The Worst of All Possible Worlds

Josh Boerman, A.J. Ditty, and Brian Alford
The Worst of All Possible Worlds

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.

  1. 168 - The Nostalgia Critic

    3 DAYS AGO

    168 - The Nostalgia Critic

    THIS IS A PREVIEW. FOR THE FULL EPISODE, GO TO Patreon.com/worstofall   Hellloooooo, we’re The Worst of All Possible Worlds, we remember it so you don’t have to! We all remember Doug Walker, you know, that guy with the glasses, the tie, and the plain white background because they clearly couldn’t afford a better set? Well, wouldn’t you know it, he created a character called the Nostalgia Critic, a loud, obnoxious, Looney Tunes-adjacent blowhard who got famous for being very mad about Batman having a credit card. But does he have anything to say about our current critical landscape or do his over-the-top antics make him look like a groundhog on meth? Let’s take a look at: The Nostalgia Critic.   Media Referenced in this Episode: Nostalgia Critic Transformers Batman and Robin Quest for Camelot The Review Must Go On - Demo Reel Finale Nostalgia Critic’s The Wall Channel Awesome Indigogo Campaign “I Don’t Known James Rolfe” by Dan Olson “Recession breeds accidental Entrepreneur” by Chicago Tribune. Chicago Tribune July 21st, 2009. “The Nostalgia Critic and the Wall” by Dan Olson   TWOAPW theme by Brendan Dalton: Patreon // brendan-dalton.com // brendandalton.bandcamp.com   Interstitial: “Foobies.com” // Written by A.J. Ditty // Featuring Brian Alford as “Sexy Brian” and Josh Boerman as “Phineas Foob” // Music: “Careful Shouting” by Highway Superstar

    31 min
  2. 167 - Frank Capra’s “Why We Fight”

    DEC 4

    167 - Frank Capra’s “Why We Fight”

    The lads get drafted and give Mussolini the ole One-Two as they once again remember Pearl Harbor by covering Frank Capra’s series of WWII propaganda films: Why We Fight. Topics include the language of propaganda, the shittiness of fascist art, and what it means to watch your country become the thing it once stridently vowed to fight. Media Referenced in this Episode: Why We Fight. Dir. Frank Capra. 1942-1945. TWOAPW theme by Brendan Dalton: Patreon // brendan-dalton.com // brendandalton.bandcamp.com Interstitial: “Too Big Roosevelt” // Written by A.J. Ditty // Feat. A.J. Ditty as “Olde Timey Announcer” and Josh Boerman as “Too Big Roosevelt

    2h 18m
  3. 166 - Wicked

    NOV 27

    166 - Wicked

    THIS IS A PREVIEW. FOR THE FULL EPISODE, GO TO Patreon.com/worstofall The lads grab their broomsticks and defy gravity as they cover Stephen Schwartz and Winnie Holzman’s megahit musical: Wicked. Topics include the twisted mind of Gregory Maguire, the highs and lows of Stephen Schwartz, and how to reckon with a show that is simultaneously trying to tackle the horrors of fascism and the inherent melodrama of wanting to kiss a hot Winkie. Media Referenced in this Episode: Wicked. Book by Winnie Holzman, Music and Lyrics by Stephen Schwartz. Dir. Joe Montello. 2003. Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West by Gregory Maguire. ReganBooks. 1995. Before 'Wicked' was a smash, it was stumbling in San Francisco by Jenny Singer. The San Francisco Standard. November 23rd, 2024. "Defying Gravity": Queer Conventions in the Musical "Wicked" by Stacy Wolf. Theatre Journal, Vol. 60, No. 1 (Mar., 2008). The John Hopkins University Press. “Gregory Maguire on Wickedness Post-Bush” by Erika Milvy. Clamour. February 27th, 2009. “John Bucchino and the Origins of Wicked the Broadway Musical” Still Popular: Chenoweth and Menzel Talk ‘Wicked’ by Jackson McHenry. Vulture. October 24th, 2023. “THEATER REVIEW; There’s Trouble in Emerald City” by Ben Brantley. NYTimes. October 31st, 2003. “‘They changed my ending, I felt aghast’: how we made Wicked” by Chris Wiegand. The Guardian. September 27th, 2021. “Wicked Review” by Charles Isherwood. Variety. October 30th, 2003. “Wicked Review” by David Finkle. Theatremania. October 30th, 2003. TWOAPW theme by Brendan Dalton: Patreon // brendan-dalton.com // brendandalton.bandcamp.com Interstitial: “Baritone” // Music by Stephen Schwartz // Lyrics by Dr. Samuel Bultch, D.D.S. // Featuring Dr. Samuel Bultch, D.D.S. as “Dr. Samuel Bultch, D.D.S.” and David Armstrong as “Stephen Schwartz”.

    20 min
  4. 165 - The Hunt for Red OctobWhittaker (feat. Tom Walker) [Whit’s Endless Summer 40]

    NOV 20

    165 - The Hunt for Red OctobWhittaker (feat. Tom Walker) [Whit’s Endless Summer 40]

    Tom Walker (Tom Walker: Very, Very) joins the lads for his very first trip to Odyssey as they cover adventures in shock-jock DJing, international espionage, and the return of everybody’s favorite encyclopedia writing, ice-cream selling, NSA asset/God King of Odyssey: John Avery Whittaker. Topics include biblical trading cards, the logistics of owning a beef jerky co-op, and how to make propaganda that doesn’t inspire a life-long obsession with hunting down heretical texts.   Tom Walker: Bluesky // Instagram // Twitch // Youtube   Tom Walker: Very, Very: A love letter to mime (and to a coat) written by award-winning idiot Tom Walker, who keeps talking during what he insists is a mime show. Available to Stream on Amazon   Bigsofttitty.png: Demi Lardner and Tom Walker are doing this and no-one can stop them. This is a podcast for no cowards. Available on Spotify // Apple Podcasts   Media Referenced in this Episode: Adventures in Odyssey #313: “Top This!” #355-357: “The Search for Whit, Parts 1-3"   TWOAPW theme by Brendan Dalton: Patreon // brendan-dalton.com // brendandalton.bandcamp.com   Interstitial: “A Series of Voicemails Left on Mary Mulligan’s Answering Machine by One Melvin Mulligan, Her Brother and Composer of Corporate Jingles” // Written by A.J. Ditty // Featuring Eleanor Philips as “Mary Mulligan” and A.J. Ditty as “Melvin Mulligan” // Piano Cover of Fleetwood Mac’s “The Chain” by Gleesinnpiano

    2h 23m
  5. 164 - God’s Not Dead 2

    NOV 13

    164 - God’s Not Dead 2

    THIS IS A PREVIEW. FOR THE FULL EPISODE, GO TO Patreon.com/worstofall   The lads dare to speak about Christ in the classroom and face the wrath of Ray Wise as they cover Harold Cronk’s 2016 evangelical propaganda film: God’s Not Dead 2. Topics include the horrendous filmmaking, the deeply-flawed rhetoric, and what we can learn about the future of America from a film that posits a world in which the masses will be subjugated by the most annoying people alive.   Media Referenced in this Episode: God’s Not Dead 2. Dir. Harold Cronk. 2016. God’s Not Dead (2014) - Financial Information God’s Not Dead 2 (2016) - Financial Information ‘God’s Not Dead’ Producer Pure Flix Launches Theatrical Distribution Arm God's Not Dead 2: The Escalation of Christian Propaganda | Big Joel   TWOAPW theme by Brendan Dalton: Patreon // brendan-dalton.com // brendandalton.bandcamp.com   Interstitial: “Harold Cronk Presents: The Vagina Monologues” // Written by A.J. Ditty // Featuring Brian Alford as “Brian Alford” and A.J. Ditty as “Harold Cronk”

    33 min
  6. ESSAY: Standing

    NOV 12

    ESSAY: Standing

    This past summer, Josh wrote an essay about the church and denomination he grew up in, but didn't end up publishing it. The results of the election gave him the push he needed to finish putting it all together. He hopes it helps.

    29 min
  7. 163 - The Blair Witch Project (feat. Tim Sutton)

    NOV 6

    163 - The Blair Witch Project (feat. Tim Sutton)

    Tim Sutton (Marble Hornets) joins the lads for a bit of light camping and intense witch-hunting as they cover Eduardo Sánchez and Daniel Myrick’s 1999 horror phenomenon: The Blair Witch Project. Topics include the film’s DIY filmmaking, the unprecedented marketing, and what it means to reap the consequences of a nation’s wrongdoings when you’re just trying to make a dang student film.   Tim Sutton: Twitter // Instagram   Marble Hornets: Youtube    Media Referenced in this Episode: The Blair Witch Project. Dir. Eduardo Sánchez and Daniel Myrick. Haxan Films. 1999 Curse of the Blair Witch. Dir. Eduardo Sánchez and Daniel Myrick. Haxan Films. 1999. 8 Days in the Woods: The Making of The Blair Witch Project by Matt Blazi. “The Blair Thumb”. Dir. Steve Odekerk. 2002 The Blair Witch Project: The Dossier by D.A. Stern. Onyx Publishing. 1999. The Blair Witch Project: An Oral History by Scott Meslow. The Week. January 13th, 2015. The Blair Witch Project’s Heather Donahue Is Alive and Well by Scott Meslow. GQ. September 16th, 2016. The Official Blair Witch Website The extended fan cut of The Blair Witch Project Old archived list of Blair Witch parody sites   TWOAPW theme by Brendan Dalton: Patreon // brendan-dalton.com // brendandalton.bandcamp.com   Interstitial: “1:49 AM on November 3rd, 2024” // Written And Performed by A.J. Ditty // “Brothers on a Hotel Bed” Piano Cover by Stephen Guilbert

    2h 34m
  8. 162 - Skibidi Toilet (feat. Donovan Eyre)

    OCT 30

    162 - Skibidi Toilet (feat. Donovan Eyre)

    THIS IS A PREVIEW. FOR THE FULL EPISODE, GO TO Patreon.com/worstofall Donovan Eyre (Radio Free Tote Bag) and the lads grab their plungers and do battle with the toilets as they cover DaFuq!?Boom!’s animated YouTube megahit: Skibidi Toilet. Topics include the origins of machinima, the joys of seeing robots punching each other, and the ramifications of adding Hollywood money into a story about cameramen killing toiletmen. Donovan Eyre: Twitter // Instagram // SoundCloud Radio Free Tote Bag: A weekly relationship advice podcast hosted by Audrey and Donovan. Patreon // Spotify // Apple Podcasts // Twitter // Instagram Media Referenced in this Episode: Skibidi Toilet by Dafuq!?Boom! (Full Playlist) america - season 1 (all episodes) by Dafuq1?Boom! Blugray - demand (Official Music Video) Reupload deleted DaFuq!?Boom! by The Frozen Gorgon. Youtube. 2023. Deus Ex: The Recut (Fullscreen Original Version) by AbbyRemix. August 11th, 2018. “Dom Dom Yes Yes” by Biser King. KVZ Music Publishing. April 17th, 2022. “Garry's Mod/Skibidi Toilet DMCA Claim Has Been 'Resolved,' Creator Garry Newman Says” by Alex Stedman. IGN. July 20th, 2024. “Give It To Me” by Timbaland. Background Records/Interscope Records. January 1st, 2007. Half-Life: Full Life Consequences by squirrelking. Iction. January 23rd, 2008. How Quake Sparked a Filmmaking Revolution by Matthew Byrd. Den of Geek. August 24th, 2017. “[Mature Content] From the skibiditoilet community on Reddit: How do astro toilets reproduce?” by AcanthisittaNo2510. Reddit. October 24th, 2024. “‘Skibidi Toilet’ Film and TV Franchise in the Works From Michael Bay, Adam Goodman — Listen to the Exclusive Interview” by Andrew Wallenstein and Robert Steiner. July 24th, 2024. “Skibidi toilet is now a brand that dafuq SOLD RIGHTS to INVIZ.(IMPORTANT)” by Raptor FN. Skibidi Toilet Wiki. March 2nd, 2024. “YouTube Phenomenon, Skibidi Toilet, Makes a Plunge to the Toy Aisle with Bonkers Toys and Invisible Narratives Licensing Partnership” by Bonkers Toys. PR Newswire. May 22nd, 2024. TWOAPW theme by Brendan Dalton: Patreon // brendan-dalton.com // brendandalton.bandcamp.com Interstitial: “Michael Bay’s Skibidi Toilet” // Written by A.J. Ditty and Eleanor Philips // Featuring Eleanor Philips as “Michael Bay.”

    25 min
See All (179)

4.8
out of 5
84 Ratings

About

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.

Information

  • Creator
    Josh Boerman, A.J. Ditty, and Brian Alford
  • Years Active
    2021 - 2024
  • Episodes
    179
  • Rating
    Explicit
  • Copyright
    © Copyright 2021-22 TWOAPW. All rights reserved.
  • Show Website
    The Worst of All Possible Worlds

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