395: The Secret Agent/It Was Just an Accident with Guest Ethan Thompson

On this week’s Beer and a Movie, we go global — and uncomfortably current. The Secret Agent and It Was Just an Accident, two Best International Feature Oscar nominees anchor the conversation. Both films wrestle with paranoia, authoritarian creep, and the slow normalization of fear — themes that feel disturbingly timely amid rising global tensions and the recent bombing of Iran.  Joining us is Ethan Thompson — the original third co-host of BaaM — stepping back into the third chair to walk down memory lane. The rhythm snaps back quickly: old stories, early-show chaos, and the kind of shorthand you only get from building something scrappy together from the ground up. The beers match the mood. We start with New Belgium Brewing’s 1554 leaning into the historic zwert tradition, a centuries-old style that uses gruit (a blend of herbs and botanicals) for bittering instead of hops.  Then David reaches into his Magic Bag of Beer and pulls out a decade-old bottle of Allagash Brewing Company’s Coolship Resurgam. Spontaneously fermented and oak-aged, it arrives tart, funky, and beautifully evolved. Creeping fascism. Wild fermentation. A reunion years in the making. It’s Beer and a Movie — and this one lingers long after the glass is empty.