The Ringer-Verse

Are you ready, Helldivers?! Ben, Steve Ahlman, and Matt James discuss how online co-op shooter ‘Helldivers 2’ became a surprise sensation and feel-good gaming story by building a new model for live-service storytelling and community (to go with great gameplay). Then they offer five rapid-fire recommendations for recently released, lower-profile games to play between blockbusters (58:00). Host: Ben...

The Midnight Boys return to give their thoughts on the success of 'Dune: Part Two' and discuss its depiction and handling of the white savior narrative (09:14). Later, they give their thoughts on the hit FX show 'Shogun' and how it deftly handles its historical drama (55:09). Hosts: Charles Holmes, Van Lathan, Jomi Adeniran, and Steve Ahlman Senior Producer: Steve Ahlman Additional Production Supp...

Words aren’t the only thing that tell people what you’re thinking … but Ben, Matt James, and Justin Charity use words to give their spoiler-free thoughts on the sensational second installment in Square Enix’s ‘Final Fantasy VII’ remake/sequel trilogy. Tap into the lifestream as the three-person podcast party breaks down the game’s open-world structure, combat, music, mini-games, and more. They clo...

This is not hope! This is the Midnight Boys! They bring you their instant reactions to the hotly anticipated 'Dune: Part Two' (08:14). They talk about the blockbuster masterpiece and how they think it should stack up with the likes of the sci-fi grates and what makes this film so memorable. Hosts: Charles Holmes, Van Lathan, Jomi Adeniran, and Steve Ahlman Senior Producer: Steve Ahlman Additional...

The 'Dune'-night boys are here to look back at Arrakis! They dive into their thoughts on both the David Lynch 1984 'Dune' film and Denis Villeneuve's 2021 'Dune: Part One.' They begin with the faithfulness of each adaptation and what one might need to know going into the much-anticipated second film (07:55). Later, they break down the Lynch version and what this flawed but lovable film gets right...

Steve and Jomi are joined by Jessica Clemons for another exciting edition of Here Comes the Pitch! With Netflix’s ‘Avatar: The Last Airbender’ live action remake in mind, the crew pitch some of their best live action adaptations of some of the animation shows and movies you love. Host: Jomi Adeniran and Steve Ahlman Guest: Jessica Clemens Producer: Jonathan Kermah Additional Production Support: Ar...

Yip yip! Time to dive into the hotly anticipated first season of Netflix's 'Avatar the Last Airbender' (09:57). The Midnight Boys discuss what the newest live-action adaptation of this beloved cartoon gets right and mostly wrong, along with what could make some good adaptations and the struggles of bad ones. Hosts: Charles Holmes, Van Lathan, Jomi Adeniran, and Steve Ahlman Senior Producer: Steve...

Ben, Matt James, Justin Charity, and Rob Mahoney party up for a pre-‘Rebirth’ draft of ‘Final Fantasy’ favorites. First they discuss an amazing month for remakes and remasters (4:00), followed by three pressing questions prompted by ‘Final Fantasy VII Rebirth’ (9:40). Then they recap their histories with the ‘Final Fantasy’ franchise (31:12), explain the draft rules (39:17), and assemble their all...

The Midnight Boys are back from the Amazon to give you all of their thoughts on the controversial 'Madame Web' (06:28). They dive into all of the things this movie just can't seem to get right and what state Sony's Marvel projects are in after this. Hosts: Charles Holmes, Van Lathan, Jomi Adeniran, and Steve Ahlman Senior Producer: Steve Ahlman Additional Production Support: Arjuna Ramgopal Social...

Jomi and Steve are joined by Button Mash’s Ben Lindbergh to sift through the pool of nonsense of the Super Bowl LVIII commercials, then discuss their initial thoughts on the first trailer for ‘Deadpool and Wolverine’ (11:15). Later, they take a look at plenty of the other movie trailers that snagged a Super Bowl commercial spot, including ‘Twisters,’ ‘Wicked,’ and more! Hosts: Jomi Adeniran and St...

Ben, Jessica Clemons, and Matt James discuss rumors about Xbox games appearing on PlayStation, Disney infiltrating ‘Fortnite,’ and the ‘Knuckles’ trailer. Then they share bite-sized reviews of ‘Tekken 8’ and ‘Like a Dragon: Infinite Wealth’ and Matt’s takeaway from a hands-on preview of ‘Final Fantasy VII: Rebirth.’ Then Charles Holmes joins Ben and Jess to discuss ‘Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice...

In honor of Black History Month, the Midnight Boys present the third (and final) "Black Heroes of Fandom" draft (08:12). Bringing the best of Black heroes across fandom and their hearts along with an honorary category to honor the passing of Carl Weathers. Hosts: Charles Holmes, Van Lathan, Jomi Adeniran, and Steve Ahlman Senior Producer: Steve Ahlman Additional Production Support: Arjuna Ramgopal...

The Midnight Boys are back to induct some of the best TV shows in all of fandom into the Midnight Meter Hall of Fame: TV Edition (07:52). They bring the best of animation, live-action, fantasy, science fiction, and everything in between to talk about the gold standard for fandom television. Hosts: Charles Holmes, Van Lathan, Jomi Adeniran, and Steve Ahlman Senior Producer: Steve Ahlman Additional...

Steve and Jomi are joined by their producer Jonathan Kermah to discuss the latest in the Marvel comic book world, including Issue 1 of Jonathan Hickman’s ‘Ultimate Spider-Man’ (15:00), Benjamin Percy and Victor Lavalle’s ‘Wolverine’ Issue 41 (35:00), and ‘Marvel’s Voices: Avengers’ no. 1 (49:00). Later, the boys highlight some of their favorite personal comic recommendations (57:15) Hosts: Jomi Ad...

Join Ben, Matt James, and Justin Charity as they delve into the biggest gaming phenomenon of the year: ‘Palworld.’ They ask and answer 10 questions raised by the game’s success, including how ‘Palworld’ became so popular (06:05), whether it’s more than just “‘Pokémon’ with guns,” the controversies it has caused, whether ‘Palworld’ will be a mainstay or a flash in the pan (62:33), and more. Host: B...

The boys are back to give you the latest and greatest in the world of fandom. They talk about the streaming landscape and how the return of 'Invincible' may be a symptom of the Streaming Wars (09:13). Then Charles and the gang weigh in on the 'Barbie' Oscar snub and what that means for franchise stories (34:01). Later they battle it out over their favorite children's cartoons with the Kids Cartoon...

Ben and Matt James react to the reveal of ‘Indiana Jones and the Great Circle’; share their spoiler-free reviews of 2024’s first great game, ‘Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown’ (8:15); pick their all-time top five Metroidvania games (33:48); have a spoiler-free discussion of what’s new and worthwhile in ‘The Last of Us Part II Remastered’ (44:01); and then finish up in spoiler territory by breaking...

The boys are here to give you their thoughts on the first event of 'Echo,' along with their Midnight Meter rating of the full first season (13:030). Later, they try their hand at being in the big chair for a round of Armchair CEO to see what they would do with the new 'Daredevil' TV show (70:20). Hosts: Charles Holmes, Van Lathan, Jomi Adeniran, and Steve Ahlman Senior Producer: Steve Ahlman Addit...

Jomi and Steve are joined by Jessica Clemons for another exciting edition of “Here Comes the Pitch,” but this time around, we’re breaking out our best melodies and lyrics! Listen and be amazed as the three journey through some of their best musical ideas pulling from the endless pool of IP. There may or may not be some singing on the way! Host: Jomi Adeniran and Steve Ahlman Guest: Jessica Clemons...

The Midnight Boys are here to talk about the first two episodes of Marvel's 'Echo' (06:11). Later, they break into all the latest Nerd News that comes to us from the world of 'Star Wars' (57:31). Hosts: Charles Holmes, Van Lathan, Jomi Adeniran, and Steve Ahlman Senior Producer: Steve Ahlman Additional Production Support: Arjuna Ramgopal Social: Jomi Adeniran Learn more about your ad choices. Visi...

Get ready for a thrilling journey into the gaming future with the 2024 hype pod! Join Ben, Matt James, and Justin Charity as they dive into the most anticipated games of the year. Reflecting on the gaming greatness of 2023, they question whether 2024 will generate the same excitement (7:00). Then the trio delves into discussions about highly awaited sequels, originals, adaptations, and more, featu...

It’s a new year and Mint Edition returns with Daniel Chin to rank their confidence in the biggest releases in fandom of 2024. From 'Deadbool 3' and 'The Boys' (1:08:40), to 'Arcane' (1:20:30) and 'Fallout' (34:00) all of the most anticipated titles will be put to the test. Hosts: Steve Ahlman and Jomi Adeniran Guest: Daniel Chin Producer: Johnathan Kermah Additional Production Support: Arjuna Ramg...

The Midnight Boys are here to ring in the new year and give you their full-on impressions of Marvel's 'What If...?' Season 2 (08:04). Then, they give out their superlative awards for the best that season had to offer, including Best Episode (39:18). Later, they offer up their big predictions in fandom for 2024 and see who will be right in the new year (73:49). Hosts: Charles Holmes, Van Lathan, Jo...

Ben Lindbergh is joined by Jessica Clemons, Steve Ahlman, and Matt James to commemorate a great gaming year. First, they name “naughty” and “nice” industry trends, from massive hacks to surprise releases (0:00). Then they celebrate the highlights of the year in gaming by drafting the most unforgettable titles of 2023 across several categories, including epic RPGs, sprawling action adventures, and...

The Midnight Boys look at their Midnight Meter rankings of the past year and perform their yearly audit to make adjustments to how they feel now about the year's biggest movies and shows (06:57). Hosts: Charles Holmes, Van Lathan, Jomi Adeniran, and Steve Ahlman Senior Producer: Steve Ahlman Additional Production Support: Arjuna Ramgopal Social: Jomi Adeniran Learn more about your ad choices. Visi...