Nerd Legion
by Last Free Nation
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Est. Listeners
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- Per-Episode Audience
Est. listeners per new episode within ~30 days
10,001 - 25,000 - Monthly Reach
Unique listeners across all episodes (30 days)
25,001 - 75,000 - Active Followers
Loyal subscribers who consistently listen
5,001 - 15,000
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* Data sourced directly from platform APIs and aggregated hourly across all major podcast directories.
On the show
Recent episodes
EX MACHINA Is More Relevant Than Ever
May 2, 2026
Unknown duration
We Used To Love The Boys. Here's What Happened.
Apr 25, 2026
Unknown duration
After 35 Years, Is Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles II: The Secret of the Ooze Still Good?
Apr 11, 2026
Unknown duration
Is Project Hail Mary A Money Grab? Or Is It ACTUALLY Good?
Mar 28, 2026
Unknown duration
One Piece Season 2 Is the Best Live-Action Anime Ever Made
Mar 21, 2026
Unknown duration
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| Date | Episode | Description | Length | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 5/2/26 | EX MACHINA Is More Relevant Than Ever | Ex Machina came out in 2014. It feels like it was made yesterday. MonteCristo and DoA revisit Alex Garland's directorial debut a $15 million chamber piece about a tech billionaire, a coder, and the AI that outsmarts them both and break down why it's only gotten sharper in the age of AGI, Anthropic, and autonomous vehicles. PrizePicks: Visit https://prizepicks.onelink.me/LME0/NERD and use code NERD and get $50 in lineups when you play your first $5 lineup! | — | ||||||
| 4/25/26 | We Used To Love The Boys. Here's What Happened. | We were fans of The Boys. Seasons one and two were genuinely great television: it was a cynical, funny deconstruction of corporate superhero culture that understood how Vought International would actually operate in a modern media landscape. That show is dead now. Three episodes into its final season, The Boys hasn't just jumped the shark; it's jumped about fifty of them, and the Deep is responsible for all of them. ExpressVPN: Your ISP, mobile network, and Wi-Fi admins can see everything you do online, even in incognito mode. ExpressVPN reroutes 100% of your traffic through secure encrypted servers. Plans start at just $3.49/month. Visit https://www.expressvpn.com/nerdlegion to get up to four extra months free. | — | ||||||
| 4/11/26 | After 35 Years, Is Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles II: The Secret of the Ooze Still Good? | MonteCristo and DoA celebrate the 35th anniversary of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles II: The Secret of the Ooze: the 1991 Golden Harvest sequel that traded the original film's dark, gritty tone for full-on cartoon commitment, and made itself a cultural artifact in the process. DoA has watched this movie so many times he has it memorized. He's not even a little bit ashamed about it. Manta Sleep: blocks 100% of light with memory foam eye cups and breathable, washable materials. Use code LFN at https://mantisleep.com for 10% off. PrizePicks: Visit https://prizepicks.onelink.me/LME0/NERD and use code NERD and get $50 in lineups when you play your first $5 lineup! | — | ||||||
| 3/28/26 | Is Project Hail Mary A Money Grab? Or Is It ACTUALLY Good? | Project Hail Mary is a massive box office hit, a visually stunning sci-fi spectacle, and genuinely well-crafted filmmaking, so why did one of its reviewers spend nearly three hours waiting for it to be over? DoA and MonteCristo land on opposite sides of a movie they both agree is good but can't agree on whether it matters. The result is one of Nerd Legion's most honest conversations about what separates a great sci-fi film from a really well-made popcorn flick. ExpressVPN — Protect your browsing data from your ISP and unlock streaming content across regions. Plans start at just $3.49/month. Go to https://expressvpn.com/nerdlegion to get up to four extra months. | — | ||||||
| 3/21/26 | One Piece Season 2 Is the Best Live-Action Anime Ever Made | Netflix's One Piece might be the most ambitious live-action anime adaptation ever attempted and, somehow, it works. Season 2 takes Eiichiro Oda's gloriously absurd world of devil fruit powers, talking snail phones, and pirates who commit zero acts of piracy, and translates it into eight episodes of practical sets, committed performances, and fight choreography that has no business being this good. DoA and MonteCristo break down why this show succeeds where Cowboy Bebop and Death Note failed. Unlock thousands of hidden titles on streaming services you already pay for. Plans start at just $3.49/month. Go to https://expressvpn.com/nerdlegion to get up to four extra months free. | — | ||||||
| 2/28/26 | A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms is the Blueprint Every Franchise Needs | A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms just wrapped its first season on HBO, and it might be the most important template for franchise storytelling in years. Six episodes. Thirty minutes each. No world-ending stakes. No required homework from other series. Just a tight, character-driven story set in the Game of Thrones universe that stands completely on its own. It's also a massive hit, averaging nearly 13 million viewers per episode and becoming HBO's third-biggest debut ever. Secure your online data TODAY by visiting https://ExpressVPN.com/NERDLEGION Control Body Odor ANYWHERE with Mando and get 20% off + free shipping with promo code NERD at https://shopmando.com New customers can make the switch today and for a limited time, get unlimited premium wireless for just $15 per month. Switch now at https://MintMobile.com/NERD | — | ||||||
| 2/14/26 | Sean Connery as a Glittering Green Knight?! | SWORD OF THE VALIANT (1984) | What happens when you take the legend of Sir Gawain and the Green Knight… and turn it into an 80s fantasy fever dream starring a glitter-covered Sean Connery? In this episode of Nerd Legion, we dive into Sword of the Valiant (1984): one of the strangest fantasy adaptations ever made. Featuring Miles O’Keeffe, Peter Cushing, John Rhys-Davies, and Ronald Lacey, this stacked cast somehow delivers one of the most unintentionally hilarious medieval movies of the decade. From animatronic severed heads… to magical invisibility rings… to unicorn-eating knights… to the worst synth soundtrack we’ve ever heard. This movie has everything except a coherent moral. Is it terrible? Absolutely. Is it entertaining? Without question. Let’s talk glitter armor, bad fight choreography, Arthurian lore, and why Sean Connery keeps taking fantasy roles he “doesn’t understand.” | — | ||||||
| 2/7/26 | Wonder Man is the Marvel Show That Shouldn't Work | Wonder Man is the rare MCU project that feels like it was written by people who actually understand character, comedy, and theme. It succeeds without leaning on CGI sludge, multiverse homework, or the usual “you must watch 14 other things first” burden. In this episode of Nerd Legion, we break down why Wonder Man works: it’s an acting-first show disguised as superhero IP, a behind-the-scenes Hollywood comedy-drama with sharp writing, real performances, and surprisingly thoughtful commentary on craft, ego, and the machine that manufactures “content.” We talk about how the series uses its Marvel connections sparingly (and intelligently), why Ben Kingsley’s Trevor Slattery is the perfect meta-vehicle for the premise, and how Yahya Abdul-Mateen II pulls off the insanely difficult task of playing an actor who has to be convincingly bad at acting, while still being excellent. | — | ||||||
| 1/31/26 | A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms Feels Just Like Game of Thrones?! | In this episode of Nerd Legion, MonteCristo and DoA break down HBO’s latest Westeros spinoff and ask the core question every fan is wondering: does this series understand what made Game of Thrones work in the first place? Secure your online data TODAY by visiting https://ExpressVPN.com/NERDLEGION Control Body Odor ANYWHERE with Mando and get 20% off + free shipping with promo code NERD at https://shopmando.com Level up your game and get 10% off TurtleBeach with code NL at turtlebeach.com/NL | — | ||||||
| 1/24/26 | Star Trek for Gen Z Doesn’t Work (Here’s Why) | STARFLEET ACADEMY | Starfleet Academy should have been an easy win for modern Star Trek: it's a smaller, character-driven series about young cadets learning what it means to serve in a post-scarcity utopia. Instead, it’s a massively expensive show that seems unsure who it’s even for. Control Body Odor ANYWHERE with Mando and get 20% off + free shipping with promo code NERD at https://shopmando.com | — | ||||||
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| 1/17/26 | Avatar: Fire and Ash Is a Spectacle With Nothing to Say | James Cameron’s Avatar: Fire and Ash is an undeniable technical marvel, but does groundbreaking spectacle excuse shallow storytelling? Raycon's Essential Open Earbuds are here to help you crush your new year goals. Go to https://buyraycon.com/NERDLEGIONOPEN to get 20% off sitewide. | — | ||||||
| 12/21/25 | The Forgotten Kids Movie of the 90s | SUBURBAN COMMANDO | SUBURBAN COMMANDO is one of the strangest artifacts of 1990s Hollywood: a kids’ movie starring Hulk Hogan as an intergalactic bounty hunter who crash-lands in suburbia, rents a converted toolshed, and solves neighborhood problems with raw strength and alien technology. Turn your expensive wireless present into a huge wireless savings future by switching to Mint Mobile! Shop Mint Unlimited Plans at https://MINT MOBILE.com/NERD. Raycon audio products are up to 20% off this holiday season! Go to https://buyraycon.com/NERDLEGIONOPEN to save on Raycon audio products sitewide. | — | ||||||
| 12/6/25 | The Movie Nintendo Tried to Erase | SUPER MARIO BROS (1993) | The movie Nintendo wants you to forget is somehow even weirder than you remember. In this episode of Nerd Legion, MonteCristo and DoA dive headfirst into the 1993 live-action SUPER MARIO BROS: a film so chaotic, so baffling, and so aggressively not Mario that it took Nintendo over 30 years to try a movie again. Turn your expensive wireless present into a huge wireless savings future by switching to Mint Mobile! Shop Mint Unlimited Plans at https://MINT MOBILE.com/NERD. Raycon audio products are up to 20% off this holiday season! Go to https://buyraycon.com/NERDLEGIONOPEN to save on Raycon audio products sitewide. Order by December 15th guarantee delivery by Christmas because great gifts shouldn’t show up late! | — | ||||||
| 11/30/25 | Star Wars Visions Vol. 3 Misses the Mark: But One Episode Shines | Star Wars Visions Volume 3 is here and, unfortunately, it might be the weakest entry yet. In this episode of Nerd Legion, MonteCristo and DoA break down all nine anime shorts and ask the big question: Why does Star Wars keep returning to the same tired ideas? From endless Tatooine stories to recycled Jedi tropes, half-animated CGI ships, and baffling creative choices, Visions Vol. 3 shows just how far the brand’s stewardship has fallen. Even the anthology format, supposedly a space for experimentation, feels strangely safe and generic. But it’s not all bad. We highlight the one short that genuinely stands out (“Black”), why it succeeds aesthetically, and how the rest of the series fails to capture anything meaningful about the Star Wars universe. Control Body Odor ANYWHERE with Mando and get 20% off + free shipping with promo code NERD at shopmando.com! | — | ||||||
| 11/22/25 | What Happens When ALL Humans Merge Into One Mind? | PLURIBUS Review | In this episode of Nerd Legion, MonteCristo and DoA dive into PLURIBUS (aka PLUR1BUS), the new Apple TV+ sci-fi series where a mysterious pathogen slowly fuses all humans into a single, global hive mind. They break down the show’s philosophy, dark comedy, and unsettling medical horror along with why Vince Gilligan’s creative fingerprints are all over it. Shop the Into the AM Black Friday Sale! All items are up to 60% off through the 8th of December. This is in addition to the 10% you always save by using our link: https://intotheam.com/LFN Black Friday is around the corner, and Raycon audio products are up to 30% off sitewide! Go to https://buyraycon.com/NERDLEGIONOPEN to save on Raycon audio products sitewide. Don’t get them socks. Get them premium wireless for $15/mo. Shop Mint Unlimited Plans at https://MINTMOBILE.com/NERD. | — | ||||||
| 11/15/25 | Predator: Badlands Is Shockingly Good | Predator: Badlands shouldn’t be this good. MonteCristo and DoA went in expecting another forgettable franchise sequel and came out calling it the best Predator film since 1987. In this episode of Nerd Legion, the hosts break down how Dan Trachtenberg turned a dormant IP into a bold, emotional, and surprisingly funny sci-fi blockbuster. They discuss the film’s unexpected focus on the Predator’s culture and honor code, Elle Fanning’s dual performance, and how the movie manages to feel both classic and completely new. From the inventive world-building to the subtitled alien language and practical effects, Predator: Badlands proves that simple stories told well still hit the hardest. The conversation also detours into Guillermo del Toro’s Frankenstein, the curse of bloated superhero films, and why Hollywood keeps forgetting how to make tight, self-contained action movies. | — | ||||||
| 11/9/25 | What Went Wrong With The Witcher? | SEASON 4 REVIEW | MonteCristo and DoA return to dissect Netflix’s latest fantasy implosion, where Liam Hemsworth steps into the role of Geralt and discovers that charisma and coherent writing have both been exhumed. From botched tone and nonsense plotting to uneven VFX and dialogue that feels AI-generated, The Witcher has finally become the kind of fantasy parody it used to mock. The hosts break down why the show collapsed: bizarre subplots, missing chemistry, baffling character arcs, and some of the worst world-building since The Acolyte. They compare Cavill’s grounded performance to Hemsworth’s “mush-mouth” Witcher, praise Laurence Fishburne for stealing every scene, and mourn the death of what was once Netflix’s flagship genre series. Plus: how this all ties back to bad adaptation culture, writer-room ego, and why Henry Cavill was right to leave when he did. Black Friday is around the corner, and Raycon audio products are up to 30% off sitewide! Go to https://buyraycon.com/NERDLEGIONOPEN to save on Raycon audio products sitewide. Ready to say yes to saying no? Make the switch at https://MINTMOBILE.com/nerd. Upfront payment of $45 required (equivalent to $15/mo.). Limited time new customer offer for first 3 months only. Speeds may slow above 35GB on Unlimited plan. Taxes & fees extra. See MINT MOBILE for details. | — | ||||||
| 11/1/25 | Reviving The Original Series... But Is It Good? | SPLINTER CELL: DEATHWATCH | Splinter Cell: Deathwatch might be the most unexpected comeback in gaming history: an animated Netflix series based on a franchise that’s been dormant for a decade. MonteCristo and DoA dive deep into Ubisoft’s strange revival of Sam Fisher, the stealth-action legend who’s now older, grizzled, and apparently stuck in an anime-style John Wick universe created by Derek Kolstad. In this episode, the hosts debate whether Deathwatch is a solid espionage thriller or just a messy prelude to Ubisoft’s upcoming Splinter Cell remake. They discuss the show’s surprising violence, chaotic hacking scenes, and the questionable logic of “chaos algorithms,” plus the performances of Liev Schreiber as Sam Fisher and the legacy of Michael Ironside’s voice. Follow our link and use code NERD to unlock 10% off your purchase at Manta Sleep! https://tinyurl.com/mume73e3 Black Friday is around the corner, and Raycon audio products are up to 30% off sitewide! Go to https://www.buyraycon.com/NERDLEGIONOPEN to save on Raycon audio products sitewide. | — | ||||||
| 10/25/25 | The Funniest Terrible Fantasy Movie Ever Made | ATOR 2: THE BLADE MASTER | There’s bad. There’s so bad it’s good. And then there’s Ator 2: The Blade Master: a sword-and-sorcery disasterpiece that transcends failure and becomes pure comedy gold. MonteCristo and DoA continue Nerd Legion’s 1980s fantasy marathon with the most unintentionally hilarious movie ever filmed. From its wooden acting and nonsensical dubbing to its unforgettable hang glider bombing run, The Blade Master proves that even terrible movies can become classics in their own chaotic way. Along the way, the hosts explore the bizarre Italian fantasy boom of the 1980s, Ator’s legacy as the world’s dumbest hero, and how this film’s director went from swords and sorcery to adult cinema. | — | ||||||
| 10/4/25 | The Most Hardcore Samurai Film Ever? | Lone Wolf and Cub | Lone Wolf and Cub: Sword of Vengeance (1972) might be the most outrageous and hardcore samurai film we’ve covered yet. Former shogunate executioner Ogami Ittō becomes a disgraced wanderer, pushing his infant son through Edo-period Japan in a baby cart full of hidden weapons. Along the way, he faces betrayal, conspiracies, and blood-soaked battles that helped inspire everything from The Mandalorian to Ghost of Yōtei. | — | ||||||
| 9/27/25 | Is Samurai Champloo A Masterpiece OR Incredibly Frustrating? | Samurai Champloo is one of the most stylish anime ever made: hip hop, samurai, and pure visual flair. But does the second half of the series actually collapse under its own weight? In Part Two of our Ghost of Yōtei Inspirations series, MonteCristo and DoA cover episodes 14–26 and debate whether Champloo is a masterpiece of style or one of the most frustrating anime endings ever. | — | ||||||
| 9/20/25 | How Watanabe's SAMURAI CHAMPLOO Continues To Inspire | What happens when samurai sword fights meet hip hop beats? In 2004, director Shinichirō Watanabe followed up Cowboy Bebop with Samurai Champloo: a wild mashup of Edo-era Japan, breakdance-inspired swordplay, and lo-fi counterculture. Two decades later, Champloo still feels fresh, and its influence now echoes in Ghost of Yōtei with the brand-new Watanabe Mode, blending lo-fi hip hop into your samurai journey. MonteCristo and DoA dive into how Samurai Champloo revolutionized anime, the genius of Nujabes’ soundtrack, and why this series still matters for both anime and gaming. | — | ||||||
| 9/13/25 | LADY SNOWBLOOD (1973): The Ultimate Samurai Revenge Story | Before Kill Bill, there was Lady Snowblood (1973): a dazzling, hyper-stylized tale of tragedy and vengeance that changed samurai cinema forever. With unforgettable visuals, outrageous martial arts training sequences, and a performance by Meiko Kaji that blends icy assassin and deeply human, this film redefined what a revenge story could be. It didn’t just inspire Quentin Tarantino, Lady Snowblood is a direct influence on Ghost of Yōtei, with its female warrior on a bloody path of vengeance against those who destroyed her family. From manga-style chapters to iconic snowbound duels, this movie set the template for modern revenge epics. In this episode of Nerd Legion, MonteCristo and DoA break down why this film still feels shockingly modern, why it’s better than Kill Bill, and how it connects directly to the cinematic DNA of Ghost of Yōtei. | — | ||||||
| 9/8/25 | GHOST OF YŌTEI Inspirations: 13 ASSASSINS (2010) — The Most Brutal Samurai Film | Takashi Miike’s 13 ASSASSINS (2010) delivers one of the longest, bloodiest action sequences ever put to film: 45 minutes of nonstop samurai carnage. Some call it a masterpiece of brutality, others say it drags on forever. But there’s no denying its influence on the combat design and cinematic feel of Ghost of Yōtei. In this episode of Nerd Legion, MonteCristo and DoA debate whether 13 Assassins is overindulgent or essential, explore its commentary on the samurai code, and connect it directly to the upcoming game’s Miike Mode. From nihilistic villains to questions of honor and duty, this is modern samurai cinema at its most extreme. Control Body Odor ANYWHERE with Mando and get 20% off + free shipping with promo code NERD at shopmando.com! | — | ||||||
| 8/30/25 | GHOST OF YŌTEI Inspirations: THRONE OF BLOOD (1957) — Samurai Ghosts & Cursed Destiny | With Ghost of Yōtei launching October 2nd, Nerd Legion is diving into the films and anime that inspired the game’s haunted world. We begin with Akira Kurosawa’s Throne of Blood (1957), a chilling reimagining of Macbeth that blends Noh theatre, samurai tragedy, and supernatural ghosts. In this episode, MonteCristo and DoA discuss: ⚔️How Throne of Blood’s fog, wind, and black-and-white style shaped Kurosawa Mode in Ghost of Tsushima (returning in Ghost of Yōtei) ⚔️The fusion of Shakespearean tragedy with Japanese Noh theatre and its symbolism (Lady Asaji’s mask-like stillness, the centipede banners, spinning horses) ⚔️Kurosawa’s legendary use of atmosphere and the unforgettable real-arrow death scene with Toshiro Mifune ⚔️How the film’s themes of cursed destiny and supernatural hauntings echo the mythic tone of Ghost of Yōtei | — | ||||||
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1 placement across 1 market.
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