieces. Examines the zeitgeist of that brief moment when the Cold War was won, but the 9/11 attacks were nowhere in imagination. With no organizing project, what were our enemies? What couldn’t the military do (for good or bad)? These were the undercurrents of the 90’s, and the thrillers reflected that.

picked a recent episode to give this podcast a try after it was recommended on the final ep of IDEOTV. jamelle barely talks at all and it feels like the other guy spent 99% of the episode whining about people wearing masks to keep from catching covid or proles not keeping the production up at the beginning of the pandemic(really it was only like 75% of the episode), but coached in like a liberal centrist phrasing way.they barely touched on the movie and just read off a few events from the time. baffling episode when your mission statement is discussing 90s movies and their impact on 90s politics.

.. then read the articles ahead of time! Then summarize them for the audience. Mumbling through them live and then trying to parse them is kind of hard to listen to. If you ad libbed the basics of the stories it would be way easier to listen to. Do some advanced planning otherwise this is torture.

Jamelle is great, John is not so great. The best parts of this podcast are when John is not talking, he’s just so much less informed on everything, and I cringe when he speaks

And Jamelle and John explore this truth in these penetrating and entertaining reviews of films from the past in context. Even when they are mining the most forgettable or questionable films, they are able to excavate insights on paranoia, lost sense of purpose, Boomer angst and the shrinking role of Congress in the foreign policy realm. Also, some of the film trailers are so LOL I have tears running down my cheeks.

I love this idea and after listening to a few episodes from the beginning to fairly recent, there was a lot of interesting insight. I don’t want to criticize because I couldn’t stay coherent long enough to do something like this but I have a couple suggestions that I think could make this show much more pleasant to listen to. Firstly, The NYT review for the day the movie released is great but like the rest of the show, it tends to wander. I would suggest that unless there are relevant stories that can be discussed in context, to limit this section and combine it with Jamelle’s plot synopsis where he provides political context. Secondly, the recording has gotten better over time and there are some tangential paths that are worth going down and pay off, but also many that just kind of peter out. I think the show needs a trusted editor to know when to cut. And also to take out the “ums” and other unnecessary but completely normal vocal quirks. Thanks for this show, I think it would take a big step in popularity with some editing.

I would listen to Jamelle Bouie discuss his thoughts about paint drying.

This is an interesting idea for a podcast slash way for Jamelle to indulge in his taste for trashy movies. They explore the politics and culture of a genre of film that I grew up with, one that is often ridiculous in its portrayal of heroic masculinity. Always amazes me to see how little has changed since the nineties, politically and culturally, even tho we usually focus on the differences. I just can’t figure out why they haven’t done Sum of All Fears. Is it too late, coming in 2002? I mean you gotta look past that. Not only is it another Jack Ryan but they actually explode the bomb in this movie but they f-ing KILL MORGAN FREEMAN in the process it is truly shocking stuff. Has nuclear terrorism been discussed on the pod yet? Then you factor in the “competent girlfriend” trope and the mix of Eastern European and middle eastern enemies with a Cold War basis and wow just do a pod on this movie already. Srsly checked multiple times for a SoAF episode, could I have missed it somehow? Five stars. There aren’t any deep revelations, in fact a lot of the episodes listen more like a college level analysis of the films, but it’s still nostalgic and thought provoking to look back to the recent past, especially focusing on the cultural aspects and impacts of the films more than their often questionable screenplays.

Love the podcast! I always enjoy deep cultural analysis, and Jamelle and John are great hosts

If you were a kid in the 90’s, these were the movies you saw at the video store. Occasionally one of your friends would see one and tell you about all the cool guns in it. Another way to think about it is these are “Seinfeld movies”, films that Jerry and the gang got into comedic situations trying to go and see. These are the kind of movies that don’t get made anymore, true middle brow art for a truly middle brow decade.

Big fan of jamele he’s great whenever he’s a guest host on other pods. He’s a great movie critic. He knows the subject matter well. Love listening to him breakdown these movies from my youth. No idea why he chose this other guy to co host. He’s always unprepared and can’t string together a sentence without sounding like a teenage girl. It’s inarticulate when he reviews the New York time headlines because he reads too fast. I listen for jamele but the other guy is driving me away. He needs a new co host that is a pro like him.

John’s good, just kidding

Such a fun and thoughtful show. It’s a great way to take a deeper dive into the action movies I grew up watching and some of the politics at play when they were made.

I love this podcast. Not only is it a great excuse to watch some fun and occasionally great 90s movies, the host's casual, yet deeply thought out commentary is a mind expanding bonus. Gaining a better understanding of the political reality of my youth in the 90s and how that continues to affect so many important aspects of our lives today all while discussing a ridiculous to the point of surreal Steven Seagal flick? Yes please! 

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