{"podcast":{"title":"The Ringer-Verse","slug":"the-ringer-verse-1577068","podcast_index_feed_id":1577068,"rss_url":"https://feeds.megaphone.fm/the-ringer-verse","website_url":"https://www.theringer.com","image_url":"https://megaphone.imgix.net/podcasts/b90e552a-8370-11eb-92d2-533f3946efd4/image/be7060285776706aefa759e82dfb1bea.jpg?ixlib=rails-4.3.1&max-w=3000&max-h=3000&fit=crop&auto=format,compress","author":"The Ringer","episode_count":775,"summary":"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!","last_synced_at":"2026-07-30T20:21:01.795689+00:00","page_url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/the-ringer-verse-1577068"},"episode":{"title":"Gaming's First-Half Highlights and Second-Half Hype | Button Mash","slug":"gaming-s-first-half-highlights-and-second-half-hype-button-mash","published_at":"2026-07-10T11:48:00+00:00","page_url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/the-ringer-verse-1577068/gaming-s-first-half-highlights-and-second-half-hype-button-mash","show_page_url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/the-ringer-verse-1577068","url":"https://traffic.megaphone.fm/GLT8443190883.mp3","audio_url":"https://traffic.megaphone.fm/GLT8443190883.mp3","summary":"Ben brings on Polygon's Giovanni Colantonio and Oli Welsh to sum up the first half of 2026 in gaming and preview the remainder of the year. First, they discuss the odd dynamic of dire industry news coinciding with a glut of great games. Then, they each share their top 10 games of the first half of the year, and break down the differences and similarities among their respective lists. Finally, they assess the up-in-the-air race for Game of the Year, how the timing and rollout of 'Grand Theft Auto VI' could affect its fortunes, the late-summer pileup of pre-'GTA' releases, and their biggest questions about the upcoming calendar. Intro (0:00)Industry news  (3:00)Game of the Year picks (16:53)Outro (1:28:20) Host: Ben LindberghGuests: Giovanni Colantonio and Oli WelshProducer: Devon RenaldoAdditional Production Support: Arjuna Ramgopowell Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices","meta_description":"Ben brings on Polygon's Giovanni Colantonio and Oli Welsh to sum up the first half of 2026 in gaming and preview the remainder of the year. First, they di…","key_points":[],"chapters":[],"topics":[],"duration_seconds":5561,"processing_state":"not_requested","actions":[{"name":"request_transcript","method":"POST","url":"https://stenobird.com/v1/public/podcasts/the-ringer-verse-1577068/episodes/gaming-s-first-half-highlights-and-second-half-hype-button-mash/transcription-requests","description":"Idempotently request low-priority transcript generation for this episode."},{"name":"read_markdown","method":"GET","url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/the-ringer-verse-1577068/gaming-s-first-half-highlights-and-second-half-hype-button-mash.md","description":"Read the agent-friendly Markdown representation of this episode resource."}]}}