The Worst of All Possible Worlds

220 - Death Stranding 2 (feat. Workers’ Lit)

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Jacob and Lenore of Workers’ Lit join the lads down under for some ghost busting and coffin surfing as they cover Hideo Kojima’s 2025 delivery simulator: Death Stranding 2. Topics include the unmatchable gameplay loop, the polarity of Dollman, and the horrors lurking under the surface of a game where evil is defeated through the power of dance.

BUY JACOB’S BOOK HERE

Workers’ Lit: A podcast about books and the news with Lenore, Aysha, Jen, and Jacob. Books/Culture episodes on Mondays! News/Politics episodes on Wednesdays! Read good books, tell bad jokes, and fight for a better future!

• Spotify // Apple Podcasts // Youtube // Bluesky

Media Referenced in the Episode:

• Death Stranding 2. Kojima Productions. 2025.

• TWOAPW #104: Death Stranding (feat. Drew Toothpaste)

• Ladscast 13: Somehow, More Death Stranding

• Workers’ Lit: “On The Beach, ft. Brian Alford”

• Hideo Kojima presents Brain Structure #15 Hideo Kojima x TGA Special: DEATH STRANDING [ENGLISH]

• “Hideo Kojima on ‘Death Stranding 2,’ the Sequel’s Big Changes and Improvements Post-Pandemic, and How He Hoped to Cast David Lynch in a Game” by Nick Newman. Indiewire. August 7th, 2025.

• “Hideo Kojima on How His Illness Affected ‘Death Stranding 2,’ Developing A24 Film Adaptation and Why His Collaboration With GU Is About More Than Fashion” by Jennifer Maas. Variety. June 19th, 2025.

• “Hideo Kojima Says Death Stranding’s Now Had Over 20 Million Players and The Fact Folk Are Still Playing ‘Makes Me the Happiest’” by Rich Stanton. PC Gamer. April 2025.

• https://liberationnews.org/child-labor-in-alabamas-hyundai-supply-plants/

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

Interstitial: “A Message from Tobogganman, Prime Minister of the Canadian Autonomous Network of Underground Cities” // Written by A.J. Ditty // Feat. David Armstrong as “Tobogganman”

219: Bram Stoker’s Dracula (feat. Scott Benson and Bethany Hockenberry)

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Scott Benson and Bethany Hockenberry (Night in the Woods) join the lads aboard the Demeter and double back to Transylvania as they cover Francis Ford Coppola’s vampiric 1992 fever dream: Bram Stoker’s Dracula. Topics include the gorgeous aesthetics, the terrors of Gary Oldman, and what it means to create a movie that can only be described as CINNNEEEMMMMAAAA!!!!

Scott Benson: Bluesky // Instagram

Bethany Hockenberry: Bluesky // Instagram

Night in the Woods

Night in the Woods Merch

Media Referenced in this Episode:

Bram Stoker’s Dracula. Dir. Francis Ford Coppola. 1992.
Bram Stoker's Dracula (published 1897)
Bram Stoker's Dracula. Williams. Designer Barry Oursler. 1993

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

Interstitial: “Tom Waits” // Written and Performed by A.J. Ditty // Music: “Grapefruit Moon” by Tom Waits.

Fancy Movie Time #35: Broadcast News (1987)

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On this episode of Fancy Movie Time with Brian and A.J., the Fancy Lads unplug their phones and have a good cry as they cover James L. Brooks' 1987 ode to the joys of work: Broadcast News. Does the electric chemistry of the three leads make this movie a Fancy Feast? Or does its overlong runtime make it a Failure to Fancy? One thing's for sure: that Gracie Films' tune sure is catchy.

 

Next episode: Ordet (1955).

EMERGENCY POD - Remembering Tom Stoppard (feat. Abigail Thorn)

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Tom Stoppard, the acclaimed, prolific playwright behind Arcadia, Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead, Rock 'n' Roll and so many other plays, along with the screenplays to Shakespeare in Love, Brazil, and Anna Karenina, has died. He leaves behind a staggering, inspiring, often frustrating body of work that will continue to be seen long after we are gone.

We are joined today by Abigail Thorn (The Acolyte, House of the Dragon) to look at the corners of his oeuvre that have spoken to us over the years, and discuss what we can learn from him going forward.

 

Abigail Thorn: Bluesky // Instagram

The Prince: A transformative new play that has everything: sword fighting, lesbianism, Hamlet, and disappointed parents. Available on Nebula.

 

Philosophy Tube: Giving away philosophy degrees for free! Youtube // Nebula // Patreon

 

Kill James Bond! is a comedy film review/ pop culture commentary podcast about the portrayal of masculinity in cinema. November Kelly, Abigail Thorn, and Devon have watched Bond movies, War on Terror movies, Eurospy movies, and now they take on their biggest task yet: Heist Movies. What can Heat, Oceans’ 11, and the Fast and Furious movies teach us about how masculinity was imagined by the people who created them? What does that say about Society? Free episodes are released every fortnight on all major podcast platforms and bonus episodes are released for supporters on Patreon on the interstitial weeks.

• Website / Twitter / Patreon
• Listen on Apple Podcasts / Spotify / Google Podcast

218 - Steven Spielberg’s 1941 (1979)

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On their fourth annual remembrance of Pearl Harbor, the lads hop in their B-17’s and throw Los Angeles into chaos as they cover Steven Spielberg’s notorious 1979 WWII flop: 1941. Topics include the duality of Jon Belushi, the real-life horror of the Zoot Suit Riots, and the difficulties of delivering a punchline when everyone around you is screaming.

 

Media Referenced in this Episode:

• 1941. Dir. Steven Spielberg. 1979
• “Civilian Casualties: Pearl Harbor”. National Park Service. Last updated September 18th, 2024.
• “How Pearl Harbor created a climate of fear” by Daniel Greene. CNN. December 7th, 2016.
• “Inn Owner Tells of Shelling; SUBMARINE SHELLS A CALIFORNIA PLANT U.S. MAINLAND SHELLED” by The New York Times. February 24th, 1942.
• Remember Pearl Harbor! By Thomas Blake Clark. Modern age books. 1942.
• Steven Spielberg’s 1941 | The Making Of.
• “The 1942 Battle of L.A.” by Scott Harrison. The Los Angeles Times. February 23rd, 2017.

 

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

 

Interstitial: “Something Special” // Written and performed by A.J. Ditty // Music: “Inkwell Hell” by Kristopher Maddigan

ANNOUNCEMENT: Annual memberships & merchandise on sale now!

A very special message from Josh. 

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217 - Waiting for Godot

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The lads throw on their bowler hats and blame on their shoes the faults of their feet as they cover Samuel Beckett’s tragicomic masterpiece: Waiting for Godot. Topics include the origins of Godot, the benefits of being stabbed in the chest, and the enduring legacy of a stage play where nothing happens twice.

Media Referenced in this Episode:

• Waiting for Godot by Samuel Beckett. 1953.
• Damned to Fame: The Life of Samuel Beckett by James Knowlson. Simon and Schuster. 1996.
• Panic Attack by John Lahr. The New Yorker. May 11th, 2009.
• SAMUEL BECKETT: Waiting for Godot : Bert Lahr / E. G. Marshall
• The 1957 All-Black Broadway Cast of 'Waiting For Godot' in the Archives | The New York Public Library

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

Interstitial: “A Message from Mr. Godot” // Written by A.J. Ditty // Featuring A.J. DItty as “Mr. Godot” and Eleanor Philips as “The Weird Brother”.

BOBUS 14 - Bloodborne: The Old Hunters DLC (feat. What's all This Then?)

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We've done it. Charlotte and Libby are back to join us in the Hunter's Nightmare, a blood-drenched valhalla where no one's having a good time.

What’s All This Then?: A podcast about Britain, hosted by Charlotte McDonnell and Libby Watson. Patreon // Spotify // Apple Podcasts

Libby Watson: Twitch // Bluesky

Charlotte McDonnell: Twitch // Bluesky

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

216 - Odyssey: Origins (feat. Kevin T. Porter) [Whit’s Endless Summer 48]

The godfather of Christian media podcasts Kevin T. Porter (Good Christian Fun) joins the lads in Odyssey as they cover three episodes from the series that would one day become Adventures in Odyssey: Family Portraits. Topics include the dangers of yokel discrimination, the bizarro world of pre-Odyssey Odyssey, and what it means to have your mail delivered by a man named George Poindexter.

 

Kevin T. Porter: Instagram // Website

Good Christian Fun: Good Christian Fun is a podcast delving into the strange upside-down world of Christian pop culture. Hosts Kevin T. Porter and Caroline Ely are your tour guides through the weird and hilarious world of faith-based entertainment. GCF is a show for skeptics and believers alike, all are welcome. Don’t worry, they won’t make you go to church ;)

• Patreon // Apple Podcasts // Website
• Listen to Josh’s episode of GCF about Mary Rice Hopkins

Media Referenced in this Episode

• Family Portraits
  • S01E01: “Whit’s Visitor”
  • S01E03: “The New Kid in Town”
  • S01E09: “A New Kind of Peer Pressure”

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

Interstitial: “J2o18h15n th11e Fi5rs14t” // Written by A.J. Ditty // feat. Brian Alford as “John/Jimmy/Michael”, A.J. Ditty as “Dr. Oswald Oliver”, and Jessie Cannizzaro as “Dr. Christina Cavalcante” // Violin Cover of “The Chain” by Steve Bingham, Arranged by Rowan Marshall

215 - Columbo (feat. Donovan Eyre)

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Donovan Eyre (Radio Free Tote Bag, DonoHell) and the lads throw on their trenchcoats and putter around some crime scenes as they cover the hit NBC/ABC mystery sensation: Columbo. Topics include the genius of Peter Falk, the many crimes of the Kong family, and what we can learn from watching a working class detective one more thing his way towards bringing justice to the bourgeois.

Donovan Eyre: Bluesky  // Instagram // SoundCloud

DonoHell: Streaming Wednesdays 8-10

Radio Free Tote Bag: A weekly relationship advice podcast hosted by Audrey and Donovan.

• Patreon // Spotify // Apple Podcasts // Twitter // Instagram

Media Referenced in this Episode:

• Columbo. Created by Richard Levinson and William Link.

  • S02E01: “Étude in Black”

  • S05E05: “Now You See Him”

  • S10E01:“Columbo Goes to College”

• Columbo, Romania and the Communist Party by Radu Pericol Tiganas.

• How Columbo Influenced the Cinematographers of Poker Face by Iain Marks. American Cinematographer. May 21st, 2025.

• “How We Created Columbo and How He Nearly Killed Us” by Richard Levinson and William Link. American Film Magazine. March 1981.

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

Interstitial: “Columbo Kong” // Written by A.J. Ditty // feat. Brian Alford as “Bluster Kong/Mainer Kong/Werner”, Josh Boerman as “DK”, and A.J. Ditty as “Columbo Kong”