The Ringer-Verse

The Ringer

  • 1 hour 31 minutes
    ‘Avatar: Fire and Ash’ Reactions | The Midnight Boys

    The Boys are back to give you all of their thoughts on the newest installment of James Cameron’s ‘Avatar’ universe: ‘Avatar: Fire and Ash.’


    (0:00) Intro

    (22:15) Spoilers Ahead

    (23:54) ‘Avatar: Fire and Ash’ Reactions

    (1:25:06) Midnight Meter

    (1:27:32) Outro


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

    Producers: Chris Thomas, Devon Baroldi, Aleya Zenieris, and Sarah Reddy

    Additional Production Support: Arjuna Ramgopowell

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    19 December 2025, 4:00 am
  • 1 hour 26 minutes
    ‘Fallout’ Season 2 Premiere Reactions (Plus Justin Theroux!) | Button Mash

    Ben Lindbergh and Van Lathan return to the Wasteland for the first weekly Button Mash breakdown of ‘Fallout’ Season 2. First, they recap the premiere and discuss how it sets up the season. Then, Ben talks to Justin Theroux about joining the show in the role of Robert House. Finally, Ben brings on Polygon senior editor Chris Hayner for a primer on the game that inspired much of this season, ‘Fallout: New Vegas.’

    Intro (0:00)
    'Fallout' Season 2 premiere recap (11:56)
    Interview with Justin Theroux (52:13)
    Inside 'Fallout: New Vegas'—the game behind the season (1:00:33)

    Host: Ben Lindbergh
    Guests: Van Lathan, Justin Theroux, and Chris Hayner
    Producer: Devon Renaldo
    Additional Production Support: Arjuna Ramgopowell

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    17 December 2025, 3:36 am
  • 1 hour 5 minutes
    Our Top 10 Highlights From the Game Awards | Button Mash

    Ben Lindbergh and Matt James share their instant reactions to gaming's annual awards show/trailer fest! First they discuss the dominance of ‘Clair Obscur: Expedition 33,’ Matt’s experience attending the show in person, and the award winners that made them happiest and saltiest. Then they count down their respective top 10 lists of exciting announcements about upcoming games.

    Intro (0:00)
    Reactions to the Game Awards (2:20)
    Top 10 highlights (18:36)
    Outro (1:01:26)

    Host: Ben Lindbergh
    Guest: Matt James
    Producer: Devon Renaldo
    Additional Production Support: Arjuna Ramgopowell

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    12 December 2025, 7:33 am
  • 1 hour 42 minutes
    Christmas Movies Draft | The Midnight Boys

    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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    10 December 2025, 11:00 am
  • 2 hours 18 seconds
    ‘Metroid Prime 4,’ ‘Marvel Cosmic Invasion,’ and ‘Five Nights at Freddy's 2’ Reactions | Button Mash

    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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    6 December 2025, 1:34 am
  • 1 hour 43 minutes
    Wakandans at Thanksgiving? It’s Time for a Midnight Mailbag! | The Midnight Boys

    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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    3 December 2025, 11:00 am
  • 56 minutes 9 seconds
    'Zootopia 2' and Disney Sequels | Mint Edition

    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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    28 November 2025, 11:00 am
  • 1 hour 30 minutes
    White Girl Movies Draft | The Midnight Boys

    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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    26 November 2025, 11:00 am
  • 1 hour 8 minutes
    Ringer-Verse Recommends: November 2025 (Featuring 'It: Welcome to Derry')

    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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    25 November 2025, 11:00 am
  • 1 hour 21 minutes
    Speedrunning the Surprise Steam Sensations of 2025 | Button Mash

    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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    24 November 2025, 11:00 am
  • 1 hour 25 minutes
    'Wicked: For Good' Reactions | The Midnight Boys

    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

    Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

    21 November 2025, 11:00 pm
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