The Worst of All Possible Worlds
Case studies in the pop culture of a dying empire. // Friends, writers, and inveterate dumbasses Brian, Josh, and A.J. are your guides through The Worst of All Possible Worlds, the first and only media criticism podcast on the planet. Each episode deconstructs how the narrative and artistic choices of a given piece of pop culture reflect or subvert the broader decay of contemporary America. No matter what the story is, we vow never to stop yelling about it until we figure out what‘s really going on in this Worst of All Possible Worlds and hopefully chart a course out of here. We’d love for you to join us along the way.
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The lads hop on the midnight train to Güllen as they explore the delightfully weird and morally murky depths of Friedrich Dürrenmatt’s classic tragicomedy: The Visit. They discus...
While Josh is out sick with the novel coronavirus, Brian and A.J. return once again to Elsinore Castle as they dive headlong into the four-hour, bloated monstrosity that is Kenneth Branagh’s adaptation of William Shakespeare’s Hamlet. They discuss th...
Last week, Josh got on a call with Harm Venhuizen, outgoing editor-in-chief of Calvin University's student newspaper Chimes to discuss the recent policy choices made by the school and their consequences.
Links to Harm’s articles:
“Calvin’s Policies...
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The lads follow a trail of corruption and intrigue as they return to Odyssey to dig up a scoop on the greatest calamity facing the youth of today: the ethics of middle-school journal...
You’ve probably seen a lot of clips recently of the ongoing culture war coming to a flashpoint in school board meetings across the country. To learn how the reactionary right is using these conflicts to push for increased school privatization, Josh (@bo...
The lads throw on their bad hair pieces and fine Italian suits as they, along with special guest Michael Kupperman (@Mkupperman), gaze into the gaping maw of the much-maligned Bob Hoskins and Denzel Washington buddy-cop/ghost/crime-thriller/“comedy”: ...
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It’s D.A.R.E.’s worst nightmare as the lads, along with renowned cannabis lawyer Stefan Borst-Censullo (@Stefan_BC), reach new highs and tackle the devil’s we...
The lads and special guest Lev Novak (@LevNovak) do battle with the Imagination Station as Adventures in Odyssey tackles its two toughest topics yet: death and also those three guys that visited Jesus that one time. Topics include the gifts of the magi, ...
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My name is Alan Wake. I’m a writer. Three podcasters and their friend, Jack Horton Gilbert, played through my story and talked about it for three hours. What followed was wild and d...
Saddle up your horses as the lads, along with Rosey Armstrong (Hans Gruber and the Die Hards, Los Kurados), slap on their Crosses of Gold and dive headlong into the varied and wild world of Contemporary Christian Music (CCM). Topics include what makes Chr...
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Nate Bethea aka @inthesedeserts (What a Hell of a Way To Die, Trashfuture) returns to Odyssey (and the podcast!) as he and the lads tackle the real problems facing a divided America: ...
The lads, along with special guest Matt Barbot (@BarbotRobot), have rockets in their pockets as they rumble with Steven Spielberg and Tony Kushner’s 2021 adaptation of the musical theater classic: West Side Story. They discuss the complicated legacy of...
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Bust out your ring lights and twenty dollar phone clamps because this week the lads dive headlong into the world of influences with the hit (?) reality shows Netflix’s Hype House...
The lads face down the dastardly Dr. Regis Blackgaard as they once again return to Odyssey for a dizzying foray into the world of forgiveness and electronic stores. Topics include Midwestern social mores, the nature of revenge, and the importance of union...
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Things get WILD as the lads, along with special guest Anne Huston (General Manager of Caveat), strap on their Gibson Flying V/EB-0 1961 Bass guitars and dive headlong into the Loony Tu...
The lads make their long-awaited return to Odyssey as they bring special guest Nate Lamagna (@vrunt) along for some wacky adventures in dealing with the second coming of Christ, the Dead Sea Scrolls, and the realization that your best friends’ dad has ...
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Special guest Trevor Beaulieu (Champagne Sharks) joins the lads as they solve a pretty boilerplate case and then dress up in fancy disguises f...
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 set...
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 Shakes...
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 de...
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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 inc...
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 ...
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 ...
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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...
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,...
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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 fea...
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 ...
Grab your swords and belts and other things you need as Josh (@boshj), Brian (@spocks_brian), A.J. (@TheFuzzyMask) and former Christian ska artist/Night in the Woods co-creator Scott Benson (@bombsfall) kick off the Halloween season by larping their way t...
Strap on your long tails and ears for hats, because Brian (@spocks_brian), A.J. (@TheFuzzyMask), Josh (@boshj), and special guests Jessie Cannizzaro (Puffs, @JessCannizzaro) and Eleanor Philips (Puffs, @ecphilips) are literally climbing up the Billboard C...
Unless you're a pinball enthusiast or keep an extremely close eye on SEC litigation, you've probably never heard the name Deeproot. But just a couple weeks ago, this fledgling startup got slapped with a massive civil lawsuit that sent shockwaves throughou...