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The first and only podcast bringing you weekly case studies in the pop culture of a dying empire. Every Wednesday, co-hosts Josh, Brian, and A.J. dissect an artifact of popular culture, breaking down how its narrative choices reflect or subvert the reactionary political project. From video games to movies to theater to an apparently infinite supply of evangelical Christian radio drama, we expose the machinations of the worst of all possible worlds in order to figure out how to build a better one. Also, we have bits.
Episodes
Wednesday Apr 12, 2023
Wednesday Apr 12, 2023
~~TICKETS FOR OUR LIVE SHOW ON THURSDAY 4/27 IN NYC ARE AVAILABLE NOW! Get your tickets right now at this link.~~
Matt Barbot (@barbotrobot) returns to the pod to take the lads on a wild romp through the holy land as they cover Martin Scorsesse and Paul Scharder’s controversial Passion project: The Last Temptation of Christ. Topics include the pitfalls of adapting Jesus’ story, the petty backlash from the Christian Right, and the terrifying genitalia of Willem Dafoe.
Matt Barbot:
Twitter // Instagram // New Play Exchange
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!
Media Referenced in this Episode:
- The Last Temptation of Christ. Available on Amazon // Apple TV
- Don Wildmon: The Man the Networks Love to Hate by Don Wildmon with Randall Nulton. Bristol Books. 1989
- Hollywood Under Siege: Martin Scorsese, The Religious Right, and the Culture Wars by Thomas R Lindlof. The University Press of Kentucky. 2008.
- The New Religious Right Versus Media Wrongs: AFA Fights Temptation by David S. Olsen. Journal of Film and Video. 2001.
TWOAPW theme by Brendan Dalton: Patreon // brendan-dalton.com // brendandalton.bandcamp.com
![81 - Ease on Down Gilead Lane [Colerainey Days #41]](https://pbcdn1.podbean.com/imglogo/ep-logo/pbblog11885637/dgl_300x300.jpg){kind=logo}
Wednesday Apr 05, 2023
Wednesday Apr 05, 2023
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Down Gilead Lane
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Season One, Episode 2: “The Unloveable: Part 1"
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Season Three, Episode 6: “Stars and Gripes”
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Season Three, Episode 8: “Beauty and the Beast Within”
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Season Three, Episode 13: “Summer Camp Blues” feat. Josh Boerman
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Beyond Gilead
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Season Twelve, Episode 5: “One Way”
![80 - Whittaker Knows Best [Whit’s Endless Summer #22]](https://pbcdn1.podbean.com/imglogo/ep-logo/pbblog11885637/Wittaker_Knows_Best_font_shift_63ltj_300x300.jpg){kind=logo}
Wednesday Mar 29, 2023
Wednesday Mar 29, 2023
The lads return to Odyssey for some thrilling adventures in daddy issues as they dive headlong into many trials and tribulations facing the fathers in Focus on the Family’s America. Topics include Phil Lollar at his best, Bill Kendall at his worst, and the ongoing manipulation/conversion of one Eugene Meltsner.
TICKETS FOR OUR LIVE SHOW ON THURSDAY 4/27 IN NYC ARE AVAILABLE NOW! Get your tickets right now at this link.
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!
Media Referenced in this Episode:
- 195: Father’s Day
- 230: Our Father
- 234: Our Daily Bread
- 232: Thy Kingdom Come
TWOAPW theme by Brendan Dalton: Patreon // brendan-dalton.com // brendandalton.bandcamp.com
Wednesday Mar 22, 2023
Wednesday Mar 22, 2023
THIS IS A PREVIEW. FOR THE FULL EPISODE, GO TO Patreon.com/worstofall
The lads finally finish the hat as they cover James Lapine and Stephen Sondheim’s beautiful, pointillist musical: Sunday in the Park With George. Topics include the complexity of the score, the controversial second act, and the challenge of bringing order to the whole through design, composition, balance, light, and harmony.
Want more TWOAPW? Get access to the rest of this episode, our full back catalogue of premium and bonus episodes, and add your name to the masthead of our website by subscribing for $5/month at Patreon.com/worstofall!
Media Referenced in this Episode:
- Sunday in the Park with George by James Lapine and Stephen Sondheim.
- “Eight Lines (Octet)” by Steve Reich. 1979.
- Look, I Made a Hat: Collected Lyrics (1981-2011) with Attendant Comments, Amplifications, Dogmas, Harangues, Digressions, Anecdotes and Miscellany by Stephen Sondheim. Penguin Random House. 2011.
- “Partitions” by Milton Babbitt, 1957.
- Putting it Together: How Stephen Sondheim and I Created "Sunday in the Park with George" by James Lapine. macmillan Publishing. 2021.
- Reich and Sondheim: In Conversation and Performance. Interview with Frank Rich. Lincoln Center, 2016.
- Sondheim on Music: Minor Details and Major Decisions by Mark Eden Horowitz. Scarecrow Press, 2010. Also available on Youtube.
- “UK Omnibus: Sunday in the Park with Stephen.” 1990.
- “Putting It Together” Variations
- Barbara Streisand’s Version
- The Academy Awards Version
- The Xerox Commercial Version
- The Ethan Allen Version
TWOAPW theme by Brendan Dalton: Patreon // brendan-dalton.com // brendandalton.bandcamp.com
Wednesday Mar 15, 2023
Wednesday Mar 15, 2023
The lads strap on their gas masks and look for the light as they face down both the Infected and the evil heart of humanity in Naughty Dog’s 2013 mega-hit: The Last of Us: Part I. Topics include the history of zombie media, the tremendous performances, and the deeply cynical philosophy at the heart of the “greatest video game story ever told.”
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!
Media Referenced in this Episode:
- The Last of Us: Part I Available on PS5 // Steam
- The Last of Us: Remastered Available on PS4
- The Last of Us Available on PS3
- “Grounded: The Making of the Last of Us”. Directed by Jason Bertrand, Matt Chandronait, Jeffrey Keith Negus, Ryan O'Donnell, Cesar Quintero. Produced by Sony, Feb 2014.
- “The Power of Failure: Making ‘The Last of Us’” by Andrew Webster. The Verge September 19th, 2013.
TWOAPW theme by Brendan Dalton: Patreon // brendan-dalton.com // brendandalton.bandcamp.com
Featuring Eleanor Philips as “Ellie”.
Wednesday Mar 08, 2023
Wednesday Mar 08, 2023
THIS IS A PREVIEW. FOR THE FULL EPISODE, GO TO Patreon.com/worstofall
THE LADS WATCH 8 MRBEAST VIDEOS AND THEN TALK ABOUT THEM (Not Clickbait). Topics include MrBeast’s humble origins, the monetization of altruism, and the internet’s canonization of St. Jimmy Donaldson.
Want more TWOAPW? Get access to the rest of this episode, our full back catalogue of premium and bonus episodes, and add your name to the masthead of our website by subscribing for $5/month at Patreon.com/worstofall!
Media Referenced in this Episode:
- The Beast Playlist
- “Is MrBeast for Real? Inside the Outrageous World of YouTube's Cash-Happy Stunt King” by EJ Dickson, Rolling Stone April 9th, 2022.
- “Mr. Beast, YouTube Star, Wants to Take Over the Business World” by Taylor Lorenz, NYTimes, May 4th, 2021.
- The CouRage and Nadeshot Show, Episode 38: "MrBeast Shares His BIGGEST YouTube Secrets!"
- The Joe Rogan Experience, Episode #1788: MrBeast.
TWOAPW theme by Brendan Dalton: Patreon // brendan-dalton.com // brendandalton.bandcamp.com
Wednesday Mar 01, 2023
Wednesday Mar 01, 2023
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BTS Polaroids from the set of Hackers by Roger K Burton. Dazed Digital.
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How Telephone Phreaking Worked by The 8-Bit Guy. 2020.
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HACKERS: Iain Softley - Director Interview by Hackers Curator. Jan 29th, 2021.
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“House Republicans demand answers from TSA over No-Fly List hack” by Matthew Foldi. The Spectator, January 27th, 2023.
![75 - Gomorrah? I Hardly Know ’Er! (feat. Colby Day) [Whit’s Endless Summer #21]](https://pbcdn1.podbean.com/imglogo/ep-logo/pbblog11885637/Gomorrah_Poster_Type77513_300x300.jpg){kind=logo}
Wednesday Feb 22, 2023
Wednesday Feb 22, 2023
THIS IS A PREVIEW. FOR THE FULL EPISODE, GO TO Patreon.com/worstofall
Colby Day (@thecolbyday) is thrown into The Room of Consequences as he and the lads return to Odyssey for Adventures in Sodom, Gomorrah, and the most sinful place of all: the theater. Topics include the big swings of Phil Loller, the camp perfection of Edwin Blackgaard, and the paramount importance of keeping art weird.
Want more TWOAPW? Get access to the rest of this episode, our full back catalogue of premium and bonus episodes, and add your name to the masthead of our website by subscribing for $5/month at Patreon.com/worstofall!
Colby Day is a writer/director for theater/film. He wrote the upcoming Netflix film SPACEMAN, directed by Johan Renck (CHERNOBYL), starring Adam Sandler. His script IN THE BLINK OF AN EYE is set to be directed by Andrew Stanton (WALL-E). His short film Lead/Follow is now streaming.
Twitter // Instagram // Website
Media Referenced in this Episode:
- Adventures in Odyssey #210: On Solid Ground
- Adventures in Odyssey #236: Into Temptation
- Adventures in Odyssey #248: Terror from the Skies
- Adventures in Odyssey #218: A Class Act
TWOAPW theme by Brendan Dalton: Patreon // brendan-dalton.com // brendandalton.bandcamp.com (edited)
Wednesday Feb 15, 2023
Wednesday Feb 15, 2023
Patrick Willems (@patrickhwillems) teaches the lads the ABC’s of corporate espionage as they slide down the deeply intricate lore rabbit hole that is Dreamworks’ 2017 fever dream: The Boss Baby. Topics include the scores of Hans Zimmer, the commodification of love, and the eternal and ever-growing rivalry between babies and puppies.
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!
Patrick H. Willems: “Pretty much the Terrence Malick of YouTube.” Twitter // Youtube // Nebula // Instagram // Letterboxd
Night of the Coconut: Nebula // Vinyl
Media Referenced in this Episode:
- The Boss Baby (2017) available on Amazon // Apple TV
- The Boss Baby: Family Business (2021) available on Amazon // Apple TV
- The Boss Baby: Back in Business (2018) available on Netflix
- The Boss Baby: Back in the Crib (2022) available on Netflix
TWOAPW theme by Brendan Dalton: Patreon // brendan-dalton.com // brendandalton.bandcamp.com
Interstitial Written and Performed by Eleanor Philips
Wednesday Feb 08, 2023
Wednesday Feb 08, 2023
- Slings and Arrows, Season One: Amazon // Acorn TV
- The Creators of Slings and Arrows Talk about Creating One of TV’s Greatest Shows by Emily St. James, AV Club, May 30th, 2013.