The Worst of All Possible Worlds

My name is Alan Wake. I’m a writer. Three podcasters and their friend, Jack Horton Gilbert, played through my story and talked about it for three hours. What followed was wild and dark and weird, even by my standards. Stephen King once said, “My wife and kids won’t touch a pizza with anchovies on it. But I like anchovies.“* I think about that all the time. Jack’s Monologue: https://www.instagram.com/tv/CbtRwqPlZKp/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link TWOAPW Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/WorstOfAll Theme by Brendan Dalton www.brendan-dalton.com https://brendandalton.bandcamp.com *Greene, Andy. “Stephen King: The Rolling Stone Interview” https://www.rollingstone.com/culture/culture-features/stephen-king-the-rolling-stone-interview-191529/

THIS IS A PREVIEW. FOR THE FULL EPISODE, GO TO Patreon.com/worstofall Dara Swisher (Sovereign Candle Collective) and the lads grab their masks and book a stay at the McKittrick Hotel as they dive into the deep secrets and complicated legacy of the industry-defining immersive theater piece: Punchdrunk’s Sleep No More. Topics include the history of immersive theater, the seductive appeal of tracksuits, and the eternal battle between the production of theater and the monolith of real estate. 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! Dara Swisher: Twitter // Instagram Media Referenced in this Episode: Sleep No More. Punchdrunk. Dir. Felix Barrett and Maxine Doyle. 2011. The Tragedie of Macbeth by William Shakespeare Rebecca. Dir. Alfred Hitchcock. United Artists, 1940. On the History of Immersive Theater: Dionysis in ‘69: Full Film by Brian de Palma. 1970. “Drag, Disco, and the Donkey” by James Montaño. Howlround Theatre Commons. October 23rd, 2019. “El Teatro Campesino: Our History” Hell House. Dir. Alex Timbers. 2006. F I N D H I M “In 1901, you could pay 50 cents to ride an airship to the Moon” by Ron Miller. Gizmodo, May 31st, 2012. “So Long Ago, I Can’t Remember” Review by Neil Genzlinger. NYTimes, April 20th, 2001. Sleep No More Resources/Articles: Sleep No More Synopsis Sleep No More Story Chart Felix Barrett on Sleep No More by BUILD Series. “Meet Emursive, The Company Behind 'Sleep No More,' The Off-Broadway Production That's Been Sold Out For Three Years” by Hollie Slade. Forbes. March 19th, 2014. “Performers and Staffers at ‘Sleep No More’ Say Audience Members Have Sexually Assaulted Them” by Amber Jamieson. Buzzfeed News. Feb 6th, 2018. “Sleep No More: From Avant Garde Theatre To Commercial Blockbuster” by Alexis Soloski. The Guardian. March 31st, 2015. “Sleep No More to Close in January” by Alexis Soloski. NYTimes. November 8th, 2023. “‘Sleep No More’ Venue Gets $27M Refi From Signature” by Matt Grossman. Commercial Observer. May 8th, 2018. TWOAPW theme by Brendan Dalton: Patreon // brendan-dalton.com // brendandalton.bandcamp.com Commercial: “An Evening at The McKittrick Hotel with Detective Rupert Cadell”

Alice Caldwell-Kelly (Trashfuture, Kill James Bond!, WTYP) books the lads a helicopter ride straight to the heart of Hope County as they bring about the Collapse of Ubisoft Montreal/Ubisoft Toronto’s Far Cry 5. Topics include the game’s divisive ending, the art of AAA game writing, and the rotten politics seeping out of one of the most morally compromised games ever made. 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: Apple Podcasts / Spotify / Youtube Media Referenced in this Episode: Far Cry 5 by Ubisoft Monstreal and Ubisoft Toronto “Far Cry 5 Is a Game About Resisting An American Militia, Will Be Out in February” by Stephen Totilo. Kotaku, May 26th 2017. “Far Cry 5 First Look: A Montana Uprising” by Ryan McCaffrey. IGN. May 16th, 2017. “Far Cry 5 Director on Social commentary, cults, and bull testicles” by Thomas McMullan. Alphr. March 19th, 2018. “Far Cry 5: The Kotaku Review” by Ethan Gach. Kotaku, March 26th, 2018. “Far Cry 5 review” by Ben Kuchera. Polygon. March 28th, 2018. TWOAPW theme by Brendan Dalton: Patreon // brendan-dalton.com // brendandalton.bandcamp.com Commercial: “The Project at Eden’s Gate feat. Melvin Abercrombie of the Hope County Abercrombies”

THIS IS A PREVIEW. FOR THE FULL EPISODE, GO TO Patreon.com/worstofall The lads hop on Funky Kong’s biplane bound straight for Kongo Bongo as they banana slamma their way through the nightmarish musical that is Donkey Kong Country: The Animated Series. Topics include the origins of televised 3D animation, the staying power of the hit-or-miss songs, and the innate memeability of Eddie the Mean Old Yeti. 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: Donkey Kong Country: The Animated Series #1: Bad Hair Day #4: Barrel, Barrel, Who’s Got the Barrel? #6: Raiders of the Lost Banana #38: It’s A Wonderful Life Computer Animation: A Whole New World by Rita Street. Rockport Publishers, 1998. Culte : La planète de Donkey Kong (1996-2001) “DKC: Return to Krocodile Isle”. Alex Henderson Animation. 2023. “Inside Nintendo’s weird attempts at making movies and TV shows” by Matt Paprocki. Polygon. June 5th, 2020. A Note About the Development Process of Donkey Kong the Animated Series by one of its writers TWOAPW theme by Brendan Dalton: Patreon // brendan-dalton.com // brendandalton.bandcamp.com Commercial: “A Message from the Kongo Bongo Tourism Board” feat. David Armstrong as “Bluster Kong”.

The lads kick the new year off with fire-breathing prophets and lengthy discussions about world currencies as they cover the second movie in the Kirk Cameron faith-based trilogy: Left Behind II: Tribulation Force. Topics include the facts and logic of Rapture-based apocrypha, the void romantic chemistry that is Kirk Cameron, and what it means to live your life thinking that God will one day yeet you into the sky. 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: Left Behind II: Tribulation Force. Dir. Bill Corcoran. Cloud Ten Productions, 2002. ‎Fruitless: PREVIEW: How America Got Obsessed With Israel (feat. Keanu Heydari) Ray Comfort on the Banana TWOAPW theme by Brendan Dalton: Patreon // brendan-dalton.com // brendandalton.bandcamp.com Commercial: “Kirkr: The Kirk Cameron Dating App”

THIS IS A PREVIEW. FOR THE FULL EPISODE, GO TO Patreon.com/worstofall In what has now become an annual tradition, we took a couple dozen calls from our Patreon subscribers, reheated some bits from the past year in the microwave, and stitched it all together for your enjoyment. Thanks for being part of our 2023. 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! This episode features clips from: 68 - Left Behind The Movie 2000 70 - Company feat. Patrick Flynn 72 - John Whittaker: Tomb Raider feat. Trevor Strunk 73 - Slings & Arrows Season 1 77 - Who’s Afraid of Mr. Beast? 79 - Sunday in the Park with George 81 - Ease On Down Gilead Lane 84 - Everything’s Coming Up Meltsner! feat. Josiah Sutton 85 - The Worst of All Possible Worlds Presents: Brian is Back! The 85th Episode Live Spectacular feat. Michael Kupperman 88 - Shark Tank 94 - God’s Not Dead feat. Greg Foster 97 - Whit Fucking Dies (For Real This Time) feat. The Socialist Shelf 99 - Sorry/Not Sorry: Apology Videos and the Toxic Gossip Train 100 - Deus Ex 102 - We Didn’t Start the Fireproof feat. Radio Free Tote Bag GRUBESCAST 105 - Assassins 108 - DC Talk’s Jesus Freak feat. Tarence Ray 111 - Marble Hornets feat. Anne Huston 113 - NEOM: The Line feat. Riley Quinn 114 - The Grapes of Rathbone feat. Max Graves 116 - Tora! Tora! Tora! 117 - A Christmas Story TWOAPW theme by Brendan Dalton: Patreon // brendan-dalton.com // brendandalton.bandcamp.com  

The lads celebrate the peak of the Arguing Season by returning once again to Odyssey for more adventures in being called to the ministry, making a radio drama, and visiting Bethlehem just so you can be harassed by Roman douchebags. Topics include the vanishing of the Barclays, the brilliance of Will Ryan, and what it means to celebrate the Nativity while Gaza turns to rubble. 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: Adventures in Odyssey #289 - “A Call for Reverend Jimmy” #294 - “Unto Us a Child is Born” #135 - “Back to Bethlehem Part 1” #136 - “Back to Bethlehem Part 2" #237 - “Back to Bethlehem Part 3” TWOAPW theme by Brendan Dalton: Patreon // brendan-dalton.com // brendandalton.bandcamp.com Commercial: “Lorne Lagorium’s Pipe Organ Emporium Christmas Sale!” feat. Brendan Dalton as “318”

THIS IS A PREVIEW. FOR THE FULL EPISODE, GO TO Patreon.com/worstofall The lads finally get their Red Ryder Carbine Action 200-shot Range Model Air Rifles and promptly shoot their eyes out as they cover Bob Clark’s 1983 holiday classic: A Christmas Story. Topics include the japes of Jean Shepherd, the horrors of Scut Farkus, and the true meaning of Christmas. 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: A Christmas Story. Dir. Bob Clark. Available on Max. Ingraham, Christopher. “Why Our Christmas Music is Still Stuck in the ‘50s”. The Washington Post. December 23rd, 2014. Kashner, Sam. “How A Christmas Story Went from Low-Budget Fluke to an American Tradition” Variety, November 30th, 2016. TWOAPW theme by Brendan Dalton: Patreon // brendan-dalton.com // brendandalton.bandcamp.com Commercial: “Franco Fragile’s Fuck Lamp Funhouse”

The lads make their annual pilgrimage to Pearl Harbor and watch a lot of people read documents as they plunge into the intense historical accuracy and coma-inducing pace of 1970s docudrama: Tora! Tora! Tora! Topics include the unique Japanese/American co-production, the difficulties in making a narrative about Pearl Harbor, and what it means to have the dubious honor of being the best piece of media ever made about the day that will live in infamy. 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: Tora! Tora! Tora! Dir. Richard Fleischer, Toshio Masuda, Kinji Fukasaku. 20th Century Fox. 1970. Available on Amazon // AppleTV TWOAPW theme by Brendan Dalton: Patreon // brendan-dalton.com // brendandalton.bandcamp.com Commercial: “A Settling Sound”

THIS IS A PREVIEW. FOR THE FULL EPISODE, GO TO Patreon.com/worstofall The lads strap on their netrunner suits and sharpen their katanas as they venture beyond the Blackwall to tackle one of the most infamous triple-AAA releases of all time: CD Projekt Red’s Cyberpunk 2077. Topics include the decade-long development cycle, the breathtaking Keanu Reeves, and what it means to find authenticity in a world that’s constantly trying to make you flatline. 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: Cyberpunk 2077 by CD Projekt Red Available on Steam // PS5 // XBOX “GOG: Preserving Gaming’s Past & Future” by NoClip “The Story of CD Projekt” by NoClip TWOAPW theme by Brendan Dalton: Patreon // brendan-dalton.com // brendandalton.bandcamp.com Commercial: “A Message from the Night City Tourism Board” ft. Donovan Eyre as “Norman Normalhand”