Serious Fun

Recorded live at the 2026 Level Up event at Brown County Library in downtown Green Bay, this episode of Serious Fun sees Bryan dive deep into the wonderful and sometimes bizarre technology behind the massive multimedia empire of Pokémon! Learn how designers solved key communication problems using limited hardware, invented new ways of getting us out and engaged with the world, and how fans inspired by the series have designed their own creative works.

In this episode of Serious Fun, Bryan braves the Thanksgiving weekend snow to talk about games at his local game shop! Learn about game design through the MDA model and how the emotional reactions we get from games can actually support our real-world lives and skill sets! Discover how games can be a source of empowerment and identity performance! Learn all about "blissful productivity" and why it matter! Also he talks about his Warhammer collection.

What better way to celebrate Halloween than by talking about spiders? In this episode, Bryan sits down with UWGB Environmental Science and Policy graduate student Mack Gore to talk about all things arachnid. What are the common public misconceptions about spiders? Where does arachnophobia come from? What kind of spider would make the best roommate? All these and more are part of the tangled web woven by this episode of Serious Fun!

Notes:

Check out the Cofrin Center for Biodiversity Instagram here: https://www.instagram.com/uwgbbiodiversity/

Check out the UWGB College of Science, Engineering and Technology Instagram here:

https://www.instagram.com/uwgbcset/

In this, the final installment of three live shows from Brown County Library Pop Con, it's time to bring out the bad guys - or are they just misunderstood?

Dr. Jaye Case, Dr. Justin Kavlie, and Dr. Clif Ganyard join Bryan to discuss what makes a truly great pop culture villain by discussing four of our favorite fiends. Whether it's an unstoppable force of nature or a dark reflection of the hero, why are we so fascinated by the bad guys? What do villains represent - is it just antagonism or is it also a genuine cautionary tale that reflects our real-world anxieties? All this and some complaining about Star Wars in this episode of Serious Fun!

In this corner, live from the 2025 Brown County Library Pop Con, weighing in at 58 minutes and 22 seconds, it’s the first-ever Wrestler Wroundtable on Serious Fun!

In this episode, Bryan sits down with Hybrid Wrestling Entertainment stars “Marvelous” Ethen Matthews, Josie “The Icebox” Valentine, Kujo “The Mad Dog of War”, and Sam Eli to talk about what it takes to be a pro wrestler, how that journey starts, in-ring and out-of-ring inspirations, and more! This wide-ranging conversation will make you laugh, cry, and start chanting for someone to grab the tables.

Don’t forget to check out HWE: Path to the Bash on Friday, October 24th from the Barrel Haus at Badger State Brewing in Green Bay! Links are included in the show notes.

(PRODUCER NOTE: The audio is a bit blown out at first due to the recording setup, it has been adjusted for loudness but there was not much to be done about the distortion. It calms down significantly and is back to normal after the first minute or so but just be forewarned.)

Show notes:

Music:

WWF WrestleMania (NES, 1990) – “Title” by David Wise

WCW/nWo: Revenge (N64, 1998) – “Title Theme” by Kouji Niikura & Yukie Sugawara

Check out past HWE matches here: https://www.youtube.com/@HybridWrestlingEntertainment

Follow HWE on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/HWELLC23

Get your tickets for HWE Path to the Bash (10/24, Barrel Haus at Badger State Brewing in Green Bay, WI) here: https://www.ticketsource.com/hybridwrestling/hwe-path-to-the-bash/e-pqjzok

It's the first of three shows from the 2025 Brown County Library Pop Con! Bryan sits down with cartoonist and author Lucy Knisley (Woe: A Housecat's Story of Despair, Sugar Shack, Kid Gloves, Relish) to talk about her work and how she draws creativity from her own life and experiences. It's a wide-ranging conversation about everything from Archie comics to "wocks" to AI, served up alongside some great advice for younger listeners and readers. Check it out now!

Show notes:

Check out Lucy's work at https://www.lucyknisley.com

This week on Serious Fun, Bryan sits down with Hybrid Wrestling Entertainment champion Aaron Arsenal ahead of his big title defense in the main event of HWE Summer Series Round 1 at Badger State Brewing in Green Bay! Aaron tells us all about being an indie wrestler - the crazy schedule, the storytelling, the unusual training regimen, his favorite matches, and so much more! Give it a listen and don't forget to stretch!

Aaron's Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thehipsterhunk/?hl=en

Aaron's PWT page: https://www.prowrestlingtees.com/aaronarsenal

Aaron's Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/AaronArsenalPro

HWE: https://www.facebook.com/HWELLC23/

It's NFL Draft week and that means football is on the collective mind - so what better time to talk about the history of video game football and the role it's played in the popular presentation and consciousness of the sport? As part of the Brown County Library's Football Fan-O-Rama, Bryan does just that, covering decades of history, anecdotes, and game design in like 45 minutes. From the early days of pen and paper and electric football all the way to the breathtaking realism and simulation of the Madden series, it's all in here - so strap on the pads and hit the field (or put on your headphones and hit play) for a new Serious Fun!

Independent pro wrestling is an experience that is part sports spectacle, part collaborative community theater, and wholly unique. This week on Serious Fun, Bryan sits down with TJ Bowles, long-time pro wrestling referee and General Manager of the Green Bay-based independent promotion Hybrid Wrestling Entertainment, to talk about what goes into a match from the moment fans enter the venue to the moment the last bell rings. Ever wondered what role a referee plays in a match? What about the importance of lighting and production values? How do wrestlers tell stories and engage with the crowd? How do wrestlers, referees, and promoters improvise on the fly when reality strikes? Whether you're a long-time "pro graps" fan, curious, or even skeptical, this week's show is for you.

Check out Hybrid Wrestling Entertainment on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@HybridWrestlingEntertainment

Thanks to Kevin MacLeod for the outro music: https://incompetech.com

A new(ish) era of Serious Fun kicks off with UWGB English professor Zack Kruse! Bryan and Zack talk about the work of the enigmatic and often misunderstood Steve Ditko, creator of characters like Spider-Man, Doctor Strange, and The Question, as well as Zack's must-read book "Mysterious Travelers: Steve Ditko and the Search for a New Liberal Identity". We'll discuss the complex ideological and philosophical framework that shaped Ditko's creative output, how it manifests in his most popular characters, and more!

Special thanks to Marcus Moss for the intro and outro voiceovers, and Kevin McLeod for the outro music.

Check out "Mysterious Travelers" here: https://www.upress.state.ms.us/Books/M/Mysterious-Travelers