The Worst of All Possible Worlds

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

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 ... more

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The podcast currently has 290 episodes available.

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Number 1: 258 - The Late Great Planet Earth (feat. Julian Feeld)
Julian Feeld (Super Structure, QAA Podcast) joins the lads in the end times as they cover the 1978 film adaptation of the father of all Rapture narratives: The Late Great Planet Earth. Topics include the conspiratorial thinking of dispensational millennialism, the nefarious tree-slut Hal Lindsay, and what it means when your rock solid prophecy keeps having to move the goal posts. Julian Feeld: Instagram Super Structure: Super Structure is a podcast about the many shapes of power. The power of propaganda, the power of political repression, and the power of revolutionary struggles the world over. We help you — and comedian Jon Gabrus — understand current events, history and politics. So join us as we live, laugh, and radicalize together. Patreon // Apple Podcasts QAA Podcast: Conspiracy theories, melted online communities and cursed media — we pry open the cracks in consensus reality and journey into the hidden worlds below. The QAA Podcast is a mix of reporting, comedy, and history hosted by Jake Rockatansky, Travis View, and Julian Feeld along with co-hosts Annie Kelly, Liv Agar and Brad Abrahams. Formerly known as the QAnon Anonymous podcast. Patreon // Apple Podcasts Media Referenced in this Episode: The Late Great Planet Earth. Dir. Robert Amram. 1978. “Died: ‘Late Great Planet Earth’ Author Hal Lindsey” by Daniel G. Hummel. Christianity Today. November 27th, 2024. “The late great Hal Lindsey” by Matthew Avery Sutton. Religion News Service. December 5th, 2024. “The Late Great Planet Earth Made The Apocalypse a Popular Concern” by Erin A. Smith. Humanities: Magazine of the National Endowment for the Humanities. Winter 2017. “Ministry Spotlight: Hal Lindsey Website Ministries” by Brittany Smith. Ministry Watch. February 22nd, 2024. “Urgent Personal Message from Hal: TBN Suspends IIB” by Hal Lindsey. hallindseyoracle.com. November 20th, 2005 TWOAPW theme by Brendan Dalton: Patreon // brendan-dalton.com // brendandalton.bandcamp.com Interstitial: “Outtakes from the Filming of The Late Great Planet Earth (featuring Orson Welles)” // Written by A.J. Ditty // featuring A.J. Ditty as “Amram/Hal” and David Armstrong as “Orson” Episode edited by Brian Alford. Interstitial edited by A.J. Ditty. Produced by Josh Boerman, A.J. Ditty, and Brian Alford. This podcast was recorded under a SAG-AFTRA Agreement.
September 16, 20262h 7min
Number 2: 256 - The Hurt Locker (feat. Patrick Wyman)
HEART OF DUCKNESS TICKETS Patrick Wyman (Past Lives, Master of Our Domain, Tides of History) and the lads throw on their bomb suits and chase that adrenaline high as they cover Kathryn Bigelow’s critically-acclaimed 2009 war film: The Hurt Locker. Topics include the thrill of warfare, war films as propaganda, and what it means to exist in a culture full of War Paddingtons. Patrick Wyman: Bluesky // Instagram Masters of Our Domain: A podcast that used to be about Seinfeld and is now about history, from Phoebe Roy, Milo Edwards and Patrick Wyman. Patreon // Apple Podcasts Past Lives: History is built by people like you, and Past Lives is here to bring their stories to life. Every week, we’ll focus on the lived experiences of real people in the past, from the Stone Age to the near-present. Peasants, laborers, artisans, merchants, soldiers, and the enslaved are far too often overlooked in favor of kings, generals, and politicians; not here. On Past Lives, we keep the focus where it belongs: on the real people who populate our shared past. By understanding them, we can strive to better understand ourselves. These people were us, and we are them. They mattered, and so do you. Patreon // Apple Podcasts Media Referenced in this Episode: The Hurt Locker. Dir. Kathryn Bigelow. 2009. “A House of Dynamite Visualizes the Unthinkable” by Sarah Fensom. American Cinematographer. January 20th, 2026. “Between Iraq and a Hard Place The Hurt Locker’s Editing Team – on Location in the Middle East” by Chris Innis. Women Film Editors. Princeton. March 15th, 2010. “Could The Hurt Locker Take Sound Oscars? An interview with Paul Ottosson” by Blair Jackson. Mix. March 1st, 2010. “Cinematographer Barry Ackroyd Talks The Hurt Locker” by Scott Macauley. Filmmaker Magazine. November 14th, 2011. “The Hurt Locker: A Near-Perfect War Film” by Richard Corliss. Time. September 4th, 2008. “The Hurt Locker: Cinematic Addiction, ‘Critique’, and the War on Terror” by Bruce Bennett and Bülent Diken. Cultural Politics: Volume 7, Issue 2. Pgs. 165-188. Duke University Press. 2011. “Kathryn Bigelow, Catastrophe Connoisseur” by Robert Sullivan. The New Yorker. January 5th, 2026. “The Unorthodox Relationship Between Kathryn Bigelow and Mark Boal” by Kim Masters. The Hollywood Reporter December 19th, 2012. TWOAPW theme by Brendan Dalton: Patreon // brendan-dalton.com // brendandalton.bandcamp.com Interstitial: “Jeremy Renner Official Official: The Official App of the Jeremy Renner Official App” // Written and Performed by A.J. Ditty Episode edited by Brian Alford. Interstitial edited by A.J. Ditty. Produced by Josh Boerman, A.J. Ditty, and Brian Alford. This podcast was recorded under a SAG-AFTRA Agreement.
September 03, 20262h 20min
Number 3: 257 - Bangers of MASH 3: Uijeongbu Drift
THIS IS A PREVIEW. FOR THE FULL EPISODE, GO TO Patreon.com/worstofall The lads return to the 4077 for more adventures in poker games, party planning, and saying goodbye to everyone’s favorite Charlie Brown: Walter “Radar” O’Reilly. Media Referenced in this Episode: MASH s6e1: “Fade Out, Fade In” s6e14: “The Merchant of Korea” s7e8: “They Call the Wind Korea” s7e25 “The Party” S8e4&5 Good-Bye Radar Parts 1&2 “Goodbye Radar” by Ken Levine. October 29th, 2006. Making M*A*S*H. Dir. Patterson Denny. 1981. “‘M*A*S*H’ Stars Recall the Heart and Humor of David Ogden Stiers” by Marc Freeman. The Hollywood Reporter. March 5th, 2018. “RIP David Ogden Stiers” by Ken Levine. March 3rd, 2018. TWOAPW theme by Brendan Dalton: Patreon // brendan-dalton.com // brendandalton.bandcamp.com Interstitial: “A Third Brief Message from Alan Alda” // Written by A.J. Ditty // feat. Eleanor Philips as “Ellie” and A.J. Ditty as “Alan Alda”. Episode edited by Brian Alford. Interstitial edited by A.J. Ditty. Produced by Josh Boerman, A.J. Ditty, and Brian Alford. This podcast was recorded under a SAG-AFTRA Agreement.
September 09, 202632min
Number 4: 252 - Shrek (feat. Memoria)
Memoria (@memoriamatters) and the lads grab their tiny vests and make for Duloc as they cover the movie that launched a thousand memes: Shrek. Topics include William Steig’s original book, the politics of Disney in the 90s, and what it means to discover the truth buried deep in the heart of Shrek. Memoria: YouTube // Twitch gl;hf podcast: the world’s first podcast in video games Media Referenced in this Episode: Shrek. Dir. Andrew Adamson and Vicky Jenson. 2001. Shrek! by William Steig. Farrar, Straus, and Giroux. 1990. “The Agony and Shrekstasy: The Unlikely Legacy of America’s Favorite Ogre” by Jonathan Parks Ramage. Vice. April 22nd, 2016. “The Epic Disney Blow-Up of 1994: Eisner, Katzenberg and Ovitz 20 Years Later” by Kim Masters. The Hollywood Reporter. April 9th, 2014. Fairy Tales Transformed? Twenty-First Century Adaptations & the Politics of Wonder by Cristina Bacchilega. Wayne State University Press. 2013. Shrek Retold TWOAPW theme by Brendan Dalton: Patreon // brendan-dalton.com // brendandalton.bandcamp.com Interstitial: “The Exclusive Access Hollywood Interview of Shrek” // Written by Brian Alford and A.J. Ditty // feat. A.J. Ditty as “Billy Bush” and Brian Alford as “Shrek” Credits: Episode and Interstitial Edited by: Brian Alford Produced by Josh Boerman, A.J. Ditty, and Brian Alford. This podcast was recorded under a SAG-AFTRA Agreement.
August 05, 20261h 54min
Number 5: 198 - Rambo: First Blood (feat. Andrew Law)
Andrew Law (Boonta Vista) and the lads make for the Pacific Northwest and set up little traps in the woods as they cover Ted Kotcheff’s 1982 debut of Rambo: First Blood. Topics include the joys of practical stunts, the brilliance of Brian Dennehy, and the reactionary politics at the center of both the film and the Italian Stallion himself: Sylvester Stallone. Boonta Vista: The least consequential news from around the world from the least informed minds in Australia. Andrew, Theo, Lucy and Ben bring you the week’s stories that conveniently fit into one of their countless, concerningly specific segments. Keep up with the latest news from Nature Corner, Paging Dr. Lucy, Planely Speaking, Omens and Portents, The Hole Report and many, many more. Patreon // Website // Merch // Spotify // Apple Podcasts Media Referenced in the Episode: First Blood. Dir. Ted Kotcheff. 1982. First Blood by David Morrell. Rowman & Littlefield, 1972 My First Thriller: David Morrell by Rick Pullen. Crime Reads. August 12th, 2020. "'Rambo' in the Garden: The POW Film as Pastoral" by Paul Budra. Literature/Film Quarterly, vol 18, no. 3 TWOAPW theme by Brendan Dalton: Patreon // brendan-dalton.com // brendandalton.bandcamp.com Interstitial: “Rambo: Last Blood Part II” // Written by A.J. Ditty // Feat. A.J. Ditty as “Sly/Sico”
July 16, 20252h 13min