Podcast
The Ringer-Verse
Hosted by The Ringer · EN
The Ringer-Verse is your go-to nexus podcast feed for all things nerd culture and fandom, featuring:
'The Midnight Boys': Van Lathan, Charles Holmes, Jomi Adeniran, and Steve Ahlman react to the latest in fandom and share their instant reactions to the newest nerd culture releases, all while bringing the banter every week.
'Button Mash': Ben Lindbergh and company discuss the latest in the world of video games, from headline-making new releases, to industry trends, to game swaps and nostalgic re-plays.
Follow the House of R feed for deep dives from Mal and Jo!
104episodes
Episodes
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Ringer-Verse Recommends: December 2025 (Featuring ‘Pluribus’)
Dec 31Tap to summarizeWith various hosts scattered or taking time off for the holidays, Ben Lindbergh and Van Lathan toss out the typical Recommends format for this month and devote the whole episode to one show that hasn't been covered on The Ringer-Verse or ‘House of R’: ‘Pluribus.’ Ben and Van explore what made Vince Gilligan's Apple TV series a challenging yet fulfilling watch, discuss what sets the series apart from other sci-fi fare, and look ahead to a (distant) second season. Happy New Year! Host: Ben LindberghGuest: Van LathanSenior Producer: Steve Ahlman Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Transcribe →Ringer-Verse Recommends: August 2025 (Featuring 'Foundation')
Aug 31Tap to summarizeAfter a brief break, 'Recommends' returns with a revamped format, featuring a conversation between Ben and a guest about one of the month's recommendations! This time, Ben brings on Rany Jazayerli for a spoiler-free focus on sci-fi streaming series 'Foundation,' with an emphasis on the series' strengths, adaptation decisions, latest season, and future. After that, other Ringer-Verse hosts, friends, and listeners salute unsung nerd culture content to complete this 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. (04:35) Foundation Talk (38:21) Weapons (41:35) The Rogue Prince of Persia (42:32) Ruri Rocks (43:12) Dan Da Dan Season 2 (44:08) Herdling (46:11) Listener Recommends with Ben Host: Ben Lindbergh Guests: Rany Jazayerli, Jomi Adeniran, Steve Ahlman, Charles Holmes, and Daniel Chin Senior Producer: Steve Ahlman Social: Jomi Adeniran Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
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‘Alien: Earth’ First Reactions and an Alien Draft | The Midnight Boys
Aug 13, 202501:49:36Tap to summarizeThe Boys are back to give you all of their thoughts on FX’s new show: ‘Alien: Earth.’ They then dive into an alien draft, picking their favorite depictions of aliens in media from five categories: human-presenting alien, good alien, bad alien, animated alien, and wild card. (0:00) Intro (10:43) Spoilers ahead (13:10) Reactions to ‘Alien: Earth’ (1:01:42) Alien draft (1:36:20) Alien wars Hosts: Van Lathan, Charles Holmes, Jomi Adeniran, and Steve Ahlman Producers: Aleya Zenieris and Jade Whaley Additional Production Support: Arjuna Ramgopowell Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
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The 25 Greatest Games of the Quarter Century | Button Mash
Aug 8, 202501:47:07Tap to summarizeBen Lindbergh, Steve Ahlman, Matt James, Rob Mahoney, and Daniel Chin press F to pay respects to the finest video games of the 2000s (so far), making five picks per person in a knock-down, drag-out draft of 25 stone-cold classics. Intro (0:00)25 Greatest Games of the Quarter Century Draft (11:00)Outro (1:43:23) Host: Ben LindberghGuests: Steve Ahlman, Matt James, Rob Mahoney, and Daniel ChinProducer: Devon RenaldoAdditional Production Support: Arjuna Ramgopowell Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
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Spider-Man 4, 'X-Men', and Did ‘Fantastic Four’ Flop? | The Midnight Boys
Aug 7, 202502:21:27Tap to summarizeThe Midnight Boys are back with a big ol' pod for you after all the Comic-Con madness. They talk about the latest happenings from the set of 'Spider-Man: Brand New Day' and how the excitement is more than palpable for the latest web-slinging adventure. Then, they talk about the box office drop-off from 'Fantastic Four' and whether the casual Marvel viewer is no longer interested. Later, they dive into James Gunn dancing on the grave of Marvel's box office, as well as how Marvel can hope to get the X-Men right. (0:00) Intro (8:54) Nerd News: Spider-Man 4 (33:54) Nerd News: ‘Fantastic Four’ (1:12:17) Nerd News: James Gunn (2:03:33) Outro Hosts: Van Lathan, Charles Holmes, Jomi Adeniran, and Steve Ahlman Producers: Aleya Zenieris and Jade Whaley Additional Production Support: Arjuna Ramgopowell Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
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'Eyes of Wakanda,' Plus Marvel Animation: Look Back and Look Ahead | Mint Edition
Aug 1, 202500:57:15Tap to summarizeFresh from San Diego Comic-Con, Steve and Jomi return to break down everything you missed at the convention. They dive into Marvel's latest animated series, 'Eyes of Wakanda,' exploring its storytelling, themes, and what it means for the future of Marvel animation. Plus, they preview what's coming next in the animated universe and tease a special Ringer event you won’t want to miss. Don't miss the Midnight Boys presenting 'Blade' at the Los Feliz 3 on August 25!Get your tickets here: The Midnight Boys Present Blade – 8.25.25 Intro (0:00) ‘Eyes of Wakanda’ Reactions (4:43) Marvel Animation Preview (38:52) Outro (53:10) Hosts: Jomi Adeniran and Steve AhlmanProducer: Devon RenaldoAdditional Production Support: Arjuna Ramgopowell Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
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The Best of San Diego Comic-Con 2025 | The Midnight Boys
Jul 29, 202500:38:04Tap to summarizeThe Midnight Boys are back and recording from San Diego to give you all of the news and reactions from the floor of San Diego Comic-Con. They discuss all of the major panels from Hall H, including 'Project Hail Mary', 'Alien: Earth,' 'Tron: Ares,' and so much more. They also talk about the Ringer-Verse panel and getting to meet all of you at the meet and greet. (1:32) Project Hail Mary (4:12) Alien: Earth (7:10) Tron: Ares (8:41) Predator: Badlands (11:55) Peacemaker (20:03) Charles’ Weeb Weekend Corner (24:20) Coyote vs. Acme (27:00) Star Trek (27:53) Gen V (29:07) The Ringer-Verse Panel Hosts: Van Lathan, Charles Holmes, Jomi Adeniran, and Steve Ahlman Producers: Aleya Zenieris and Jade Whaley Additional Production Support: Arjuna Ramgopowell San Diego Comic Convention (SDCC) owns the SDCC trademarks used in this episode and are used under license. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
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Marvel, DC, or 'Star Wars': Who’s Winning IP in 2025? LIVE at SDCC 2025 | The Ringer-Verse
Jul 26, 202500:52:39Tap to summarizeThe Ringer-Verse takes stock of IP in 2025 live at San Diego Comic-Con. In a busy year, what's been the best and worst in IP so far? San Diego Comic Convention (SDCC) owns the SDCC trademarks used in this episode and are used under license. Hosts: Joanna Robinson, Mallory Rubin, Van Lathan, Charles Holmes, Jomi Adeniran, and Steve Ahlman Producers: Eduardo Ocampo and Aleya Zenieris Additional Production Support: Arjuna Ramgopowell Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
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‘The Fantastic Four: First Steps’ Instant Reactions | The Midnight Boys
Jul 25, 202501:57:28Tap to summarizeThe Boys are back to give you all of their thoughts on one of the most highly anticipated films of the year: ‘The Fantastic Four: First Steps.’ They talk about the newest portrayal of the beloved Fantastic Four characters, give you a bit of comic book context, and dive into questions they had after seeing the film. (0:00) Intro (11:27) Spoilers ahead (13:45) Instant reactions to ‘The Fantastic Four: First Steps’ (48:00) Jomi the Explainer Corner (58:05) The villains (1:13:08) Questions about the movie (1:27:02) Doctor Doom and the post-credits (1:35:55) Box office (1:41:11) Midnight Meter (1:43:00) Inaugural movie rankings for the MCU (1:47:30) 'Superman' vs. 'Fantastic Four' (1:49:39) Outro (1:51:27) Post-credits Hosts: Van Lathan, Charles Holmes, Jomi Adeniran, and Steve Ahlman Producers: Aleya Zenieris and Jade Whaley Additional Production Support: Arjuna Ramgopowell Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
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Who Needs a New 3D ‘Mario’ When We Have ‘Donkey Kong Bananza’? | Button Mash
Jul 23, 202501:34:43Tap to summarizeBen Lindbergh and Jessica Clemons begin with a roundup of game adaptation news, covering the ‘Mortal Kombat II’ trailer, Netflix’s live-action ‘Assassin’s Creed’ series, the ‘Legend of Zelda’ casting announcements, and an apparent animated ‘Donkey Kong’ movie. Then they dive deep (both in game and on mic) into new Nintendo masterpiece ‘Donkey Kong Bananza,’ touching on the history of the Donkey Kong character, the lineage of Nintendo 3D platformers, what makes the latest game great, why the Switch 2 sorely needed it, and what’s next for Nintendo and its new, hot-selling system. Intro (0:00)Game adaptation news: 'MKII,' 'Zelda,' 'Assassin’s Creed' (3:30)'Donkey Kong Bananza' reviews (28:34)Outro (1:31:15) Host: Ben LindberghGuest: Jess ClemonsProducer: Devon RenaldoAdditional Production Support: Arjuna Ramgopowell Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
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