Piece Talks

If you think that being a competition judge is primarily about taking down times, well…you’re right.

But international judges Daphne Harmsen and William Shandling show us that it’s also about innovation, empathy, and a deep sense of fairness.

What happens when you combine the analytical mind of a physics educator with the precision of a world-class violinist?

You get a partnership that shares a single competitive brain to deconstruct jigsaw puzzles at a cellular level. In this episode, Jim and Mari break down their unique roles: Mari provides the world-class "hands" while Jim serves as the analytical "eye in the sky," spotting patterns and pieces from a distance that you just can't see when your hands are on the board.

We dive into Mari’s "Type A Plus" competitive spirit and their shared pedagogical approach to mastering the table. Whether you're a casual fan or a hardcore sprinter, this episode is a deep dive into the thoughtful puzzling that defines elite play.

Lauren Kautz's first puzzle memory is also the story of her first cuss word. And honestly, that tells you everything you need to know about her. In this episode, we trace her journey from a kid doing puzzles upside down just to make them harder, to a three-time state champion and member of the legendary Betches. Along the way: an arch-rival turned best friend, an undefeated streak that had to end somewhere, tears at Nationals, and a hype man who just happens to be her husband.

Brand Experience Director for Cobble Hill, LINDA MAXWELL joins me to talk about how a self-described “California girl” ended up working for a Canadian jigsaw brand and how they came to sponsor teams like the Golden State Puzzlers and events like the US Nationals.

I learned so much from Linda, and we only had time to talk about a small amount of the topics we could have explored!

I gathered up some previous guests and asked them to bring some topics we can all talk about.

Joining me on this episode are:

EB Caron

Katrina Coleman

Kristin Thuv

Sarah Schuler

Valerie Coit

Before we had any idea what we were going to do for the 2025 Portland Jigsaw Master livestream, I put a call out for people who would be interested in hopping on the livestream and chatting for a brief chat. The thinking was that it would be fun to get some different perspectives on the world of speed puzzling.

Some brave souls immediately raised their hands.

In this episode I pulled together those six short conversations as well as three additional short conversations with folks that I weren’t able to get on to the livestream primarily due to my own lack of planning.

In these conversations we discuss everything from what speed puzzling was like in Australia, to what it was like to do the same puzzle hundreds of times.

Some notes:

Since many of these conversations were recorded live at the event while competition is going on, the audio quality isn’t the best and you’ll hear us occasionally reacting to what was going on at the moment.

These conversations were recorded in July and August of 2025, so references to events in the future at the time are now events in the past (e.g., the 2025 Worlds competition), and references to “last November” were referring to 2024.

The complete livestream event can be found on YouTube at PortlandJigsawMasters, where you can also hear interviews with winners, and expert commentary by folks like Jeanne Roiter, Jim Eakins, and EB Caron(?).

Speaking of expert commentary, you’ll also hear the insightful questions of my co-host for much of the event, Carlie Craig, who was brand new to competitive jigsaw puzzling.

You might know Tammy McLeod as one of the founders of the United States Jigsaw Puzzle Association. You might know her as a Guinness World Record holder. Or possibly as a US National Sudoku champion, a member of the US escape room team, or competitive ballroom dancer. But however you know her, you’ll probably agree that she brings an unrelenting drive to every single pursuit.

Andrew Bradburn placed third in the US Nationals competition…in 1983. In this episode he talks about what that experience was like, how he was present as the USAJPA began to come together, and what he’s been up to since.

If you’ve watched the World Jigsaw Puzzle Championship, you’ve probably seen Charlie Kendall. Officially he’s the onsite announcer, but he occasionally appears on the livestreams and the odds are good that if something needs fixing, he’s in the middle trying to fix it.

The last time we talked to Wiktor Kacprzak, we didn’t have enough time with him. We did not make that mistake this time. If you ever wanted to deep dive into a world-class competitor’s experiences at Worlds, this episode is for you!