The Ringer-Verse

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Ringer-Verse Recommends: May 2025 May 31, 2025

Show notes

It's been a busy month in nerd culture—so stacked, in fact, that some quality releases could have slipped through the cracks were it not for Ringer-Verse Recommends! Join your favorite Ringer-Verse and House of R hosts and friends as they gush about geek content in the latest installment of the monthly mini-pod about 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. (And yes, Ben's amateur trailers return.)

Host: Ben Lindbergh

Guests: Jomi Adeniran, Matt James, Steve Ahlman, Miles Surrey, Arjuna Ramgopal, Charles Holmes, Joanna Robinson, Van Lathan, and Jonathan Kermah

Senior Producer: Steve Ahlman

Social: Jomi Adeniran

Additional Production: Arjuna Ramgopal

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The 'Last of Us' Season 2 Finale: The Gamer Guide | Button Mash May 29, 2025

Show notes

Ringer-Verse listeners let Ben and Daniel live, and they don't waste it! First, they give their reviews of Season 2, Episode 7, "Convergence," and then they break down the episode's departures from and additions to the game before assessing the season as a whole. Then they forecast when to expect Season 3 and what it could look like, and they conclude by answering audience emails.

Intro (0:00)
Reactions to Episode 7 (3:50)
Season 3 Predictions (1:10:00)
Audience Emails (1:28:13)
Outro (1:40:50)

Hosts: Ben Lindbergh and Daniel Chin
Producer: Devon Renaldo
Additional Production Support: Arjuna Ramgopal

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'Mission: Impossible—The Final Reckoning' Reactions | The Midnight Boys May 28, 2025

Show notes

'Mission: Impossible—The Final Reckoning' Reactions | The Midnight Boys

The Boys are back and they’re diving into their thoughts on the final (?) installment of the franchise: ‘Mission: Impossible—The Final Reckoning.’

(0:00) Intro

(10:00) Spoilers Ahead

(11:56) Instant Reactions to 'Mission: Impossible—The Final Reckoning'

(35:13) Criticisms of 'Mission: Impossible'

(1:05:51) Midnight Meter

(1:08:36) 'Mission: Impossible' Rankings

(1:17:39) Outro

(1:18:52) Post Credits

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

Producers: Aleya Zenieris and Steve Ahlman

Additional Production Support: Arjuna Ramgopal

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'The Last of Us' Season 2 Finale Reactions, Plus 'Doomsday' Delay News May 26, 2025

Show notes

The Midnight Boys are back to give all of their hot takes on and instant reactions to the season finale of 'The Last of Us.' They take a look at where Ellie's revenge tour leads and discuss what they can look forward to in Season 3. Later, they also react to the news of a delay to 'Avengers: Doomsday' that could clash with 'Dune,' and they talk about whether things are all right in the house of Marvel.

(00:00) Intro

(04:28) 'The Last of Us' reactions

(01:12:27) 'Doomsday' delay

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

Social: Jomi Adeniran

Producers: Steve Ahlman, Jon Jones, Jonathan Kermah, and Jomi Adeniran

Additional Production Support: Arjuna Ramgopal

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‘Murderbot' Check-in, Episodes 1-3 | Mint Edition May 23, 2025

Show notes

Jomi and Steve jump into the world of ‘Murderbot’ with instant reactions to the first three episodes! Later, the guys look at the news of Avatar, Hunger Games, and other series in fandom.

(00:00) Intro

(05:00) Murderbot

(37:00) Nerd news

Host: Jomi Adeniran and Steve Ahlman

Producer: Jonathan Kermah

Additional Production Support: Arjuna Ramgopal

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'The Last of Us' Season 2, Episode 6: The Gamer Guide. Plus, the Game's Guitarist! | Button Mash May 22, 2025

Show notes

Ben and Daniel "do it all over again." First, they give their reviews of Season 2's penultimate 'TLOU' episode, "The Price," and then they break down the episode's departures from and additions to the game. Then they speculate about what could be coming in the season finale and beyond. Finally, Ben talks to Chris Rondinella, the musician who performed "Future Days," "Take On Me," and other songs in 'The Last of Us Part II,' about how he played Joel and Ellie.

Intro (0:00)
Reactions to Episode 6 (4:24)
Interview with Chris Rondinella (1:19:08)
Outro (1:32:59)

Hosts: Ben Lindbergh and Daniel Chin
Guest: Chris Rondinella
Producer: Devon Renaldo
Additional Production Support: Arjuna Ramgopal

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‘Doom: The Dark Ages’ Reactions and ‘Andor’ Writer Tom Bissell | Button Mash May 20, 2025

Show notes

Ben, Matt, and Steve share their (non-spoiler-y) impressions of the new first-person shooter 'Doom: The Dark Ages,' focusing on the ever-evolving nature of the franchise, whether the series' latest experiments improve upon its tried-and-true formula, how they'd rank the three most recent 'Doom' games, and more. Then, Ben brings on video game writer and screenwriter Tom Bissell, who wrote the three-part finale of 'Andor,' to talk about the 'Andor' writers room; working within story constraints and established universes; tying the finale to 'Rogue One'; the future of 'Star Wars' and IP storytelling in the aftermath of 'Andor'; 'Andor' as a video game; the differences between writing for TV and video games; his work on 'Uncharted,' 'Gears of War,' 'What Remains of Edith Finch,' and 'Masters of Doom'; Hollywood's appetite for video game adaptations; and more.

Intro (0:00)
Reactions to 'Doom: The Dark Ages' (2:30)
Interview with Tom Bissell (35:35)
Outro (1:41:53)

Host: Ben Lindbergh
Guests: Steve Ahlman, Tom Bissell, and Matt James
Producer: Devon Renaldo
Additional Production Support: Arjuna Ramgopal

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'The Last of Us' Episode 6 Reactions, Plus 'Superman' and 'Ironheart' Trailers May 19, 2025

Show notes

The Midnight Boys dive into Joel and Ellie’s father-daughter relationship in their instant reactions to the penultimate episode of Season 2 of ‘The Last of Us.’ Later, they turn their focus to the ‘Superman’ and ‘Ironheart’ trailers in the latest edition of Nerd News.

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

Social: Jomi Adeniran

Producers: Chris Thomas, Jamie Yukich, Jonathan Kermah, and Steve Ahlman

Additional Production Support: Arjuna Ramgopal

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'The Last of Us' Season 2, Episode 5: The Gamer Guide, and Animating 'TLOU2' | Button Mash May 15, 2025

Show notes

Ben and Daniel got here from Jackson just in time to talk about Episode 5, "Feel Her Love." They discuss the specifics of the action and the pivotal closing scene, then pull back a bit to comment on how the effort to adapt the game is going before forecasting what could be coming next. Then, Ben talks to longtime Naughty Dog game developer Almudena Soria Sancho, lead animator on 'The Last of Us Part II,' about her thoughts on the 'TLOU' adaptation, bringing the Stalkers and other infected to life, perfecting performance capture, the advantages and drawbacks of film and TV versus video games, what she's most looking forward to seeing the rest of this season and next season, and more.

Intro (0:00)
Reactions to Episode (3:50)
Interview with Almudena Soria Sancho (1:05:50)
Outro (1:32:18)

Hosts: Ben Lindbergh and Daniel Chin
Guest: Almudena Soria Sancho
Producer: Devon Renaldo
Additional Production Support: Arjuna Ramgopal

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Was 'Andor' a Perfect 'Star Wars' Show? ‘Andor’ Season 2 Finale Reactions | The Midnight Boys May 14, 2025

Show notes

The Boys are back, and they’re diving into ‘Andor’ Season 2, Episodes 10-12, the season’s final episodes.

(0:00) Intro

(3:30) Spoilers ahead

(6:10) Initial reactions

(1:43:05) Outro

(1:45:26) Post-credits

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

Producers: Aleya Zenieris, Jonathan Kermah, Chris Thomas, and Steve Ahlman

Additional Production Support: Arjuna Ramgopal

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