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The Worst of All Possible Worlds

Josh Boerman, A.J. Ditty, and Brian Alford

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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 ...
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A.J. Ditty from the Worst of All Possible Worlds podcast goes guesto mode! We learn how to act, why seeing your parents shot in the face would make you get all A's in acting school, visual novels, Elden Ring, and the joy of writing lore-heavy serialized interstitial skits to stick in the middle of your chat podcast. You can listen to Volume One of …
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Tom and Joe (Anime Sickos) throw the lads in the Epoch and hop through time as they cover Square’s landmark 1995 RPG: Chrono Trigger. Topics include the thrill of flame tornados, the anxieties of action time battle, and the importance of camaraderie in the face of an apocalyptic DJ from space. LIVE SHOW TICKETS AVAILABLE NOW Anime Sickos: A podcast…
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THIS IS A PREVIEW. FOR THE FULL EPISODE, GO TO Patreon.com/worstofall The lads made this episode with their own hands! 😊 Why do episodes like this never get likes? 😢💔 AmenAmenAmen. 🙏🇺🇸 It is our birthday and nobody wished us one. So excited to begin our cake journey. 🎂 Did you notice when it left you? Why don’t you see these anymore? Gone too soon!…
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Alex Ptak (Quorators) and the lads check their power levels and slap each other silly as they cover the finale of the Frieza arc of Akira Toriyama’s seminal 90’s anime: Dragon Ball Z. Topics include the complex logistics of wishes, the gorgeous design of the characters, and the eternal popularity of a ripped protagonist who can eat and eat and eat …
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THIS IS A PREVIEW. FOR THE FULL EPISODE, GO TO Patreon.com/worstofall LIVE SHOW TICKETS AVAILABLE NOW In preparation for their pilgrimage to Colorado Springs, Colorado, the lads take a gander at what the heck’s been going on in Odyssey in recent years and finally meet everybody’s favorite mail-delivering Odyssian: Wooton Bassett. Topics include the…
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Tall Bart (@verytallbart) joins the lads for another dip into the Prager Pool as they interrogate the painful sketch comedy and baby-brained moralizing of Dennis Prager’s educational video series: For Goodness Sake. Topics include Prager’s unique rhetorical style, the bafflingly high-profile cast, and how David Zucker, Trey Parker, and Matt Stone h…
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Remy Siu, creative director of the excellent narrative game 1000xResist, goes guesto mode! We discuss how he & the game's writing staff put together a frankly staggering work that you WILL buy and play, how MMOs were more fun when they made zero concessions to the player, how to use lore for good instead of evil, why only geniuses appreciate Vinlan…
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THIS IS A PREVIEW. FOR THE FULL EPISODE, GO TO Patreon.com/worstofall Devon and Trinket (Traditional Scrench) join the lads for some adventures in Christian puppetry as they dive into the rich tapestry of Bible stories and malevolent paint brush gods that is: Gerbert. Topics include UK children’s programming, the militarism of evangelical ideology,…
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The Sickos remembered that we have a form we shared a long time ago where people can submit horror stories from their workplaces, and we finally read some of them! Then, we discuss if Joe should get a Vespa so he can fit in with all the Italian guys. Submit your own cog tales here, perhaps we'll remember to read them one day: https://forms.gle/aBFB…
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Stephen Stout (Puffs) and the lads hop into their red, white, and blue helicopters and completely obliterate France as they cover Trey Parker and Matt Stone’s 2004 fraught satire of the War on Terror: Team America: World Police. Topics include Parker and Stone’s origins, the film’s overwhelming racism, and what a movie so steeped in the post-9/11 h…
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THIS IS A PREVIEW. FOR THE FULL EPISODE, GO TO Patreon.com/worstofall Anne Huston (Caveat NYC) joins Brian and Josh in getting bombarded by the twee writing, adorable anime girls, and abject existential terror of Team Salvato's 2017 dating sim/horror cult hit Doki Doki Literature Club! Along the way they talk about the appeal of fanworks, the peril…
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Scott Benson (Night in the Woods) returns once again to Odyssey as he and the lads finally wrap up their three-part coverage of the many spy-games, double-crosses, and hastily wedged in Christian morals of the epic, twelve-part Adventures in Odyssey saga: Darkness Before Dawn. Topics include the wiki-centric writing, the benefits of pirate mutiny, …
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This AI shit sucks so bad folks. We expand on what we found so distasteful about generative AI art and how much it would suck ass to see it expand into mainstream media. The joy of great art comes in contemplating the choices that went into it and what those choices represent. AI makes no choices and sucks ass. Listening to this episode is equivale…
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THIS IS A PREVIEW. FOR THE FULL EPISODE, GO TO Patreon.com/worstofall The lads grab their iFoNeS and spam your inbox as they dive headlong into the nightmarish world of stalking and stand up comedy that is Richard Gadd’s hit 2024 Netflix series: Baby Reindeer. Topics include the show’s origins as autobiography, the incredible performances, and what…
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Josh Sawyer (Pentiment, Fallout: New Vegas) and the lads grab their razors and complete their arms as they attend the tale of Hugh Wheeler and Stephen Sondheim’s 1979 barber-ic bloodbath: Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street. Topics include the show’s horror film origins, the unimpeachable score, and the long term ramifications of using S…
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THIS IS A PREVIEW. FOR THE FULL EPISODE, GO TO Patreon.com/worstofall The lads hop into their wooden spaceships and fly straight into the dying sun as they cover Morbius Digital Games’ hit 2019 indie exploration/Newtonian physics simulator: Outer Wilds. Topics include the cozy/existentially terrifying vibes, the efficacy of the storytelling, and wh…
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The Sickos come bearing eleven killer sketches that will make you hoot and laugh and go nuts. Join us as we travel through time, meet god, become Michelin reviewers, count cards, and more. If you don't listen to this, go to hell! Sketch Timestamps: Austin Powers - 00:00:58 G-Man #1 - 00:06:03 Square Enix Name Consultants - 00:11:28 G-Man #2 - 00:15…
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Patrick Willems (Night of the Coconut) returns to finish some unfinished business as he and the lads fight off the deep conservatism and unending baby ninja armies of Dreamworks’ 2021 babypalooza: The Boss Baby: Family Business. Topics include the nebulous target audience, the uncanny animation, and the consequences of pivoting from the increasingl…
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THIS IS A PREVIEW. FOR THE FULL EPISODE, GO TO Patreon.com/worstofall! Trevor Strunk (No Cartridge) returns once again to the horrors of Odyssey as he and the lads face down the true return of the devious Dutchman, Regis Blackgaard, in part two of Adventures in Odyssey’s most notorious run: Darkness Before Dawn. Topics include the vocal dexterity o…
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Yurié Collins (@babypinkhaus) and the lads grab their shovels and go digging for babies as they cover Sam Shepard’s 1979 Pulitzer Prize-winning fever dream of a play: Buried Child. Topics include the toxic masculinity of the cowboy persona, the plays’ morbidly rich imagery, and the terrors of any generation, past or present, facing the dead baby bu…
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Shevvy from the incredible comedy sensation Crawfish Comic goes guesto mode! We go nuts over how much we like Shevvy's work, and they explain the ethos and philosophy that leads to comics where a whale says "im a whale and even i think this is crasy." Culture today is a diseased mutant thing and Crawfish Comic is a beacon of purity and it kicks ass…
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Graham Techler (Tooning Out the News, Fairview) joins the lads for another cursed production of Macbeth as they return to both the New Burbage Theatre Festival and the second season of the hit AcornTV Canadian dramedy: Slings and Arrows. Topics include the curse of The Scottish Play, the showrunners’ dedication to an authentic portrayal of a life i…
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The lads hop in a chopper and get into some morally dubious hijinks as they cover Robert Altman’s 1970 war/frat house comedy that inspired one of the most well-regarded TV shows of all time: M*A*S*H. Topics include Eliot Gould’s mustache, rampant 70s misogyny, and what it means to live in a country that can only define itself by settler conquest. W…
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THIS IS A PREVIEW. FOR THE FULL EPISODE, GO TO at Patreon.com/worstofall This week, Josh and Brian are joined by Radio Free Tote Bag as they take the next direct flight straight to God’s Throne. We discuss the history of books about heaven, the Near-Death Experience community, and the many thrills of saying “Burpo” over and over again. Want more TW…
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We welcome Josh Boerman from the Worst of All Possible Worlds podcast. We discuss immersive sims, the value of good criticism, trying to make a living off creative work, and whether or not they still make Spree (the candy from Halloween). You can find The Worst of All Possible Worlds podcast at https://www.worstpossible.world/…
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Devon (Kill James Bond!) becomes an Odyssian convert as they and the lads journey to Odyssey for further adventures in vandalism, charge cards, and the impending return of the Devious Dutchman himself: Regis Blackgaard. Topics include New York solo shows, the proper way to cook a Chansey, and what it means to be the only pirate in a gang of roaming…
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THIS IS A PREVIEW. FOR THE FULL EPISODE, GO TO Patreon.com/worstofall The lads grab their carts and make straight for the turkeys as they cover four iterations of one of America’s favorite game shows: Supermarket Sweep. Topics include the history of supermarkets, the insidiousness of Whammies, and the difficulties of weaponizing 90s nostalgia in th…
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The lads return to Odyssey for further adventures in disability, grief, and how to solve a love triangle when the third point is Jesus Christ. Topics include the edification of the disabled, Bill Kendall’s penchant for cruises, and how to properly mourn the loss of a loved one like a good, honest Christian. Want more TWOAPW? Get access to our full …
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THIS IS A PREVIEW. FOR THE FULL EPISODE, GO TO Patreon.com/worstofall Jake Beckhard and Andy Boyd (Three Scenes in the Life of a Trotskyist) join the lads as they head on back to the U.S.S.R. to cover Warren Beatty’s 1981 communist blockbuster: Reds. Topics include the brilliance of Diane Keaton, the terrifying smoochability of Eugene O’Neill, and …
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Grant Howitt, a game designer who rules, joins the Sickos (plus Gwynn and Allie from Modesty City, Sicko Shock 2, and Shuffle Quest) for a one-shot game of GOBLIN PUNKS, an RPG where you are shitty goblin teens fucking around. Will we be able to disrupt the community car wash and become goth? Listen and see asshole You can get Goblin Punks here: ht…
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The voice of the NYC Subway Bernie Wagenblast (Cranford Radio, ITE Talks Transportation) and the lads conquer their drinking problems and call each other Shirley as they cover the Zucker/Abrahams/Zucker comedy blockbuster Airplane!. Topics include the film’s incredible joke variety, the brilliance of Leslie Nielsen, and what it means to like gladia…
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THIS IS A PREVIEW. FOR THE FULL EPISODE, GO TO Patreon.com/worstofall My name is Alan Wake. I’m a writer. Two years ago, three “critics” from The Worst of All Possible Worlds podcast decided to slander my good name and drag my first game through the mud. Now, they’ve Returned from their previous Departure and have fully Initiated themselves into my…
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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 dark and weird, even by my standards. Stephen King once said, “My wife and kids won’t touch a pizza with anchovies on it. But I like anchovies.“* I think about that all t…
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We unveil a classic new recurring segment in which the Sickos sort every single game mechanic into a tier list. This will definitely not take a long time and will result in a perfect tier list that will help future game designers make every game be flawless. Also, we discuss how we love our induction cooktops which are a type of cooking Anbernic.…
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THIS IS A PREVIEW. FOR THE FULL EPISODE, GO TO Patreon.com/worstofall Dara Swisher (Here I Am) and the lads grab their masks and book a stay at the McKittrick Hotel as they dive into the deep secrets and complicated legacy of the industry-defining immersive theater piece: Punchdrunk’s Sleep No More. Topics include the history of immersive theater, …
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Alice Caldwell-Kelly (Trashfuture, Kill James Bond!, WTYP) books the lads a helicopter ride straight to the heart of Hope County as they bring about the Collapse of Ubisoft Montreal/Ubisoft Toronto’s Far Cry 5. Topics include the game’s divisive ending, the art of AAA game writing, and the rotten politics seeping out of one of the most morally comp…
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THIS IS A PREVIEW. FOR THE FULL EPISODE, GO TO Patreon.com/worstofall The lads hop on Funky Kong’s biplane bound straight for Kongo Bongo as they banana slamma their way through the nightmarish musical that is Donkey Kong Country: The Animated Series. Topics include the origins of televised 3D animation, the staying power of the hit-or-miss songs, …
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The lads kick the new year off with fire-breathing prophets and lengthy discussions about world currencies as they cover the second movie in the Kirk Cameron faith-based trilogy: Left Behind II: Tribulation Force. Topics include the facts and logic of Rapture-based apocrypha, the void romantic chemistry that is Kirk Cameron, and what it means to li…
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THIS IS A PREVIEW. FOR THE FULL EPISODE, GO TO Patreon.com/worstofall In what has now become an annual tradition, we took a couple dozen calls from our Patreon subscribers, reheated some bits from the past year in the microwave, and stitched it all together for your enjoyment. Thanks for being part of our 2023. Want more TWOAPW? Get access to the r…
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