Get ready for a dose of nostalgia. JS and Ludlow talk gaming history, the evolution of game narrative, and the benefits of gaming on mental and physical wellness.

Explicit Content: May contain mature language or themes

Production: Maxwell Gariety

Music: The Silent Grove by Axletree

Licensed under Attribution 4.0

Ludlow and JS discuss their favorite characters from TV, film, and literature and what about those characters make them so appealing.

Explicit Content: May contain mature language or themes

Production: Maxwell Gariety

Music: The Silent Grove by Axletree

Licensed under Attribution 4.0

Show Notes:

Recommendation: Incarnations of Immortality by Piers Anthony

Ludlow’s List:

• Benedic; Much Ado About Nothing
• Marian Alston; Nantucket Books
• Whiskeyjack and Anomander Rake; The Malazan Book of the Fallen
• Honorable mention: John Bates, Downton Abbey

Favorite Antagonist:

• Simon Heap; Septimus Heap
• Flagg; The Eyes of the Dragon

Janai’s list:

• Kvoth; Name of the Wind
• Dream; The Sandman
• Shalon; Stormlight Archive
• Honorable mention: Klaus; Umbrella Academy

Favorite Antagonist:

• Dodge; Locke & Key

Is AI going to take over creatives’ jobs? Ludlow and JS discuss Chat GPT and share their opinions and predictions.

Explicit Content: May contain mature language or themes

Production: Maxwell Gariety

Music: The Silent Grove by Axletree

Licensed under Attribution 4.0

Ludlow shares a piece of his childhood: playing D&D during the Satanic Panic of the 80’s. In this episode, JS and Ludlow dive into the history of D&D from the first edition to what’s coming next.

Explicit Content: May contain mature language or themes

Production: Maxwell Gariety

Music: The Silent Grove by Axletree

Licensed under Attribution 4.0

How did live action role play begin? JS digs into the history of LARP while Ludlow offers insights from his personal experience in LARPing.

Explicit Content: May contain mature language or themes

Production: Maxwell Gariety

Music: The Silent Grove by Axletree

Licensed under Attribution 4.0

Ludlow and JS explore the history of fanfiction and its role in the larger ecosystem of publishing. Should fanfiction be considered legitimate? Is it stealing? Listen for a discussion of these questions and more.

Explicit Content: May contain mature language or themes

Production: Maxwell Gariety

Music: The Silent Grove by AxletreeLicensed under Attribution 4.0

What and when was the very first scifi convention? How did conventions start? What are conventions like now? Ludlow and JS discuss the history of conventions and their current culture. Ludlow also give his tips for first-timers based on his convention experience. Explicit Content: May contain mature language or themesProduction: Maxwell GarietyMusic: The Silent Grove by AxletreeLicensed under Attribution 4.0

Ludlow and JS have completed their MFA programs. Things were a little rough there with the monumental task of the thesis novel--but they have lived to tell the tale!

Explicit Content: May contain mature language or themes

Production: Maxwell Gariety

Music: The Silent Grove by Axletree

Licensed under Attribution 4.0

A Note: Publishing episodes has been on hold while we were finishing our MFA programs. We have decided to take the month of July to get ahead on recording, and will resume publishing episodes in mid-August. We are so grateful for our listeners' patience and for everyone who has been downloading and listening to episodes even during our hiatus! You're all amazing.