The Worst of All Possible Worlds

20 - The Long Dark Souls of the Soul (feat. Trevor Strunk)

The lads and special guest Trevor Strunk (No Cartridge, Story Mode) take up the mantle of the Chosen Undead as they attempt to link the fire by climbing the trap-filled Snake Fortress of video game culture that is Dark Souls. They discuss difficulty settings in video games, the pernicious gatekeeping of gitting gud, and what Dark Souls can teach us about surviving an apocalypse.

Trevor Strunk:
Twitter: @Hegelbon

No Cartridge:
https://open.spotify.com/show/0nvqvbeKNXYnCngVWQwanL?si=d1d254ff82304435
https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/no-cartridge-audio/id1212245244

Story Mode: Video Games & The Interplay Between Consoles and Culture
https://www.powells.com/book/story-mode-9781633886803 

Patreon:
https://www.patreon.com/WorstOfAll

Theme by Brendan Dalton
www.brendan-dalton.com
https://brendandalton.bandcamp.com

19 - Coriolanus (2011): The Coriolanus Effect (feat. Josh Sawyer)

THIS IS THE FIRST HALF OF OUR DISCUSSION. For the full episode, check out our Patreon: patreon.com/WorstOfAll

The lads and special guest Josh Sawyer (Fallout: New Vegas, Pillars of Eternity) go beard to beard with the mob as they face down one of Shakespeare’s most brutal and overlooked tragedies: Coriolanus. They discuss Ralph Fiennes’ excellent 2011 film adaptation, the dehumanizing weaponization of soldiers in an ever-expanding empire, and the uncanny horror of Chekhovian Slendermen. Was Zizek right to say that this movie is "like God's eyes in an Orthodox icon?" You'll just have to listen to find out.

Josh Sawyer
Twitter: @jesawyer

Theme by Brendan Dalton
www.brendan-dalton.com
https://brendandalton.bandcamp.com 

18 - Pokémon (feat. Ashleigh Stoneman)

The lads, along with special guest Ashleigh Stoneman (The Very Worst, The Merry Worst), venture off into the tall grass to do battle with the literal wild animal that is the Pokémon franchise. They discuss the pastoral origins of Pokémon, its literal demonization at the hands of the Christian Right, and the existential nightmare of being the very best, like no one ever was.

Ashleigh Stoneman
Twitter: @ashstoneman

The Very Worst
Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-very-worst/id1434474756
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/1GC277C5qDCAUnzONwtTHh?si=d7134d571463416e

Patreon:
https://www.patreon.com/WorstOfAll

Theme by Brendan Dalton
www.brendan-dalton.com
https://brendandalton.bandcamp.com

17 - Dreaming of a Whit Christmas [Whit’s Endless Summer #8]

THIS IS A PREVIEW. Check out the full thing at patreon.com/worstofall

The lads knock back a few eggnogs and experience a true Christmas miracle as they cover the first actually good episode of Adventures in Odyssey: “Monty’s Christmas”. Topics include the power of empathy, Christmas angels, and the legacy of the late, great voice actor Will Ryan.

Episodes Discussed:
87: Elijah Part 1
88: Elijah Part 2
97: Monty’s Christmas
98: The Visitors
115: An Act of Mercy

Theme by Brendan Dalton
www.brendan-dalton.com
https://brendandalton.bandcamp.com

16 - Odyssey Salutes the Troops! (feat. Nate Bethea) [Whit’s Endless Summer #7]

The lads enlist Nate Bethea (What a Hell of a Way To Die, TRASHFUTURE) to help battle their way through some of Adventures in Odyssey’s most patriotic episodes. They discuss the cliches of war stories, the manufactured outrage around flag burning, and getting uncucked at the hands of Dr. Beanes.

 

Nate’s Twitter: @inthesedeserts

 

Nate’s Podcasts:

What A Hell of a Way to Die https://open.spotify.com/show/1XEfRCDbLKOB8naNbICU6q?si=6f0a8dfde3a54023

 

TRASHFUTURE https://open.spotify.com/show/4loPiV9XWjVOitg2XfzK7Q?si=ef69cc5a7b114333

 

Lions Led By Donkeys https://open.spotify.com/show/1Vw8AeyqBCI6R94FK3GBw9?si=62925b5cc9994609

 

The Bottlemen https://open.spotify.com/show/1tf9dAmIavUJxrzpMIbGuL?si=54b058ae28904e32

 

Kill James Bond! https://open.spotify.com/show/5kQS8cE6xF7rUzO2vtCZ3s?si=6fe11f17f1bb4793

 

Episodes of Odyssey:

93: Rescue from Manatugo Point

94: Operation: Dig-Out

149: By Dawn’s Early Light

164: Sixties-Something

 

Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/WorstOfAll

 

Theme by Brendan Dalton

www.brendan-dalton.com

https://brendandalton.bandcamp.com

EMERGENCY POD: REMEMBERING STEPHEN SONDHEIM (feat. Graham Techler)

One week ago, the world lost the greatest musical theater composer of all time. This week, we brought in Graham Techler (The New Yorker, Tooning out the News) to record an episode about Stephen Sondheim’s life and legacy. What started out with sharing favorite shows and tunes turned into a broader conversation about art, commerce, and the paradox of attempting to create work that can inspire and endure in a hopeless world. Everybody rise.

 

Graham Techler

Twitter: @gr8h8m_t3chl3r

grahamtechler.com

 

Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/WorstOfAll

 

Theme by Brendan Dalton

www.brendan-dalton.com

https://brendandalton.bandcamp.com

15 - Putting the Christ Back Into Thanksgiving [Whit’s Endless Summer #6]

THIS IS A PREVIEW. Check out the full thing at patreon.com/worstofall

Brian's (@spocks_brian) back in town and in our first in-person episode, he, Josh (@boshj) and A.J. (@thefuzzymask) go over his favorite holiday: T-Givez. Yes, that's what he calls it. Yes, he's called it that for years. No, he won't stop. In this episode we discuss the history of thanksgiving, the value of acknowledging your circumstances, and that one time a dead body was discovered in the basement of Whit's End.

Episodes covered:
39, 40: The Case of the Secret Room, Parts 1 and 2
49: Thank you, God
173: A Thanksgiving Carol

Full episode at Patreon:
https://www.patreon.com/WorstOfAll

Theme by Brendan Dalton
www.brendan-dalton.com
https://brendandalton.bandcamp.com

14 - Heavy Rain (feat. David Armstrong)

The boys and special guest David Armstrong (The Omni Bilateral Panic Podcast) press X to Shaun as they clumsily stagger through the wasteland of David Cage’s 2010 damp catastrophe: Heavy Rain. They discuss the creative limits of video-game-as-movie, the allegations of Quantic Dream’s toxic work environment, and the pros and cons of weapons-grade cocaine.

Omni Bilateral Panic:

Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/6NGRu97Lto5fl81Kqjfdk3?si=196c041d046b4843

Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/omni-bilateral-panic/id1586920943

Patreon:
https://www.patreon.com/WorstOfAll

Theme by Brendan Dalton
www.brendan-dalton.com
https://brendandalton.bandcamp.com

13 - A Thief in the Night

THIS IS A PREVIEW. Check out the full thing at patreon.com/worstofall

Everybody’s gone to the rapture as Josh (@boshj), Brian (@spocks_brian), and A.J. (@TheFuzzyMask) go on the slow helicopter ride into the apocalypse that is the 1972 evangelical fear-mongering classic: A Thief in the Night. They discuss the cult of rapture-pilling, California Christians, and the sexual magnetism of Chester A. Arthur.

Full episode at Patreon:
https://www.patreon.com/WorstOfAll

Theme by Brendan Dalton
www.brendan-dalton.com
https://brendandalton.bandcamp.com

12 - Hangman’s Curse (2003): Auto-Perettic Asphyxiation (feat. Felicia Lobo and Lauren Harris)

The Sinister Sisters, Felicia Lobo (@girlygorehorror) and Lauren Harris, join Josh (@boshj), Brian (@spocks_brian), A.J. (@TheFuzzyMask) to battle the forces of darkness, goths, and spiders (mostly spiders) as they face the 2003 movie adaptation of Frank Peretti’s evangelical horror disaster Hangman’s Curse. They discuss the power of spooky fonts, the demonic consequences of prayer in schools, and the subtle joys of being covered in spiders.

Patreon:
https://www.patreon.com/WorstOfAll

Sinister Sisters Podcast:
https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/sinister-sisters/id1450842514

Girly Gore:
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCB58UzH4LMM1cydY4gb3eGA

Theme by Brendan Dalton
www.brendan-dalton.com
https://brendandalton.bandcamp.com