The Mind Games Podcast
Dr. Rohan Kapitany & Dr. Kathryn Francis
The Mind Games Podcast exists where insufferable D&D and TTRGP fandom intersects with psychological and anthropological research.
No-one needed or asked for this podcast, and yet here it is.
Episode 1: Dr. Thalia Goldstein discusses how theatre and improv - the finer arts - can inform how we understand ourselves in the context of a silly game of wizard, orcs, obvious-traps-we-shouldn't-touch-but-touch-anyway.
Episode 2: Dr. Kathryn Francis and Dr. Ethan Landes discuss the moral implications of playing D&D, and why we care about things that do not exist. We also discuss to what extent we should embrace the messiness of morality in absurd fantasy games, rather than clean, pure, solvable moral positions.
Episode 3: Dr. Marc Andersen discusses the nature of surprise, and why surprise is at the very heart of play (and most of human functioning). We also discuss why (some) humans like horror, and why horror itself can be pleasurable and valuable (and how we can incorporate horror into our TTRPG practice). Also, a brief discussion of cancer and death, whynot?
Episode 4: Tomas Hampejs on why and how D&D and TTRPGs bleed into our own reality, why role-playing creates liminal spaces, and how role-playing disrupts our identities.
Episode 5: Edgar Duborg and Valentin Thouzeau discuss why we make imaginary worlds.
Episode 6: Kellynn Wee discusses the ‘uncapturable’ nature of D&D and TTRPG, the way we make meaning through our play, and how we use games to explore our own identities.
Episode 7: Dr. Sean Roberts and Dr. Tim Knowlton discuss how language powers our imaginary worlds, and the nature of ‘real’ monsters and ‘imaginary’ ones.
Episode 8: Dr. Olivier Morin and Dr. Oleg Sobchuck discuss the nature of fiction, monsters, and death.
Episode 9: Returning guests Oleg and Thalia join Keren Maclennan and Chris Kavanagh for their very first experience of D&D (plus Thalia’s 11-year old son, because no-one plays D&D quite like an 11-year old boy).
This episode will cover their reflections of their experience.