Spike Lee turning 60 this week gives us ample reason to reflect on the pioneering American filmmaker. With the help of two guest scholars, Chance and Noah revisit three of the writer-director’s collaborations with Denzel Washington.

5:00 – Chance interviews veteran critic and author David Sterritt to set the table for discussing Spike Lee’s legacy and status as an American icon. Sterritt is the author of Spike Lee’s America.

20:00 – Your hosts review 1990’s Mo’ Better Blues, which features a fresher-than-fresh Denzel Washington making and destroying his life with jazz.

33:55 – We move to 1998’s He Got Game to discuss a movie starring NBA legend Ray Allen and which is “trying to be The Natural for basketball.”

47:00 – University of Vermont film professor Todd McGowan talks to Chance about Spike Lee’s work through the lens of “excess” and why Inside Man (2006) might be his best work. McGowan is the author of Spike Lee (Contemporary Film Directors).

1:01:30 – Noah and Chance wrap up with a skirmish over whether Inside Man is ruined by its prolonged twist ending.