The Worst of the Best Podcast

Ryan Rebalkin
  • 3.9 (18)
  • Comedy
  • Updated Biweekly

Join host Ryan Rebalkin and his rotating guest hosts on The Worst of the Best Podcast, where they dive into the flaws of the best in pop culture and more. Covering genres like films, music, food, true crime, historical events, celebrity culture, and quirky societal trends, this podcast delivers a humorous, irreverent critique of the finest’s shortcomings.

  1. Sep 8

    Simple Things That Play Tricks on Your Brain

    Ryan and his brother Jason take on ten everyday ways the brain glitches on The Worst of the Best Podcast. They cover the food variety effect that makes holiday buffets dangerous, why breaking eye contact isn’t always a lie, crossing your arms to ease pain, mixing up left and right, beauty bias, kids who think birthday parties make them older, motion sickness as a “you’ve been poisoned” alarm, the 2015 dress color debate, handing over personal data for an Instagram cookie, and the God Helmet placebo experiment. Rate the show on iTunes or Spotify. Email is in the show notes. 00:00 – Intro  03:20 – #10 Food variety effect  08:10 – #9 Breaking eye contact  11:45 – #8 Crossing arms eases pain  14:59 – #7 Left and right confusion  28:50 – Motion sickness as poison signal  30:20 – The dress / color disagreement  35:27 – Trading privacy for cookies  38:28 – God helmet experiment  45:16 – Recap and worst picks46:38 – Wrap-up

    Simple Things That Play Tricks on Your Brain

  2. Aug 31

    Secret Societies You’ve Never Heard Of (Or Wish You Hadn’t)

    Ryan and his brother Jason dive into ten real secret and clandestine societies that have operated (or still operate) in the shadows on The Worst of the Best Podcast. They cover the infamous Skull and Bones at Yale, the brutal Leopard Society of West Africa, the occult-focused Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn, the ultra-exclusive Bilderberg Group, the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, the satanic Order of Nine Angels, the Hellfire Club, the Thule Society, and more. The pair discuss what is actually known versus pure conspiracy, the strange initiation rituals, and the darker ideologies behind some of these groups.  A fascinating (and occasionally unsettling) look at the organizations that prefer to stay hidden. 00:00 – Intro and “we will not unlife ourselves” disclaimer  03:10 – #10 Skull and Bones  09:50 – #9 Leopard Society  13:50 – #8 Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn  28:30 – Bilderberg Group  34:00 – Independent Order of Odd Fellows  37:30 – Order of Nine Angels  39:30 – Hellfire Club  42:30 – Thule Society  43:30 – Final picks46:30 – Wrap-up

    Secret Societies You’ve Never Heard Of (Or Wish You Hadn’t)

  3. Aug 30

    Hidden Truths of the Food Industry

    Ryan and his brother Jason dig into some of the darker, lesser-known truths of the modern food industry on The Worst of the Best Podcast. They cover why American chicken is banned in the EU (chlorine washes, arsenic, antibiotics), the pressure-cooker reality of Michelin stars, the surprising problems with lab-grown meat, the widespread use of child slave labor in West African cocoa production, fake or mislabeled Kobe beef, shady organic claims, the fact that most bottled water is just tap water, the health issues with popular oat milks like Oatly, supermarket layout tricks designed to make you spend more, and the disturbing ingredients and practices in commercial pet food. A sobering but important episode that might make you look twice at your next grocery run. 00:00 – Intro and Jason’s Guns N’ Roses concert update  01:40 – Episode concept: hidden truths of the food industry  03:20 – #10 US chicken banned in Europe  08:00 – #9 Michelin stars: blessing or curse  12:40 – #8 Lab-grown meat realities  18:10 – #7 Child slave labor in chocolate  22:00+ – Kobe beef, organic labels, bottled water  34:20 – Oatly / oat milk problems  39:00 – Supermarket design tricks  42:30 – Pet food horrors  47:00 – Final picks: child labor chocolate + Oatly  50:00 – Wrap-up

    Hidden Truths of the Food Industry

  4. Aug 29

    Samhain Secrets: The Dark Roots of Halloween

    Ryan reunites Bob and Zip (No Redeeming Qualities) for a special Halloween episode diving into the ancient Celtic festival of Samhain — the real roots of modern Halloween. They explore ten eerie and often brutal traditions: the ritual sacrifice of monarchs whose bodies were preserved in peat bogs, the belief that the dead returned, fortune-telling rituals, fairy abductions, the mysterious Cave of Cats, heavy drinking, fire ceremonies involving the Black Sow (and occasional human sacrifice), dressing up as the dead using animal skins and skulls, cross-dressing “hags,” and even accounts of child sacrifice. Along the way the trio shares personal Halloween memories, debates which customs still echo today, and crowns their “worst of the best.”  Dark history, dark humor, and classic Worst of the Best energy — perfect for the spooky season. 00:00 – Intro and welcome back Bob & Zip  03:40 – Halloween feelings and personal traditions  09:20 – What is Samhain?  13:40 – #10 Ritual killing of monarchs / peat bog bodies  17:10 – #9 Rise of the Dead / spirits returning  20:00+ – Fortune-telling, fairies, Cave of Cats, heavy drinking  30:50 – Fire rituals and the Black Sow  33:50 – Dressing as the dead  38:00 – Cross-dressing and gender role reversal  42:40 – Child sacrifice accounts  45:20 – Final picks from Bob, Ryan, and Zip  48:00 – Plugs and wrap-up

    Samhain Secrets: The Dark Roots of Halloween

  5. Aug 28

    Unique Ice Cream Flavors From Around the World

    Ryan and his brother Jason take a lighter, more delicious turn on The Worst of the Best Podcast with ten unique ice cream flavors from around the world that you won’t find at your average Dairy Queen. Listeners from various countries shared the local specialties: durian ice cream from Singapore, olive oil and balsamic vinegar gelato from Italy, lavender from France, black sesame and wasabi from Japan, red bean from China, spaghetti ice cream from Germany, corn ice cream from Mexico, and Guinness ice cream from Ireland. Ryan and Jason discuss each one, share personal reactions, and debate which flavor they’d be most likely to politely decline.  Both admit they’d still try almost everything once. A fun, global, and surprisingly appetizing episode. 00:00 – Intro and Thanksgiving / ice cream love  03:30 – Episode concept: unique global flavors  04:00 – #10 Durian (Singapore)  06:20 – #9 Olive oil (Italy)  10:20 – #8 Lavender (France)  13:20 – #7 Black sesame (Japan)  16:50 – #6 Balsamic vinegar (Italy)  20:20 – #5 Red bean (China)  22:40 – #4 Wasabi (Japan)  27:20 – #3 Spaghetti ice cream (Germany)  30:00 – #2 Corn (Mexico)  32:20 – #1 Guinness (Ireland)  34:50 – Final picks: Jason (corn) vs Ryan (red bean)  36:40 – Wrap-up

    Unique Ice Cream Flavors From Around the World

  6. Aug 27

    Lightning Does Strike Twice – Debunking Everyday Myths

    Ryan and his brother Jason return for a fun, fact-checking episode of The Worst of the Best Podcast, tearing down ten common beliefs that most people still think are true. They cover why Antarctica is actually the world’s largest desert, how De Beers manufactured the idea that diamonds are rare, the biblical forbidden fruit that was never called an apple, why cold weather doesn’t cause colds, the myth that lightning never strikes the same place twice, the Great Wall of China (not visible from space), what’s really inside a camel’s hump, the Japanese origins of the fortune cookie, the completely made-up horned Viking helmets, and the fact that Cleopatra was Greek Macedonian, not Egyptian. Along the way they admit which ones they personally fell for and crown their “worst offenders” Light, educational, and full of “wait… really?” moments. 00:00 – Intro and Jason’s Grand Canyon rim-to-rim update  04:30 – Episode concept: false beliefs we all grew up with  06:40 – #10 Deserts aren’t always hot (Antarctica)  10:20 – #9 Diamonds aren’t as rare as you think  15:20 – #8 The forbidden fruit wasn’t an apple  18:30 – #7 Cold weather doesn’t cause colds  22:00+ – Lightning, Great Wall of China, camel humps  37:00 – Fortune cookies, Viking helmets, Cleopatra  46:00 – Final picks  52:00 – Wrap-up

    Lightning Does Strike Twice – Debunking Everyday Myths

  7. Aug 26

    Selfie Slip-Ups: 10 Times Selfies Got People Caught

    Ryan welcomes returning guest Tony for a darkly funny episode of The Worst of the Best Podcast focused on people who incriminated themselves with selfies. They break down ten real cases where a single photo (or series of photos) helped police close the case: tourists carving their names into the Colosseum, a murder committed with a belt that appeared in a Facebook selfie, a church burglar who left his phone behind, a thief who took selfies on the stolen phone that auto-uploaded to the cloud, a multi-murder case, a dismemberment that got Instagram hashtags, a stolen dress posted online, a fugitive who sent police better selfies because he hated his mugshot, a SIM-card mix-up that sent the burglar’s face to the victims, and a jailbreak that was thoroughly documented on a contraband phone. Ryan and Tony debate which one is the most ridiculous, the most disturbing, and ultimately the “worst of the best.”  Expect true-crime details, dark humor, and the classic reminder that sometimes the dumbest thing a criminal can do is take a picture. 00:00 – Intro and welcome back Tony  02:20 – Episode concept: selfies that got people caught  04:00 – #10 Colosseum name-carving selfies  07:20 – #9 Cheyenne Rose Antoine (belt murder selfie)  12:00 – #8 Adam Howe (church burglary + phone left behind)  15:30 – #7 Tommy Beverly (selfies on stolen phones)  20:00+ – Travis Berkley, Sicily Aguilar, dress thief, Chip Pugh  39:00 – Ashley Keast (WhatsApp SIM-card fail)  42:00 – #1 Jailbreak selfies and video documentation  48:00 – Final picks: Ryan vs Tony  52:30 – Wrap-up and plugs

    Selfie Slip-Ups: 10 Times Selfies Got People Caught

  8. Aug 25

    Morning Routines of the Successful… and the One We Refuse!

    Ryan welcomes Zip (No Redeeming Qualities) for a light, funny breakdown of the morning routines of highly successful people. They go through ten popular rituals — prepping the night before, waking up naturally, beating the sun, meditating and practicing gratitude, staying off the phone, reading, walking the pets, skipping coffee for water, eating a proper breakfast… and the infamous “embrace the cold.” Along the way they share their own messy real-life mornings (kids, pets, military schedules, intermittent fasting) and debate which habits actually help versus which ones feel like performative hustle culture. At the end both hosts independently land on the same clear “worst of the best”. Classic Worst of the Best energy — practical talk, personal stories, and zero interest in suffering before sunrise. 00:00 – Intro and welcome Zip  03:00 – Their actual morning routines  05:40 – #10 Prep the night before  09:00 – #9 Naturally waking up (Bezos style)  12:30 – #8 Beat the sun / early rising  17:20 – #7 Meditate, reflect, be grateful  20:00+ – Stay off the phone, read, walk the pets  38:40 – #2 Skip the coffee / water first  46:20 – #1 Healthy breakfast  49:00 – Final reveal: both pick “embrace the cold”  51:00 – Zip’s podcast update and wrap-up

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3.9
out of 5
18 Ratings

About

Join host Ryan Rebalkin and his rotating guest hosts on The Worst of the Best Podcast, where they dive into the flaws of the best in pop culture and more. Covering genres like films, music, food, true crime, historical events, celebrity culture, and quirky societal trends, this podcast delivers a humorous, irreverent critique of the finest’s shortcomings.

Information

  • Creator
    Ryan Rebalkin
  • Years Active
    2017 - 2026
  • Episodes
    150
  • Rating
    Explicit
  • Copyright
    © 2026 Ryan Rebalkin