The Worst of All Possible Worlds

Tarence Ray (Trillbilly Worker’s Party) and the lads jot down their devotionals and sing praises to the mid-90s as they cover DC Talk’s seminal 1995 grunge-as-worship album: Jesus Freak. Topics include the band’s Liberty University origins, the impressive sonic palette, and what it takes to make art in the world of corporate evangelicalism. Tarence Ray - Twitter // Instagram // The Baffler // The Nation Trillbilly Worker’s Party - Trillbilly Worker’s Party is a podcast about a town called Whitesburg, Kentucky. Apple Podcasts // Spotify // Patreon Want more TWOAPW? Get access to our full back catalogue of premium/bonus episodes and add your name to the masthead of our website by subscribing for $5/month at Patreon.com/worstofall! Media Referenced in this Episode: Jesus Freak by DC Talk - Spotify // Apple Music 33 1/3’s DC Talk’s Jesus Freak by Will Stockton and D. Gilson. Bloomsbury Press, 2018. DC Talk: Jesus Freak-The Pitchfork Review by Brad Shoup. Pitchfork.com. August 1st, 2021. “Finding Hip-Hop's Sacred Ground” by Natalie Hopkinson. The Washington Post, April 20th, 2003. intermission: a decade of dc Talk. PAX TV Special. November 17th, 2000. Michael Tait thanks President Trump President Trump gives Michael Tait (of #NewsboysUnited) a shout out! TWOAPW theme by Brendan Dalton: Patreon // brendan-dalton.com // brendandalton.bandcamp.com

The lads grab their potatoes and molasses, join the Adelaide Parade, and march into the Unknown as they cover the Emmy Award-winning 2014 Cartoon Network miniseries: Over the Garden Wall. Topics include the show’s many artistic inspirations, superlative storytelling, and the benefits of rock facts when you find yourself lost in the woods. 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/worstofall! Media Referenced in this Episode: Over the Garden Wall The Art of Over the Garden Wall Dante’s Inferno: A New Verse Translation by Robert Pinsky TWOAPW theme by Brendan Dalton: Patreon // brendan-dalton.com // brendandalton.bandcamp.com Commercial: “A Message from Jason Funderberker”

Playwright Chas LiBretto (Cyclops: A Rock Opera) joins the lads for some globe-trotting Odyssey adventures as Jason Whittaker and Jack Allen do battle with secret societies, synthetic viruses, and the return of the most evil child psychologist in all of radio drama: Dr. Regis Blackgaard. Topics include spy stories, adapting the Odyssey, and the limits of the imagination when seen through the evangelical lens. Want more TWOAPW? Get access to our full back catalogue of premium/bonus episodes and add your name to the masthead of our website by subscribing for $5/month at Patreon.com/worstofall! Chas LiBretto - Twitter // Instagram // Website Cyclops: A Rock Opera at The Tank, October 20th-November 3rd Media Referenced in this Episode: Adventures in Odyssey #42: The Last Great Adventure of the Summer #290: A Name, Not a Number, Part 1 #291: A Name, Not a Number, Part 2 #292: A Code of Honor Birds of a Feather - #1 by Jim Daly “Christian Broadcaster Will Focus on Families--in Russia: James Dobson will visit the Soviet Union in August and try to influence policy there with books and videos” by Mike Ward. LA Times, July 4th, 1991 “Embracing God's Truth in a Hostile Culture” by Jim Daly “The Wild East” by Seymour M. Hersh. The Atlantic, 1994. TWOAPW theme by Brendan Dalton: Patreon // brendan-dalton.com // brendandalton.bandcamp.com Commercial: “A Public Service Announcement from the ESA”

THIS IS A PREVIEW. FOR THE FULL EPISODE, GO TO Patreon.com/worstofall The lads grab their Iver-Johnson .32s and make their way to the head of the line as they cover Stephen Sondheim and John Weidman’s 1990 murderous musical: Assassins. Topics include the show’s initial negative reception, the inevitable critical reappraisal, and the dissonant, violent chords lurking just beneath the promise of the American Dream. 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/worstofall! Media Referenced in this Episode: Assassins by Stephen Sondheim and John Weidman Original Off-Broadway Cast Recording 2004 Broadway Revival Recording 2022 Off-Broadway Revival Recording The 2009 Korean Cast The 2013 Swedish Cast Look, I Made a Hat: Collected Lyrics (1981-2011) with Attendant Comments, Amplifications, Dogmas, Harangues, Digressions, Anecdotes and Miscellany by Stephen Sondheim. TWOAPW theme by Brendan Dalton: Patreon // brendan-dalton.com // brendandalton.bandcamp.com Commercial: “The Ballad of Sam Bultch”-Music by Stephen Sondheim, Lyrics by Dr. Samuel Bultch, D.D.S. Featuring David Armstrong as “Horny Fairgoer/Stephen Sondheim” and Eleanor Philips as “Gossipy Fairgoer”.

Drew Toothpaste (@drewtoothpaste) and the lads gulp down some cryptobiotes with a Monster energy chaser as they strap on their packages and unite the United Cities of America in Hideo Kojima’s 2019 mail-delivery simulator: Death Stranding. Topics include the wonders of nature, the terrors of the afterlife, and what it means to build community in a post-apocalyptic world inhabited by malevolent ghost babies. Want more TWOAPW? Get access to our full back catalogue of premium/bonus episodes and add your name to the masthead of our website by subscribing for $5/month at Patreon.com/worstofall! Drew Toothpaste - Twitter // Bluesky // Patreon // Instagram Everything is Real - In Everything Is Real, Natalie Dee & Drew Toothpaste investigate the conspiracies and strange happenings that peel back the edge of reality. Join Drew (a research chemist) and Natalie (a Ph.D in Metaphysics) as they study the fringes of society. Media Referenced in this Episode: Death Stranding Available on PS4, PS5, and PC. P.T. by 7780s Studios Metal Gear Solid V: Ground Zeroes Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain TWOAPW theme by Brendan Dalton: Patreon // brendan-dalton.com // brendandalton.bandcamp.com Commercial: “Graham Sorter Brücken: A Life of Great Import(er)”

The lads sat down live and in person with our friends from the band Hans Gruber and the Die Hards, currently on their national tour! We enjoyed a wide-ranging conversation about what it’s like working as a touring musician in 2023, including topics like selling out, the joys of performing, the difficulties of touring, and the value of merch. Over the next couple weeks, the band will be making stops in Asbury Park, Baltimore, Washington DC, Virginia, Birmingham, New Orleans, and of course their hometown of Austin. Check out the links for more info and buy your tickets now! TOUR DATES AND VENUES Twitter: @Gruberites Instagram: @hansgruberandthediehards Bandcamp: With a Vengeance Youtube: Hans Gruber Merch: Grube Shop Ska Punk International Want more TWOAPW? Get access to 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/worstofall! 

Nate Lamagna helps the lads escape apes and dive into the world of Non-Fungible Tokens (NFTs) in this entertaining podcast. They discuss the history of cryptocurrency, the life-draining art style of NFTs, and the absence of human biases in code. The speakers also analyze a figure in blockchain technology, explore the risks of reinventing ideas in the tech world, and highlight the need for a decentralized framework.

Audrey and Donovan from the Radio Free Tote Bag podcast (@rftbpod) join the lads as they grab their baseball bats and battle the infernos of marriage and pornography as they sprint headlong into the blaze of the disastrous Kirk Cameron vehicle: Fireproof. Topics include the importance of communication in relationships, why there isn’t a Jay Leno recap podcast, and the horrifying menace hiding just behind the eyes of one of the Christian Right’s biggest movie stars: Kirk Cameron. Want more TWOAPW? Get access to our full back catalogue of premium/bonus episodes and add your name to the masthead of our website by subscribing for $5/month at Patreon.com/worstofall! Radio Free Tote Bag - Patreon // Spotify // Apple Podcasts // Twitter // Instagram Audrey Brehm - Twitter Donovan Eyre - Twitter Media Referenced in this Episode: Fireproof Dir. Alex Kendrick. Sherwood Pictures, 2008. The Love Dare by Alex and Stephen Kendrick Fireproof Your Life: Building a Faith That Survives The Flames by Michael Catt TWOAPW theme by Brendan Dalton: Patreon // brendan-dalton.com // brendandalton.bandcamp.com Commercial: “A Special Message from Kirk Thomas Cameron” feat. David Armstrong, Eleanor Philips, and A.J. Ditty as “Jeremiah”

THIS IS A PREVIEW. FOR THE FULL EPISODE, GO TO Patreon.com/worstofall Fan-favorite Lev Novak (@levnovak) returns to Odyssey as he takes the lads on adventures through the Old Testament, household budgeting, and the art of running for mayor of Odyssey. Topics include dull retellings of thrilling stories, pursuing your passions, and the confusing machinations of a certain evil child psychologist. 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/worstofall!   Lev Novak - Twitter // Instagram   Media Referenced in this Episode: Adventures in Odyssey #272 “Two Brothers…And Bernard Part 1” #273 “Two Brothers…And Bernard Part 2" #285 “George Under Pressure” #286 “Tom for Mayor Part 1" #287 “Tom for Mayor Part 2” TWOAPW theme by Brendan Dalton: Patreon // brendan-dalton.com // brendandalton.bandcamp.com Commercial: “Grievin’ Steven’s Midnight Rodeo”

In their 100th episode, the hosts cover the game Deus Ex, discussing gameplay styles, iconic dialogue, and the legacy of the first PC game that allowed leg-killing. Topics include Warren Spector's impact on game design, frustrations with robot spiders and greasals, and the satisfaction of overcoming hurdles. They also explore the unique mechanics, weapon retrieval, and backtracking in the game, as well as strategies to avoid boss battles. With diverse voice actors and references to literature, the hosts delve into the paranoia and home design in Deus Ex, concluding with a threatening call from Bob Page.