I think I should spread the word on Rich Hall's series on American culture. I thought he was just an acerbic comedian on Mock the Week and similar shows, but this series has been utterly fantastic ("you're a ruminant. Fuck you"). He's more conservative than I am (who isn't?), but his explorations of topics such as representations of the American South, and of the cultural significance of the Western (last night's episode - UK only, sorry) are brilliant: passionate, informed and individual. He's not just reading someone else's words either - he wrote them.
There's not a lot a Cultural Studies academic won't know, but the detail, the overview and the readings of cultural texts are top quality. Highly recommended.
Here's a taste: