Episode 31 - Asst. Prof. Kristin Bezio - Video Game Analysis and Much More!

Interview with Asst. Prof. Kristin Bezio on equal representation in video games, "Gamer Gate" and more! With Nerdy News, Trailer Reviews and a warped game of Would You Rather

A Play On Nerds - Episode 31 - Prof. Kristin Bezio - Video Game Analysis and Much More!
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In our monster sized 31st episode we speak with Kristin M.S. Bezio, Assistant Professor of Leadership Studies at the Jepson School of Leadership Studies at the University of Richmond in Virginia.  Her background is in technical theater and literature, and her research interests include early modern drama, leadership studies, and game studies. She is the resident contributing games editor for The Learned Fangirl: A Critical Take on Online Culture and Social Media and has written opinion pieces on violence in games and GamerGate for a variety of news outlets, including the Christian Science Monitor and Seattle Times. Recent academic gaming publications include “Maker’s Breath: Religion, Spirituality, and the Godless World of Dragon Age II” in the special issue “Religion and Digital Games” in Online: Heidelberg Journal of Religions on the Internet and “Friends & Rivals: Loyalty, Ethics, and Leadership in Dragon Age II” in Identity and Leadership in Virtual Communities: Establishing Credibility and Influence. Her work explores the intersection of popular media – games, film, television, theater, and literature – and questions of leadership and citizenship in both the early modern and contemporary eras. She currently serves on the board of the Unorthodox Arts Foundation, is a member of Host of Sparrows Aerial Dance, and has worked with the Madison Creative Arts Program, the Actors’ Shakespeare Project, Willing Suspension Productions, and the Virginia Repertory Theatre.

We also cover some Nerdy News with some prehistoric developments about birds and some quantum entangling science news. 

There is a quick yet disturbing game of Would You Rather, followed by Trailer Reviews. This time we cover Cinderella, Kingsman, and Terminator: Genisys.

Captain Picard/Star Trek remix of Let it Snow by James Covenant on YouTube.

 

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Episode 30 - 1984 Pop Culture

What was cool 30 years ago in the realms of video games, television, technology, films and music?! Jarman and Steve dive into 1984 to find out!

A Play On Nerds - Episode 30 - 1984 Pop Culture
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Before we jump into our hot tub time machine to 1984, we tackle some Nerdy News from our time, including the confirmed Doctor Strange casting and Deadpool film progress, as well as the useful infestation of pests in New York City.

How good are you with your 1984 movie quotes? We'll find out when Steve quizzes us on popular movies from the time, and we have to guess where they came from. Spoiler: Jarman does horribly.

Then we jump into our feature, where we honor our 30th episode by going 30 years into the past and check out the pop culture of 1984. We cover everything from video games, tech news, TV, film, music and more. Along with our usual tangents of course. That was quite an eventful year in pop culture, so be sure to listen in!

Be sure to contact us and tell us what you think! We'll read your comments on the show!

Mentioned on the show: 

http://youtu.be/MCJh4a5iAqw

Chase Holfelder – Major to Minor: “Girls Just Want Have Fun”

Episode 29 - Space! The Nerdy Frontier

The Science of Aliens, Space Profits, Dark Matter and More!

A Play On Nerds - Episode 29 - Space! The Nerdy Frontier
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Join us for our nerdy adventure into space! 

We jump into some Nerdy News all about space, with talk of meteoric revelations and comet landings.

Then Jarman quizzes Steve and the audience if they can tell what are real astronomical science terms and which phrases are total BS in Super Real Science or Star Trek Technobabble!

For our space feature we discuss a whole universe of possibilities, from the possibilities of future profits to be found in space, what kind of aliens we may encounter, and the little amount of hard science we have about Dark Matter. A fascinating and hilarious discussion as usual.

Want to lose or gain some weight? Well Steve quizzes Jarman on whether you would weigh less or more on any given planet in our solar system. Now you'll know exactly where you'll head on that first flight away from our planet!

This week in Trailer Reviews we cover Avengers: Age of Ultron, Chappie, and The Imitation Game.

 

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Episode 28 - Halloween Megashow!

Halloween memories of parties, costumes, candy, movies, music, TV and more!

Hipster Pumpkin knows other gourds you've probably never heard of...

A Play On Nerds - Episode 28 - Halloween Megashow!
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It's our giant belated Halloween Megashow! Jarman and Steve cover everything Halloween, from our first memories of trick or treating, to our favorite horror movies, we cover it all.

Steve quizzes Jarman on some crazy candy trivia. There is some weird wild stuff out there that you probably never heard of!

Then Jarman plays How Did They Die?! with Steve, where he plays an audio clip of a ridiculous death from a horror movie and Steve has to guess... How Did They Die?! Turns out this is incredibly difficult with just audio.

Then in Trailer Reviews, we cover upcoming horror films, Summer of Blood, Houses that October Built, and VHS: Viral. 

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Episode 27 - Turner and Hooch VS K-9!

Copy Cat Cinema returns with Turner and Hooch VS K-9! Enough drool to fill a bathtub...

A Play On Nerds - Episode 27 - Turner and Hooch VS K-9!
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It's the triumphant return of Copy Cat Cinema (again...) with Turner and Hooch VS K-9! But before that we delve into so appropriately related dog Nerdy News, as well as completely unrelated possible life after death news... 

After the poochy movie segment and some talk about hot dogs and dog trivia (so many dogs!!!) we delve into some Hypothetical Hubub, where Steve must decide what he would do in some insane hypothetical situations.

This week in Trailer Reviews we cover Keanu Reeves in John Wick, the art thief documentary Art and Craft, and the ever too sexy Antonio Banderas in the iRobot-similar-but-prettier Automata.