Leading experts agree: last year was the most 2017 of any year yet. At least the video games were good. Join Bryan and returning guest Steve Watts as they talk about the best and brightest the year had to offer in digital interactive entertainment in the first-ever live streamed episode of Serious Fun!

This week on Serious Fun – is there such a thing as ethical sports fandom? Or does the often exploitative nature of college and professional sports mean that we’re complicit in some of the very things to which we are often morally opposed? Bryan sits down with freelance journalist Jessica Luther, author of “Unsportsmanlike Conduct: College Football and the Politics of Rape”, to discuss her work as well as topics ranging from the systemic problems inherent in college and other levels of athletics to the role the media play in perpetuating these problems to what we can do to challenge the status quo and make sports more inclusive.

This week, Bryan talks with UWGB Associate Provost and historian Clif Ganyard about pop culture's ongoing fascination with World War 2. Has using the conflict as a backdrop for comparatively simple popular culture in turn simplified our view of the war? How do games like Call of Duty and Wolfenstein and films like Inglourious Basterds turn the war into an abstract...and how might they be used to educate as well? All this plus a lengthy discussion of Captain America.

As part of Serious Fun’s ongoing commitment to riding the coattails of major pop culture events, this week Bryan sits down (virtually) with long-time friend, former podcast co-host, and veteran video games journalist and editor Steve Watts to talk about the long-term impact and cultural value of the Super Mario franchise in light of the release of Super Mario Odyssey. On the docket: our memories of Mario, the importance of Mario to game design, the series’ often turbulent relationship with feminism, and discussion about why Mario endures as a pop culture figure nearly four decades after his debut. All that and lots more, including coming to grips with the the truly disturbing realization that Mario is only canonically 24 years old (seriously, look it up). Tune in!

MUSIC AND OTHER CREDITS:

Super Mario Bros. – “Ground Theme” – Koji Kondo

Super Mario Bros. The Movie Trailer

Super Mario Galaxy – “Gusty Garden Galaxy” – Mahito Yokota & Koji Kondo

Super Mario Bros. Super Show – “Do The Mario” – Performed by Captain Lou Albano

Super Mario World – “Ending Theme” – Koji Kondo

(Special thanks to http://www.themushroomkingdom.net/ for some of these clips)

Time to smash into a new episode of Serious Fun! Recorded live at Brown County Public Library Comic-Con, this fantastic crossover episode with “All The Rage” sees Bryan sitting down with “All the Rage” hosts Ryan Martin and Chuck Rybak for an episode unpacking the anger that fuels the Incredible Hulk and his superhero cohort. Is The Hulk an interesting and accurate depiction of anger? What can we learn – or fail to learn – from his exploits? How does anger manifest in different ways among different heroes and in other media? All this and misidentification of eye color this week on Serious Fun!

SPECIAL MUSIC CREDIT:

Joe Harnell – “The Lonely Man”, The Incredible Hulk (TV Series) soundtrack

Jiminy Jilikers! It's a live episode from the Brown County Public Library's annual Comic-Con event with comics artist Mike Norton! Bryan sits down with Mike to ask him about his work, his style, his affinity for pugs, and more in a wide-ranging interview. Learn about what it's like to work for DC Comics, how Mike developed a multiple award-winning webcomic, and more!

Oh my goodness, it appears Serious Fun is at it again! This time Bryan sits down with UWGB Computer Science professor and game industry veteran Ben Geisler to talk about the fine art of game design, from corporate challenges to finding sneaky ways to engage and empower players. Plus: electronic music is defended.

Credits: "Music 6" - Bill Brown (Incredible Hulk: Ultimate Destruction); "A Dream of Armageddon" - Sascha Dikiciyan & Cris Velasco (Prototype).

Like a whirling dervish of red, white, and blue Episode 4 of Serious Fun is here to show man's world what's what. This episode was recorded from a talk given by Bryan at the Brown County Library's Wonder Woman Day, part of a global celebration of the character's 75th anniversary and her new movie. If you ever wanted to know anything about Wonder Woman, her history, and her role in society and pop culture, here's the show for you! Bonus: hear what audience members had to say after the talk!

CREDITS: "Is She With You?" - Hans Zimmer & Junkie XL (Batman v. Superman: Dawn of Justice OriginaL Soundtrack); "Hell Hath No Fury" - Rupert Gregson-Willams (Wonder Woman Original Soundtrack)

Episode 3 of Serious Fun is here and it brings with it a lovely chat with Tyler Scholz, recent UWGB grad and host -slash- creator of the Reading Pixels webseries on YouTube. Tyler talks to Bryan about his work analyzing games, the challenges a young YouTuber faces, and defends his fandom for Jojo's Bizarre Adventure. All that, and a Special Celebrity Guest*! Check out Tyler's videos by starting with his first episode at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B2hOA-P1YKc.

CREDITS: "Last Surprise" - Shoji Meguro (Persona 5 Original Soundtrack), Arrested Development - Fox Television

*Kind of!

Despite all warnings and wisdom to the contrary, here before you sits another episode of Serious Fun. This time, Bryan sits down with the hosts of Phoenix Studios' "All the Rage Podcast" (UWGB English professor Chuck Rybak and UWGB Psychology chair Ryan Martin) to dork out over the literary, psychological, and cultural dimensions of the incredibly lucrative and timely Marvel Cinematic Universe. Put this on as you drive to the theater to see Guardians! Or don't! I'm a podcast description, not a cop!

(Please note: There are spoilers for pretty much all of the MCU films, as well as "Logan" and many other movies - if you're not up to date on your superhero cinema you might want to wait a minute. It's completely Guardians 2 spoiler-free though because none of us have seen it yet!)