The Worst of All Possible Worlds

THIS IS A PREVIEW. FOR THE FULL EPISODE, CHECK OUT https://www.patreon.com/WorstOfAll The lads strap on their aviators and lather on their tanning oil as they fly right into the danger zone with the 1986 military propaganda/beach volleyball seminal classic: Top Gun. Topics include plane choreography, the disease at the heart of the American war machine, and the seemingly limitless charisma of Thom...

Nate Bethea (@inthesedeserts) joins the lads for a record-breaking third time as they build wonders and conquer the world in Sid Meier’s revolutionary empire simulator: Civilization. They discuss the gamification of climate change, the problem with “Barbarians”, and the inherent optimism of hearing a satellite go “Beep, beep, beep.” NATE'S PODCASTS Kill James Bond! https://open.spotify.com/show/5k...

THIS IS A PREVIEW. FOR THE FULL THING, CHECK OUT https://www.patreon.com/WorstOfAll Fan Favorite Lev Novak ( @LevNovak ) returns to Odyssey as he and the lads witness the horrors of its racist origins and explore its equally racist present. Topics include lyrical fear mongering, homicidal knights, and the undeniable star-power of Rodney Rathbone.   Episodes discussed: #92 The Ill-Gotten Deed #168...

While Josh is out building Delta City, Brian and A.J. make their way to the streets of Old Detroit and go toe to metallic boot with the future of law enforcement: Robocop. They discuss Paul Verhoeven’s Looney Tunes aesthetic, the logistics of jaw acting, and the seeming indestructibility of 80’s Nostalgia. TWOAPW Patreon https://www.patreon.com/WorstOfAll Theme by Brendan Dalton https://www.brenda...

THIS IS A PREVIEW. FOR THE FULL EPISODE GO TO https://www.patreon.com/WorstOfAll   Dara Swisher (@dara.jay.bird) and the lads speak in tongues and get drenched in the Nestle waters of salvation as they cover the hit documentary/horror film of 2006: Jesus Camp. They discuss Pentecostal freaks, Megachurch pastors, and the brutality/longevity of the conservative project to control the Supreme Court....

The lads drink rum, swat flies, and endure the heat of Philadelphia in July as they try to crack the egg that is the Sherman Edwards/Peter Stone musical extravaganza: 1776. They discuss the surprisingly subversive book, the hit-or-miss score, and the inherent rot at the core of the American experiment.   The Reactionary Mind by Corey Robin https://global.oup.com/academic/product/the-reactionary-mi...

THIS IS A PREVIEW. THE FULL EPISODE CAN BE HEARD OVER AT https://www.patreon.com/WorstOfAll The lads head eastbound and down as they take a ride through the American Inferno and sharp cultural commentary of Rockstar Games’ magnum opus: Red Dead Redemption 2. They discuss the magnificent open world, the labor abuses that went into its creation, and the hauntingly empty void at the heart of the Amer...

Bryan Quinby (Street Fight Radio) takes the lads on a stroll through the hellscape of modern far-right children’s entertainment (with a pit-stop in the far-right children’s entertainment of yesteryear, Adventures in Odyssey) as they endure the deeply uncomfortable scream-fest and non-union acting showcase that is PragerU Kids. Topics include the ethics of child labor, the importance of flag mainte...

THIS IS A PREVIEW. FOR THE FULL EPISODE GO TO https://www.patreon.com/WorstOfAll   Emily Robinson (My Brother, My Captain, My Podcast) joins the lads in Hell as they excavate the epistolary proselytizing and smug finger-wagging of C.S. Lewis’ scourge of YA reading lists everywhere: The Screwtape Letters. Topics include the rivalry between C.S. Lewis and J.R.R. Tolkien, the rampant misogyny of Scre...

Luke Savage (Michael and Us, Jacobin) joins the lads for some minor election fraud as they cover Barry Levinson’s 2006 political satire//thriller/rom-com/centrist fever dream: Man of the Year. Topics include the movie’s tonal whiplash, Laura Linney’s bafflingly committed performance, and the hollowness of centrist ideology as reflected through Robin Williams doing fart jokes.   Michael and Us: htt...

THIS IS A PREVIEW. CHECK OUT THE FULL EPISODE AT https://www.patreon.com/WorstOfAll Brian and Josh return to Odyssey with Have You Seen This? host Jen Albright ( @Bowsnonk ) in tow, this time to focus on everyone’s favorite polymath and teenage genius: Eugene Meltsner. And Eugene’s secret shame—his lack of a driver’s license—doesn’t prevent us from going all in on his various annoying tendencies....

The lads wave through a window as they force theme song composer/wandering troubadour  Brendan Dalton (Dickinson, Younger) to climb the great rotting tree that is the 2022 film adaptation of the hit 2016 Broadway hit: Dear Evan Hansen. They discuss the musical’s baffling plot, Ben Platt’s trip to the beach that makes you old, and the greater state of mental health in a world where you won’t necess...

THIS IS A PREVIEW. Check out the full episode at patreon.com/worstofall 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 discuss the many adaptations of the play, the enduring legacy of its themes, and the uneasy feelings brought on by the justice of an unstoppable bionic woma...

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 the difficulties of adapting Hamlet to the screen, Kenneth Branagh’s lips, and the dangers of treating any text, no matter how great, as sacrosanct.   T...

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 Against Same Sex Marriage a Motivator in Split with Center for Social Research, Sources Say” https://calvinchimes.org/2022/03/14/calvins-policies-again...

THIS IS A PREVIEW. Check out the full episode at patreon.com/worstofall 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 journalism. Topics include the true meaning of free speech, the importance of school newspaper competitions, and the right-wing radicalization of Lucy Cu...

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 (@boshj) sat down with Wendy Lecker and Nicole Ciullo from the Education Law Center, a Newark-based organization that defends public schools and advoca...

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”: Heart Condition. Topics include mid-budget 90s studio movies, Denzel Washington’s comedy chops, and the rot at the diseased heart of the supposed end...

This is a PREVIEW. To listen to the full episode, go to https://www.patreon.com/WorstOfAll 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 weed in the 1936 propaganda film Reefer Madness. Topics include the racist history of narcotics crackdowns, the current state of marijuana law in the U...

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, the preposterousness of hell, and the seemingly unkillable deity known as John Avery Whittaker. Episodes Discussed: 176,177 - The Star, parts 1&...

THIS IS A PREVIEW. Check out the full thing at  patreon.com/worstofall 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 t...

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 Christian music Christian music, the importance of artistic integrity in an industry seemingly designed to destroy it, and the rampaging sexiness of...

THIS IS A PREVIEW. Check out the full thing at  patreon.com/worstofall 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: insecticide, new highways, and bigotry against “citters”. Topics include the environmental activism of the early 90's, Pearl Harbor, and the benef...

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 the original musical, the pitfalls of adaptation, and the importance of producing new work in an industry obsessed with refurbishing the old.   Fri...

THIS IS A PREVIEW. Check out the full thing at  patreon.com/worstofall   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 and Hulu’s The D’Amelio Show. Topics include the emptiness of influencer culture, the pressures of being the most famous teenager in the world, and...