The Greatest Pod

Ed and guest host, author, actor, and comedian Anastasia Washington ask, “Is Eddie Murphy The Greatest”. They share what Eddie Murphy means to their comedy and their lives and examine his profound cultural impact. They discuss the highs and the lows and the mistakes of the past but this one is full of heart and laughs. This episode includes an examination of the movie scene that might have awakene...

“The Greatest Superhero Bodies Part 3” is the continuation of a series that we started on our Patreon (patreon.com/TheGreatestPod) about what superhero bodies would *really* look like in order to function the way they do. We talk about some popular favorites like Superman and Wonderwoman as well as some oddballs like Lobo and cosmic gods like Galactus. This contains some of our most hilarious riff...

The Justice League is the largest and most powerful team in comic books. “The Greatest Justice League Draft” features the most titanic Battle Royale Ed, Ron and Producer Bill have created. They draft three separate Justice League teams built around Superman, Batman, and Wonder Woman respectively. The rest of the spots are full of oddballs selected by three truly inventive minds and pitted against...

In “The Greatest Comic Book Reconceptions” Ed Greer and Producer Bill try to retool several comic book characters so that they live up to their names. Remember when Stan Lee took a crack at reimagining the DC Universe? This is like that but even crazier. This pod is always a creative exercise but in this session we really worked up a sweat. We’ve tried to stop coming up with sellable pitches on th...

 “The Greatest Avengers Draft” features Ed Greer, Ron Swallow, and Producer Bill each picking a team of Avengers to wield against each other in a Battle Royale! In Marvel Comics, The Avengers have always been Earth’s Mightiest Heroes fighting the world’s greatest challenges. Sometimes their greatest fights were against each other. See us show what we value in an Avengers Team. Our individual perso...

“The Greatest 2022 Retrospective” is The Greatest Pod crew thoughtfully and hilariously reflecting on our “hot takes” from last year. Where were we right? Where were we wrong? Was the worst-rated episode of the year actually our best? Who would Bill have on his team if he was the leader of the X-men? Was “The Batman” really great or a piece of weird copaganda? Is AI an exciting new tool or is it a...

Two days after Christmas 2022 Ed and Producer Bill try to determine “The Greatest Future For DC Movies”. What starts as a good faith attempt to extol the virtues of Black Adam (c’mon there’s…a couple) turns into our speculation over what James Gunn will do with DC and in turn what we would do. In the spirit of giving we literally throw those enterprising Warner Bros execs some pretty decent princi...

This is Ed and Ron interviewing the brilliant minds behind Universal’s "Violent Night" starring David Harbour. The hit film was written by our guests Pat Casey & Josh Miller ("Hey Stop Stabbing Me", "Sonic 1 & 2") who know a thing or two about action-comedy screenwriting. Pat & Josh share their thoughts on “The Greatest Action Films : Christmas Edition.” They talk eloquently about the action movie...

In the age of the comic book movie and the utter domination of franchises, are movie stars still “The Greatest Box Office Draw”? We discuss whether the movie star is going out of vogue OR are there just more types of actors considered “stars” these days. With the myriad ways people can get famous these days, does that threaten the craft of acting? Are movie stars even the best examples of good act...

This supersized episode is indeed “The Greatest Belated Thanksgiving Special.” This episode is a rambling recollection of Thanksgivings past including this last one where Ed was strapped into a rollercoaster of emotion concerning a fried turkey. We also give a real insight into our concept of what The Greatest Thanksgiving meal should be. The second half is a pastiche of the pop culture things we...

In this episode dubbed, “The Greatest Pod on Black Panther 2: Wakanda Forever” we discuss and debate the film. But this episode is also an examination of how fans perceive super hyped and pivotal pieces of comic book entertainment. They can’t just be stand-alone pieces of entertainment and satisfying by their own standards.  No, now each comic book movie is supposed to advance its main narrative w...

”The Greatest Sidekicks” and supporting characters are so important to the stories we love. This episode is dedicated to the bards, partners, love interests and buddies that power the greatest tales in pop culture. We talk Watson, Spock, Robin, Short Round, Jimmy Olsen, Lois Lane, and many others. We show the value of these second bananas and the functions they serve in the stories. We even nomina...

There are superheroes who fly through the sky, run fast enough to time travel and save the world on a daily basis. These are not them. This conversation concerns “The Greatest Street Level Superheroes.” Does Batman count? Isn’t it weird how many of the street-level superheroes in DC are just members of the Bat family? Is Spider-Man ”street level?” Kevin Feige thinks so. Do we? How many street-leve...

“Is AI The Greatest Villain?” This is Ed and Bill talking about AI and it's one of the more insightful episodes that we've ever done. We discuss and debate the merits of Elon Musk's recent assertion that AI is the biggest threat to mankind's future. We, as a society, have been afraid of AI since we first found out it was possible in films like 2001, The Terminator, (the original) Westworld, the Ma...

This is it! The FINAL chapter in our epic discussion of “The Greatest Comic Book Movies By Decade”. This is the one where we give our top 5 lists of the Greatest CBM’s of ALLL TIIIIME!!! We also discuss 2019-The Present in this one. Will a movie from this latest era like Joker, The Suicide Squad, Thor Love and Thunder, Multiverse Of Madness or The Batman make it onto our best of all time list? Pre...

“The Greatest Comic Book Movies By Decade Part IV” ….boy we really thought we could do this in like one or two episodes, tops. But no, around 2016 they started making so many damn comic book movies it was like a nuclear arms race!! Captain America: Civil War and Batman vs Superman coming out in the same year???? Madness. From Suicide Squad and Antman Quantum of Solace (or whatever) to bangers like...

This is “The Greatest Comic Book Movies By Decade Part 3”. We discussed everything from 2010 to 2015. This is where we get your X-Men First Class, your Avengers, and your Guardians of the Galaxy on, to say nothing of Edge of Tomorrow, Age Of Ultron, and Captain America: The Winter Soldier! We sift through the Bronze Age of comic book movies in an attempt to determine the cream of the crop accordin...

This is “The Greatest Comic Book Movies By Decade Part 2”. We discussed everything from 2000 to 2009. From Unbreakable and X-Men to The Dark Knight and Iron Man. This was the decade when comic book flicks shifted into overdrive. The progression of the comic book movie was almost exponential after 2000 and even small graphic novels started being made into truly great movies. So enjoy this ultra meg...

We’ve decided to call this one “The Greatest Comic Book Movies By Decade Part 1”. We discuss everything from the 70's to the 90’s explosion in this one. There’s more to discuss than you think. The genre evolved in fits and starts. Each stage was noteworthy and frankly thrilling to examine. This mega-sized episode is equal parts nostalgia and analysis. We even coined the phrase “reverse comic book...

“The Greatest Spider-Man Villains” are characters who show the fortitude and ethos of Spider-Man as a character. Many of them are old dudes jealous of this teen with superpowers. He’s Marvel’s flagship character but to them, he’s often a nuisance, a “fly in the ointment” ruining their plans for world (or more likely citywide) domination. Some of them are only alive because Spider-Man refuses to pu...

The Greatest Werewolves” Who are they and what makes them the greatest? Producer Bill and Ed Greer asked each other that for about an hour and this is what they’ve come up with. This is the guys recalling some of the most compelling werewolves they’ve come across in pop culture from The Howling to the Thriller video. The “greatest werewolves of our lives” could have been the title of this but they...

WIth the debut of her new show and the controversy it has caused, the question, “Is She Hulk The Greatest?” has never been more timely. This is the boys talking about She Hulk as a unique entertainment product and a symbol of the present day Marvel Universe. This being the MCU’s first foray into straight comedy, the show and the character have their detractors. But what is it about this particular...

In this episode, you hear the story of when Ed “worked with” Jerry Seinfeld last week. This is also us at our most vulnerable as we ask ourselves what are “The Greatest Lessons and Questions” that remain after doing these podcasts for a while now. This episode is a free-flowing examination of us as people, our biases, our blindspots, and what we’re doing to change BUT it’s also a plainspoken exami...

We certainly meant to only talk about “The Greatest NON Marvel or DC Superheroes”, but this king-sized ep has many digressions. This one is Ed Greer and Producer Bill at their most effusive and nostalgic. Some of the characters we mention are just great character designs, some are the whole package with stories that match their brilliant art. We also talk about some creators who should’ve just shu...

Who are “The Greatest Superman Analogues”? What makes a good one? Are there any that are as resonant as the original superhero? These are the questions we ask in this episode and the answers may surprise you. In modern times it seems as though we want to deconstruct everything and the Superman mythos is certainly one of the easiest targets. Why not make a character that looks like the big blue boy...