Lars Emerson
contact@thepostrider.com
An Early Look at the 2022 Senate Contest
We love covering Senate elections here at The Postrider, and after some narrow misses in our 2020 forecast (we stacked the odds against some candidates that won but were pretty accurate by being far more conservative than other outlets with ...
Ted Lasso Reminded Me Why I’m Proud to Be an American
Sometimes it’s difficult to be proud of your country. Americans especially seem to fluctuate between a state of religious fervor for their flag and one of apocalyptic remorse for a nation as divided as it is paramount. And when Americans ...
Washington’s Invented Crisis: The Debt Ceiling
It was nice while it lasted. In 2019, Democrats, Republicans, and President Trump agreed to legislation suspending the debt ceiling through the 2020 election, kicking the can on a showdown over one of Washington’s most notorious and most dangerous sticking ...
Watching Mates: Ronald Reagan – Back to the Future / Back to the Future Part II
Knock knock, McFly! Lars and Michael discuss their film picks for the Reagan era — how a decade of nostalgia viewed both the past and the future — through the lens of the films Back to the Future and Back ...
The Visitors Might Be Listening – V: The Original Miniseries – Part 2
“There are two parts to every miniseries”, as the old adage goes. And no less is true of V. Louis and Lars finish their discussion of the Original Miniseries. Shriek as Mike Donovan goes to and from the Mothership at ...
Watching Mates: Jimmy Carter – Rocky / Star Wars
Lars and Michael discuss their film picks for the Carter era — a blend of optimism, underdogs, and perhaps naivety over the coming backlash Jimmy Carter would face through the lens of Rocky and Star Wars.
Chatroom: Tenet
After a grueling worldwide pandemic, many were left scratching their heads about the future of the film industry. When would people feel comfortable sitting in a movie theater again? Would movie theaters ever bounce back? One of the trial balloons ...
Coastal Centrality, Conservatism, and Premature Death Rates
This is part two of a series of pieces on premature deaths in America and the role our distance from the centers of power in this country have on that. Click here to read part one. Last week, we examined ...
Is East Coast Centrality Killing Us?
It’s probably an understatement to say that, out of all of America’s regions, its coasts receive the most attention. Media, economic, political, and soft power is concentrated in metropolises along America’s shorelines. Eight coastal cities — New York, Los Angeles, ...
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 ...