The printer is broken, your manager wants those reports by 5pm, and the guy in the cubicle next to you is humming Baby Shark again. It’s enough to make you want to walk out of this office, take a long bus ride out of the city, and go live on a farm. Well, damn, maybe you can. Stardew Valley is a farming simulator beloved by many precisely because it lets you live out this fantasy. But we know somebody who’s done it in real life. We brought farm worker and lapsed city boy Nader Kaddour on to Hey Lesson to ask: is farm work as calming and rejuvenating as it is in Pelican Town? The answer, as always, is not straightforward. Also joining us for this episode is writer Paul Dean, who has his own opinions about the residents of such a seemingly idyllic village.

Support Hey Lesson on Patreon!

Or put a one-off tip in our tip jar

Click “more” for links and notes.

Links:

Paul is on Twitter

Paul writes about Stardew Valley and life

All music tracks are from the Stardew Valley OST:
Stardew Valley Main Menu Theme
Spring (It’s a Big World Outside)
Spring (The Valley Comes Alive)
Spring (Wild Horseradish Jam)
Fall (The Smell of Mushroom)
Winter (Nocturne of Ice)

Hope you’re not prone to dizziness. Halo Infinite is set on a giant ring in space and we wanted to know: how does gravity work on something like that? So we spoke to Scott Manley, astronomer and celebrated YouTube rocket man, about how the centrifugal force of spinning would keep Master Chief’s boots planted on the ground, and how the human body can adapt to such weirdness. Also joining us is Natalie Clayton of PC Gamer, who has been gung-ho-ing through the shooter’s campaign as well as its multiplayer. Is Halo good again? Well, she says, it’s complicated.

Support Hey Lesson on Patreon!

Or put a one-off tip in our tip jar

Click “more” for a full list of links.

(more…)

We’ve all got one. Mine is to loot a pharmacy for pills, the delicious currency of our future. But there are better people than I in the upcoming zombie apocalypse. Dr Emily Zarka is a professor and expert on monsters and the undead. You might have seen her show, Monstrum. Well, she’s here to tell us all about the zombie’s origins in Haiti, how it has mutated over time, and her own zombie preparedness kit. Also joining us is returning bullet-mate Matt Cox! Matt has been playing Back 4 Blood with me, and you can really tell because his zombie plan is a bit, well, shooty.

Support Hey Lesson on Patreon!

Or put a one-off tip in our tip jar

Click “more” for a full list of links.

(more…)

Physics says no, time is real. But that doesn’t mean strange things can’t happen to the human brain when it tries to understand the passage of time. We speak to philosopher of time Professor Craig Callender about the nature of the universe’s big ticking clock, why physicists disagree about it, and how you can categorise time travel stories as “consistent” or “inconsistent”. Deathloop is… well, it’s surprisingly simple next to Einstein’s theories. We’ve got games journalist Nic Reuben to talk about the game and what makes its Groundhog Day styled time loop (not to mention its shooting) so compelling.

Support Hey Lesson on Patreon!

Or put a one-off tip in our tip jar

Click “more” for a full list of links.

(more…)

The pen is mightier than the sword. But what about this giant mace? What about this halberd? In this episode of Hey Lesson, we speak to medieval history buff Jason Kingsley about what it took to become a knight of medieval Europe. It helps that he is a modern day knight, but mostly his expertise comes from swinging actual swords. Yikes. Also joining us to talk about multiplayer sword-fighting game Chivalry II – it’s the ever-stabby Matt Cox! He’s very good with a longsword, but also quite good at describing the joy of the make-believe battlefield.

Support Hey Lesson on Patreon!

Or put a one-off tip in our tip jar

Click “more” for a full list of links and transcription.

(more…)