Before we play video games, it's important to get consent from relevant parties, such as Visa and Mastercard. This week, the Triple Click gang talks about payment processor censorship, Xbox layoffs, Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella's wild emails, and much more. Plus: the newfound relevance of South Park.

One More Thing:

Kirk: Star Trek: Lower Decks

Maddy: Peak

Jason: South Park

LINKS:

Tyler Foggott in the New Yorker on South Park’s premiere: https://www.newyorker.com/culture/the-lede/south-park-skewers-a-satire-proof-president

Bloomberg on Satya Nadella: https://www.bloomberg.com/news/features/2025-05-15/microsoft-ceo-satya-nadella-on-his-ai-efforts-and-openai-partnership?accessToken=eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJzb3VyY2UiOiJTdWJzY3JpYmVyR2lmdGVkQXJ0aWNsZSIsImlhdCI6MTc0NzQ0MDExNywiZXhwIjoxNzQ4MDQ0OTE3LCJhcnRpY2xlSWQiOiJTV0JNQ1FUMEFGQjQwMCIsImJjb25uZWN0SWQiOiJCNjVFOTM5Mjc2NzA0M0QzODY0NDRDMDdBRDc0OTE2NiJ9.y7u-8QK7MCMqjKVlR5fO6u5JG1Iel4Hrm7YF3XE4u64

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OH, BANANA! Kirk, Jason, and Maddy punch through some rocks for Donkey Kong Bananza, the first big single-player Switch 2 exclusive and the latest game from the team behind Super Mario Odyssey. They talk about its delightful design tricks, how much fun it is to smash up the world, and whether it's a worthy successor to Odyssey.

One More Thing:

Kirk: Children of Time (Adrien Tchaikovsky)

Maddy: The Drifter

Jason: Nurikabe World

LINKS:

Maddy’s review of The Drifter: https://www.endlessmode.com/video-games/the-drifter/the-drifter-is-a-gripping-mystery-with-grating-characters

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LIVE from Portland, it's Triple Click! Kirk, Maddy, and Jason reach into the Gamer hat and answer some audience questions. It gets a little off the rails.

Jason, Kirk, and Maddy open up the mailbag for some of your burning questions. Should a family that's never gotten a Switch before get a Switch 1 or Switch 2? Is it ethical to play online games on private servers? And can Outer Worlds 2 really critique capitalism while being made by one of the world's biggest corporations?

One More Thing:

Kirk: Birnam Wood (Eleanor Catton)

Maddy: Gaming pillow from Mechanism

Jason: Fantasy Life i: The Girl Who Steals Time

LINKS:

Kirk’s latest Strong Songs mailbag about the music of Blue Prince: https://strongsongspodcast.com/blogs/episodes/s07e09-bluegrass-blue-prince-and-the-blues

Triple Click LIVE in Portland, July 11: https://albertarosetheatre.com/event/triple-click-live/alberta-rose-theatre/portland-oregon/

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Triple Click brings on Tom Bissell, writer of video games, books, TV shows and the final three episodes of Andor season 2. They talk about how he went from reporting in Iraq to writing dialogue for Battlefield, his journey to become a writer on Andor, and what it was like to pen the conclusion to one of the most acclaimed TV shows of all time.

One More Thing:

Kirk: James (Percival Everett)

Maddy: Metroid: Zero Mission

Jason: Never Flinch (Stephen King)

LINKS:

“The Writer Will Do Something” by Matthew Seiji Burns and Tom Bissell: https://matthewseiji.itch.io/twwds

Nicholas Quah on “The Death Star Trilogy”: https://www.vulture.com/article/andor-rogue-one-new-hope-star-wars-trilogy-viewing-order.html

Paste Magazine interview with Tom about writing his Andor episodes: https://www.pastemagazine.com/tv/andor/andor-season-2-finale-postmortem-with-writer-tom-bissell

Tom’s Related Reading Recs: The House of Government by Yuri Slezkine, A Place of Greater Safety by Hilary Mantel, and anything by John Le Carré

Triple Click LIVE in Portland, July 11: https://albertarosetheatre.com/event/triple-click-live/alberta-rose-theatre/portland-oregon/

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Kirk, Maddy, and Jason take their Kas to the Beach for a trip through Hideo Kojima's latest action game, Death Stranding 2. They talk about the changes from the first game, the quirks of the story, and what it's like to build ladders and roads across Mexico, Australia, and more.

One More Thing:

Kirk: A Complete Unknown (2024)

Maddy: Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 (I finished it)

Jason: Ninth House (Leigh Bardugo)

LINKS:

Excerpts from “Minus Sixty One” and “Fragile Things” by WOODKID form the Death Stranding 2 OST

Wired on the making of Death Stranding 2: https://www.wired.com/story/how-covid-19-changed-hideo-kojimas-vision-for-death-stranding-2/

Sam Adler-Bell on A Complete Unknown: https://www.thenation.com/article/culture/a-complete-unknown-bob-dylan-film/

Triple Click LIVE in Portland, July 11: https://albertarosetheatre.com/event/triple-click-live/alberta-rose-theatre/portland-oregon/

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Kirk, Jason, and Maddy bring on special guest Ray Chase (Final Fantasy XV, Play Nice) to talk about his experiences as a voice actor and his new game, Date Everything! Ray talks about how he came up with the game, the seven-year saga of building it, and how it's so much more than a romance simulator.

One More Thing:

Kirk: The Eyre Affair (Jasper Fforde)

Maddy: I quit Polygon lol

Jason: Marble Hall Murders (Anthony Horowitz)

LINKS:

Kirk’s new collection “Music For Podcasting”: https://kirkhamilton.bandcamp.com/album/music-for-podcasting

Kindness Coins: https://arden.itch.io/kindness-coins

“Why AI Isn’t Going To Make Art” by Ted Chiang for The New Yorker: https://www.newyorker.com/culture/the-weekend-essay/why-ai-isnt-going-to-make-art

Triple Click LIVE in Portland, July 11: https://albertarosetheatre.com/event/triple-click-live/alberta-rose-theatre/portland-oregon/

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Maddy and Jason are home from Summer Game Fest, where they played a bunch of upcoming games. Kirk watched some cool announcements. And everyone's got Switch 2s, so there's much to discuss.

One More Thing:

Kirk: Switch 2

Maddy: Switch 2

Jason: Switch 2

LINKS:

Dan Olson on “Silkposting” - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WSkbylysplI

Ifixit gives Switch 2 a repairability score of 3/10: https://www.ifixit.com/News/110926/switch-2-teardown

Triple Click LIVE in Portland, July 11: https://albertarosetheatre.com/event/triple-click-live/alberta-rose-theatre/portland-oregon/

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Today, Nintendo released its first new console in eight years... and the Triple Click gang doesn't have it yet. But that won't stop Jason, Maddy, and Kirk from talking about the Switch 2, its launch lineup, and the imaginary promises that consoles bring. Plus: some Summer Games Fest hopes and predictions!

One More Thing:

Kirk: Hacks Season 4

Maddy: Queens & Cowboys: A Straight Year on the Gay Rodeo (2014)

Jason: The Doorman (Chris Pavone)

LINKS:

Kirk’s 2017 review of the Original Switch: https://kotaku.com/nintendo-switch-the-kotaku-review-1792776350

“Young Deb When She Was Happy” by Carlos Rafael Rivera from Hacks, Season 1

https://www.polygon.com/nintendo/602181/all-nintendo-console-launches-ranked

Triple Click LIVE in Portland, July 11: https://albertarosetheatre.com/event/triple-click-live/alberta-rose-theatre/portland-oregon/

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Arise, tarnished, and watch out for server errors. Jason, Kirk, and Maddy team up for some co-op in Elden Ring: Nightreign, the new multiplayer spinoff by From Software. It's a fun game to talk about! They talk about the high highs, low lows, and the opacity of it all.

One More Thing:

Kirk: Your Friends and Neighbors (Apple TV+)

Maddy: Kitchen Nightmares

Jason: The Rehearsal (HBO)

LINKS:

Tyler Colp’s PC Gamer Nightreign Review: https://www.pcgamer.com/games/rpg/elden-ring-nightreign-review/

Triple Click LIVE in Portland, July 11: https://albertarosetheatre.com/event/triple-click-live/alberta-rose-theatre/portland-oregon/

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