The Worst of All Possible Worlds

INTERVIEW: Jason Koebler on the origins of Shrimp Jesus

Jason Koebler is a co-founder and editor of 404 Media. Throughout 2024 Jason has been reporting on Facebook and how it’s become overrun with uncanny AI content, and last month he figured out where it’s all coming from. This morning Josh sat down with Jason to learn more about his reporting, and over the course of 40 minutes they talked about the degradation of Facebook and how it may be a sign of things to come for the rest of the internet.

Read more from Jason:

• Where Facebook's AI Slop Comes From
• Facebook’s AI Spam Isn’t the ‘Dead Internet’: It’s the Zombie Internet
• Do You Like These AI Images of Dying, Mutilated Children? Facebook Algorithm Wonders
• Facebook’s Algorithm Is Boosting AI Spam That Links to AI-Generated, Ad-Laden Click Farms

Check out Jason’s podcast: The 404 Media Podcast

Listen to Jason's episode of Ten Thousand Posts: The Big Slop Part 1 feat. Jason Koebler

Get access to our full episode about Shrimp Jesus and the Death of Facebook, plus 70+ more premium episodes, for $5/month at our Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/worstofall

153 - Cities: Skylines (feat. Justin Roczniak)

Justin Roczniak (Well There’s Your Problem) joins the lads from some good, old-fashioned city planning as they cover Colossal Order and Paradox Interactive’s 2015 city building simulator: Cities: Skylines. Topics include the origins of city building sims, the many pleasures of Ulm, and the horrors of fully-rendered teeth in a game where you just want to optimize traffic flow.

Justin Roczniak: Twitter // Youtube

Well There’s Your Problem is a podcast about engineering disasters and systemic failures, from a leftist perspective, with jokes.

• Youtube / Twitter / Instagram / Patreon
• Listen on Apple Podcasts / Spotify / Google Podcasts

Media Referenced in this Episode:

• Cities: Skylines. Colossal Order. 2015.
• Cities: Skylines 2. Colossal Order. 2023.
• Urban Dynamics. Jay W. Forrester. 1969.
• Playing Cities Skylines 2 While Getting Dangled From a Crane

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

Commercial: “Andy Phillips Presenting to the Doodleburg Town Council On the Eve of the Great ‘Fill The Hole’ Construction Project, July 15th, 2044 ” // Written by A.J. Ditty // Starring A.J. Ditty as “Councilman Mancouncil” and David Armstrong as “Andy Phillips” and “Charles Foster Chungus”.

152 - Tom Goes to the Mayor

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

The lads get photocopied and make their way to Jefferton, alive, as they cover Tim and Eric’s Adult Swim debut: Tom Goes to the Mayor. Topics include the origins of Tim and Eric, their many innovations to comedy, and the prescience of a show that predicted A.I. with a calcucorn.

Media Referenced In this Episode:

• Tom Goes to the Mayor. Created by Tim And Eric. 2004.
• Tom Goes To The Mayor - A Look Behind
• “‘Tom Goes to the Mayor’ granted second season” Today. May 31st, 2006.
• Tom Goes To The Mayor Unaired Pilot # 1
• Tom Goes To The Mayor Returns (Unaired Pilot # 2)
• UsedWigs Interview with Tim Heidecker and Eric Wareheim
• “Q&A: Tim and Eric's suburban-hell masterpiece, 'Tom Goes to the Mayor'” by Coury Turczyn. Popcult. February 22nd. 2018.

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

Commercial: “Coyote Alert” // Written by A.J. Ditty // Starring A.J. Ditty as “Johnny Danger” and Brian Alford as “The Boss Man”

151 - Moneyball

The lads throw on their Oakland A’s jerseys and get a little romantic about baseball as they cover Bennett Miller’s 2011 anti-sports film: Moneyball. Topics include the chaotic pre-production, the highs and lows of the Zaillian/Sorkin screenplay, and what it means to build a film around a philosophy that would ultimately change baseball for the worse.

Media Referenced in this Episode:

• Moneyball. Dir. Bennett Miller. 2011.
• “Brad Pitt Reveals What He, Sony Did to Save ‘Moneyball’” by Alex Ben Block. The Hollywood Reporter. December 16th, 2011.
• “Soderbergh's Moneyball mothballed” by Xan Brooks. The Guardian. July 3rd, 2009.
• “THR’s Writer Roundtable: 6 Top Scribes Talk Standing Up to Clint Eastwood, Dealing with Rewrites and Being Fired by Your Wife” by Matthew Belloni and Stephen Galloway. The Hollywood Reporter. November 21st, 2011.
• VIDEO: A-Rod regrets kissing mirror in 2009 photo shoot

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

Interstitial: “Betrayal” feat. Ben Schrager as “Mr.” and Anne Huston as “Mrs.”

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

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

The lads make their long-awaited pilgrimage to the rotten heart of the evangelical project, Focus on the Family headquarters in Colorado Springs, CO, to cover the 1000th episode celebration of Adventures in Odyssey. Topics include the horrific vibes, Adventures in Odyssey trading cards, and what it means to watch a corpse of an organization come together to celebrate their own slow, inevitable demise.

DONATE TO PRISM COMMUNITY COLLECTIVE, PROVIDING SERVICES FOR THE LGBTQ+ COMMUNITY IN COLORADO SPRINGS, COLORADO.

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

Media Referenced in this Episode:

• Adventures in Odyssey

Commercial: “A Conspiracy Theorist Sits Alone in the Denver International Airport”

149 - A.I.: Artificial Intelleugence (feat. Juniper) [Whit’s Endless Summer 37]

OUR LIVE SHOW IN COLORADO SPRINGS IS THIS WEEKEND, SUNDAY, AUGUST 4. CLICK HERE TO GET YOUR TICKETS!

Juniper (Western Kabuki) visits the lads in Odyssey for further adventures in escape rooms, game nights, and bidding farewell to a beloved Odyssian through the power of deepfakes. Topics include Jigsaw middle schoolers, the rage of the Whit 3, and the complicated legacy of both Eugene Meltsner and the man who leant him his voice: Will Ryan.

Want more TWOAPW? Get access to our full back catalogue of premium/bonus episodes and add your name to the masthead of our website by subscribing for $5/month at Patreon.com/worstofall!

Juniper: Twitch // Patreon // Twitter

Western Kabuki: Juniper and Caleb with their trusty producer Alex delve into internet topics du jour.

• Spotify // Apple Podcasts // Twitter
• Episode with Josh about the Red Heifer Prophecy

Cratediving: a show where june & snailey plunder the depths of the internet to listen and react to the most esoteric music they can find

• Spotify // Apple Podcasts // Twitter

Media Referenced in this Episode:

• Adventures in Odyssey

• • #877: A Sacrificial Escape
  • #952: Game Night
  • #966-969: The Best is Yet To Come, Parts 1-4

• Buckles the Echidna by AshleyFluttershy on DeviantArt

 

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

Commercial: “Estragonov’s Escape Room Express”

148 - Barkley, Shut Up and Jam: Gaiden (feat. Data Transfer)

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

Audrey and Korla (Data Transfer) take the lads on a trip to the post-cyberpocalypse as they cover Tales of Game’s infamous free-to-play sequel to a certain Michael Jordan/Looney Tunes mashup: Barkley, Shut Up and Jam: Gaiden. Topics include the game’s overt racism, forum culture in the mid-2000s, and the lessons to be learned from a game where Charles Barkley destroys half of New York with a Chaos Dunk.

LIVE SHOW TICKETS AVAILABLE NOW

Data Transfer: A watch-along series for the Digimon franchise, where two transfemme dorks make their way through every season of Digimon anime that exists. Hosts Audrey and Korla discuss each episode with an intensely queer lens and share their experiences with Digimon throughout their lives along the way.

• Website // Spotify // Apple Podcasts

Post Ponies: Episode recaps of My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic, hoping to glean something about the rise of fascism in America and around the world. Somehow. Hosted by four trans girls who can not be trusted with the aux. It will not be safe for work.

• Website // Spotify // Apple Podcasts

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:

• Barkley, Shut Up and Jam: Gaiden. Tales of Game’s. 2008.
• GZ Post on SA forums about the State of Barkley 2
• Shaq mocks Charles Barkley for his role in Space Jam - Inside the NBA
• Barkley 2 - an RPG Sequel to Barkley Shut Up and Jam: Gaiden
• The future of Barkley 2
• Update 35: Information about Barkley 2 Updates - why you haven't heard from us and why the game isn't dead yet. · Barkley 2 - an RPG Sequel to Barkley Shut Up and Jam: Gaiden

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

Commercial: “A Reading of The Navy Seal Copypasta”

147 - Chrono Trigger (feat. Anime Sickos)

Tom and Joe (Anime Sickos) throw the lads in the Epoch and hop through time as they cover Square’s landmark 1995 RPG: Chrono Trigger. Topics include the thrill of flame tornados, the anxieties of action time battle, and the importance of camaraderie in the face of an apocalyptic DJ from space.

LIVE SHOW TICKETS AVAILABLE NOW. CLICK HERE FOR MORE INFO AND TO BUY YOUR TICKETS

Anime Sickos: A podcast for geniuses about the four pillars of modern misery: anime, gaming, posting, & jobs. Starring Tom & Joe. New episodes every Wednesday.

Patreon // Twitter // Tumblr

Media Referenced in this Episode:

• Chrono Trigger. Square, 1995.
• Chrono Trigger – 1995 Developer Interviews - shmuplations.com

Commercial: “A Message from the Nu”

• O-Zone - Dragostea Din Tei (Remix in style of Sega Genesis 16 bit)

146 - Shrimp Jesus and the Death of Facebook

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

The lads made this episode with their own hands! 😊 Why do episodes like this never get likes? 😢💔 AmenAmenAmen. 🙏🇺🇸 It is our birthday and nobody wished us one. So excited to begin our cake journey. 🎂 Did you notice when it left you? Why don’t you see these anymore? Gone too soon! ✝️ The joy, the bursts of pleasure, the camaraderie? She did good work, we’re so proud of her! 🤩 This is a place of ghosts. King Charles visited Sudan to feed the hungry children! 🫅🇸🇩 And soon you will join us in the mist. Wow, made it to 100, who else can relate? 💯 Amen.

TICKETS TO OUR LIVE SHOW IN COLORADO SPRINGS ON AUGUST 8 ARE AVAILABLE NOW! CLICK HERE FOR DETAILS AND TO BUY YOUR TICKETS

Media Referenced in this Episode:

• Facebook blog posts
  • September 5, 2006 - Facebook deprecates the original Wall in favor of the News Feed. A post made to someone else’s profile can now show up on the home page of anyone who is friends with that person
  • September 5, 2006 - Mark Zuckerberg makes a highly defensive and condescending post responding to negative feedback about the shift to the news feed
  • September 8, 2006 - Zucc makes a considerably more measured follow-up post introducing new privacy settings but doubling down on his commitment to “free flow of information on the internet”
  • November 6, 2007 - Facebook introduces its new social ad platform in tandem with Pages, implementing the final piece of its core user monetization strategy
  • February 12, 2009 - Facebook introduces the Like button
  • February 24, 2016 - Facebook rolls out Reactions (love, haha, wow, sad, angery) globally

• News articles:
  • “Ted Cruz using firm that harvested data on millions of unwitting Facebook users” by Harry Davies. The Guardian. December 11th, 2015.
  • “A timeline of Facebook's privacy issues — and its responses” by Alyssa Newcomb. NBC News. March 24, 2018
  • “Five Points for Anger, One for a ‘Like’: How Facebook’s Formula Fostered Rage and Misinformation” by Jeremy B. Merrill and Will Oremus. Washington Post. October 26th, 2021
  • How Spammers, Scammers and Creators Leverage AI-Generated Images on Facebook for Audience Growth by Renee DiResta and Josh A. Goldstein. Pre-print paper, Stanford University.
  • Facebook’s Algorithm Is Boosting AI Spam That Links to AI-Generated, Ad-Laden Click Farms by Jason Koebler. 404 Media, March 19, 2024
  • Facebook’s AI Spam Isn’t the ‘Dead Internet’: It’s the Zombie Internet by Jason Koebler. 404 Media, May 2, 2024

• Misc.
  • ”AI is Ruining the Internet” by Drew Gooden.

Commercial: “Scrolling Through Your Old Facebook Feed at 4AM”

• Round Here Piano Cover by John Baumgardn

145 - Dragon Ball Z (feat. Alex Ptak)

Alex Ptak (Quorators) and the lads check their power levels and slap each other silly as they cover the finale of the Frieza arc of Akira Toriyama’s seminal 90’s anime: Dragon Ball Z. Topics include the complex logistics of wishes, the gorgeous design of the characters, and the eternal popularity of a ripped protagonist who can eat and eat and eat and never, EVER get full.

 

LIVE SHOW TICKETS AVAILABLE NOW

 

Alex Ptak - Twitter // Instagram

Quorators - Every Monday, comedians Jeremy Kaplowitz and Alex Ptak head to Quora dot com to find the stupidest questions they can and make fun of them.

Youtube // Patreon // Apple Podcasts // Spotify

Media Referenced in this Episode:

• Dragon Ball Z. Toei Animation. Created by Akira Toriyama.

• • S3, Ep 80: “Transformed at Last”
  • S3, Ep 81: “Explosion of Anger”
  • S3, Ep 82: “Namek’s Destruction?”
  • S3, Ep 83: “A Final Attack”
  • S3, Ep 84: “Approaching Destruction”
  • S3, Ep 85: “Gohan’s Return”
  • S3, Ep 86: “The Last Wish”
  • S3, Ep 87: “Duel on a Vanishing Planet”
  • S3, Ep 88: “Pathos of Frieza”
  • S3, Ep 89: “Frieza Defeated!!”
  • S3, Ep 90: “Mighty Blast of Rage”

• “Finding Ourselves in Dragon Ball” by Bradford William Davis. Slate. March 13th, 2024.
• “In Celebration of Goku, A Latino Icon” by JP Brammer. Los Angeles Times. August 10th, 2023.

 

Commercial: All-You-Can-Inflate