Modern

Stories set in our world, or worlds adjacent to our own.

Oct

2026

504 – The House Edge with Caleb Zane Huett (Triangle Agency, Nightcrawler is My Boyfriend)

Caleb is one of my favorite designers AND podcasters (you have to check out Nightcrawler is My Boyfriend, it is a joy), and so I was thrilled when he reached out about the new game he’s releasing, The House Edge. It is a mashup of Triangle Agency and FIST (two of my favorite RPGs), in which a squad of paranormal mercenary thieves team up to take down an otherworldly casino owner who wronged them… and end up infiltrating a twisted time loop facility as a result. It is EXTREMELY MY JAM.

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Sep

2026

500 – The Party of One Episode 500 Spectacular (The Creation of Wonder with A Bunch of My Friends)

To celebrate 500 episodes(!) of the show, I sat down with a bunch of my friends to play The Creation of Wonder by Eve Golden-Woods. We told the story of The Singularity Cycle, Phase I. The Blade of the Exarchs, a multimedia rock opera cinematic experience adapted from 20 years of TTRPG campaign notes.

Thank you to my guests on this episode: Noah Houlihan, Jonaya Kemper, Hazel Amber Goswick, Alex Pearlman (Pearlmania500), Audrey Ladytabletop, KeganEXE, Marn Lastname, Caleb Zane Huett, Christine Prevas, Dr. Emily Friedman, Sophia Ricciardi, His Name Was Dusk, Kendrick Smith, AJ Ray AKA Hooshakid, Meghan Cross, Kienna Shaw, Jadzia Axelrod, Cate Osborn (Catieosaurus), Aaron Voigt, Dillin Apelyan, Stentor Danielson, Caro Asercion, Kevin Gallagher, Riley Hopkins, Lucas, Sarah Gailey, Matt Boothman, Elisabeth McCaughrean, Quinn Majeski, Grant, Mike Schubert, Patrick Kenny, Barclay Travis, Richard Kreutz-Landry, Steph Beck Fey, Dewayne Feenstra, and Adam Vass.

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Aug

2026

498 – In the Shadow of Glory with Emily Jaye (Host, This Week in Fandom History)

Emily is one of the hosts of This Week in Fandom History, a podcast which breaks down different foundational moments that shaped and shook fandom culture over the years–from those you know like the back of your hand, to those you might never have heard of before.

We got deep in the paint with our shared love of superhero fandom in a game of In The Shadow Of Glory, a two-player letter writing game about a hero and villain so deeply intertwined, they have become the only people on earth who understand one another.

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Aug

2026

497 – Un-Navigateable with V Arrow (Host, This Week in Fandom History)

V is one of the hosts of This Week in Fandom History, a podcast about notable events across fan culture, from the very recent to the pioneering moments of fandom. We sat down to play Un-Navigateable by K Ramstack, a solo tabletop RPG about the experience of cataloging an old blog off before taking ti down from the internet. It’s a great opportunity to examine our own history of fandom, and the particular ways we came of age on the Internet.

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Aug

2026

496 – Together We Write Private Cathedrals with Avery Alder (Designer, Monsterhearts, Ribbon Drive, Dream Askew)

Avery is the designer of some of the most influential games in TTRPGs, including Monsterhearts, The Quiet Year, Dream Askew, Ribbon Drive, and more. We sat down for a beautiful and intimate story of queer romance told in the margins in Together We Write Private Cathedrals by Weaver Walker.

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Jul

2026

493 – Tether with Justin C. Key (Author, The Hospital At The End Of The World)

Justin C. Key is a speculative fiction and horror author whose new book, The Hospital At The End Of The World, is available in stores now. It’s a murder mystery set in the last human-run hospital in a world overrun by a seemingly (but not quite) perfect AI algorithm overseen by a sinister corporation. Talk about an unfortunately timely premise.

We sat down to play Tether, a two-player journaling game about people decades apart staring down the same supernatural curse, with only a journal spread across time to help them stop it.

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Apr

2026

489 – Death of the Author feat. Isabel J. Kim (Author, Sublimation)

Isabel is a speculative fiction writer and podcast host (Wow If True), whose debut novel, Sublimation, a story of Doppelgängers, corporate intrigue, heartbreak, betrayal, and the harsh permanence of the border, hits stores on June 2, 2026. We dig deep into the well of metafiction in a game of superhero vs. author in a game of Death of the Author by Blinking Birch Games.

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Apr

2026

Party of One Says Go Birds (LIVE) – Insatiable Cravings with Jacqueline Bryk

Jax is a freelance game designer, writer, sensitivity reader, editor, and one of the organizers of NotACon: Revenge of the Con!, a three-day summit of games, feelings, and hot-tubbing happening in Millerstown, PA from October 22-25, 2026 (which I’ll be attending as a special guest!). We sat down live at Unity Java in Philadelphia, PA, for a weird, intimate, horrific but beautiful game of Insatiable Cravings by friend of the show j strautman!

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Mar

2026

485 – 1978: The Night They Came Home with Lachlan Watson (Y2K, Chucky, The Chilling Adventures of Sabrina)

Lachlan is an actor who you can see right now in Y2K, Chucky, The Chilling Adventures of Sabrina, and more. We knew we wanted to explore some weird, messy horror, so I couldn’t think of a better game than 1978: The Night They Came Home by World Champ Game Co.

It’s Halloween night. Time for a showdown between survivor and killer.

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Jan

2026

479 – MERGER with John Rogers (Creator, Leverage, The Librarians, Jackie Chan Adventures)

John is the creator of Leverage and Leverage: Redemption, as well as The Librarians, Jackie Chan Adventures and more. We sat down to play MERGER, a solo RPG about trying to survive in a world of living predatory corporations (which, in addition to being an apt way to describe living in 2026, is literal in this case–massive, soul-consuming eldritch horrors given flesh).

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