Aftermath Hours

On this week’s episode, Nathan is outnumbered by Australians when Alanah Pearce—games writer, voice actor, YouTuber, and filmmaker extraordinaire—joins the show (and also Luke is there). We discuss Alanah’s new production company, Charred Pictures, and its goal of involving indie developers in the process of adapting games into movies and TV shows. We also talk about the overall state of video game adaptations and the glut of tales that have already been told. Then we dig into the controversial (at least, in Hollywood) element of Alanah’s operation: She’s working with YouTubers where possible to secure funding, which she believes makes perfect sense when they’re fans of the games being adapted. What, in this day and age of content creators being everywhere, still causes film execs to balk at the idea? After that, we move on to an arguably even more consequential discussion: Star Fox looks fucked up now. But maybe that’s not such a bad thing? Lastly, we throw up our hands at Xbox’s inconsistent (to say the least) approach to AI and then come to the only remaining logical conclusion: Aftermath should be put in charge of Xbox.

Credits
- Hosts: Nathan Grayson, Luke Plunkett, and special guest Alanah Pearce
- 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.

On this week’s episode, Nathan, Chris, and Luke have a merry old time discussing cheery news from a normal week. For example: A video game CEO casually said the quiet part out loud by opining during a routine interview that “We've been a little bit too romantic about the idea that we should have employees and give people long-term job security,” suggesting that it’s time to instead rely heavily on a merry-go-round of beleaguered contractors. And this CEO is also the head of the head of the UK trade body for the games industry. Great! We also discuss Saudi Arabia’s divestment from LIV Golf, the first of many dominoes apparently to fall as its soft-power-hungry Public Investment Fund runs low on money. Is the games industry next? According to early reports, it sounds like at least some part of it is! Lastly, we talk about something that’s actually cool—the new Steam controller, which Chris is loving—before envisioning the darkest possible special interest: Mario Party historian.

Credits
- Hosts: Nathan Grayson, Chris Person, and Luke Plunkett
- 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.

On this week’s episode, Nathan, Chris, and Riley are joined by games reporter extraordinaire Rebekah Valentine, formerly of IGN and now (very) newly of Kotaku—which of course none of us have ever heard of. We ask her about the whys and hows of her big move to a site that—fingers crossed—seems to be in the midst of a renaissance, as well as little things like The State Of Games Journalism. We also discuss the way discourse around games has evolved as games journalism’s influence has waned, handily exemplified by the absolutely deranged takes that Capcom’s otherwise great new action game, Pragmata, is generating. Chris argues that a) it’s not (ew) “pro-natalist propaganda,” and b) that it’s actually uncle-core, which is different from a dad game in several crucial ways. Finally, we decide how many rooms in a house is too many, not that anybody who works for Aftermath knows much about that.

Credits
- Hosts: Nathan Grayson, Chris Person, Riley MacLeod & special guest Rebekah Valentine
- 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.

On this week’s episode, Nathan and Gita are joined by Chandana Ekanayake, director of Dosa Divas, a new turn-based RPG about cooking, culture, and reconciling with loved ones. Also, mechs. We discuss the game’s inspirations, as well as the way food and other elements of culture are often stripped of their original context and commodified—which allows for the dehumanization of the very people who made the food in the first place. We also talk about what it takes for a small studio to keep the lights on as the video game industry sinks deeper and deeper into the swamps of tumult and how that experience—including, unfortunately, layoffs—surfaces in Dosa Divas as a theme. Lastly, we share our favorite dishes to serve friends and say what everyone else is thinking: The Pope was cooler before he went corporate.

Credits
- Hosts: Nathan Grayson, Gita Jackson, and special guest Chandana Ekanayake
- 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.

On a this week’s episode, Nathan and Gita are joined by journalist-turned-politician Kat Abughazaleh, who recently managed to nearly win the Democratic congressional primary in Illinois despite odds being stacked against her. We discuss what she learned from her narrow defeat, both in terms of politics and an unexpected tool in her fundraising arsenal: livestreaming on Twitch. We also talk about her plans for the future now that she’s at least for the moment out of the political limelight and, of course, her great idea for a video game (it’s kinda like Pikmin or maybe Untitled Goose Game, except with cats). Then we move on to a subject near and debatably dear to Kat’s heart: Politicians and mainstream media can’t be normal about Hasan Piker, just as they refused to be normal about her. The Democrats and hating their own increasingly successful left flank—name a more iconic duo. Finally, we talk about our favorite ways to prepare the humble potato.

Credits
- Hosts: Nathan Grayson, Gita Jackson, and special guest Kat Abughazaleh
- 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.