Ludiphilia

I talk the business of toys and pop culture, and what goes into making a documentary series about their history, with The Toys That Made Us producer/director Brian Volk-Weiss. Brian has lots to say about the hidden world behind toys and popular culture, the critical quality of a successful toy, why failure is interesting, the way your past dreams and passions have a way of shaping your future, and more.

• You can watch seasons one and two of The Toys That Made Us on Netflix...

An experimental piece on a travel experience of mine last year. I went to Singapore for a week with my fiancée in July and was surprised to find lots of playful touches, despite — or maybe because of — the reputation it has for law and order. And I thought it'd be nice to put together a sort of part travelogue, part essay thing about it.

You can find an accompanying photo essay/blog thing for this story at ludiphilia.net/singaporephotos.

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I'm back! Well, partly. New episodes are on the way, and in the meantime I thought you might enjoy this excerpt from an interview I conducted a couple of years ago about professional Minecraft building (i.e., people getting paid to build elaborate maps and buildings). Most of what I discuss here with BlockWorks boss James Delaney (who at the time was an architecture student) didn't make the article, so I'm pleased to finally bring it out to the world...

Geographer Chris Perkins, co-author of the book Playful Mapping in the Digital Age, shares his love of maps and helps me explore the deep connection between mapping and play.

Thanks to my awesome Patreon backers for covering my running costs and keeping the show alive. And special thanks to my $5+ supporters Anuar Lequerica, Nick, Torbjørn Vik Lunde, and Watchsmart...

In celebration of the release of a Mac version of the award-winning app Earth Primer — a science book for playful people — I thought it'd be nice to dig out the segment I did with its creator, Chaim Gingold, back in episode 1, and clean it up for re-release (with a brief update on Chaim's current situation and a note about Earth Primer's Mac release thrown in there as well)...

On the Nascondino World Championship, a yearly hide and seek tournament that attracts teams from all around the globe. I talked to Alan Jones, the co-captain of the Australian team, the Nascondingos, and Giorgio Moratti, one of the organisers of the competition, about how it works, what it's like, why it exists, and where it's headed next...

Life after If Monks Had Macs aka What Brian Thomas did next; ruminations on photography and the politics of art and play. (Based on an interview conducted in early January 2017.)

Relevant links:

• Ludiphilia website
• Patreon
• If Monks Had Macs
• Pile of Prints
• Ludiphilia twitter and my twitter

Thanks to my Patreon backers for all their ongoing support, especially $5+ backers Anuar Lequerica, Nick, and James Weiner...

It all started with a Macintosh ad: 'You too can be a knowledge worker.' This is the story of Brian Thomas' 15-year odyssey at the helm of one of the strangest pieces of multimedia software ever created — If Monks Had Macs.

You can learn more about Brian, and about Monks, at his website: http://www.rivertext.com/monks...

I know I said I'd have a new episode out in February, and now we're in the second half of March. There's a reason for that.

The short version is that I'm waiting to publish the new episode until after I sort out a problem with iTunes. Because I don't want to lock out new subscribers with Apple devices (which is most of them) who aren't willing or tech-savvy enough to subscribe manually with the RSS feed. The long version is in the audio...

We're back! So sorry it took so long. Regular service (new episodes every 4-6 weeks) will now resume.

On the eve of the Industrial Revolution and the morn of the English Civil War, one man reinvented educational thought.

Special thanks to my Patreon backers Anuar Lequerica, James Weiner, and Nick for sticking with me through this prolonged hiatus...