Pop Break Goes to Washington: Wag the Dog (1997)

Welcome to “Pop Break Goes to Washington” where host Allison Lips is joined by a special guest to discuss the historical significance and impact of a political film. Allison and her guests discuss how politics is portrayed in each film. While this podcast focuses on the American political system, it does make a few forays outside of the United States.  For our fifth episode, Allison and Tyler McCarthy from the Not Couple Goals Podcast discuss Wag the Dog and how it has aged. Tyler McCarthy has also guested on Socially Distanced and Batman By The Numbers podcasts. When he’s not recording for the Pop-Break, Tyler is an entertainment journalist and critic for various NBCUniversal brands and formerly specialized in writing about the intersection of politics and entertainment.  As for Wag the Dog, unless you are in politics, the film got lost in the shuffle of the 1997 box office. In a year where Titanic, a movie starring Mr. Bean, and Men in Black were the top grossing movies, it was easy to overlook this dark political satire.  Join Allison and Tyler as they discuss this Dustin Hoffman and Robert Dinero film’s prescience and why historical events after Wag the Dog’s release has made us see the film in a different light.