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 289 episodes available.

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Number 1: 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 2: 254 - UNLOCKED: Shrimp Jesus and the Death of Facebook
(originally Episode 146, aired Sept 2, 2024) HEART OF DUCKNESS TICKETS The lads made this episode with their own hands! 😊 Why do episodes like this never get likes? 😢💔 AmenAmenAmen. 🙏🇺🇸 It is our birthday and nobody wished us one. So excited to begin our cake journey. 🎂 Did you notice when it left you? Why don’t you see these anymore? Gone too soon! ✝️ The joy, the bursts of pleasure, the camaraderie? She did good work, we’re so proud of her! 🤩 This is a place of ghosts. King Charles visited Sudan to feed the hungry children! 🫅🇸🇩 And soon you will join us in the mist. Wow, made it to 100, who else can relate? 💯 Amen. OTHER ZUCK EPISODES The Social Network Meta Horizon Worlds and the Death of the Metaverse INTERVIEWS Jason Koebler on the origins of Shrimp Jesus Mike Isaac on Mark Zuckerberg and the Future of Meta Media Referenced in this Episode: Facebook blog posts September 5, 2006 - Facebook deprecates the original Wall in favor of the News Feed. A post made to someone else’s profile can now show up on the home page of anyone who is friends with that person September 5, 2006 - Mark Zuckerberg makes a highly defensive and condescending post responding to negative feedback about the shift to the news feed September 8, 2006 - Zucc makes a considerably more measured follow-up post introducing new privacy settings but doubling down on his commitment to “free flow of information on the internet” November 6, 2007 - Facebook introduces its new social ad platform in tandem with Pages, implementing the final piece of its core user monetization strategy February 12, 2009 - Facebook introduces the Like button February 24, 2016 - Facebook rolls out Reactions (love, haha, wow, sad, angery) globally News articles: “Ted Cruz using firm that harvested data on millions of unwitting Facebook users” by Harry Davies. The Guardian. December 11th, 2015. “A timeline of Facebook's privacy issues — and its responses” by Alyssa Newcomb. NBC News. March 24, 2018 “Five Points for Anger, One for a ‘Like’: How Facebook’s Formula Fostered Rage and Misinformation” by Jeremy B. Merrill and Will Oremus. Washington Post. October 26th, 2021 How Spammers, Scammers and Creators Leverage AI-Generated Images on Facebook for Audience Growth by Renee DiResta and Josh A. Goldstein. Pre-print paper, Stanford University. Facebook’s Algorithm Is Boosting AI Spam That Links to AI-Generated, Ad-Laden Click Farms by Jason Koebler. 404 Media, March 19, 2024 Facebook’s AI Spam Isn’t the ‘Dead Internet’: It’s the Zombie Internet by Jason Koebler. 404 Media, May 2, 2024 Misc. ”AI is Ruining the Internet” by Drew Gooden. Commercial: “Scrolling Through Your Old Facebook Feed at 4AM” Round Here Piano Cover by John Baumgardner
August 19, 20262h 27min
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: 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
Number 5: 196 - 2 Bangers 2 M*A*S*H
The lads hop on their choppers and make for the 4077th as they return to Korea for another installment in their ongoing coverage of the most critically acclaimed sitcoms of all time: MASH. Topics include the evolution of Margaret O’Houlihan, the zaniness of Frank Burns, and how losing some of your best cast members can transform your show into the best version of itself. GOATMAN: Tickets // Gofundme 2002: Tickets Media Referenced in this Episode: MASH Season Four, Episode One: “Welcome to Korea” Season Four, Episode Two: “Change in Command” Season Five, Episode Two: “Margaret’s Engagement” Season Five, Episode Seven: “Dear Sigmund” Season Five, Episode Twenty-Four: “Margaret’s Marriage” Have You Seen This? Episode 135 “It!” feat. Josh Boerman and Brian Alford TWOAPW theme by Brendan Dalton: Patreon // brendan-dalton.com // brendandalton.bandcamp.com Interstitial: “Another Brief Message from Alan Alda” // Written by A.J. Ditty // Feat. Eleanor Philips as “Ellie Philips” and A.J. Ditty as “Alan Alda”
July 02, 20252h 16min