128: How to Blow Up a Pipeline (with Corey Atad)

The writer Corey Atad returns to the pod for a discussion of the controversial new eco-thriller How to Blow Up a Pipeline, an action film inspired by Andreas Malm’s best-selling non-fiction work that argues in favour of direct and destructive action against the fossil fuel industry to escalate the battle against climate change. The film dramatizes the blowing-up of a pipeline by depicting the act as if it were a heist film, with stopwatch-precise editing and flashbacks explaining how the members of the crew found each other.

We discuss (in some detail) the criticism the film has received from the left and from the right: some on the left feel the movie fails a purity test by being marketed and released in multiplexes by film financiers and studios with ties to Big Oil, while some on the right are furious this pro-terrorist “Hollywood propaganda” is meant to turn the audience into radical extremists. But we also talk about the film itself, and how its in league with classic genre entertainments like First Bloodthat function both as dynamic thrillers and delivery devices for deeper social commentary.

Plus: Corey and I prepare to say ‘farewell’ to our ‘legacy verified’ Twitter bluechecks on 4/20, and we discuss Elon picking a fight with the CBC.

There are dozens of premium episodes of the show available exclusively to Junk Filter patrons: some notable previous Patreon guests include Jared Yates Sexton, Jacob Bacharach, David Roth, Bryan Quinby and Sooz Kempner. More to come! Sign up at ⁠https://www.patreon.com/junkfilter

Follow Corey Atad on Twitter.

Trailer for How to Blow Up a Pipeline (Daniel Goldhaber, 2023)

“How to Blow Up a Pipeline Filmmakers Hope You Take Their Advice”, by Corey Atad, for Gawker, September 21, 2022

“How to Blow Up a Pipeline Is A Film About Action”, by Corey Atad, for Defector, April 12, 2023

“The Bomb Hardly (Agit)Pops: An Essay on How to Blow Up a Pipeline” by A.E. Hunt, for Cine Móvil NYC, April 4, 2023