Aftermath Hours

This week it’s just Chris and Riley as Nathan has flown off to LA for The Game Awards. We discuss the continued state of the Ziff Davis empire, the United Healthcare shooting suspect's gaming history and what that says about him (mainly nothing) and the mostly positive but sometimes polarizing reaction to Indiana Jones and The Great Circle. We also briefly talk about other news, answer reader questions, and more!   Credits - Hosts: Riley MacLeod, Chris Person - Podcast Production & Ads: Multitude - Subscribe to Aftermath! About The Show Aftermath Hours is the flagship podcast of Aftermath, a worker-owned, subscription-based website covering video games, the internet, and everything that comes after from journalists who previously worked at Kotaku, Vice, and The Washington Post. Each week, games journalism veterans Luke Plunkett, Nathan Grayson, Chris Person, Riley MacLeod, and Gita Jackson – though not always all at once, because that’s too many people for a podcast – break down video game news, Remember Some Games, and learn about Chris’ frankly incredible number of special interests. Sometimes we even bring on guests from both inside and outside the video game industry! I don’t know what else to tell you; it’s a great time. Simply by reading this description, you’re already wasting time that you could be spending listening to the show. Head to aftermath.site for more info.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

This week, Nathan, Chris, and Luke are joined by Frank Cifaldi of the Video Game History Foundation, but not until near the end of the episode, because Frank had multiple other podcasts to be on that day (he’s very important). We discuss the unique needs of a video game archive – for example, remote access to games, something the US Copyright Office recently refused to grant after a three-year effort on the part of the Video Game History Foundation and the Software Preservation Network – and what the Foundation has been able to accomplish this year despite a government and industry that often fail to recognize the importance of its work. Also on this episode: The gang (minus Frank) talks about Ubisoft’s decision to pull the plug on XDefiant, OpenAI’s increasingly money-hungry forays into subscriptions (and maybe ads), and our various hyperfixations in Candy Cabs and Star Wars Outlaws. Oh, and speaking of hyperfixations, Chris says that New Year's resolutions are just an amateur hour version of a real project, so take that, me and everybody else.    Credits - Hosts: Nathan Grayson, Chris Person, Luke Plunkett, & special guest Frank Cifaldi - Podcast Production & Ads: Multitude - Subscribe to Aftermath!   About The Show Aftermath Hours is the flagship podcast of Aftermath, a worker-owned, subscription-based website covering video games, the internet, and everything that comes after from journalists who previously worked at Kotaku, Vice, and The Washington Post. Each week, games journalism veterans Luke Plunkett, Nathan Grayson, Chris Person, Riley MacLeod, and Gita Jackson – though not always all at once, because that’s too many people for a podcast – break down video game news, Remember Some Games, and learn about Chris’ frankly incredible number of special interests. Sometimes we even bring on guests from both inside and outside the video game industry! I don’t know what else to tell you; it’s a great time. Simply by reading this description, you’re already wasting time that you could be spending listening to the show. Head to aftermath.site for more info.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

This week, Nathan and Gita are joined by Ryan Broderick of the fantastic Garbage Day newsletter to discuss all the latest trends in the world of Online. We begin by talking about Bluesky and the potentially fatal blow Twitter has sustained at its hands. Or, well, more accurately, at Elon Musk’s hands, but Bluesky has far and away been the main beneficiary of Trump’s wannabe baby boy’s bumblings. Can the good times last, though? Or will Bluesky eventually become a massive crock of shit, just like every other social media platform? After that, we dig into the myth of The Liberal Joe Rogan and how actual left-leaning and leftist political influencers are adapting in the wake of an election that decidedly did not go their way. Lastly, we speculate about which specific Fortnite skins a fraudster recently purchased with Nathan’s credit card. Credits - Hosts: Nathan Grayson, Gita Jackson, and special guest Ryan Broderick - Podcast Production & Ads: Multitude - Subscribe to Aftermath!   About The Show Aftermath Hours is the flagship podcast of Aftermath, a worker-owned, subscription-based website covering video games, the internet, and everything that comes after from journalists who previously worked at Kotaku, Vice, and The Washington Post. Each week, games journalism veterans Luke Plunkett, Nathan Grayson, Chris Person, Riley MacLeod, and Gita Jackson – though not always all at once, because that’s too many people for a podcast – break down video game news, Remember Some Games, and learn about Chris’ frankly incredible number of special interests. Sometimes we even bring on guests from both inside and outside the video game industry! I don’t know what else to tell you; it’s a great time. Simply by reading this description, you’re already wasting time that you could be spending listening to the show. Head to aftermath.site for more info.  See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

This week, Nathan, Luke, and Chris are, despite the state of the world, in a celebratory mood, because Aftermath just turned one! When we launched this site a year ago, we had no idea how it’d go – we thought it’d either crash and burn or succeed beyond our wildest dreams, neither of which have happened – but we’re exceedingly pleased with where we’ve ended up. We discuss lessons we’ve learned and our favorite moments from the past year, as well as some news – specifically, our own feature about how freelancers are propping up games journalism (and getting paid dogshit for it) and Zenimax workers’ recent strike against Microsoft’s restrictive return-to-office policies. Finally, to sate noted beacon of positivity Luke Plunkett, we talk about some games we’ve been playing recently and, for the most part, enjoying.   Credits - Hosts: Nathan Grayson, Luke Plunkett, and Chris Person - Subscribe to Aftermath!   About The Show Aftermath Hours is the flagship podcast of Aftermath, a worker-owned, subscription-based website covering video games, the internet, and everything that comes after from journalists who previously worked at Kotaku, Vice, and The Washington Post. Each week, games journalism veterans Luke Plunkett, Nathan Grayson, Chris Person, Riley MacLeod, and Gita Jackson – though not always all at once, because that’s too many people for a podcast – break down video game news, Remember Some Games, and learn about Chris’ frankly incredible number of special interests. Sometimes we even bring on guests from both inside and outside the video game industry! I don’t know what else to tell you; it’s a great time. Simply by reading this description, you’re already wasting time that you could be spending listening to the show. Head to aftermath.site for more info.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

This week, Nathan and Riley are joined by special guest Mel Buer of The Real News Network, a very good nonprofit newsroom, to discuss what we, as normal people, can do in the wake of Trump’s reelection and the rise of fascism in the United States. The short version? Organize! Not just your workplace, but also your local community. Meet your neighbors. Start a community garden. Put together a game night. The government isn’t going to save us, so we’ve got to. We also touch on the recent New York Times Tech Guild strike and the callous cynicism that led bosses to refuse reasonable demands even with a massively consequential election bearing down on their news organization. Oh, and we talk about eating our feelings, which all of us coincidentally did recently, for some reason.   Credits - Hosts: Nathan Grayson, Riley MacLeod, and special guest Mel Buer - Subscribe to Aftermath!   About The Show Aftermath Hours is the flagship podcast of Aftermath, a worker-owned, subscription-based website covering video games, the internet, and everything that comes after from journalists who previously worked at Kotaku, Vice, and The Washington Post. Each week, games journalism veterans Luke Plunkett, Nathan Grayson, Chris Person, Riley MacLeod, and Gita Jackson – though not always all at once, because that’s too many people for a podcast – break down video game news, Remember Some Games, and learn about Chris’ frankly incredible number of special interests. Sometimes we even bring on guests from both inside and outside the video game industry! I don’t know what else to tell you; it’s a great time. Simply by reading this description, you’re already wasting time that you could be spending listening to the show. Head to aftermath.site for more info.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

This week, Nathan, Luke, and Riley lament the untimely end of Firewalk, the studio that made Concord to Sony’s specifications and then promptly got dumpstered for it. Once again, creatives are suffering for executives’ poor decision making, and everybody’s worse off for it. Will the industry actually learn from this? We can only hope. Then we move on to yet more media layoffs, this time at Fandom, which owns GameSpot, among other sometimes-baffling properties (TV’s Guide’s website? OK, sure, I guess). We then discuss this week’s largely idiotic Dragon Age review conspiracy theory and, more broadly, where discourse around games happens now and how that impacts people’s perception of the medium. Lastly, we solve the hell out of what would seem to be an impossible puzzle: How does a worm drive a little apple car?    Credits - Hosts: Nathan Grayson, Luke Plunkett, and Riley MacLeod - Subscribe to Aftermath!   About The Show Aftermath Hours is the flagship podcast of Aftermath, a worker-owned, subscription-based website covering video games, the internet, and everything that comes after from journalists who previously worked at Kotaku, Vice, and The Washington Post. Each week, games journalism veterans Luke Plunkett, Nathan Grayson, Chris Person, Riley MacLeod, and Gita Jackson – though not always all at once, because that’s too many people for a podcast – break down video game news, Remember Some Games, and learn about Chris’ frankly incredible number of special interests. Sometimes we even bring on guests from both inside and outside the video game industry! I don’t know what else to tell you; it’s a great time. Simply by reading this description, you’re already wasting time that you could be spending listening to the show. Head to aftermath.site for more info.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

This week, Nathan and Gita are joined by special guest LB Hunktears, formerly of Fanbyte and Blaseball fame, who is now working on a reality show queer romance horror comedy game called Fledgling Manor. We discuss the reality TV shows that inspired it, as well as the strange lack of games about reality TV, given just how game-y those shows’ structures tend to be. We also rank every season of Buffy The Vampire Slayer, a show that has aged like a fine wine if the bottle contained a tiny man named Joss Whedon who you kept learning new terrible things about, and who you had to nudge aside every time you wanted to take a sip. Then we talk about Twitch’s recent string of gaffes involving Israel, including its “inadvertent” failure to re-enable sign ups in Israel and Palestine for a whole year, as well as its very advertent decision to ban several Arab streamers for a month following spurious claims of antisemitism. Lastly, we discuss the best fall flavors and conclude that apple beats the shit out of pumpkin spice. Sorry, but it’s not even close.    Credits - Hosts: Nathan Grayson, Gita Jackson, and special guest LB Hunktears - Subscribe to Aftermath!   About The Show Aftermath Hours is the flagship podcast of Aftermath, a worker-owned, subscription-based website covering video games, the internet, and everything that comes after from journalists who previously worked at Kotaku, Vice, and The Washington Post. Each week, games journalism veterans Luke Plunkett, Nathan Grayson, Chris Person, Riley MacLeod, and Gita Jackson – though not always all at once, because that’s too many people for a podcast – break down video game news, Remember Some Games, and learn about Chris’ frankly incredible number of special interests. Sometimes we even bring on guests from both inside and outside the video game industry! I don’t know what else to tell you; it’s a great time. Simply by reading this description, you’re already wasting time that you could be spending listening to the show. Head to aftermath.site for more info.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

This week, Nathan and Riley are joined by a very special guest, the Aftermath Discord’s own head moderator Nico “Apple Cider” Deyo (who is also a longtime freelance games journalist), to discuss the trials and tribulations of Asmongold, a Twitch star who found himself in hot water this week when years of escalating reactionary rhetoric culminated in an ill-advised racist rant about Palestinians. This got him suspended from Twitch. Unlike many others who’ve found themselves in similar situations, Asmongold proceeded to post a seemingly sincere apology video and vowed to change. Can he stick with it, though? And is it possible to truly repair the kind of damage he did before he had his midweek epiphany? Then we move on to the weird zombie version of Waypoint, a beloved video game site, that Vice recently dredged up. It’s bad! Lastly, we learn about a new thing Riley hates (Photo modes? For some reason?).   Credits - Hosts: Nathan Grayson, Riley MacLeod, and special guest Nico Deyo - Subscribe to Aftermath!   About The Show Aftermath Hours is the flagship podcast of Aftermath, a worker-owned, subscription-based website covering video games, the internet, and everything that comes after from journalists who previously worked at Kotaku, Vice, and The Washington Post. Each week, games journalism veterans Luke Plunkett, Nathan Grayson, Chris Person, Riley MacLeod, and Gita Jackson – though not always all at once, because that’s too many people for a podcast – break down video game news, Remember Some Games, and learn about Chris’ frankly incredible number of special interests. Sometimes we even bring on guests from both inside and outside the video game industry! I don’t know what else to tell you; it’s a great time. Simply by reading this description, you’re already wasting time that you could be spending listening to the show. Head to aftermath.site for more info.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

This week, Nathan, Chris, and Riley convene to increase their social links by discussing the latest basically-Persona game, Metaphor: Refantazio, which is – at least, so far – Metaphor Re(ally)fantastic. It’s Persona in a Shakespearean fantasy setting with a lot of irritating friction removed. Then we talk about an issue near and dear to Riley’s heart: Netflix canceling shows after a single season and basically foisting responsibility for their success or failure onto viewers like you. After that, we grapple with platforms’ viewership-at-all-costs model and how it has incentivized content creators to cling to their homes – instead of evacuating – during a potentially-deadly hurricane. Lastly, we brainstorm potential video game cameos for our mascot: the Aftermath Aftermug™.   Credits - Hosts: Nathan Grayson, Chris Person, and Riley MacLeod - Subscribe to Aftermath!   About The Show Aftermath Hours is the flagship podcast of Aftermath, a worker-owned, subscription-based website covering video games, the internet, and everything that comes after from journalists who previously worked at Kotaku, Vice, and The Washington Post. Each week, games journalism veterans Luke Plunkett, Nathan Grayson, Chris Person, Riley MacLeod, and Gita Jackson – though not always all at once, because that’s too many people for a podcast – break down video game news, Remember Some Games, and learn about Chris’ frankly incredible number of special interests. Sometimes we even bring on guests from both inside and outside the video game industry! I don’t know what else to tell you; it’s a great time. Simply by reading this description, you’re already wasting time that you could be spending listening to the show. Head to aftermath.site for more info.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

This week, Nathan, Luke, and Riley do their best impression of that one meme where Jonathan Frakes asks you things: What’s going on with Starfield’s new, poorly-received DLC? Why is Star Citizen – a crowdfunded testament to one man’s hubris that’s been in development for more than a decade – forcing developers to crunch in the year 2024? In light of the upcoming TV show and yet another spinoff game, is the Yakuza series spreading itself too thin? And when is an early access game done, really? Then we answer questions about the psychic damage we sustain while trying to play games with branching paths and which power Kirby would gain if he swallowed us (anxiety). Luke definitely does not regret the way he phrased his response to the latter question at all.   Credits - Hosts: Nathan Grayson, Luke Plunkett, and Riley MacLeod - Subscribe to Aftermath!   About The Show Aftermath Hours is the flagship podcast of Aftermath, a worker-owned, subscription-based website covering video games, the internet, and everything that comes after from journalists who previously worked at Kotaku, Vice, and The Washington Post. Each week, games journalism veterans Luke Plunkett, Nathan Grayson, Chris Person, Riley MacLeod, and Gita Jackson – though not always all at once, because that’s too many people for a podcast – break down video game news, Remember Some Games, and learn about Chris’ frankly incredible number of special interests. Sometimes we even bring on guests from both inside and outside the video game industry! I don’t know what else to tell you; it’s a great time. Simply by reading this description, you’re already wasting time that you could be spending listening to the show. Head to aftermath.site for more info.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.