The Ringer-Verse

On this month’s Recommends, Ben brings back fellow Stephen King and Mike Flanagan enthusiast Zach Dionne to talk about how Flanagan’s new ‘Carrie’ TV series takes a fresh approach to King’s iconic tale. Then they discuss King’s new novel ‘Other Worlds Than These’ and how it functions as a coda to the ‘Talisman’ trilogy and the ‘Dark Tower’ saga. They also get into King sequels they’d like to see, the future of Flanagan’s King adaptations, and three King-ian TV shows that came out (or arrived on Netflix) just in time for Halloween: ‘From’, ‘Below’, and ‘Crystal Lake.’ After that, Ben summons Jomi Adeniran and Daniel Chin to break down the story, characters, and questionable parenting decisions of the animated TV series ‘Avatar: Seven Havens’, the latest release in a busy 2026 for the ‘Avatar: The Last Airbender’ franchise. (00:00) Intro (02:58) 'Carrie' talk with Zach (18:55) 'Carrie' spoilers! (69:41) 'Avatar' talk with Daniel and Jomi (91:59) 'Avatar: Seven Heavens' spoilers (01:51:29) Outro Host: Ben Lindbergh Guests: Zach Dionne, Daniel Chin, and Jomi Adeniran Senior Producer: Steve Ahlman Additional Production: Arjuna Ramgopowell Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The Boys are back, and boy do they have content for you! First, they’re tackling DC’s newest film, ‘Clayface.' Then they discuss Nathan Fielder’s buzzing new film, ‘You Can See Everything,’ and they leave you with their thoughts on the last ‘Dune: Part Three’ trailer before the film is released in December! (0:00) Intro (4:41) ‘Clayface’ instant reactions (1:04:27) Midnight Meter: ‘Clayface’ (1:11:52) ‘You Can See Everything’ instant reactions (2:01:05) Midnight Meter: ‘You Can See Everything’ (2:02:42) ‘Dune: Part Three’ trailer instant reactions (2:09:32) Outro Hosts: Van Lathan, Charles Holmes, Jomi Adeniran, and Steve Ahlman Producers: Aleya Zenieris, Devon Baroldi, and Jamie Yukich Additional Production Support: Arjuna Ramgopowell Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The Boys are back and they’re diving back into ‘VisionQuest’! They discuss the development of Paladin throughout the series so far, debate whether the MCU has reached pinnacle blip fatigue, and talk family reunion drama. (0:00) Intro (5:24) Spoilers ahead (7:44) ‘VisionQuest’ Episodes 3-4 instant reactions (59:33) Outro Hosts: Van Lathan, Charles Holmes, Jomi Adeniran, and Steve Ahlman Producers: Aleya Zenieris, Devon Baroldi, and Jamie Yukich Additional Production Support: Arjuna Ramgopowell Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Ben and Matt James break down the good, bad, and ugly of gaming’s recent reckoning with AI-driven development, decompilation, and cloning, and assess whether it will fundamentally reshape the medium’s economic and creative model. Then they provide their impressions of the newly released ‘Final Fantasy Resonance’ and ‘Nintendo Switch Sports Resort’ and react in real time to the dissolution of storied studio Bioware. Finally, Ben sets the scene for 'GTA VI' by bringing on The Atlantic’s Jeremy Gordon to reminisce about the October 2001 release of ‘Grand Theft Auto III’ and discuss how it altered the trajectory of open-world gaming and created the ‘GTA’ juggernaut. (0:00) Intro(1:40) AI talk(34:45) 'Final Fantasy Resonance'(46:32) 'Nintendo Switch Sports Resort'(54:08) Follow-ups to last week's pod(57:41) Bioware news(1:01:49) Jeremy Gordon joins the show Host: Ben LindberghGuests: Matt James and Jeremy GordonProducer: Isaiah Blakely Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The Boys are back and they’re jumping into the next two episodes of ‘VisionQuest’. They discuss the Vision we knew from ‘Avengers’ versus the Vision we see in this show, rate the kid-pluck level so far, and have a lively debate about the MCU character ethics. (0:00) Intro (7:19) Spoilers ahead (9:56) ‘VisionQuest’ Episodes 3-4 instant reactions (1:19:25) Outro Hosts: Van Lathan, Charles Holmes, Jomi Adeniran, and Steve Ahlman Producers: Aleya Zenieris, Devon Baroldi, and Jamie Yukich Additional Production Support: Arjuna Ramgopowell Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices