Aftermath Hours

On this week’s episode, Nathan is joined by two very special guests – former (until, you guessed it, layoffs) Verge reporter Ash Parrish and prolific freelancer Joshua Rivera – for a special announcement: both will soon be regularly contributing to Aftermath! Ash will be blogging a day per week, and Joshua is the monthly columnist prophesied in our subscriber goals. We discuss our shared histories at Kotaku, as well as current beats and interests (ask Ash about monster fucking). Then we delve into the media landscape at large, where we can’t even go a week without, for example, The Washington Post laying off hundreds of people. Next our light and breezy conversation takes us to Epstein Island thanks to former Activision CEO Bobby Kotick’s involvement with the convicted sex criminal. Oh, we also talk about this week’s Nintendo Direct and Overwatch, which is no longer Overwatch 2, but is also not Overwatch 1.

Credits
- Hosts: Nathan Grayson, and special guests Ash Parrish & Joshua Rivera
- 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 Riley are joined by Ben Hanson of worker-owned media outlet MinnMax to talk about what it’s been like covering games – and just generally existing – amid ICE’s violent occupation of Minnesota. Ben tells us about the strange juxtaposition of tragedy (abandoned cars, large portions of the population terrified to leave their homes) and triumph (ordinary people working together to protect their neighbors on a previously unprecedented scale, the generally good vibes of any given protest) that characterizes Minnesotans’ daily existence. He also explains his decision to publish a video demonstrating what ICE is doing to people in Minnesota on the YouTube channel of MinnMax, which, again, typically focuses on video games. Keep politics out of games? Kinda hard to do when politics are literally banging down your door.

Credits
- Hosts: Nathan Grayson, Riley MacLeod, and special guest Ben Hanson
- 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 Chris are joined by Keza MacDonald – currently of The Guardian and formerly of Kotaku UK way back in the day – to talk about her new book, Super Nintendo: The Game-Changing Company That Unlocked the Power of Play. We discuss Nintendo’s vast history, dating all the way back to 1889, as well as how its innovative past gave way to the Switch 2 era, perhaps its most iterative yet. Keza also tells us all sorts of stories about legendary figures like Mario creator Shigeru Miyamoto, who despite his sunny exterior, is actually a very intense boss. Also, that famous “a delayed game is eventually good, but a rushed game is forever bad” quote? He didn’t say it! Finally, we talk about our favorite journalism rabbit holes, of which we have many.

Credits
- Hosts: Nathan Grayson, Chris Person, and special guest Keza MacDonald
- 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 Maddy Myers and Zoë Hannah, both formerly of Polygon – you know, before all the bad stuff happened – and now of the newly announced Mothership, a site at the intersection of gender and games. Maddy and Zoë tell us about their plans for the site and what it means to launch a publication like this in an era when feminist media has been gutted, and even venerable institutions like Teen Vogue – a primary inspiration for Mothership – have fallen. Then we talk about how much money $8 is (actually $10, but also possibly $5). We also imagine what might happen if Asmongold, fresh off being retweeted by JD Vance, travels to The White House and gives Donald Trump some kind of plague. Nothing too bad, of course!

Credits
- Hosts: Nathan Grayson, Gita Jackson, & special guests Maddy Myers and Zoë Hannah
- 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 our first episode of 2026, Nathan, Chris, and Riley start the year off with a bang, or at least the next best thing: a discussion about video games. We begin by reflecting on Nathan’s time attending Awesome Games Done Quick, the annual speedrunning marathon that raises money for charity and just generally rules. Gaming communities can be forces for good – at least, when they don’t allow their ranks to be overwhelmed by shitheads. Who knew? Then we move on to less positive happenings: Ubisoft just shut down an entire studio mere weeks after its workers voted to unionize. Suspicious, to say the least. Finally, we close out the show by predicting the year ahead for video games with 100 percent, crystal-clear accuracy.

Credits
- Hosts: Nathan Grayson, Chris Person, and Riley MacLeod
- 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.