Play Story Podcast

Play Story Press

Play Story Podcast shares the latest from Play Story Press, an innovative open-access community publishing consortium. To start, we’ll primarily have two types of episodes: Playful Stories — interviews with people sharing stories about the importance of play in their lives, andBook Talk — interviews with our authors and editors about their Play Story Press publications. It’s a collaborative forum for the sharing and spreading of ideas related to stories and play as they are applied across various fields, and their overall significance in society.

Episodes

  1. 6 Oct

    Book Talk - The Psychgeist of Pop Culture: The Witcher

    Rachel Kowert returns for this episode, with a Book Talk on her book, The Psychgeist of Pop Culture - The Witcher. (https://playstorypress.org/books/the-psychgeist-of-pop-culture-the-witcher/) In a world where mean are monsters and monsters are men - who is the real monster? The Psychgeist of Pop Culture: The Witcher delves into the psychology of the characters and stories of this popular franchise. From the original book collection to best-selling video game series, to the hugely popular Netflix show, The Witcher is a transmedia experience that has captivated hearts and minds across the globe. In this series of edited essays, we explore the psychology behind what makes this fandom so captivating and answers the question why, in The Continent filled with magic, we found ourselves and our lives reflected within it.

  2. 29 Sept

    Playful Stories - Evan Spiridellis

    For this episode we have Playful Stories with Evan Spiridellis. This conversation comes from the 2024 study, Stories of/by/for the Fields of Play (https://playstorypress.org/stories-of-by-for-the-fields-of-play/). Evan shares some great stories from JibJab, Storybots and more.

  3. 22 Sept

    Book Talk - Roll with Advantage

    For this episode we have a Book Talk with Suzanne Richardson and Ed Chang. They discuss their edited collection, Roll with Advantage: Creative, Collaborative, and Critical Responses to Dungeons & Dragons https://playstorypress.org/books/roll-with-advantage/ It's an interdisciplinary, multi-genre, mixed-form anthology featuring poetry, fiction, creative nonfiction, personal essays, interviews, and analytical scholarship about and inspired by D&D—the game, the legends, the media, and the people. The book is a playful, imaginative, and critical response to D&D’s pop cultural renaissance, particularly during and after the global pandemic, with its appearances on television shows like Stranger Things, Community, and The Big Bang Theory, celebrity players like Vin Diesel, Deborah Ann Woll, Tim Duncan, Stephen Colbert, even Dame Judi Dench, as well as the growing popularity of actual play shows like Critical Role and Dimension 20. Roll with Advantage gathers multiple voices, new and old, and cutting-edge perspectives to explore: D&D and narrative, storytelling, and worldbuilding; the relationships between D&D and players, characters, game masters, and gaming communities; and the intersection of D&D and gender, race, queerness, intertextuality, language, material culture, nostalgia, affect, pedagogy, and more.

  4. 1 Sept

    Playful Stories - Cathy N. Davidson

    For our latest episode we have Playful Stories with Cathy N. Davidson. This is one of the interviews from 2024 for Stories of/by/for the Fields of Play (https://playstorypress.org/stories-of-by-for-the-fields-of-play/). Cathy is one of the most inspirational colleagues I've had throughout my career, and the stories she shares here hint at why.

  5. 6 Jul

    Book Talk - The Psychgeist of Pop Culture Book Series

    For this episode we have a Book Talk with Rachel Kowert. In our Book Talk episodes, we have interviews with our authors and editors about their Play Story Press publications. https://playstorypress.org/all-publications/ In our first Book Talk, we chat with Dr. Rachel Kowert about the Psychgeist of Pop Culture Book Series. https://playstorypress.org/all-psychgeist/ Over the last few decades, interest in pop psychology has grown faster than most of our Netflix backlogs. This series from Dr. Rachel Kowert highlights iconic pop culture content from television, film, literature, and video games through an examination of the psychological mechanisms that endear us to these stories for a lifetime.

  6. 1 Jul

    Playful Stories - James Paul Gee

    For our first episode we have Playful Stories with James Paul Gee. Our Playful Stories episodes are interviews with people chatting about play. I started doing these interviews in 2024 for Stories of/by/for the Fields of Play (https://playstorypress.org/stories-of-by-for-the-fields-of-play/), an exploratory qualitative study exploring play in our lives. Jim was the first the interview of what grew to be 175 interviews that year. The amazing people in these interviews inspired the founding Play Story Press (https://playstorypress.org), as an open community publishing consortium, collaborating with people and organizations in the fields around play. We're gearing up to start interviewing people anew, and we'll also continue sharing more of these initial interviews. It all started here. Enjoy!

  7. Season 1 Trailer

    Play Story Podcast!

    Play Story Press (https://playstorypress.org/) is an open community publishing consortium of/by/for the field and our community, and this is the Play Story Podcast! We’ll have conversations with authors and editors about their books, and interviews with people about the playful stories in their lives. Mostly we're just excited to share a wide range of ideas that have significance and impact in our society. Together, we can explore and create the future of open academic publishing, sharing and spreading ideas and knowledge that can help change the world for the better.

  • 1 Trailer
    6 Episodes

Trailer

About

Play Story Podcast shares the latest from Play Story Press, an innovative open-access community publishing consortium. To start, we’ll primarily have two types of episodes: Playful Stories — interviews with people sharing stories about the importance of play in their lives, andBook Talk — interviews with our authors and editors about their Play Story Press publications. It’s a collaborative forum for the sharing and spreading of ideas related to stories and play as they are applied across various fields, and their overall significance in society.

Information

  • Creator
    Play Story Press
  • Years Active
    2026
  • Episodes
    7
  • Rating
    Explicit
  • Copyright
    © 2026 Play Story Press
  • Show Website
    Play Story Podcast