The Worst of All Possible Worlds

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

 

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In 2011, as he sat in his recliner in the liminal state between asleep and awake with Fox News blaring, an Orlando firefighter named Mark Taylor received a message from God: the man yelling about the devaluation of the dollar on TV right then would be the next president of the United States, serving for this nation as Benjamin Neteyahu had for Israel. Four years later, when Donald Trump announced his candidacy, a woman named Mary Colbert and her husband Don cited this “prophecy” to convince evangelical Christians that they should back him, conveniently raising their own profiles in the process.

While evangelical support for Trump has remained overwhelming and steadfast since then, events within the past few weeks have raised serious questions about the durability of Trump’s appeal to Christians. This week, Josh and Brian read the 2017 book The Trump Prophecy and watch its bizarre Liberty University-backed 2018 film adaptation of the same name to try to figure out how evangelicals coalesced behind Trump so quickly and strongly, why the state of Israel is such a pervasive rallying point for them, and whether things can ever change for a group of people willing to believe in a fire lieutenant and self-titled prophet who also goes by the name Shakina Kami.

Media referenced in this episode:

• The Trump Prophecies: The Astonishing True Story of the Man Who Saw Tomorrow...and What He Says Is Coming Next by Mark Taylor (Defender Publishing, 2017)
• The Trump Prophecy dir. Stephan Schultze (ReelWorksStudios, 2018)

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

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JP Brammer (¡Hola Papi!) and the lads throw on their raincoats, dance to Huey Lewis and the News, and commit some mild homicide as they cover both Bret Easton Ellis’ original book and Mary Harron’s film adaptation of the trials and tribulations of Patrick Bateman: American Psycho. Topics include Ellis’ rage-bait politics, Christian Bale’s hardbody, and what it means when a significant portion of a population aspires to be Patrick Bateman.

JP Brammer: Substack // Bluesky // Instagram

Media referenced in this episode:

• American Psycho by Bret Easton Ellis. Vintage. 1991.

• American Psycho. Dir. Mary Harron. 2000.

• “An 'American Psycho' Drama : Books: The flap surrounding Bret Easton Ellis' third novel flares again. NOW is seeking a boycott of his new publisher. Other observers raise questions of censorship.” by Elizabeth Venant. Los Angeles Times. December 11th, 1990.

• “Bret Easton Ellis on American Psycho, Christian Bale, and His Problem with Women Directors”. Movieline. May 18th, 2010.

• "Bret Easton Ellis on Talking Porn With Kanye, a New Novel, and (Yes) Trump" by Corey Seymour. Vogue. April 16th, 2019.

• “On Adapting American Psycho” by Mary Harron. London Review of Books. February 28th, 2024.

• “Phil Collins webchat – your questions answered on prog rock, self-doubt and Miami Vice.” The Guardian. October 19th, 2016.

Music/audio used in this episode:

• Martha Reeves & The Vandellas - Dancing In The Street

• 緑茶：日本の伝統茶道 - Nhạc Jazz Không Lời

• Huey Lewis & The News - Hip To Be Square

• Phil Collins - Sussudio

• Genesis - In Too Deep

• Genesis - Mama

• Genesis - That's All

• Genesis - Home By The Sea

• LilMati - Air Conditioner Fan Hum.wav

• jzielke011 - Urban Rain 01.wav

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

Interstitial: “Salve & Salve” // Written and Performed by A.J. Ditty

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

June and Caleb from Kill the Computer meet the lads for another round of stacking blocks in Beast City as they cover the second season of MrBeast’s nightmare of a game show: Beast Games: Strong/Smart. Topics include the improvements to the games themselves, the professionalism of Jeff Probst, and what it means to model yourself as a philanthropic savior while actively taking money from some of the worst people on the planet.

June: Twitch // Patreon // Bluesky

Caleb: Bluesky

Kill the Computer: June and Caleb talk about the ways in which internet culture spills out into the real world; good and bad.

• Patreon // Apple Podcasts // Spotify

Ill Conceived: A podcast about natalism. Hosted by Josh Boerman (The Worst of All Possible Worlds, Traditional Scrench) and June Sternbach (Western Kabuki, The Onion)

• Patreon // Spotify // Apple Podcasts

Media Referenced in this Episode:

• Beast Games: StrongSmart. Amazon Studios. 2026.
• “Gov. Stein approves $15 millions grant for filming Beast Games second season” by WITN Web Team. WITN First Alert. September 11th, 2025.
• “In 'Beast Games,' contestants get buried alive before heading to Saudi Arabia” by Jim Halterman. LA Times. February 11th, 2026.
• “MrBeast ‘Beast Games’ Hits 50 Million Viewers in 25 Days, Amazon’s Biggest Unscripted Show Ever” by Selome Hailu. Variety. January 16th, 2025.
• “MrBeast: If You Want To Be Liked, Don’t Help People! I Lost Tens Of Millions on Beast Games…But I’m Worth $1 Billion!” The Diary of a CEO with Steven Bartlett. February 20th, 2025.
• North Carolina Department of Commerce Film Industry Grants
• “Prime Video Gives Two-Season Renewal to Global Hit Competition Series Beast Games.” Amazon Press Release. May 13th, 2025.
• “The REAL Tea on Beast Games (with Michelle the Human Calculator)”. Wait, Say More with Eric Cheng. January 15th, 2026

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

Interstitial: “2 People Play Hopscotch for $2,000,000” // Written by A.J. Ditty // feat. David Armstrong as “MrBeast”, Eleanor Philips as “Contestant 1/Chandler”, and A.J. Ditty as “Contestant 2/Young Jimmy/Planet Jimmy”

Those of you who have been listening to our show for a while might remember last year when we did a cross-over collaboration with our friends at Kill The Computer to celebrate the work of Jimmy “MrBeast” Donaldson. We called it Beast Week.

And now, Beast Week is back.

In this episode of Kill The Computer, we talked with June and Caleb about a number of videos MrBeast released in 2025. Then we dug into his theme park Beast Land, a temporary pop-up in Riyadh that was open for 45 days as part of the annual Saudi entertainment festival known as Riyadh Season.

Next up, on Wednesday, June and Caleb will be joining us on The Worst of All Possible Worlds Patreon for a premium episode about season 2 of Beast Games. Finally, on Friday, we’ll conclude Beast Week on the Kill The Computer Patreon with an in-depth conversation about what Jimmy’s been up to so far this year and where we think he might go next.

Thanks for listening. Cool Voltaire loves you!

Brooke from the I Hate James Dobson podcast joins the lads in Odyssey for further adventures in local access television, getting boils in the land of Uz, and the increasingly diabolical schemes of the Novacom Corporation. Topics include the questionable accent choices, the dubious ethics of Whit’s latest invention, and what it means to craft a serialized plot where you rail against the evils of teaching kids about pollution.

I Hate James Dobson: Join therapists Jake (a former Evangelical) and Brooke (who knows almost nothing about Evangelical culture) as they read and tear apart Dobson’s works. Get ready to laugh, cry, and rip your hair out as we explore the very many reasons why I Hate James Dobson.

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

Media Referenced in this Episode:

• Adventures in Odyssey
• #317: “B-TV: Envy”
• #419: “Another Man’s Shoes”
• #399: “Bernard and Job”
• #460: “Nova Rising”
• “The Disturbing Views of God and Suffering in the Book of Job” by Bart D. Ehrman. Misquoting Jesus Podcast with Bart D. Ehrman #75. April 23rd, 2025.
• “The Historical Context of the Book of Job” by Edward L. Greenstein. Yale University Press. August 5th, 2020.
• “Speaking Truth to Power, Job Accuses God of Being Unjust” by Edward L. Greenstein. The Torah.com.

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

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

Joe Kassabian (Lions Led by Donkeys) rejoins the lads in their fight against the Paintress they cover the final two acts of Sandfall Interactive’s hit 2025 grief simulator: Clair Obscur: Expedition 33. Topics include the importance of le family, Monoco’s feet collect-a-thon, and what it means to use art as a balm for one’s grief and, more importantly, when to let that art go.

Joe Kassabian: Bluesky

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

Media Referenced in this Episode:

• Clair Obscur: Expedition 33. Sandfall Interactive. 2025.

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

Interstitial: “Expedition 32 ½: Tatienne” // Written by A.J. Ditty // feat. Eleanor Philips as “Tatienne”, David Arsmstrong as “Gaston”, and A.J. Ditty as “Esquie/Verso”

Joe Kassabian (Lions Led by Donkeys) and the lads throw on their expedition armbands and make for the Paintress as they cover the first act of Sandfall Interactive’s hit 2025 French simulator: Clair Obscur: Expedition 33. Topics include the AI controversy, Ubu Roi, and what it means to make a game that finds the clair in the obscur.

Preorder Joe’s Upcoming Book The Highlands Burn here!!!

Joe Kassabian: Bluesky

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

Media Referenced in this Episode:

• Clair Obscur: Expedition 33. Sandfall Interactive. 2025.
• “After GOTY pull, Clair Obscur devs draw line in sand over AI: 'Everything will be made by humans by us'” by Patricia Hernandez. Polygon. December 24th, 2025.
• “Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 Lead Writer talks Story, Ending, and More” by Game Maker's Notebook
• Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 - Sandfall Interactive Q&A by Sushi
• “Interview Clair Obscur Expedition 33 : ‘On ne s'attendait pas à une réception aussi énorme’” by Par Kelma. Gamekult. August 28th, 2024.

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

Interstitial: “Gaston Garbageman’s Gommage-Proof Garbage Can” // Written by A.J. Ditty // feat. David Armstrong as “Gaston” and A.J. Ditty as “Citizen of Lumière”

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

The lads cast off their pop idol personas and get caught up in the murderous world of Japanese procedurals as they cover Satoshi Kon’s first animated feature: Perfect Blue. Topics include the Aranofsky drama, the podcaster’s persona, and what it means to exist in a world that necessitates breaking yourself into many different personalities just to survive.

Media Referenced in this Episode:

• Perfect Blue. Dir. Satoshi Kon. 1997
• Satoshi Kon: The Illusionist. Dir. Pascal-Alex Vincent. 2021.
• “Interview with Satoshi Kon” by Bill Aguiar. Tokyo Pop. April 25th, 2007.
• The Real History of 'Perfect Blue' and 'Requiem for a Dream'. Animation Obsessive. March 20th, 2022.
• “Satoshi Kon Interview for Perfectblue.com”. September 4th, 1997.

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

Interstitial: “Two-Step Verification” // Written and Performed by A.J. Ditty

Peter Shamshiri (5-4, If Books Could Kill) and the lads throw on their green cloaks and make for the castle at Inverness as they cover the fourth season of the hit reality game show: The Traitors. Topics include the show’s Dutch origins, Alan Cumming’s fabulous fits, and what it means to move through the world thinking that you're a faithful surrounded by traitors.

Peter Shamshiri: Bluesky

5-4 is a podcast about how much the Supreme Court sucks. Hosted by Peter Shamshiri, Michael Liroff, and Rhiannon Hamam, produced by Rachel Ward, and presented by Slow Burn co-creator Leon Neyfakh.

Patreon // Spotify // Apple Podcasts

If Books Could Kill: Michael Hobbes and Peter Shamshiri discuss the airport bestsellers that captured our hearts and ruined our minds.

Patreon // Spotify // Apple Podcasts

 

Media Referenced in this Episode:

• The Traitors US: Season Four
• “40 Traitors Rules and Sneaky Behind-the-Scenes Secrets You Didn't Know” by Madison McGee. Men’s Health. February 9th, 2024.
• “9 Rules You Didn't Know The Traitors Contestants Have to Follow” by Rebecca Aizin and Jordana Comiter. People. January 9th, 2026.
• “8 Unexpected Rules the Cast of 'The Traitors' Has to Follow” by Emily Kelleher. Instyle. January 8th, 2026.

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

Interstitial: Brian Alford by Brian Alford, written by Brian Alford, featuring the voices of Brian Alford and Brian Alford