Waypoint Radio

Content Warnings: Pregnancy-related body horror, harm to children.It's Wednesday and that means Waypoints, where the site's staff and friends will bring something to share with each other and with you: a TV show, art exhibit, movie, album, or other thing from the universe of pop culture. to discuss, dissect, and enjoy.It's been a week! Perhaps in preparation for such a week, Rob's been going back to Alan Furst's Night Soldiers series and vicariously taking part in the clandestine warfare of spies in 1930s Europe. Patrick's been reading about Mark Zuckerberg's reckoning with his monster, and the possibility that Zuck may still be surprised by who the real monster might prove to be. Danielle has very mixed feeling about A Quiet Place and the ways it combines horror-movie logic gaps with upsetting gender politics. Meanwhile, Austin has journeyed back to a residential black neighborhood in 1990s Chicago, which finds itself a dumping ground for the detritus of "urb

This week on Waypoint Radio: Austin, Danielle, Rob, and Natalie discuss Rob's recent reverie in Forza Horizon 4, Natalie had her dessert first in Super Mario Party, Danielle is catching up with Kassandra in Assassin's Creed Odyssey, and Austin has a surprising amount to say about Xbox Game Pass.Discussed: Forza Horizon 4, Super Mario Party, Paper Mario series, Assassin's Creed Odyssey, Life is Strange 2, Kentucky Route 0, Oxenfree, Xbox Game Pass  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Spoiler Warning for Life is Strange Season One.It is not easy to write good, believable teen characters in any work of fiction, and that certainly goes for games. On Waypoint Radio 192, Danielle, Natalie, and Patrick talk about games that do teen writing and teen characters well—inspired by this week’s release of Life is Strange 2 (episode 1), and the series that each of us has an affinity for. We talk about LIS and its approach to dialogue, teen media that works, the shows and books we loved as real actual teens, and the dearth of AAA games that attempt realistic teen dialogue (with one notable exception!). Then we take to the question bucket and imagine immersive sims based on our lives, and Patrick gets an excellent dad corner moment.Discussed: Life is Strange 2, Life is Strange, Gone Home, Night in the Woods, the X-Files, Daria, Twilight, Harry Potter, Gossip Girl, The Hunger Games, Donut County, The Last of Us: Left Behind  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Waypoint is in the midst of launching several new podcasts, including this Currently Untitled Waypoint Rewatch Podcast That You Should Definitely Help Us Name, where we pick a movie or TV series to watch, dissect, and closely read. Given we’re launching this podcast series in October, it only made sense to start with a genre near and dear to host Patrick Klepek's heart: horror!To that end, we’re rewatching the entirety of The Purge series, a four-part series about a world where for one night per year, all crime is legal. It’s a goofy, over-the-top premise, but one that’s treated with more seriousness and sincerity than most genre fare, largely because it refuses to avoid the obvious class and racial tensions that would arise from such an event.  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

This week, we've been trying to figure out what we make of Maniac, Netflix's reality-bending satire from True Detective Season 1 director Cary Joji Fukunaga, starring Emma Stone and Jonah Hill (plus a generous supply of superb New York character actors. We see you, Arkady Ivanovich). Danielle has been to Kink Haüs, a show combining dance, music, and performance art to explore different themes around queer identity. Rob has been immersed in the Matt Fraction / David Aja Hawkeye series from 2012-13, and the ways it plays with various structural aspects of comics to achieve something wholly unexpected. Finally, Patrick has been getting spooky as he listens to the Halloween Unmasked podcast, in which film critic Amy Nicholson explores the background and context behind John Carpenter's classic horror movie, Halloween.Content Warnings: Discussions of racial violence, homophobia, mental health, and self-harm.Discussed: Maniac, Kink Haüs by Gunnar Montana, Hawkeye by Matt Fraction / Davi

C/W: discussion of bestiality and homophobia at 1:36:50 - 1:38:15This week on Waypoint Radio: Austin, Danielle, Rob, and Patrick sit down to discuss the sheep studying mechanics (among others) in Red Dead Redemption 2, how the first episode of Life is Strange 2 finds a new narrative flavor, just how annoying Socrates really is in Assassin's Creed: Odyssey, and top it all off with a shout out to the Queerness and Games Conference.Discussed: Red Dead Redemption 2, Life is Strange 2, Assassin's Creed Odyssey, Queerness and Games Conference  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

On Waypoint Radio 190, Danielle, Rob, and Patrick look at the image of the game developer. Spurred on by a recent Eurogamer piece examining early 80s EA advertising for "software artists," and the infamous 2008 New Yorker profile of Cliff Bleszinski, and the image of creatives in our field through the years.Discussed: Seeing farther: the advert that changed the games industry (https://www.eurogamer.net/articles/2018-09-16-seeing-farther-the-advert-that-changed-the-games-industry) The Grammar of Fun (https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2008/11/03/the-grammar-of-fun), Halt and Catch Fire, SuperStore, Parks and Recreation  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Welcome to a brand-new Waypoint podcast! In Waypoints, the staff and friends will bring something to share: be it a TV show, art exhibit, movie, or other thing from the universe to discuss, dissect, and enjoy. On episode 2, Austin is listening to Serial Season 3, Rob watched Akira Kurosawa's Ikiru, Danielle got into the fall spirit early with a trip to Halloween Horror Nights, and Patrick has a lot to say about sports fandom.Where you can find this stuff: Serial Season 3: anywhere you listen to podcasts. Ikiru: available for rent or purchase from Amazon Prime Video, Google Play, Vudu, iTunes or as a part of the Criterion Collection, Halloween Horror Nights: https://www.halloweenhorrornights.com/, Hopelessly Devoted: http://www.nfl.com/labs/sidelines/hopelessly-devoted/hopelessly-devoted.html  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Content Warning: During our discussion of labor practices at games studios, the previews for Red Dead Redemption 2 come up and reference is made to a line about horse genitalia from the Kotaku preview piece. Skip minutes 52-54 if you'd like to avoid that, and stop the podcast as Austin begins doing the outro (1:11:22).On today's Waypoint Radio, Austin, Natalie, Patrick, and Rob discuss the recent sudden closure of Telltale Games, how crunch culture causes a cycle of burnout that is physically unsustainable, and how unions and radical cultural change might be the only way forward. Then they talk about the games they've been playing over the past week, and how Rob totally didn't stab his friend in the back.Discussed: Telltale Games closure, The Walking Dead: The Final Season, crunch, games unionization, Red Dead Redemption 2, Forza Horizon 4, Heat Signature, The Messenger, Undertale, War of the Ring  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Content Warning: We begin with the Trump/Toad DiscourseToday, Danielle, Natalie, Patrick, and Rob sit down to talk about the ways in which fandoms interpret works. Why is it that we can find the "horny" in just about any piece of media? When is it inconsequential fun, and when--as in the case of Sesame Street's Bert and Ernie--is the question of a character's sexuality something worth taking a little more seriously. Plus, we take a quick dip in the bucket to discuss a piece of lore from Quantum Break.Discussed: Toad, Mario Franchise, Twin Peaks, Sesame Street, Harry Potter, Quantum Break  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Welcome to a brand new Waypoint podcast! In Waypoints, the staff and friends will bring something to share: be it a TV show, art exhibit, movie, or other thing from the universe to discuss, dissect, and enjoy. On episode 1, Rob has things to say about fascist propaganda, Natalie has entered Twin Peaks for the first time, Austin has things to say about The Dragon Prince, and Patrick has the Nic Cage new horror classic Mandy.Where you can find this stuff: The Art of Influence Exhibit: Boston's Museum of Fine Arts. Twin Peaks: Netflix or Hulu. The Dragon Prince: Netflix. Mandy: iTunes, most VOD services.  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

On Waypoint Radio 187, Austin, Danielle, Rob, and Patrick discuss the epic troll Nintendo pulled on Animal Crossing fans in its recent Nintendo Direct. Really, we talk through all of the announcements from the presenttaion, including Luigi's ghostly form, Switch ports, and that big Animal Crossing on Switch reveal. Then we talk about games we've been playing, including the masque of Red Death, The Messenger, Frozen Synapse, and more. And, of course, there's a dip in the question bucket and some fun announcements!Discussed: Nintendo Direct on 9/13, Animal Crossing, Luigi's Mansion 3, New Super Mario Bros 3 Deluxe, The Masque of Red Death, The Messenger, Frozen Synapse 2   See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Danielle, Cado, Natalie and Rob sit down to talk lore in games, when it's done well, when it's done poorly, and just why it's so hard to get right. We start with Destiny, a franchise that has radically changed just how it handles lore, and go deep into design that encourages intriguing, rather than eye-rolling detail about a game's world and characters. Discussed: Destiny, Destiny 2, Bloodborne, Dragon Age: Inquisition, Hollow Knight, Mass Effect, Life is Strange: Before the Storm, System Shock 2, Everybody's Gone to the Rapture, BioShock, Prey, Dishonored, Spider-Man, Conservative radio pundits.  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Hey everyone, Austin here! As you may have heard, our sister site Broadly has launched a new podcast called Queerly Beloved all about LGBTQ communities, chosen families, and love--romantic and otherwise. To help them kick it off on the right foot, we wanted to share the first episode with you directly. Give it a listen, and if you like it, make sure to subscribe (and hey, leave a review telling them we sent you!)Catch y'all tomorrow with a regular Friday ep of Waypoint Radio!---Queerly Beloved ​is a new podcast series from Broadly. Co-hosted by Broadly editor Sarah Burke and Fran Tirado of the popular queer podcast Food 4 Thot, it’s a multifaceted portrait of LGBTQ chosen family—the people who help us figure out who we are and inspire us to live as our most authentic selves.When Kelli, a self-identified butch dyke, fell deeply in love with dominating cabaret dancer Heather, she already knew she would soon lose her to cancer. But she had no idea that Heather would leave her a list of all her ex-lovers that wou

We have a little something special for Waypoint listeners today: an interview with Sarah Burke, co-host of our sister site Broadly's new podcast, Queerly Beloved. Queerly Beloved is a multifaceted portrait of LGBTQ chosen family—the people who help us figure out who we are and inspire us to live as our most authentic selves. Waypoint's own Danielle chats with Sarah about the new show, on creating media for queer folks by queer folks, and avoiding pitfalls in queer media. You can listen to the podcast here: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/queerly-beloved/id1435920470?mt=2   See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

On episode 185 of Waypoint Radio, the full team—Austin, Natalie, Cado, Patrick, Rob, and Danielle—talk about the many games they've been playing and discussing. There's some football. There's Call of Duty Black Ops 4. There's a whole lot of Shadow of the Tomb Raider. There's even some serious Valkeryia Chronicles IV chatter. And then, there are some fabulous Waypoints. Discussed: The Bears/Packers NFL game on 9/9/18, Marvel's Spider-Man, Shadow of the Tomb Raider, Valkeryia Chronicles IV, Call of Duty Black Ops 4, Planet Money Podcast, Massachusetts Museum of Contemporary Art Exhibit: Into the Light by James Turrell, The Twilight Zone episode: The Lonely, The Giant Robot Series That's a Civics Lesson in Disguise (article on VRV), The Great British Bake Off, Destiny.   See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Rob and Waypoint Freelancer Dia Lacina get together to discuss Dia's review of Shadow of the Tomb Raider, titled 'Shadow of the Tomb Raider' Tries, but Fails, to Tackle Its Own Colonialism. Dia reads her review, which goes in on the ways in which the game seems to want to contend with the negative elements of the colonialist power fantasy at the heart of the franchise, but lacks substance in so many elements. Then she and Rob buckle down for an in-depth, spoiler-inclusive discussion of the game and it's mixed messages.  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Content warning for some ableist language.Danielle, Natalie, Rob, and Patrick settle in for an in-depth discussion of "puddlegate"—the kerfuffle that occurred when some gamers thought the new Spider-Man game on PS4 had downgraded visuals compared to its E3 showing. We talk about tech fetishism, elitism, and entitlement, alongside social media frenzies and the media's role in it all. Then, we hit the question bucket and sign off for the weekend.Discussed: Marvel's Spider-Man, PC gaming, Detroit:Become Human, Horizon: Zero Dawn, Yakuza, The Witcher 3, Zelda: Breath of the Wild, Bad Company 2, Red Faction 2, Dead Cells.  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Austin and Patrick get together to read and discuss Patrick's review of Spider-Man, out this week. Patrick reads his piece, where he praises the game's excellent swinging mechanics, surprisingly nuanced story, and overall world, while throwing some shade at its boring side-quest design. Discussed: Spider-Man, Batman: Arkham Asylum  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Patrick, Austin, and Danielle hold court live from their panel at PAX West 2018, with a fierce discussion of Gundam, a not-great-seeming game called the Quiet Man, better games like Spelunky 2 and Get in the Car, Loser, thoughts on Streets of Rage 4 with Jeff Gerstmann, and a LIVE question bucket session.Discussed: Get in the Car, Loser! The Quiet Man, Spelunky 2, Gris, Windjammers 2, Streets of Rage 4, Gundam  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.