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.
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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.
In 1998, Looking Glass Studios released THIEF: THE DARK PROJECT, an unprecedentedly immersive and technically impressive first-person stealth simulator. Two years later, they followed it up with their masterpiece, THIEF 2: THE METAL AGE. After hounding Brian and A.J. to talk about this one for years, Josh finally got his wish. Plus, we got Jay Anthony Franke back to voice JC Denton for the interstitial. Thanks for sticking with us for 200 episodes and here’s to 200 more.
Jay Anthony Franke - Cameo // Instagram
Media Referenced in the Episode:
Thief II. Looking Glass. 2000.
Ahead of its time: The history of Looking Glass by Mike Mahardy. Polygon. April 6th, 2015.
How Thief's Stealth System Almost Didn't Work | War Stories by Ars Technica. February 20th, 2018.
The Story of Thief & Looking Glass Studios by Noclip. August 10th, 2021.
Thief-TheCircle.com --- Thief II: The Metal Age Strategy Index
Thief II - The Metal Age Walkthrough by Orgulo. Gamefaqs. July 5th, 2025
Thief vs. AAA Gaming by Dom Giuca. March 16th, 2014.
Through the Looking Glass Forums
TWOAPW theme by Brendan Dalton: Patreon // brendan-dalton.com // brendandalton.bandcamp.com
Interstitial: “The Pigeon Job” // Written by A.J. Ditty // Feat. Josh Boerman as “Garrett”, Brian Alford as “Benny”, A.J. Ditty as “Karras”, and Jay Anthony Franke as “Cramble Grenton.”
The Worst of All Possible Worlds
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.
