Games people play
Seven playful podcasts that are sure to amuse.
FULL CANADIAN BROADCAST VERSION:
1. Pause + Play
"Two actors have portrayed Indiana Jones in film. Harrison Ford and THIS actor, who played a teenage Indy in The Last Crusade." — Pause + Play host Russel Harder
Think you've got what it takes to take home the trivia trophy? Toronto trivia night host Russel Harder podcasts his trivia night questions so the audience can play along at home.
2. Planet Money
"The ones that you worry about are the ones where their faces are twitching." — Game show producer Vin Rubino on casting contestants
Game shows like The Price is Right may seem like everlasting dynasties, but there's a story behind each and every game show on TV. This episode of Planet Money takes a dive into world of game shows.
3. Imaginary Worlds
"You want to feel something. You want to experience an epiphany and see the world through the eyes of a character who is not you." — Eric Molinsky on the emotional draw of Live Action Role Playing (LARP)
You may have seen them in your neighbourhood park... groups of people jumping and lunging at each other with foam swords or shooting foam-tipped arrows at one another. They are the small but passionate community whose hobby is to dress up and live out complicated plots as a fictional character. It's called Live Action Role Playing (LARP) and in this episode of Imaginary Worlds, Eric Molinsky talks to LARPers about what happens when they become too emotionally intertwined with their in-game characters.
4. Note to Self
"The opposite of play isn't work, the opposite of play is depression." — Jane McGonigal quotes psychologist Brian Sutton Smith
Can video games be good for you? Manoush Zomorodi talks to Jane McGonigal about how video games are a new form of self help.
5. Full Hearts
"Games were always where we quietly hung out. I'd be working on a paper, and Jairus would put on a Twitch stream." — Natalie Zina Walschots on how video games helped develop her long-distance relationship
In their first episode of Full Hearts, hosts Braydon and Natalie invite their respective partners to join them to discuss the role that games play in their relationships.
6. Polygamer
"If I understand the world as a gamer... when I get to work on something that's similar to that world, I know what I would hope for, I know what I'm creating." — Tristan D. Lalla on how playing video games helps him be better at his job
He's a familiar voice to many fans of the video game series Assassin's Creed and Tristan D. Lalla says he doesn't just show up and read some lines... he gets really into it. In this episode of Polygamer, host Ken Gagne interviews voice actor Tristan D. Lalla about how playing video games helps him with voice acting.
7. The Moth
"And what I know is that the other people at the table think the hard decision is the poker decision. But what I know is that the hard decision is that I'm so afraid of making a mistake and I can't decide whether I'm just making a decision about trying not to lose so I can last with my little bit of chips and not be the first one out so everybody will know that I really didn't deserve to be there." — Annie Duke on the hardest poker decision of her career
Professional poker player Annie Duke shares the story of a formative tournament, and the hardest fold she ever made.
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