In this episode, Rob and Don stalk the werewolf’s place in popular culture, hunting the elusive man who walks like a wolf! Along the way, they explore the history of werewolves in real life and fiction, talk about the origins of werewolves on film, and explore the RPG called Werewolf: The Apocalypse! All this, and […]

In this, the hundredth episode of the Department of Nerdly Affairs, Rob, Don, and Jack sit down to discuss their greatest creative failures. The trio talk about the challenges they’ve faced, what they’ve learned from them, and what failure really means. Along the way, they delve into the power of psychology, marketing, and clowns. Which […]

In this episode, Don and Rob are joined by Jack Ward to discuss the book Trust Me, I’m Lying by Ryan Holiday and the implications that come with his tell-all book about media manipulation. The three delve into the techniques used by Holiday and media manipulators, how the media hacks human psychology, and why fake […]

In this episode, Don and Rob explore vampires and their place in history and popular culture. The two intrepid stalkers of the night discuss vampire legends, obscure vampire lore, and the history of vampires on film. All this, and Rob’s rant about stupid vampire lords, is waiting to suck your attention in this episode of […]

In this episode, Rob and Don are joined by their favorite teacher Jack Ward to discuss education and how it’s reflected in popular culture. The three explore the roles education plays in society, and how pop culture and education both reflect and change each other. They also discuss the different kinds of movies about teachers […]

In this episode, Rob and Don are joined by their friend Jack Ward to discuss the difference between Role Playing Games that use detailed rules systems (rules heavy) versus those who use minimalist rules (rules lite) and how each affects gameplay. Along the way, the trio discuss lots of oldschool RPGs, Japanese vs. American RPGs, […]

In this episode, Don and Rob are joined by Jack Ward to discuss a recent Reddit survey on fantasy tropes people love. They discuss how people might be misusing the word and idea of tropes, and then go through people’s top choices for fantasy tropes, from the heroic last stand to the plucky young hero, […]

In this episode, Rob and Don dig into the concept of tropes and discuss how they connect with tabletop RPG gaming. Few people think about how Hit Points are actually an artificial idea created by games, and how they affect the way we think about games- this is an example of a gaming trope. Don […]

In this episode, Don listens as Rob goes on a tear about one of his pet peeves- Evil Overlords in Fantasy and Science Fiction. The pair discuss the origins of the Evil Overlord trope, why is exists, and what the problems are with it. Along they way, they discuss “Villains who say Bah!”, the Asian […]

In this episode, Don and Rob take a look at the messy history of the police in popular culture. Starting off with a history of the police themselves, the pair explore how police stories are very much a reflection of the society which produces them, and how we seem to alternate between two forms of […]