The Worst of All Possible Worlds

100 - Deus Ex

To celebrate their 100th episode, the lads decide to take some zyme and augment their vision as they finally cover what many people (including Josh) consider to be one of the greatest video games ever made: Ion Storm’s Deus Ex. Topics include the variety of gameplay styles, the forever-memed dialogue, and the legacy of the first PC game that let you kill a guy with your legs.

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:

Deus Ex: Game of the Year Edition available on Steam

Warren Spector’s GDC Speech on Deus Ex

Great Moments in Video Game Voice Acting: Deus Ex (Hong Kong)

Great Moments in Video Game Voice Acting: Deus Ex (Paris)

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

Commercial: “A Message from UNATCO and the NYC Tourism Board” feat. Jay Anthony Franke as “J.C. ‘Cramble’ Denton”.

Jay Anthony Franke: Cameo // Instagram

SPECIAL INTERVIEW: Jay Anthony Franke on Deus Ex and becoming JC Denton

Welcome to Deus Ex Week. In advance of Wednesday’s episode, Jay Anthony Franke, the original voice of JC Denton, sat down with Josh to talk about his experience working on Deus Ex, both as a QA tester and a voice actor. Topics in this half-hour interview include Jay’s career in acting, the process of making such an influential game, and how Deus Ex continues to be so resonant 23 years after its original release.

Want more TWOAPW? Get access to 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!

Jay Anthony Franke can be found on Instagram @jayanthonyfranke and on Cameo @jayanthonyfranke.

Tickets for the 90s Dreams Fan Fest on Friday, October 13th at Stitch Bar & Blues in NYC are available through Prekindle.

99 - Sorry/Not Sorry: Apology Videos and the Toxic Gossip Train

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

hi. There have been a lot of allegations going around and the lads would like to take this opportunity to set the record straight: this is an episode about apology videos. I know you’ve heard the ugly accusations that, in this episode, they talk about the origins of the American apology video, Shane Dawson’s seeming addiction to making them, and the impossibility of true repentance when you’ve turned your life into a brand. Well, let me assure you, it’s all true. Suck it h8ers.

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 Youtube Playlist of All Apology Videos Referenced

• Richard Nixon - "Checkers" Speech
• Jackie Gleason “You’re in the Picture” Apology Episode Part One
• Jackie Gleason “You’re in the Picture” Apology Episode Part Two
• Bill Clinton Admits to Having Inappropriate Relationship with Monica Lewinsky
• Shane Dawson: “My Apology (Blackface & Offensive Videos)”
• Logan Paul: “So Sorry.”
• Kevin Spacey: “Let Me Be Frank”
• Colleen Ballinger: “addressing everything”
• Jenna Marbles: “Jenna Marbles Apology”
• Shane Dawson: “Taking Accountability”
• Try Guys: “what happened.”
• Colleen Ballinger: “hi.”

• “Image repair discourse and crisis communication” by William L. Benoit
• “The Youtube Apology” by Gabriella Karlsson

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

Commercial: “An Apology Song” by Richard Milhous Nixon

98 - Rent (feat. Michael R. Jackson)

Pulitzer-Prize winning composer and playwright Michael R. Jackson (A Strange Loop, White Girl in Danger!) joins the lads in lighting up a mean blaze with posters (and screenplays!) as they dive headlong into the grunge and Gen X angst of Jonathan Larson’s Pulitzer-Prize winning musical watershed: Rent. Topics include the influential score, the show’s vague politics, and the lasting legacy of one of the most seminal rock musicals of all time.

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!

Michael R. Jackson - Twitter // Instagram // Website // A Strange Loop (UK) Tickets

Media Referenced in Episode:

• Rent: Filmed Live on Broadway
• People in Trouble by Sarah Schulman
• Stagestruck by Sarah Schulman

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

Commercial: “You’ll Die Alone” - Music by Jonathan Larson - Lyrics by Dr. Samuel Bultch, D.D.S. - feat. Eleanor Philips as “Roger 

97 - Whit F@#$ing Dies (For Real This Time) (feat. The Socialist Shelf) [Whit’s Endless Summer #26]

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

Jacob Dallas-Main and Joss Olson (The Socialist Shelf) join the lads in Odyssey for adventures in Hollywood self-absorption and saying goodbye to the god-king of Odyssey himself: John Avery Whittaker. Topics include using art to exact petty revenges, the moral dubiousness of post-mortem performances, and the long, illustrious career of the original Whit: Hal Smith.

The Socialist Shelf - Spotify // Apple Podcasts // Twitter // Instagram // Youtube // Bluesky

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:

• Adventures in Odyssey
• #278 “The Fifth House on the Left, Part 1”
• #279 “The Fifth House on the Left, Part 2"
• #280 “Gone…”
• #281 “…But Not Forgotten”

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

Commercial: “Big Bargain Bill’s Used Car Barn”

96 - Castlevania: Symphony of the Night (feat. Scott Benson)

Scott Benson (Night in the Woods, Revenant Hill) and the lads grab some holy water and their sturdiest whips as they cover what is widely considered to be one of the greatest games ever made: Castlevania: Symphony of the Night. Topics include the gorgeous art-style, some sweet speedrunning tricks, and the lasting impact of art that pokes at the edges of its own possibility.

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!

Scott Benson - Twitter // Instagram

Revenant Hill - Website // Steam

Media Referenced in this Episode:

• Castlevania: Symphony of the Night // Available on All Major Platforms
• Castlevania Radio Drama
• “Cynthia Harrell, The Woman Who Sang 'Snake Eater,' Is Ready To Be Heard Again” by Ash Parrish, Kotaku October 21, 2020
• “Dendy’s Dream Debased” by Roman Muradov, Medium February 2, 2015.
• No Cartridge Live With Scott Benson
• “Unfinished symphony: Castlevania's keeper speaks” by Simon Parkin, Eurogamer, April 9, 2014.
• “What's next for Koji Igarashi, the man who left Castlevania and Konami behind” by Michael McWhertor, Polygon, March 19th, 2014.

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

95 - Day of the Tentacle

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

The lads hop in their Chron-O-Johns and do battle with the diabolical Purple Tentacle as they tackle the intricate puzzlebox that is LucasArts’ landmark comedy-adventure game: Day of the Tentacle. Topics include the origins of LucasArts, the cartoon logic of the puzzles, and the fierce originality of one of the funniest adventure games ever made.

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:

• Day of the Tentacle: Remastered
• “Day of the Tentacle: The Oral History” by Bob Mackey. USGamer, June 25th 2018.
• Ron Gilbert - Maniac Mansion postmortem
• The Making of Day of the Tentacle (30th Anniversary Documentary)

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

Commercial: “A Voicemail from George Lucas”

Featuring Abe Goldfarb (@abegoldfarb) as “George Lucas”

94 - God’s Not Dead (feat. Greg Foster)

Greg Foster (@dadshammdad) from Brigham Young Money challenges Brian and Josh to construct and deliver a classroom rebuttal to the film that launched at least a thousand holy text messages: God’s Not Dead (2014). Topics include the ethics of duck consumption, the parallels between Mormon and evangelical Christian culture, and the status of higher education in the state of Louisiana.

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!

Greg Foster: Twitter / Bluesky

Brigham Young Money is an award-losing Utah politics and culture podcast. Website / Twitter / Patreon

• Episode 109: A Year in Review w/ Brian and Josh
• Episode 101: Indignity Index w/ Brian

Media Referenced in this Episode:

• God’s Not Dead (2014, Pure Flix)
• Jesus Freaks: Stories of Those Who Stood for Jesus by DC Talk (1999, Albury Publishers)

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

93 - Julius Caesar (1953)

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

 

The lads cry havoc and loose the dogs of war as they cover Joseph L. Mankiewicz’s 1953 adaptation of one of Josh’s favorite Shakespeare plays: Julius Caesar. Topics include the messiness of revolution, the shockwaves of Brando’s career, and what it means to be masculine in a world where even your best bros can stab you with knives.

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:

Julius Caesar (1953), dir. Joseph L. Mankiewicz.

“About Shakespeare’s Julius Caesar” by Barbara Mowat and Paul Werstine, Folger Shakespeare.

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

Commercial: “That Moment at a Wedding When the DJ Puts on “Mr. Brightside” by The Killers” 

92 - Eugene and Bernard’s Road Trip UNRATED (feat. Phoebe Roy) [Whit’s Endless Summer #25]

Phoebe Roy (Masters of Our Domain, Ten Thousand Posts) and the lads hop in a car and head west, as they experience the trials and tribulations of Eugene Meltsner and Bernard Walton’s road trip to San Diego. Topics include the purpose of experience, the geography of the US, and the logistics of being handcuffed to a corpse.

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!

Phoebe Roy Twitter // Substack

Masters of Our Domain: A podcast about Seinfeld from Phoebe Roy (10k Posts), who has seen it, and Milo Edwards (Trashfuture, Тумач), who hasn’t. Podcast // Twitter // Patreon

Ten Thousand Posts: A show about how everything is a form of posting, and how our lives are guided by the only dialectic that matters: good posts and bad posts. Podcast // Twitter // Patreon

Media Referenced in this Episode:

• Adventures in Odyssey

• #274 First Hand Experience
• #275 Second Thoughts
• #276 Third Degree
• #277 It Happened at Four Corners
• The Shaggy D.A. Scene

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

Commercial: “The Iowa State Fair!”