With Nuketown’s re-launch and the return of Radio Active, I’ve been spending time listening to podcasts as a way of getting caught up on the state of the geek community as well as current topics in gaming.
As I mentioned previously, my sweet spot for podcasts these days is 15-25 minutes. That corresponds with the length of my commute, allowing me to listen to one show each way. That sweet spot lets me get in more shows per week while still leaving some time for audio books. That’s not to say I won’t listen to longer podcasts, but my preference is for less.
If you know of geeky podcasts in the 15-25 minute range, I’d love to hear about them; leave a comment below or email me at nuketown@gmail.com.
December Playlist
Gnomecast Podcast – Epsiode 30: Holiday Games: GnomeCast consistently falls within the sweet spot thus earning it a recurring place on my playlist. During this episode John, Senda, and TJ discuss the holidays, including the real-world impact of holidays on people’s gaming schedules and the fantasy-world impact of holidays on characters.
Ken and Robin Talk About Stuff – Episode 272: “We Laugh At Your Fireball”: A regular exception to my 20 -minute guideline, during this episode hosts Ken Hite and Robin Laws discuss two ways of structuring mystery scenarios, recount their adventures at the Dragonmeet game convention, and delve deeply into the pile of books that Ken picked up in London. Both of the hosts are fighting colds but still manage to entertain and educate.
DM-Nastics 105 – Gods Among Us 5: The DM-Nastics podcast is all about stretching your mental muscles as a dungeon master. On this episode DM Neal and DM Josh continue their discussion of gods and religion as they delve into the topic of deities of the afterlife. It’s worth checking out the companion forum post before listening to the podcast, but it’s not strictly necessary. I love how this series encourages DMs to really think about their campaigns and the work that goes into them; after listening I almost always have a new idea for my own game.
Misdirected Mark Podcast #287 – Table Culture: This episode offers a lengthy discussion of “table culture”. They’re not talking about the fantasy culture of video games; instead they’re talking about the unique cultures that arise within different gamer groups. They talk about how the games themselves can inform that culture, as well as the myriad of other influences that are in play. It’s a long episode — with the post show it weighs in at 1 hour and 51 minutes — but it’s a topic worth listening to.
Next up in the queue
I’ve got a few new podcasts queued up for January 2018:
I also came across RPG Casts, which is directory of role-playing game podcasts. It’s got a lot of actual play podcasts, which aren’t really my thing, but there are also plenty of discussion-based podcasts to explore. If you’ve got a podcast you think you should check out, let me know by emailing nuketown@gmail.com or posting a comment.
Featured Image Meta
Album art representing the Gnomecast, Misdirected Mark, Dungeon Master’s Block, and Ken and Robin Talk About Stuff.