{"podcast":{"title":"The Worst of All Possible Worlds","slug":"the-worst-of-all-possible-worlds-3988838","podcast_index_feed_id":3988838,"rss_url":"https://feed.podbean.com/worstofallpossibleworlds/feed.xml","website_url":"https://www.worstpossible.world","image_url":"https://pbcdn1.podbean.com/imglogo/image-logo/11885637/twoapwlogo.jpg","author":"Josh Boerman, A.J. Ditty, and Brian Alford","episode_count":267,"summary":"The first and only podcast bringing you weekly case studies in the pop culture of a dying empire. Every Wednesday, co-hosts Josh, Brian, and A.J. dissect an artifact of popular culture, breaking down how its narrative choices reflect or subvert the reactionary political project. From video games to movies to theater to an apparently infinite supply of evangelical Christian radio drama, we expose the machinations of the worst of all possible worlds in order to figure out how to build a better one. Also, we have bits.","last_synced_at":null,"page_url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/the-worst-of-all-possible-worlds-3988838"},"episode":{"title":"221 - The Muppet Christmas Carol","slug":"221-the-muppet-christmas-carol","published_at":"2025-12-25T07:00:00+00:00","page_url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/the-worst-of-all-possible-worlds-3988838/221-the-muppet-christmas-carol","show_page_url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/the-worst-of-all-possible-worlds-3988838","url":"https://worstofallpossibleworlds.podbean.com/e/221-the-muppet-christmas-carol/","audio_url":"https://mcdn.podbean.com/mf/web/sp7bbvdsa6gr74if/Ep221_preview8nuxt.mp3","summary":"MERCHANDISE NOW ON SALE THROUGH 12/31 ANNUAL SUBSCRIPTIONS AVAILABLE THROUGH 12/31 The lads grab their tiny red scarves and head for Fozziwig’s Rubber Chicken Factory as they cover Brian Henson’s 1992 holiday classic: The Muppet Christmas Carol. Topics include the arch prose of Dickens, the cutting of “When Love is Gone”, and what it means to create a staple of the holiday season that involves Michael Caine throwing a wreath at a tiny puppet. Media Referenced in this Episode: The Muppet Christmas Carol. Dir. Brian Henson. 1992. “Michael Caine Loves The Muppet Christmas Carol as Much as You Do” by Laruen Larson. GQ. December 15th, 2016. “Brian Henson on What Makes ‘A Muppet Christmas Carol’ So Special and His Father’s legacy” by Alyssa Fikse. Uproxx. December 23rd, 2015. “How we made: The Muppet Christmas Carol” by Ben Beaumont-Thomas. The Guardian. December 21st, 2015. TWOAPW theme by Brendan Dalton: Patreon // brendan-dalton.com // brendandalton.bandcamp.com Interstitial: “A Letter from Charles Dickens to His Son, Edward ‘Plorn’ Dickens, on the Day of His Departure to Australia, September 26th, 1868\" // Written by A.J. Ditty // Feat. Brian Alford as “Charles Dickens” // Additional Text by Charles Dickens in a Letter to his son, Plorn","meta_description":"MERCHANDISE NOW ON SALE THROUGH 12/31 ANNUAL SUBSCRIPTIONS AVAILABLE THROUGH 12/31 The lads grab their tiny red scarves and head for Fozziwig’s Rubber Chi…","key_points":[],"chapters":[],"topics":[],"duration_seconds":1840,"processing_state":"not_requested","actions":[{"name":"request_transcript","method":"POST","url":"https://stenobird.com/v1/public/podcasts/the-worst-of-all-possible-worlds-3988838/episodes/221-the-muppet-christmas-carol/transcription-requests","description":"Idempotently request low-priority transcript generation for this episode."},{"name":"read_markdown","method":"GET","url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/the-worst-of-all-possible-worlds-3988838/221-the-muppet-christmas-carol.md","description":"Read the agent-friendly Markdown representation of this episode resource."}]}}