Lars Emerson
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Watching Mates: Gerald Ford – Jaws / Chinatown
Lars and Michael discuss the films of the Ford administration, exploring government incompetence and corruption (or maybe it’s just about a shark) through the lens of Jaws and Chinatown. But in true Gerald Ford fashion, they spend most of the ...
Watching Mates: Richard Nixon – Easy Rider / Blazing Saddles
Lars and Michael discuss the films of the Nixon administration, reflecting on hippie culture, racism, a developing “us versus them” mentality within the United States — and a whole bunch of dirty tricks — through the lens of the films ...
The Pervasiveness of Richard Nixon in Pop Culture
To say presidents dominate our pop culture is an understatement. We often take for granted how ingrained they are in the American psyche and our comedic outlets, even when they epitomize the dull tepidness of Gerald Ford or George H.W. ...
Watching Mates: Lyndon B. Johnson – Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner / Dr. Strangelove
Lars and Michael discuss the films of the Johnson administration, reflecting on dramatic domestic progress and a distrust of foreign policy apparatus through the lens of Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner and Dr. Strangelove.
Chatroom: The Falcon and the Winter Soldier
The final episode of Marvel’s The Falcon and the Winter Soldier aired on Disney+ this past Friday. It tells the story of, well: the Falcon, Sam Wilson – and the Winter Soldier, Bucky Barnes – in the wake up the ...
The Visitors Might Be Listening – V: The Original Miniseries – Part 1
In The Postrider’s newest podcast miniseries, Louis Ryan and Lars Emerson take a look back at V, the sci-fi franchise from the 1980s. Each episode takes the viewer back to the wonder years of Network TV Miniseries events, and has ...
Watching Mates: John F. Kennedy – The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance / Lolita
Lars and Michael discuss the films of the Kennedy era, discussing themes of heroism and elitism in American society through the lens of The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance and Lolita.
Riding the GameStop Wave
The fundamentals of GameStop do not merit a market capitalization of $17 billion. It’s a retail store selling physical video games in the year 2021. I should probably end the article right there, but there’s so much more to this ...
Watching Mates: Dwight Eisenhower – The Blob / Shane
Lars and Michael discuss the films of the Eisenhower era, comparing the infamous The Blob and the more-critically-acclaimed Shane. The narratives on being driven from one’s home, McCarthyism, and generational strife give context to Eisenhower’s above-the-fray approach in his presidency.
The Most Diverse Cabinet in US History?
With the confirmation of Marty Walsh as Labor Secretary on March 22, President Joe Biden’s core Cabinet is complete. With the vice president and the 15 heads of the executive departments, 16 officials sit in the president’s “core” Cabinet, with ...
Chatroom: Which States Should Democrats and Republicans “Concede”?
The 2020 election opened several new electoral pathways for Democrats and expanded on Republican wins in 2016 and 2018. It also reinforced existing trends for formerly perennial swing states. How should the parties prioritize those states in the next few ...
Watching Mates: Harry Truman – The Third Man / The Hitch-Hiker
In the first episode of Watching Mates, Lars and Michael team up to discuss the films of the Truman era, comparing film noirs The Third Man and The Hitch-Hiker. The international intrigue and sense of being lost in a new ...
Chatroom: WandaVision and the Future of the Marvel Cinematic Universe
This past Friday marked the series finale of WandaVision, the first television entry of the Marvel Cinematic Universe to debut on Disney+, and the first in a number of TV shows on that platform that will feature characters from the ...
New to Bollywood? 3 Idiots is a Great Place to Start
“Life as an engineer will bring only frustration” – Farhan Qureshi I had never heard of 3 Idiots until I found it on one of the unchecked ...
Introducing Watching Mates
Your favorite podcasting 20-something-year-old former DC boys are back on the air with their upcoming project, Watching Mates. Coming out later this March, each episode they’ll delve into postwar presidents, starting with Harry Truman, through the lens of the films of ...
Chatroom: Which State Should Go First in the Primary?
After the disastrous Iowa Caucuses in 2020, there has been increased scrutiny of the first-in-the-nation competitions in the party primaries. Iowa (with the first caucus) and New Hampshire (with the first primary) are both disproportionately (90%) white, rural and not ...
Colorado’s Switzerland Trail is a Perfect Christmas Eve Drive
This Christmas Day, in true Colorado fashion, my family went on a hike in the balmy 50 degree weather that the Front Range is so often blessed with. Dozens of other families were out hiking, running, and generally walking around, ...
If Trump Runs in 2024, Who Will Be His Running Mate?
In 2019, we ran a piece about President Trump’s upcoming reelection and his relationship with Vice President Mike Pence — who we dubbed “the one man in the administration that President Trump cannot fire.” The article centered on whether or ...
What Else We’re Into This Week
Evaluating Our 2020 Presidential Ratings
With every state now called in the race for the presidency, it’s official: Joe Biden has won the election, becoming the first nominee to successfully unseat an incumbent president in almost 30 years. The Biden ticket featured the first ever ...
Our Final 2020 Presidential Election Ratings
Election Day is hours away, and after pushing out our final overview of the race for control of the Senate yesterday, we’re excited to give our final overview of the state of the presidential race. Our two-person team here at ...
Our Final 2020 Senate Election Ratings
Election Day is days away, and if you’re not glued to FiveThirtyEight, Politico, and political Twitter, you probably have a life. Our two-person team here at The Postrider certainly has been and we’re ready to stay up all night — ...