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

The Worst of All Possible Worlds

Society EN ↓ 276 episodes

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 one. Also, we have bits.

Author

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

Category

Society

Podcast website

www.worstpossible.world

Latest episode

Jul 8, 2026

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Episodes

72 - John Whittaker: Tomb Raider (feat. Trevor Strunk) [Whit’s Endless Summer #20] 01.02.2023

Trevor Strunk ( No Cartridge Audio ) and the lads grab their whips and commit a colonialism as they return to Odyssey for some rip-roaring adventures in treasure hunting, stranger danger, and French missionary pranksters. Topics include the defense of property rights, the treachery of false uncles, and the many, many, many jobs of John Avery Whittaker. Trevor Strunk Twitter  /  Story Mode No Cartr...

71 - Max Payne 2, The Fall of Max Payne 25.01.2023

THIS IS A PREVIEW. FOR THE FULL EPISODE, GO TO Patreon.com/worstofall   The lads dive deep into the gaping hole at the heart of Noir York City as they brave the nauseating, bullet-ridden world of Remedy’s Max Payne 2: The Fall of Max Payne. Topics include the Matrix-ization of video games, the tenets of Sam Lake’s storytelling, and the bafflingly acclaimed legacy of the pills and simile-addicted M...

70 - Company (feat. Patrick Flynn) 18.01.2023

Phone rings, door chimes, in comes Patrick Flynn ( The Original Cast ) as he and the lads celebrate Bobby’s infamous 35th birthday in the Stephen Sondheim/George Furth deep-dive into marriage: Company. Topics include the many revivals of the show, the superb score/uneven book, and the incomparable performance of Raúl Esparza.   Want more TWOAPW? Get access to the rest of this episode, our full bac...

69 - Uncut Gems 11.01.2023

THIS IS A PREVIEW. FOR THE FULL EPISODE, GO TO Patreon.com/worstofall   The lads grab their opals and dive deep into the Diamond District as they cover the Safdie Brothers’ masterful two-hour panic attack: Uncut Gems. Topics include the sublime pacing, the proliferation of American gambling, and the career-best performance from Mr. Deeds himself: Adam Sandler.   Want more TWOAPW? Get access to the...

68 - Left Behind The Movie 2000 04.01.2023

The lads start 2023 off right by hopping aboard an adulterous plane and flying straight into the Rapture as they cover the disastrous Kirk Cameron vehicle: Left Behind: The Movie (2000). Topics include the origins of the Tribulation, the clientele of leather bars, and the surprising endurance of the concept that, one day, the Lord will strike Christians nude and yeet them into Heaven.   Want more...

67 - A Year in Review 28.12.2022

THIS IS A PREVIEW. CHECK OUT THE FULL EPISODE AT Patreon.com/worstofall On the eve of the New Year, we wind back the clock to our favorite moments of 2022 with the help of friends old and new. Want more TWOAPW? Get access to the rest of this episode, our full back catalogue of premium and bonus episodes, and add your name to the masthead of our website by subscribing for $5/month at Patreon.com/wo...

66 - Hitman (feat. Alice Caldwell-Kelly) 21.12.2022

Alice Caldwell-Kelly (Trashfuture/Kill James Bond!/Well There’s Your Problem) inducts the lads into the World of Assassination as they do a suit-only, silent assassin run through IO Interactive’s pinnacle of video game design: Hitman. Topics include the richness of the game’s environmental storytelling, the tardiness of chandelier repairmen, and that beautiful, bald backstabber of the bourgeoisie:...

65 - Ladscast Goes Public (UNLOCKED) 14.12.2022

LADS LADS LADS LADS LADS! As we get ready for the holiday season (or is it the arguing season?), we settle down with some treats, some drinks, and ChatGPT as we go over the events of the last month. There are laughs, there is anger, and there is absolutely no editing.   Check out Doors of Divergence , the immersive show Brian is in, here !    Want more TWOAPW? Get access to our full back catalogue...

64 - Disney’s Michael Bay’s Pearl Harbor 07.12.2022

The lads hop into their fighter planes and get trapped in the world’s most boring love triangle as they are suddenly and deliberately attacked by Michael Bay’s much-maligned historical epic: Pearl Harbor. Topics include Bay’s deeply uncurious filmmaking, the interminable three-hour run time, and the responsibilities of artists when tackling historical fiction.   Want more TWOAPW? Get access to our...

63 - How I Met Your Mother (feat. David Armstrong) 30.11.2022

THIS IS A PREVIEW. CHECK OUT THE FULL EPISODE AT Patreon.com/worstofall David Armstrong ( Omni BiLateral PANic ) sits the lads down to tell them the fraught and incredibly lengthy story of the hit CBS sitcom: How I Met Your Mother. Topics include the infamous ending, the deck shenanigans of Josh Radnor, and the slow death of the American multi-cam sitcom. And don't forget to read  A.J.’s HIMYM Spe...

62 - Minions 23.11.2022

The lads grab their fart guns and lose their minds as they do battle against the highest grossing movie in the highest grossing animated film franchise of all time: Minions. Topics include Minion physiology, the horrific world of Minion memes, and the value of children’s entertainment in a world trapped in a neverending cycle of nostalgia. Want more TWOAPW? Get access to our full back catalogue of...

61 - Disco Elysium: The Final Cut 16.11.2022

THIS IS A PREVIEW. FOR THE FULL EPISODE, GO TO   Patreon.com/worstofall The lads throw on their finest alligator shoes and slap The Expression on their faces as they take to the mean streets of Martinaise for ZA/UM’s political and existential triumph: Disco Elysium. Topics include the dense and fascinating history of the game world, the perfection of Kim Kitsuragi, and finding glimmers of disco in...

60 - Adventures in Modesty (feat. April Ajoy) [Whit’s Endless Summer #19] 09.11.2022

April Ajoy ( Evangelicalish ) joins the lads as they return to Odyssey for three deeply disturbing episodes that dive deep into the heart of evangelical purity culture. Topics include the cringe of adolescence, the horrors of beauty pageants, and the nightmare of having puberty explained to you by John Avery Whittaker. Want more TWOAPW? Get access to our full back catalogue of premium/bonus episod...

59 - Chess: The Musical (feat. Jake Beckhard) 02.11.2022

THIS IS A PREVIEW. FOR THE FULL EPISODE, GO TO Patreon.com/worstofall Jake Beckhard ( Blue Balls NYCFC ) challenges the lads to the match of the century as they try to outmaneuver the bopping songs and confounding political intrigue of the infamous Tim Rice/Benny Andersson/Björn Ulvaeus flop musical: Chess. Topics include the many different versions of the show, the innate appeal of a broken music...

58 - Every Young Man’s Battle (feat. Laura Ramadei) 26.10.2022

Laura Ramadei from the  Girls On Porn podcast  stops by to help Brian and Josh block, tackle, and blast their way through the anti-porn manifesto for evangelical Christian teenage boys terrified of their own sex drives: Every Young Man’s Battle. You’ll never look at a jogger the same way, and for that we apologize. Sort of. Want more TWOAPW? Get access to our full back catalogue of premium and bon...

57 - The Stanley Parable: Ultra Deluxe 19.10.2022

THIS IS A PREVIEW. FOR THE FULL EPISODE GO TO patreon.com/worstofall . Stanley read the episode notes for the podcast called “The Worst of All Possible Worlds #57: The Stanley Parable: Ultra Deluxe.” He marveled at their ability to convey both the tone of the episode and the appropriate words necessary to take advantage of the SEO. Words like “Whizbang!“, “Gadzooks!“, and “The Truth About Vaccines...

56 - Moulin Rouge! (feat. Abe Goldfarb) 12.10.2022

Abe Goldfarb (Beetlejuice: The Musical, First Time Caller) and the lads down a shot of the Green Fairy and can-can their way through Baz Luhrmann’s 2001 musical extravaganza: Moulin Rouge! Topics include the brilliance of Richard Roxburgh, the sexiest alien in Star Wars, and the untouchable style and frenetic earnestness of Bazmark Luhrmann. Abe’s Socials: Twitter:  @abegoldfarb First Time Caller...

55 - Pamela Has a Problem (feat. Ash Stoneman) [Whit’s Endless Summer #18] 05.10.2022

Ashleigh Stoneman ( The Very Worst , The Merry Worst ) returns to the pod to help the lads tackle two disastrous attempts by evangelicals to cover the subject of abortion: Odyssey’s infamous lost episode “Pamela Has a Problem” and Frank Peretti’s should-have-been-lost radio drama “Tilly”. Topics include the hubris of Paul McCusker, the brain worms of Frank Peretti, and the path forward as America...

54 - Saturday’s Warrior (feat. Brigham Young Money) 28.09.2022

Greg ( @DadShammdad ) and Jordan ( @SLCLunk ) from Brigham Young Money pull the lads together as they dance through the shifting tones and heavy fog of the 1989 Mormon musical extravaganza: Saturday’s Warrior. Topics include the similarities between Evangelicalism and Mormonism, the loose morals of San Diego, and the baffling surreality of watching a musical featuring greaser eco-terrorists and th...

53 - Alien (feat. Jeff Ronan) 21.09.2022

THIS IS A PREVIEW. CHECK OUT THE FULL EPISODE AT https://www.patreon.com/WorstOfAll Jeff Ronan (And Almost Starring…) joins the lads on the deck of the Nostromo as they battle xenomorphs and the specter of capitalism in Ridley Scott’s 1979 horror masterwork: Alien. Topics include H.R. Giger’s uncannily horny designs, Ripley’s place amongst the greatest action heroes of all time, and the pros and c...

52 - This Present Darkness (feat. Scott Benson) 14.09.2022

Scott Benson (Night In the Woods) joins the lads in demonic combat as they battle the evils of satanic prophecy and New Age philosophy in Frank E. Peretti’s sophomoric superhit: This Present Darkness. Topics include the evils of carnivals, Peretti’s truly vile prose, and the lasting ramifications of This Present Darkness on the modern Christian fiction landscape. Scott’s Socials: Twitter:  @bombsf...

51 - Brevity is the Soul of Whit [Whit’s Endless Summer #17] 07.09.2022

THIS IS A PREVIEW. CHECK OUT THE FULL EPISODE AT https://www.patreon.com/WorstOfAll The lads take a staycation with the Barclays as they return to Odyssey for their first thrilling case with Harlow Doyle, their first romp with Ronald Edwin Blackgaard, and what might be the most boring episode of Odyssey ever conceived: “The Midnight Ride”. Topics include the genius of Will Ryan, the utility of sid...

50 - Studio 60 On the Sunset Strip (feat. Alec Robbins) 31.08.2022

Alec Robbins (Mr. Boop, @alecrobbins) walks and talks the lads through the esteemed halls of the Paris Opera House of American Television™ that is Aaron Sorkin’s most notorious flop: Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip. Topics include the racism of the mid-2000s, the surreality of the sketches, and the endlessly watchable nature of this truly calamitous foray into the writing process behind the world’s...

49 - TWOAPW LIVE at New York City Pinball Championships 2022! Deeproot: Legacy (feat. Blueberry Johnson) 24.08.2022

Hey folks! Here's that live show. As you may remember, last year we talked to Crazy Levi Nayman about the history of pinball and a very strange company that rose and fell over the last few years. That episode can be found here: https://www.patreon.com/posts/emergency-pod-56023528   This year, we've followed up with Pinside poster Blueberry Johnson to talk about the ruins and remains of what was on...

48 - 24 (feat. Yurié Collins) 17.08.2022

Yurié Collins (@babypinkhaus) and the lads race against the clock as they dive headlong into the soupy plotting and unrelenting patriotism of Fox’s torture-palooza: 24. Topics include the rampant Islamophobia of the early 2000s, the logistics of ski mask ownership in Los Angeles, and the ticking time-bomb of imprinting Jack Bauer’s ideology onto the American psyche. YURIE'S SOCIALS Tiktok: @babypi...

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