The Ringer-Verse

The Boys are back and here to bring you their very merry Christmas movies draft! Five categories of holly jolly fun, from Comedy to Wild Card!

(0:00) Intro

(7:44) Christmas Movies Draft

(1:39:06) Outro

Hosts: Van Lathan, Charles Holmes, Jomi Adeniran, and Steve Ahlman

Producers: Aleya Zenieris, Devon Baroldi, and Jacob Cornett

Additional Production Support: Arjuna Ramgopowell

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After stepping inside Samus’s visor for the first time in years, Ben and Polygon's Giovanni Colantonio compare notes on the much-anticipated ‘Metroid Prime 4: Beyond,’ a great game grafted onto parts of other, less-good games. In their spoiler-lite chat, they puzzle over the game’s discordant elements, praise its strengths, and analyze how it fits into the franchise’s lineage before assessing the Switch 2's launch-window lineup now that Nintendo has released its last title of 2025. Then Jessica Clemons joins Ben to discuss their impressions of a new beat-'em-up brawler, ‘Marvel Cosmic Invasion,’ and a new video game movie that’s been beaten up by critics, ‘Five Nights at Freddy's 2.’

Intro (0:00)
‘Metroid Prime 4’ Overview (3:00)
'Marvel Cosmic Invasion' Review (1:06:34)
Reactions to ‘Five Nights at Freddy’s 2’ (1:39:49)
Outro (1:56:47)

Host: Ben Lindbergh
Guests: Giovanni Colantonio and Jess Clemons
Producer: Devon Renaldo
Additional Production Support: Arjuna Ramgopowell 

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The Boys are back and they’re asking the Midnight Riders for their most burning questions about the nerd-verse! From Yoda to Jomi-cookie-gate, they’re here to give you all the answers.

(0:00) Intro

(9:04) Midnight Mailbag

(1:39:09) Outro

Hosts: Van Lathan, Charles Holmes, Jomi Adeniran, and Steve Ahlman

Producers: Aleya Zenieris and Devon Baroldi

Additional Production Support: Arjuna Ramgopowell

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Spoilers ahead! Jomi, Steve, and Jess dive into the long-awaited 'Zootopia 2,' sharing their full review and exploring how the sequel expands the world of the original. They discuss the franchise’s cultural impact and what Disney got right (and wrong) this time around and look ahead to a potential 'Zootopia 3,' discussing where Judy, Nick, and the rest of the city could go next. Finally, they zoom out for a broader conversation on Disney sequels, the hurdles they’ve faced, why some manage to shine, and why others fall short.

Intro (0:00)
'Zootopia 2' review (4:43)
Disney sequels: hits, misses, and challenges (27:57)
Outro (52:44)

Hosts: Jomi Adeniran and Steve Ahlman
Guest: Jessica Clemons
Producer: Devon Renaldo
Additional Production Support: Arjuna Ramgopowell

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The Boys are back, and they’re drafting white girl movies! From Meg Ryan to Lindsay Lohan, they draft in five categories: Fantasy/Action, Romantic Comedy, Musical, Drama, and Wild Card.

(0:00) Intro

(9:29) White Girl Movies Draft

(1:27:05) Outro

Hosts: Van Lathan, Charles Holmes, Jomi Adeniran, and Steve Ahlman

Producers: Aleya Zenieris, Devon Baroldi, and Devon Renaldo

Additional Production Support: Arjuna Ramgopowell

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We all pod down here. You'll pod, too. Recommends returns for a Thanksgiving feast! First, Ben brings on Zach Dionne to talk about 'It: Welcome to Derry,' Hollywood's obsession with Stephen King (including several new adaptations in 2025), the dos and don'ts of adapting King, the historical highs and lows, and the future of King's work on-screen. After that, other Ringer-Verse hosts and friends salute unsung releases to complete another expanded installment of the monthly roundup of fandom favorites from TV, anime, movies, video games, books, comics, and beyond that were released recently but not yet covered in-depth on a full-length episode.

(00:00) Intro

(02:38) 'It: Welcome to Derry' with Zach Dionne

(19:17) Bigger Stephen King discussion

(49:22) Van's recommendation

(50:20) Steve's recommendation

(51:30) Daniel's recommendation

(53:58) Chuck's recommendation

(54:30) Matt's recommendation

(59:48) Jomi's recommendation

(61:16) Listener recommendation

Host: Ben Lindbergh

Guests: Zach Dionne, Jomi Adeniran, Steve Ahlman, Van Lathan, Charles Holmes, Matt James, and Daniel Chin

Senior Producer: Steve Ahlman

Social: Jomi Adeniran

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Ben brings on Simon Carless of GameDiscoverCo and Morgan Park of PC Gamer to explain the success of some of the most popular games released this year that haven’t previously been discussed on the podcast: surprise Steam sensations ‘R.E.P.O.,’ ‘Schedule I,’ ‘Peak,’ ‘Megabonk,’ ‘Escape From Duckov,’ and ‘RV There Yet?’ They break down how unknown PC games go viral, how long their time in the spotlight usually lasts, and what these huge hits have to teach us about the gaming landscape in 2025.

Intro (0:00)
Steam sensations speedrun (11:52)
Outro (1:17:15)

Host: Ben Lindbergh
Guests: Simon Carless and Morgan Park
Producer: Devon Renaldo
Additional Production Support: Arjuna Ramgopowell

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The Boys are back for good! They unpack all things ‘Wicked: For Good,’ including the highly anticipated musical numbers, the interweaving of the original ‘Wizard of Oz’ story, and the depiction of animals in the movie.

(0:00) Intro

(9:27) Spoilers ahead

(11:11) ‘Wicked: For Good’ reactions

(1:02:35) Midnight Meter

(1:21:46) Outro

Hosts: Van Lathan, Charles Holmes, Jomi Adeniran, and Steve Ahlman

Producers: Aleya Zenieris and Devon Baroldi

Additional Production Support: Arjuna Ramgopowell

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Ben is joined by Kotaku’s Claire Jackson and Zack Zwiezen as they react to the just-announced nominations for the Game Awards (focusing on the Game of the Year candidates, the record number of nominations for ‘Clair Obscur,’ and the debate about the definition of “indie”) and then break down the industry implications, player considerations, and AI ramifications of the competition brewing among a trio of online-multiplayer powerhouse shooters: ‘Battlefield 6,’ ‘Call of Duty: Black Ops 7,’ and ‘ARC Raiders.’

Intro (0:00)

The Game Awards nominations (3:23)

The first-person shooter showdown (22:10)

Host: Ben Lindbergh

Guests: Claire Jackson and Zack Zwiezen

Senior Producer: Steve Ahlman

Additional Production Support: Arjuna Ramgopowell

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The Boys are back, and they’re ready to talk all things ‘The Running Man’! Then they get into the nerd news of the week with ‘Superman 2’ and even do a mini draft of the best rappers-turned-actors.

(0:00) Intro

(7:07) Spoilers ahead

(9:36) Instant reactions to ‘The Running Man’

(55:05) Midnight Meter

(57:33) Nerd News

(1:11:30) Outro

(1:14:58) Post Credits

Hosts: Van Lathan, Charles Holmes, Jomi Adeniran, and Steve Ahlman

Producers: Aleya Zenieris and Devon Baroldi

Additional Production Support: Arjuna Ramgopowell

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