The Ringer-Verse

The Ringer

  • 1 hour 40 minutes
    ‘Sinners’ Recast and ‘Lanterns’ Trailer Reactions | The Midnight Boys

    The Boys are back, and they’re recasting ‘Sinners’! But before they dive into that, they’re giving you their thoughts on the new trailer for HBO Max’s ‘Lanterns.’


    (0:00) Intro

    (10:16) Nerd News: ‘Lanterns’ trailer

    (30:27) ‘Sinners’ recast


    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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    12 March 2026, 12:30 am
  • 1 hour 49 minutes
    Are 'Marathon' and 'Pokémon Pokopia' What Sony and Nintendo Needed? | Button Mash

    Gotta ’cast ’em all! First, Ben, Matt James, and Steve Ahlman form a fireteam to discuss Bungie’s long-awaited extraction shooter ‘Marathon.’ They forecast whether it’ll fare more like hit ‘ARC Raiders’ or flop ‘Highguard,’ examine the stakes for Sony’s big bets on Bungie and live-service games, and react to a possible revival of the PlayStation/Xbox console wars, followed by a “Rage Quit” rant about the backlash to promotional photos for video game adaptations such as ‘God of War.’ Then Ben brings on Charles Pulliam-Moore from The Verge to discuss the delights of Pokémon life-sim spinoff ‘Pokopia,’ its significance for Switch 2, and the Pokémon franchise’s 30th anniversary, evolution, and future, plus a second “Rage Quit” about the Trump administration coopting video games like ‘Pokopia’ to make memes.


    Email us at [email protected]!


    Intro (0:00)

    ‘Marathon’ first impressions (3:35)

    Live service games discussion (39:11)

    Are the PlayStation/Xbox console wars back? (43:56)

    Rage quit! (48:32 )

    First thoughts on 'Pokémon Pokopia’ (57:08)

    Switch 2 discussion (1:19:25)

    The future of Pokémon (1:22:16)

    Rage quit vs. Trump (1:35:12)

    Outro (1:46:23)


    Host: Ben Lindbergh

    Guests: Matt James, Steve Ahlman, and Charles Pulliam-Moore

    Producer: Devon Renaldo

    Additional Production Support: Arjuna Ramgopowell

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    7 March 2026, 1:18 am
  • 1 hour 20 minutes
    Armchair CEO: Paramount and Warner Bros. | The Midnight Boys

    The Boys are back, and this time they’re stepping into the role of CEO to discuss the projects they’d be green-lighting and IP moves they’d be making if they were at the helm of the Paramount–Warner Bros. megadeal.

    (00:05) Intro
    (12:45) Armchair CEO
    (1:16:48) Outro


    Hosts: Van Lathan, Charles Holmes, Jomi Adeniran, and Steve Ahlman
    Producers: Jamie and Devon Baroldi
    Additional Production Support: Arjuna Ramgopowell

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    5 March 2026, 5:03 am
  • 1 hour 15 minutes
    Ringer-Verse Recommends: February 2026 (Featuring ‘Frieren’ and a Massive Month for Anime)

    Short month, long episode! First, Ben Lindbergh and Charles Holmes extoll the virtues of one of their favorite fantasy stories, the anime series ‘Frieren: Beyond Journey's End,’ touching on its themes, influences, and characters, as well as why it makes a great gateway show for non-anime fans. They also discuss some other highlights of a peak period for anime (including ‘Journal With Witch’ and ‘Jujutsu Kaisen’), preview a few coming attractions, and take a detour with discussion of ‘The Mandalorian and Grogu.’ After that, other Ringer-Verse hosts, friends, and listeners salute unsung releases to top off another 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.


    Intro (00:00)

    ‘Frieren’ (03:04)

    ‘Journal With Witch’ (25:34)

    ‘Jujutsu Kaisen’ (37:15)

    Van's recommendation (50:15)

    Steve's recommendation (51:55)

    Miles's recommendation (54:37)

    Daniel's recommendation (56:21)

    Devon's recommendation (58:30)

    Arjuna's recommendation (59:32)

    Matt's recommendation (61:29)

    Listener nomination (69:03)

    Recap of picks (71:13)


    Host: Ben Lindbergh

    Guests: Van Lathan, Charles Holmes, Devon Renaldo, Daniel Chin, Miles Surry, Arjuna Ramgopowell, Matt James, Steve Ahlman

    Senior Producer: Steve Ahlman

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    28 February 2026, 11:00 am
  • 1 hour 19 minutes
    'Resident Evil Requiem' Reactions | Button Mash

    Ben, Matt James, and Joshua Rivera team up to take on one of the most anticipated video games of the year: 'Resident Evil Requiem,' the ninth mainline entry in the 30-year-old survival-horror franchise. First, they analyze the significance of Sony's shocking closure of Bluepoint Games, and an Xbox leadership shake-up. Then they compare their 'Resident Evil' histories, have an in-depth (but spoiler-free) discussion about how 'Requiem' weaves together different strands of the series, and offer their final verdicts on the game.


    Email us at [email protected]!


    Intro (0:00)

    Patch Notes (3:00)

    Bluepoint Closure (3:30)

    Xbox Leadership Changes (10:40)

    First Thoughts on ‘Resident Evil Requiem’ (29:11)

    Mash or Pass? (1:10:50)

    Outro (1:16:00)

    Host: Ben Lindbergh

    Guest: Matt James and Joshua Rivera

    Producer: Devon Renaldo

    Additional Production Support: Arjuna Ramgopowell

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    27 February 2026, 11:00 am
  • 1 hour 54 minutes
    The Black TV Draft | The Midnight Boys

    The Boys are back and drafting the best Black TV shows of all time! From 'A Different World' to 'In Living Color' to 'Scandal,' they build their teams across five categories: sitcom, pre-'90s classic, UPN, Shondaland, and wild card. Who will come out on top?

    (00:00) Intro
    (14:48) The Black TV Draft
    (1:50:00) Outro

    Hosts: Van Lathan, Charles Holmes, Jomi Adeniran, and Steve Ahlman
    Producers: Jamie Yukich, Aleya Zenieris and Devon Baroldi
    Additional Production Support: Arjuna Ramgopowell

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    26 February 2026, 9:35 am
  • 1 hour 6 minutes
    ‘A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms’ Season 1 Finale Instant Reactions | The Midnight Boys

    The Boys are back, and they’re ready to dive into the highly anticipated Season 1 finale of ‘A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms’!


    (0:00) Intro

    (8:09) Spoilers ahead

    (9:50) ‘A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms’ Season 1 finale reactions

    (41:14) Midnight Meter

    (1:00:39) 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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    23 February 2026, 3:00 pm
  • 1 hour 47 minutes
    'The Legend of Zelda' 40th Anniversary Draft | Button Mash

    Hey! Listen! Ben Lindbergh gets together with three fellow 'Legend of Zelda' lovers—Mothership co-founder Maddy Myers, The Guardian games editor Keza MacDonald, and New York Times reporter Zachary Small—to celebrate the franchise’s 40th birthday. First, Ben, Zachary, and Maddy ask Keza questions about Nintendo and ‘Zelda’ inspired by her new book about the history of Nintendo, ‘Super Nintendo.’ Then, they each share their origin stories as ‘Zelda’ players, and the ‘Zelda’ games they have personal soft spots for. After that, they draft their favorite Links, world maps, items, bosses, dungeons, songs, and companion characters from across the series.


    Email us at [email protected]!


    Guest intros (00:00)
    Questions for Keza (11:11)
    Draft rules (41:27)
    Beginning of draft (45:34)
    Draft recap (1:37:29)
    Goodbyes (1:41:43)


    Host: Ben Lindbergh
    Guests: Keza MacDonald, Maddy Myers, and Zachary Small
    Producer: Chris Sutton
    Additional Production Support: Arjuna Ramgopowell

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    20 February 2026, 5:00 pm
  • 41 minutes 38 seconds
    ‘House of the Dragon’ Season 3 and ‘The Mandalorian & Grogu’ Trailer Reactions | The Midnight Boys

    The Boys are back and they’re giving you a mid-week surprise pod on two trailers that the nerd-verse is buzzing about: ‘House of the Dragon’ Season 3, and ‘The Mandalorian & Grogu.' They sneak a bit of ‘Toy Story 5’ in there, too.


    (0:00) Intro

    (00:59) ‘The Mandalorian & Grogu’ Trailer

    (18:05) ‘House of the Dragon’ Season 3 Trailer

    (22:09) ‘Toy Story 5’ Trailer

    (28:07) 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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    20 February 2026, 2:30 am
  • 1 hour 17 minutes
    ‘A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms’ Episode 5 Instant Reactions | The Midnight Boys

    The Boys are back, and they’re ready to dive into the most recent episode of ‘A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms’! They discuss Dunk’s character evolution so far, draw comparisons to other ‘Game of Thrones’ shows, and contemplate who is worthy of wielding Mjolnir.


    (0:00) Intro

    (5:09) Spoilers ahead

    (7:30) ‘A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms’ Episode 5 reactions

    (1:05:59) Outro

    (1:12:36) Post-credits


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

    Producers: Aleya Zenieris and Jade Whaley

    Additional Production Support: Arjuna Ramgopowell

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    16 February 2026, 3:00 pm
  • 1 hour 29 minutes
    February Games Blowout, Plus State of Play Reactions | Button Mash

    Ben Lindbergh, Matt James, and Steve Ahlman speedrun the month's major gaming news and releases. In Patch Notes, they break down HBO's 'Baldur's Gate' adaptation, layoffs for developers of struggling free-to-play games 'Highguard' and '2XKO,' Sony's latest bid for live-service success with 'Horizon Hunters Gathering,' and the highlights of February's PS5 State of Play. Then, in the Minigames section, they share spoiler-free impressions of six recently released games: 'Nioh 3,' Dragon Quest VII Reimagined,' 'Romeo is a Dead Man,' 'Mewgenics,' 'Mario Tennis Fever,' and 'Reanimal,' featuring thoughts on the state of Switch 2 and the debut of a new segment, Only in Video Games.
    Email us at [email protected]!
    Intro (0:00)
    Patch Notes (2:00)
    'Baldur’s Gate' Adaptation (2:22)
    Layoffs (14:25)
    'Horizon Hunters Gathering' (26:32)
    State of Play (34:10)
    Minigames (44:41)
    'Nioh 3' (45:38)
    'Dragon Quest 7' (49:34)
    'Romeo Is a Dead Man' (53:31)
    'Mewgenics' (59:31)
    'Mario Tennis Fever' (1:05:21)
    'Reanimal' (1:18:44)
    Outro (1:26:16)
    Host: Ben Lindbergh
    Guests: Matt James and Steve Ahlman
    Producer: Devon Renaldo
    Additional Production Support: Arjuna Ramgopowell

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    13 February 2026, 11:00 am
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