The Worst of All Possible Worlds

INTERVIEW: Knowing your rights in the face of ICE

Fighting the tide of rising fascism requires good information. This week, Josh sat down with Isaac Adams, an immigration attorney with nearly a decade of experience defending immigrants in removal proceedings from the United States government, to get a better understanding of the current legal landscape. Among other things, we talked about:

• What is new under the recently inaugurated Trump administration and what is merely a continuation of long-standing government policy
• How the recently signed bipartisan Laken Riley Act expands the authority of ICE to detain undocumented immigrants indefinitely
• How to document what you see effectively and spread useful, accurate information within your community
• How to know your rights and assert them when confronted by enforcement officers

Get equipped and keep your head up. We are going to win.

 

USEFUL LINKS THAT YOU SHOULD CLICK ON:

• Donate to the Acacia Center for Justice, an immigrant legal defense nonprofit
• Read up on your rights with Know Your Rights documents provided by the ACLU (available in English and Spanish)
• Print up your rights with Know Your Rights flyers for if ICE visits provided by the AILA (available in English, Spanish, Chinese, Portuguese, Arabic, Haitian Creole, and Punjabi)

174 - Final Fantasy VII (feat. Joe Kassabian)

Joe Kassabian (Lions Led by Donkeys) and the lads grab their buster swords and hit the streets or Midgar as they do battle with the nefarious Shinra Corporation in Square’s monumental 1997 RPG: Final Fantasy VII. Topics include Square’s dramatic split with Nintendo, the eclectic nature of the many, many minigames, and what it means to kill off a major character before the end of the first disc.

Joe Kassabian: Twitter

Lions Led by Donkeys: The Lions Led By Donkeys podcast is a military history podcast for laughing at the worst military failures, inept commanders, and crazy stories from throughout the history of human conflict.

Patreon // Youtube // Spotify // Apple Podcasts // Instagram

 

TICKETS TO GO SEE JOSH’S PLAY AT THE TANK IN NEW YORK CITY!

 

Media Referenced in this Episode:

• Final Fantasy VII. Square. 1997.

• “Final Fantasy 7: An Oral History” by Matt Leone. Polygon. January 9th, 2017.

• “Final Fantasy Creators Reveal The True Origins of the Franchise’s Name” by Aaron Greenbaum. Den of Geek. July 12th, 2023.

• “The Story of Final Fantasy” by /u/DubTheeBustocles

• Jegged Final Fantasy VII Walkthrough

• “Quest 64: Days of Grief and Werehares” by A.J. Ditty

TWOAPW theme by Brendan Dalton: Patreon // brendan-dalton.com // brendandalton.bandcamp.com

Interstitial: “Pazino Pagliacci’s Pizza Parlor” // Written by A.J. Ditty // Featuring A.J. Ditty as “Pazino Pagliacci” // Music by A M 4 N “[PlayStation] Final Fantasy VII | Pizza Mission”

173 - MASH on TV (Bangers of MASH #1)

THIS IS A PREVIEW. FOR THE FULL EPISODE, GO TO Patreon.com/worstofall

 

The lads once again return to the frontlines of the Korean War as they rejoin 4077th for the first in an ongoing miniseries covering the hit 70s television show: M*A*S*H. Topics include the show’s origins, the gradual evolution beyond the Altman template, and what it means to make a season finale so powerful it resonates 50 years after the fact.

 

Media referenced in this Episode:

• MASH
  • Season One, Episode One: “Pilot”
  • Season One, Episode Six: “Yankee Doodle Doctor”
  • Season One, Episode Fifteen: “Tuttle”
  • Season Two, Episode Thirteen: “Deal Me Out”
  • Season Three, Episode Twenty-Four: “Abyssinia, Henry”
• Alan Alda discusses how MASH tackled the subject of war - EMMYTVLEGENDS.ORG
• Bobby Pickett "Monster Swim"
• Jamie Farr on getting cast on "M.A.S.H" - EMMYTVLEGENDS.ORG
• Larry Gelbart | US comedy writer | Obituary by Michael Carlson. The Guardian. September 13th, 2009.
• MASH Ratings & Rankings - MASH4077TV.com
• MASH’s Revolutionary Gay Episode by Matt Baume

 

TWOAPW theme by Brendan Dalton: Patreon // brendan-dalton.com // brendandalton.bandcamp.com

 

Interstitial: “A Brief Message from Alan Alda” // Written by Ellie Philips and A.J. Ditty // Featuring Ellie Philips as “Ellie Philips” and A.J. Ditty as “Alan Alda”

172 - AOL Whitstant Messenger (feat. Colette Shade) [Whit’s Endless Summer #41]

Colette Shade [Y2K: How the 2000’s Became Everything (essays on a future that never was)] joins the lads in Odyssey for some eXtreme adventures in cliques, Y2K paranoia, and the Odyssians’ forever war with the people of Rakistan. Topics include Y2K aesthetics, being jumpscared by John Avery Whittaker, and what it means to have nostalgia for an optimistic techno future that never came to pass.

 

Colette Shade: Website // Instagram // Twitter // Bluesky

 

Y2K: How the 2000’s Became Everything (essays on a future that never was) (CLICK HERE TO GET YOUR COPY!): In Y2K, one of our most brilliant young critics Colette Shade offers a darkly funny meditation on everything from the pop culture to the political economy of the period. By close reading Y2K artifacts like the Hummer H2, Smash Mouth’s “All Star,” body glitter, AOL chatrooms, Total Request Live, and early internet porn, Shade produces an affectionate yet searing critique of a decade that started with a boom and ended with a crash.

 

CLICK HERE TO DONATE TO A MUTUAL AID IN LOS ANGELES TO HELP THOSE AFFECTED BY THE WILDFIRES

 

Media Referenced in this Episode:

• Adventures in Odyssey
  • #427: “Something Cliqued Between Us”
  • #429: “The Y.A.K. Problem”
  • #458: Red Herring
  • #514: “Room Enough for Two”
• “A Peek Inside Chatrooms” by Bob Smithouser. Breakaway: A Focus on the Fmaily Magazine for Teen Guys. 1999.
• Citations Needed: Episode 177: Popular Anti-Union Talking Points and How to Combat Them by Nima Shirazi and Adam Johnson.
• Tacky: Love Letters to the Worst Culture We Have to Offer by Rax King. Vintage Books. 2021.
• Time Bomb Y2K. Dir. Brian Becker and Marley McDonald. HBO Documentary Films.

 

TWOAPW theme by Brendan Dalton: Patreon // brendan-dalton.com // brendandalton.bandcamp.com

 

Interstitial: “Alistair Adelman” // Written by A.J. Ditty // Featuring Brian Alford as “Alistair Adelman”

171 - Left Behind World At War

THIS IS A PREVIEW. FOR THE FULL EPISODE, GO TO Patreon.com/worstofall

The lads dive once more into the apocalyptic mind of Jerry B. Jenkins, as they cover the unintentional finale of the Kirk Cameron Left Behind trilogy: LEFT BEHIND WORLD AT WAR. Topics include the acting bona fides of Lou Gosset Jr., the importance of colons in titles, and how strict adherence to evangelical Christian eschatology will eventually lead you to blowing out the candles of a sad bundt birthday cake in the backroom of a church ministry in Bellflower, California.

Media Referenced in the Episode:

• Left Behind World at War. Dir. Craig R. Baxley. 2005.
• “See a Very Sad Photo From Kirk Cameron’s Birthday Party” by Amanda Dobbins. Vulture. October 14th, 2011.
• The dinky apocalypse of Left Behind: World At War by Nathan Rabin. The Dissolve. July 24th, 2014.
• The Real Meaning of the Term “Help Meet” by Heather Farrell. Woman in the Scriptures. November 9th, 2010.
• Tribulation Force: The Continuing Drama of those Left Behind by Jerry B. Jenkins. Tyndale House Publishers. 1996.

TWOAPW theme by Brendan Dalton: Patreon // brendan-dalton.com // brendandalton.bandcamp.com

Interstitial: “A Brief Chat with TWOAPW’s Lawyer” // Written by A.J. Ditty // Feat. A.J. Ditty as “A.J.“, David Armstrong as “Canadian Cashier”, and Tony Ditty as “Tony Ditty, Lawyer and A.J.’s Actual Father”

164 UNLOCKED - God’s Not Dead 2

The lads dare to speak about Christ in the classroom and face the wrath of Ray Wise as they cover Harold Cronk’s 2016 evangelical propaganda film: God’s Not Dead 2. Topics include the horrendous filmmaking, the deeply-flawed rhetoric, and what we can learn about the future of America from a film that posits a world in which the masses will be subjugated by the most annoying people alive.

 

Media Referenced in this Episode:

• God’s Not Dead 2. Dir. Harold Cronk. 2016.
• God’s Not Dead (2014) - Financial Information
• God’s Not Dead 2 (2016) - Financial Information
• ‘God’s Not Dead’ Producer Pure Flix Launches Theatrical Distribution Arm
• God's Not Dead 2: The Escalation of Christian Propaganda | Big Joel

 

TWOAPW theme by Brendan Dalton: Patreon // brendan-dalton.com // brendandalton.bandcamp.com

Interstitial: “Harold Cronk Presents: The Vagina Monologues” // Written by A.J. Ditty // Featuring Brian Alford as “Brian Alford” and A.J. Ditty as “Harold Cronk”

170 - 2024: A Year in Review

As has become tradition, we fielded a bunch of calls from you about what The Worst of All Possible Worlds meant to you in 2024 and stitched them together with highlights from the show. Merry Christmas and thanks for being part of our year.

We also put out an extra-special Whit's Endless Summer bobus to the premium feed; check it out over on Patreon.com/worstofall!

This episode includes clips from the following episodes, in order of appearance:

• 120 - 2 Left 2 Behind 2 Tribulation 2 Force

• 121 - Donkey Kong Country

• 122 - Far Cry 5 feat. November Kelly

• 124 - Alan Wake II

• 125 - Airplane feat. Bernie Wagenblast

• 128 - Supermarket Sweep

• 129 - Blackgaard Begins feat. Devon

• 130 - Heaven is for Real feat. Radio Free Tote Bag

• 134 - The Dutch Knight feat. Trevor Strunk

• 135 - The Boss Baby feat. Patrick Willems

• 142 - Gerbert feat. Traditional Scrench

• 145 - Dragon Ball Z feat. Alex Ptak

• 146 - Shrimp Jesus and the Death of Facebook

• 147 - Chrono Trigger feat. Anime Sickos

• 150 - The Worst of All Possible Parties (WAPP): The 150th Episode Spectacular LIVE from Colorado Springs!

• 151 - Moneyball

• 155 - Who Framed Roger Rabbit? feat. Mattie Lubchansky

• 156 - The Magic School Bus

• 157 - Blasphemous II feat. Tom O'Mahony

• 161 - Silent Hill 2 feat. Aysha U. Farah

• 162 - Skibidi Toilet

• 163 - Blair Witch

• 164 - God's Not Dead 2

• 168 - The Nostalgia Critic

• 169 - Frank Capra's It's A Wonderful Life

169 - Frank Capra’s It’s a Wonderful Life

The lads do battle with Mr. Potter for the heart of Bedford Falls as they cover Frank Capra’s 1946 Christmas classic: It’s a Wonderful Life. Topics include the pernicious myth of “Capra-corn”, the art of the Jimmy Stewart impression, and what it takes to be a George Bailey in a system designed to turn you into a Henry F. Potter.

 

REMINDER: SUBMISSIONS FOR OUR ANNUAL CALL-IN EPISODE ARE OPEN! Call +1 347 857 9523 and leave us a voicemail letting us know what the show meant to you this year and/or what your favorite moments were. We look forward to hearing from you!

 

Media Referenced in this Episode:

• It’s a Wonderful Life! Dir. Frank Capra. 1946.
• 'Young George Bailey' Took Some Hard Hits by Stephen Cox. Los Angeles Times. December 15th, 1996.
• What ‘It’s A Wonderful Life’ Shows Us About The Weird History Of Building & Loans by John Wake. Forbes. December 31st, 2021.

 

TWOAPW theme by Brendan Dalton: Patreon // brendan-dalton.com // brendandalton.bandcamp.com

 

Interstitial: “Jimmy the Raven” // Written and Performed by A.J. Ditty. 

168 - The Nostalgia Critic

THIS IS A PREVIEW. FOR THE FULL EPISODE, GO TO Patreon.com/worstofall

 

Hellloooooo, we’re The Worst of All Possible Worlds, we remember it so you don’t have to! We all remember Doug Walker, you know, that guy with the glasses, the tie, and the plain white background because they clearly couldn’t afford a better set? Well, wouldn’t you know it, he created a character called the Nostalgia Critic, a loud, obnoxious, Looney Tunes-adjacent blowhard who got famous for being very mad about Batman having a credit card. But does he have anything to say about our current critical landscape or do his over-the-top antics make him look like a groundhog on meth? Let’s take a look at: The Nostalgia Critic.

 

Media Referenced in this Episode:

• Nostalgia Critic
  • Transformers
  • Batman and Robin
  • Quest for Camelot
  • The Review Must Go On - Demo Reel Finale
  • Nostalgia Critic’s The Wall
• Channel Awesome Indigogo Campaign
• “I Don’t Known James Rolfe” by Dan Olson
• “Recession breeds accidental Entrepreneur” by Chicago Tribune. Chicago Tribune July 21st, 2009.
• “The Nostalgia Critic and the Wall” by Dan Olson

 

TWOAPW theme by Brendan Dalton: Patreon // brendan-dalton.com // brendandalton.bandcamp.com

 

Interstitial: “Foobies.com” // Written by A.J. Ditty // Featuring Brian Alford as “Sexy Brian” and Josh Boerman as “Phineas Foob” // Music: “Careful Shouting” by Highway Superstar

167 - Frank Capra’s “Why We Fight”

The lads get drafted and give Mussolini the ole One-Two as they once again remember Pearl Harbor by covering Frank Capra’s series of WWII propaganda films: Why We Fight. Topics include the language of propaganda, the shittiness of fascist art, and what it means to watch your country become the thing it once stridently vowed to fight.

Media Referenced in this Episode:

• Why We Fight. Dir. Frank Capra. 1942-1945.

TWOAPW theme by Brendan Dalton: Patreon // brendan-dalton.com // brendandalton.bandcamp.com

Interstitial: “Too Big Roosevelt” // Written by A.J. Ditty // Feat. A.J. Ditty as “Olde Timey Announcer” and Josh Boerman as “Too Big Roosevelt