The Worst of All Possible Worlds

Pulitzer-Prize winning composer and playwright Michael R. Jackson (A Strange Loop, White Girl in Danger!) joins the lads in lighting up a mean blaze with posters (and screenplays!) as they dive headlong into the grunge and Gen X angst of Jonathan Larson’s Pulitzer-Prize winning musical watershed: Rent. Topics include the influential score, the show’s vague politics, and the lasting legacy of one of the most seminal rock musicals of all time. 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! Michael R. Jackson - Twitter // Instagram // Website // A Strange Loop (UK) Tickets Media Referenced in Episode: Rent: Filmed Live on Broadway People in Trouble by Sarah Schulman Stagestruck by Sarah Schulman TWOAPW theme by Brendan Dalton: Patreon // brendan-dalton.com // brendandalton.bandcamp.com Commercial: “You’ll Die Alone” - Music by Jonathan Larson - Lyrics by Dr. Samuel Bultch, D.D.S. - feat. Eleanor Philips as “Roger 

THIS IS A PREVIEW. FOR THE FULL EPISODE, GO TO Patreon.com/worstofall Jacob Dallas-Main and Joss Olson (The Socialist Shelf) join the lads in Odyssey for adventures in Hollywood self-absorption and saying goodbye to the god-king of Odyssey himself: John Avery Whittaker. Topics include using art to exact petty revenges, the moral dubiousness of post-mortem performances, and the long, illustrious career of the original Whit: Hal Smith. The Socialist Shelf - Spotify // Apple Podcasts // Twitter // Instagram // Youtube // Bluesky 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: Adventures in Odyssey #278 “The Fifth House on the Left, Part 1” #279 “The Fifth House on the Left, Part 2" #280 “Gone…” #281 “…But Not Forgotten” TWOAPW theme by Brendan Dalton: Patreon // brendan-dalton.com // brendandalton.bandcamp.com Commercial: “Big Bargain Bill’s Used Car Barn”

Scott Benson (Night in the Woods, Revenant Hill) and the lads grab some holy water and their sturdiest whips as they cover what is widely considered to be one of the greatest games ever made: Castlevania: Symphony of the Night. Topics include the gorgeous art-style, some sweet speedrunning tricks, and the lasting impact of art that pokes at the edges of its own possibility. 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! Scott Benson - Twitter // Instagram Revenant Hill - Website // Steam Media Referenced in this Episode: Castlevania: Symphony of the Night // Available on All Major Platforms Castlevania Radio Drama “Cynthia Harrell, The Woman Who Sang 'Snake Eater,' Is Ready To Be Heard Again” by Ash Parrish, Kotaku October 21, 2020 “Dendy’s Dream Debased” by Roman Muradov, Medium February 2, 2015. No Cartridge Live With Scott Benson “Unfinished symphony: Castlevania's keeper speaks” by Simon Parkin, Eurogamer, April 9, 2014. “What's next for Koji Igarashi, the man who left Castlevania and Konami behind” by Michael McWhertor, Polygon, March 19th, 2014. TWOAPW theme by Brendan Dalton: Patreon // brendan-dalton.com // brendandalton.bandcamp.com

THIS IS A PREVIEW. FOR THE FULL EPISODE, GO TO Patreon.com/worstofall The lads hop in their Chron-O-Johns and do battle with the diabolical Purple Tentacle as they tackle the intricate puzzlebox that is LucasArts’ landmark comedy-adventure game: Day of the Tentacle. Topics include the origins of LucasArts, the cartoon logic of the puzzles, and the fierce originality of one of the funniest adventure games ever made. 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: Day of the Tentacle: Remastered “Day of the Tentacle: The Oral History” by Bob Mackey. USGamer, June 25th 2018. Ron Gilbert - Maniac Mansion postmortem The Making of Day of the Tentacle (30th Anniversary Documentary) TWOAPW theme by Brendan Dalton: Patreon // brendan-dalton.com // brendandalton.bandcamp.com Commercial: “A Voicemail from George Lucas” Featuring Abe Goldfarb (@abegoldfarb) as “George Lucas”

Greg Foster (@dadshammdad) from Brigham Young Money challenges Brian and Josh to construct and deliver a classroom rebuttal to the film that launched at least a thousand holy text messages: God’s Not Dead (2014). Topics include the ethics of duck consumption, the parallels between Mormon and evangelical Christian culture, and the status of higher education in the state of Louisiana. 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! Greg Foster: Twitter / Bluesky Brigham Young Money is an award-losing Utah politics and culture podcast. Website / Twitter / Patreon Episode 109: A Year in Review w/ Brian and Josh Episode 101: Indignity Index w/ Brian Media Referenced in this Episode: God’s Not Dead (2014, Pure Flix) Jesus Freaks: Stories of Those Who Stood for Jesus by DC Talk (1999, Albury Publishers) TWOAPW theme by Brendan Dalton: Patreon // brendan-dalton.com // brendandalton.bandcamp.com

THIS IS A PREVIEW. FOR THE FULL EPISODE, GO TO Patreon.com/worstofall.   The lads cry havoc and loose the dogs of war as they cover Joseph L. Mankiewicz’s 1953 adaptation of one of Josh’s favorite Shakespeare plays: Julius Caesar. Topics include the messiness of revolution, the shockwaves of Brando’s career, and what it means to be masculine in a world where even your best bros can stab you with knives. 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: Julius Caesar (1953), dir. Joseph L. Mankiewicz. “About Shakespeare’s Julius Caesar” by Barbara Mowat and Paul Werstine, Folger Shakespeare. TWOAPW theme by Brendan Dalton: Patreon // brendan-dalton.com // brendandalton.bandcamp.com Commercial: “That Moment at a Wedding When the DJ Puts on “Mr. Brightside” by The Killers” 

Phoebe Roy (Masters of Our Domain, Ten Thousand Posts) and the lads hop in a car and head west, as they experience the trials and tribulations of Eugene Meltsner and Bernard Walton’s road trip to San Diego. Topics include the purpose of experience, the geography of the US, and the logistics of being handcuffed to a corpse. 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! Phoebe Roy Twitter // Substack Masters of Our Domain: A podcast about Seinfeld from Phoebe Roy (10k Posts), who has seen it, and Milo Edwards (Trashfuture, Тумач), who hasn’t. Podcast // Twitter // Patreon Ten Thousand Posts: A show about how everything is a form of posting, and how our lives are guided by the only dialectic that matters: good posts and bad posts. Podcast // Twitter // Patreon Media Referenced in this Episode: Adventures in Odyssey #274 First Hand Experience #275 Second Thoughts #276 Third Degree #277 It Happened at Four Corners The Shaggy D.A. Scene TWOAPW theme by Brendan Dalton: Patreon // brendan-dalton.com // brendandalton.bandcamp.com Commercial: “The Iowa State Fair!” 

THIS IS A PREVIEW. FOR THE FULL EPISODE, GO TO Patreon.com/worstofall Brian and A.J. slap on some red/green wristbands and summon a CGI penguin to help them solve the mystery of Kyle Killen’s cult TV one-season wonder: Awake. Topics include the absolutely wild premise, the advantages of casting two broadway legends as therapists, and the importance of taking big swings on network television. 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: Awake (2011) Available on Prime Episode One: “Pilot” Episode Six: “That’s Not My Penguin” Episode Thirteen: “Turtles All The Way Down” “'Awake' finale questions answered by creator” by Mandi Bierly, Entertainment Weekly May 26th 2012 TWOAPW theme by Brendan Dalton: Patreon // brendan-dalton.com // brendandalton.bandcamp.com Commercial: “Boshes All the Way Down”

Alice Caldwell-Kelly (Trashfuture/Kill James Bond!/Well There’s Your Problem) recruits the lads into the International Organization of Bros (IOB) as they take on Iran, Russia, and the Mexican Cartel in Infinity Ward’s 2022 sequel/remake/propaganda fever dream Call of Duty: Modern Warfare II. Topics include the infamous Al Qaeda district of Amsterdam, the internet’s obsession with Valeria, and the dangerous messages at the core of one of the best-selling games of 2022. 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! Alice Caldwell-Kelly: Twitter / Instagram / Patreon Trashfuture is a podcast about business success and making yourself smarter with the continued psychic trauma of capitalism. Website / Twitter / Patreon Listen on Apple Podcasts / Spotify / Google Podcasts Kill James Bond! is a comedy film review/pop culture commentary podcast about the eponymous English spy, James Bond. Alice Caldwell-Kelly, Abigail Thorn, and Devon watch a different Bond movie every fortnight in an attempt to give 007 the socialist, feminist comeuppance he so richly deserves. Free episodes are released every fortnight on all major podcast platforms and bonus episodes are released for supporters on Patreon on the interstitial weeks. Website / Twitter / Patreon Listen on Apple Podcasts / Spotify / Google Podcasts Well There’s Your Problem is a podcast about engineering disasters and systemic failures, from a leftist perspective, with jokes. Youtube / Twitter / Instagram / Patreon Listen on Apple Podcasts / Spotify / Google Podcasts Media Referenced in this Episode: Call of Duty: Modern Warfare II (Infinity Ward/Activision, 2022) Call of Duty: Modern Warfare (Infinity Ward/Activision, 2019) Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 (Infinity Ward/Activision, 2009) Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare (Infinity Ward/Activision, 2007) TWOAPW theme by Brendan Dalton: Patreon // brendan-dalton.com // brendandalton.bandcamp.com Commercial: “Eagle McGee’s Male Murder Cream”

THIS IS A PREVIEW. FOR THE FULL EPISODE, GO TO Patreon.com/worstofall Hussein Kesvani (Trashfuture,Ten Thousand Posts) joins the lads in Odyssey for further adventures in pen pals, unemployment, and some good old fashioned lore spelunking. Topics include the allure of Lifetime movies, the death of Hal Smith, and the fascinating lore potential of a town with a weapons-grade nuclear device sitting in the back of an ice cream parlor. 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! Hussein Kesvani Website // Twitter Trashfuture: a podcast about business success and making yourself smarter with the continued psychic trauma of capitalism. Podcast // Website // Twitter // Patreon Ten Thousand Posts: A show about how everything is a form of posting, and how our lives are guided by the only dialectic that matters: good posts and bad posts. Podcast // Twitter // Patreon Media Referenced in this Episode: Adventures in Odyssey #206 Pen Pals #262 A Prayer for George Barclay #268 Pet Peeves #266 It Began With a Rabbit’s Foot #267 And Ended With a Handshake Something Awful’s Cyber Seduction Review by Andrew "Linguica" Stine TWOAPW theme by Brendan Dalton: Patreon // brendan-dalton.com // brendandalton.bandcamp.com