The Ringer-Verse

Latest Episodes:

The 2026 Versies Awards | House of Midnight Mar 14, 2026

Show notes

House of R and The Midnight Boys team up to bring you the 2026 Versies Awards and celebrate all the highs and lows of fandom content from 2025.

Intro (00:00)

Best Visuals (04:52)

Best Line (12:35)

Best Character (19:19)

Saddest Moment (26:10)

Best Music (34:15)

Best New Character (42:35)

Best Director (49:03)

Best Showrunner (53:28)

Best Movie Performance (56:48)

Best Show Performance (01:02:14)

Best Movie (01:14:29)

Best Show (01:21:13)

Hosts: Mallory Rubin, Van Lathan, Joanna Robinson, Charles Holmes, Jomi Adeniran, and Steve Ahlman

Producers: Aleya Zeneris, Carlos Chirigoba

Editors: Jamie Yukich, Stefano Sanchez, John Richter

Editorial: Craig Gaines, Helena Hunt, Jack McCluskey

Graphics: Neil Francisco

Studio Production: Jacob Cornett, Kevin Cureghian, Chris Thomas, Chris Wohlers

Additional Production Support: Arjuna Ramgopowell

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‘Sinners’ Recast and ‘Lanterns’ Trailer Reactions | The Midnight Boys Mar 12, 2026

Show notes

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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Are 'Marathon' and 'Pokémon Pokopia' What Sony and Nintendo Needed? | Button Mash Mar 07, 2026

Show notes

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 ringerversegaming@gmail.com!

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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Armchair CEO: Paramount and Warner Bros. | The Midnight Boys Mar 05, 2026

Show notes

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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Ringer-Verse Recommends: February 2026 (Featuring ‘Frieren’ and a Massive Month for Anime) Feb 28, 2026

Show notes

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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'Resident Evil Requiem' Reactions | Button Mash Feb 27, 2026

Show notes

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 ⁠ringerversegaming@gmail.com⁠!

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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The Black TV Draft | The Midnight Boys Feb 26, 2026

Show notes

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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‘A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms’ Season 1 Finale Instant Reactions | The Midnight Boys Feb 23, 2026

Show notes

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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'The Legend of Zelda' 40th Anniversary Draft | Button Mash Feb 20, 2026

Show notes

Hey! Listen! Ben Lindbergh gets together with three fellow 'Legend of Zelda' lovers—Mothership co-founder Maddy Myers, TheGuardian 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 ringerversegaming@gmail.com!

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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‘House of the Dragon’ Season 3 and ‘The Mandalorian & Grogu’ Trailer Reactions | The Midnight Boys Feb 20, 2026

Show notes

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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