Reserved Recommendations

This episode I talk to my brother Angus about the (at the time) controversial game Spec Ops: The Line, which used a franchise reboot of an existing tactical shooter series to attempt a series of powerful critiques of the modern military shooter genre, player culpability in videogame violence, and war in general. Did it succeed? In a word, mostly. CW for discussions of graphic violence and spoilers for a videogame from 2012.

Produced by Manawatū People's Radio with the support of NZ On Air.

Way back when I talked to Stuart Drake (The Fatalities) about Sonic the Hedgehog, he said to get in touch if I ever wanted to talk Blink 182, and sure enough there is a new Blink 182 album out - so now seemed like the time. We chat about the band, their history as a (kind of fractious) group, their role in popularising pop punk as a genre, and the surprising level of vulnerability they bring to their songwriting.

Find The Fatalities at https://thefatalities.bandcamp.com/

Produced by Manawatū People's Radio with the support of NZ On Air.

AI (or something that goes by that name at least) is the current global tech fad du jour. People have cited it as the thing that will save/doom us all, a pointless waste of time, and a means of committing fraud and plagiarism with much greater speed and efficiency than ever before. Which of these assessments are true? Kind of all and none of them. Matthew Jenkin (who actually knows things about computers) joins the pod this week to discuss the whole field.

Produced by Manawatū People's Radio with the support of NZ On Air.

Most Kiwis, if they know Lupin III at all, probably know him from the Miyazaki Hayao-directed "Castle of Cagliostro" which is on NZ Netflix as part of the Studio Ghibli Collection. "Cagliostro" is good, but presents a kinder and gentler version of the master thief than the majority of Lupin media. "The Mystery of Mamo" is the previous Lupin movie, and hews closer to the madcap violence and lechery of the original manga. It's weird, experimental, (and has a surprise Hitler cameo!) Shannon Strucci is an internet commentator, podcaster, amateur Lupinologist, and made the video essay that inspired this podcast. We talk about "Mamo" and the wild world of Lupin III generally, and it is a Good Time.

Produced by Manawatū People's Radio with the support of NZ On Air.

Over the last couple of episodes I've ended up circling back to "it was the 90's" as an explanation for weird or offensive elements in TTRPGs. I felt like this was a thread worth pulling on, so I called on Jay Brandstetter and Winslow Dumaine of the podcast "I'm From The Internet" (https://shows.acast.com/im-from-the-internet-a-podcast-about-somethingawfulcom) to help me unpack the edgy internet style of the 90's and 00's, and explore its ongoing impact on our culture.

Produced by Manawatū People's Radio with the support of NZ On Air.

The last of my KiwiRPG Week miniseries (www.kiwirpg.com for more on that!) this time I talk to Sean Murphy (www.smurphy-games.itch.io) about "Violence", a satirical 1999 roleplaying game by Greg Costikyan (www.costik.com) under the pseudonym "Designer X". Violence is part of a wave of critiques of the state of the roleplaying scene that emerged through the mid-late 90s, and in particular attempted to skewer mainstream gaming's relationships with both wanton violence and consumerism. How successful is the satire? We'll get into that...

CW on this one for discussions of violence and general 90s edginess.

Produced by Manawatū People's Radio with the support of NZ On Air.

This episode in my continuing mini-series for KiwiRPG week (www.kiwirpg.com for more on that!) I talk to Tim Denee of Old Dog Games (www.olddog.games) about the game I used to play with him back in high school: Deadlands. Deadlands is a "weird west" roleplaying game, and is a fascinating microcosm of a lot of both the good and the bad of 90s game design with a very distinctive balance of genuinely cool ideas, hokey weirdness, and outright broken mechanics. By comparison we also get into passing discussions of the World of Darkness, WEG's D6 Star Wars game, and particularly Vincent Baker's Dogs in the Vineyard. Minor CW on this one for discussions of racism, sexism, and cultural appropriation.

Produced by Manawatū People's Radio with the support of NZ On Air.

KiwiRPG week is (at time of publishing) just round the corner! I'm doing a few interviews with NZ TTRPG folks to mark the occasion, and the first of these is with Mike Sands (Monster of the Week - https://evilhat.com/product/monster-of-the-week) talking about RPGs that use unusual mechanical or storytelling methods. We cover a pretty broad range of stuff, but in particular talk about Maskwitches, Wanderhome, Yazeba's Bed and Breakfast, and Sunderwald. For more on KiwiRPG: www.kiwirpg.com!

Produced by Manawatū People's Radio with the support of NZ On Air.

"Cloud Atlas" is probably the Wachowski sisters' most divisive movie - critics at the time (and audiences today) seem to either love it or hate it. Today's guest (filmmaker and cinematographer Derrick Sims) and I are obviously in the former camp. This episode we look at this intensely ambitious movie and dig into what makes it so hard for some people to get their heads around.

Produced by Manawatū People's Radio with the support of NZ On Air.

One of the things that makes me very uncomfortable about NZ society is the way that ANZAC Day is recognised. It seems to me that most discussion around the day tends to recycle what is essentially contemporary propaganda about the causes and aims of WWI in particular. On this episode I'm joined by Scott Hamilton (@SikotiHamiltonR) author, essayist, and researcher, to discuss some forgotten parts of ANZAC history that complicate the heroic myth. CW for discussion of violence.

Produced by Manawatū People's Radio with the support of NZ On Air.