The Play Typer Guy

Stephen Robinson
  • 5.0 (9)
  • Arts

"The Play Typer Guy” offers an engaging deep dive into politics and pop culture. Your host is Portland, Oregon-based playwright, columnist, and media critic Stephen Robinson. His son describes him as “play typer guy."

  1. 7h ago

    #84 Why Angels in America Remains Shockingly Relevant with Evan Stern Part 1

    Evan Stern from the Certain Thoughts Substack joins me to discuss my favorite play, Angels in America. Evan just saw the 2003 HBO miniseries adaptation of Tony Kushner’s masterwork, and we discuss how a play written in 1991 and set in the 1980s is both simultaneously a snapshot of the period while also offering a shocking preview of modern politics. In so many ways, Angels in America feels as if it could’ve been written today.  In Part 1 of this two-part episode, you will hear: Getting Evan’s thoughts on his first introduction to Angels in AmericaHow the play humanized people affected most by the AIDS epidemic of the 1980s, especially since society used this as a way to threaten an already marginalized LGBT+ community, specifically targeting gay menHow this story differs from a lot of the stories of the time because Prior is alive at the end with a last word and a hopefulness, unlike stories like Philadelphia and Forest Gump where Andrew and Jenny are doomed to dieThe attention the story gives to real-life situations, such as how to deal with exposure to blood responsibly and safe sex between partners when one is affected with HIV/AIDS, etc.A look at the traits of the different characters in the story and how no one, including the “devil himself” Roy Cohn, is irredeemableThe difference between the idea that someone does something awful, but learns and can move forward to someone who does something that fundamentally breaks what you have together and how that relates to our current political landscapeAnd more! Make sure to check out Part 2!Links: Evan’s Substack: https://substack.com/@therealevanstern/notes Evan’s Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/therealevanstern/ Evan’s Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/certainthoughts.substack.com Stephen’s Substack Episode: https://www.playtyperguy.com/p/why-angels-in-america-remains-shockingly Play Typer Guy YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w0S-b-rReeY  Connect with Stephen: Twitter: https://twitter.com/SER1897 YouTube: https://youtube.com/@ThePlayTyperGuy Email: ser1840@gmail.com Join  the Player Typer Guy Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/stephenrobinson

  2. Jul 12

    #83 Finding Southern Comfort In A Good Book with Meg Reid

    Joining me on the podcast today is Meg Reid, the executive director of the Hub City Writers Project in Spartanburg, South Carolina, and the publisher of Hub City Press, where she finds and champions new and overlooked voices from the American South, including Carter Sickels, Drew Lanham, Ashley M. Jones, and Anjali Enjeti. An editor and book designer, Meg’s essays have appeared online in outlets like DIAGRAM, the Oxford American, and The Rumpus. She holds an MFA in Nonfiction from the University of North Carolina Wilmington, where she served as Assistant Editor of the literary magazine, Ecotone, and worked for the literary imprint Lookout Books. She was a Publishers Weekly Star Watch 2021 Honoree. You will hear: The goal of the Hub City Writers Projects to expand underserved stories and introduce people to the new SouthHow Meg came to the SouthCurrent trends in the book market and why it may be harder to find the book you need to readAliteracy vs. Illiteracy - Well educated people who CAN read, but choose not to read - competing media (doom scrolling, streaming on demand, etc) and not taking the time to be alone in your headGetting people in bookstores to make reading less of a solo adventureAnd more! Links:   Meg’s Website: https://www.megreid.com/ Connect with Stephen: Twitter: https://twitter.com/SER1897 YouTube: https://youtube.com/@ThePlayTyperGuy Email: ser1840@gmail.com Join  the Player Typer Guy Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/stephenrobinson

  3. Jun 5

    #82 Third Annual Tony Awards Special with Raven Snook - Part 2

    My friend Raven Snook is a writer, editor, performer, mom and all-around diva (in the positive sense of the word) who’s currently the editor in chief for TDF Stages and a contributing theater critic for Time Out New York. She joins me once again to discuss this year’s Tony Awards. This is part two of our kibbitz session, and we discuss Death of a Salesman, the musical flop Queen of Versailles, and The Jellicle Ball, an actually good version of Cats. Links:   Raven's website: www.ravensnook.com Connect with Stephen: Twitter: https://twitter.com/SER1897 YouTube: https://youtube.com/@ThePlayTyperGuy Email: ser1840@gmail.com Join  the Player Typer Guy Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/stephenrobinson

  4. May 29

    #81 Third Annual Tony Awards Special with Raven Snook - Part 1

    My friend Raven Snook is a writer, editor, performer, mom and all-around diva (in the positive sense of the word) who’s currently the editor in chief for TDF Stages and a contributing theater critic for Time Out New York. She joins me once again to discuss this year’s Tony Awards, but first, we chat about Rocky Horror, Chicago, and the current state of musicals. (This was recorded before the sad announcement that my beloved Death Becomes Her is closing at the end of June.) Raven’s work has also appeared in New York Magazine, Yahoo Parenting, the New York Post, The Village Voice, Bon Appétit, Better Homes & Gardens and Parents.com, among others. We’ll be back next week for part two of our kibbitz session. Guest Info:  Raven Snook is a writer, editor, performer, mom and all-around diva (in the positive sense of the word) who’s currently the Editor of Creative Content for TDF and a contributing theater critic for Time Out New York. Raven's work has also appeared in New York Magazine, Yahoo Parenting, the New York Post, The Village Voice, Bon Appétit, Better Homes & Gardens and Parents.com, among others. Links:   www.ravensnook.com Connect with Stephen: Twitter: https://twitter.com/SER1897 YouTube: https://youtube.com/@ThePlayTyperGuy Email: ser1840@gmail.com Join  the Player Typer Guy Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/stephenrobinson

  5. May 14

    #80 Reality Checking The Bulwark With Steward Beckham And Evan Stern - PART 2

    Reality Checking the Bulwark is the ongoing project by Steward Beckham and Evan Stern. As Steward says, “We believe that institutions matter, but when institutions fail, democracy falters. And institutions that are built to counter Trump should not repeat the same mistakes that laid the groundwork for Trump. We respect and value the The Bulwark, but when it becomes a central pillar of our pro-democracy movement, it also needs to be interrogated for narrating our political stories in the same frames that may have produced the problem and also may not be the medicine for that problem. So that’s why we want to identify its failures in the best faith possible.” Steward and Evan return for Part Two of our discussion about The Bulwark, the Never Trump movement, and who controls the Democratic Party narrative. Enjoy! And go check out Steward and Evan’s substacks, Stew on This and Certain Thoughts. Make sure you check out episode 79 of the podcast to hear Part 1 of this enlightening conversation! Links: Evan’s Substack: https://substack.com/@therealevanstern Steward’s Substack: https://substack.com/@stewardbeckham Stew on This Podcast: https://www.stewonthis.com/podcast Connect with Stephen: Twitter: https://twitter.com/SER1897 YouTube: https://youtube.com/@ThePlayTyperGuy Email: ser1840@gmail.com Join  the Player Typer Guy Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/stephenrobinson

  6. Apr 30

    #79 Reality Checking The Bulwark With Steward Beckham And Evan Stern - PART 1

    I’ve enjoyed Reality Checking the Bulwark, an ongoing project by Steward Beckham and Evan Stern. As Steward says, “We believe that institutions matter, but when institutions fail, democracy falters. And institutions that are built to counter Trump should not repeat the same mistakes that laid the groundwork for Trump. We respect and value The Bulwark, but when it becomes a central pillar of our pro-democracy movement, it also needs to be interrogated for narrating our political stories in the same frames that may have produced the problem and also may not be the medicine for that problem. So that’s why we want to identify its failures in the best faith possible.” I was fortunate enough to speak about this in depth with Steward and Evan. Watch and/or listen to Part One here, and come back next week for Part Two. Also, go check out Steward and Evan’s substacks, Stew on This and Certain Thoughts. You will hear: Discussing The Bulwark - How it started and how it’s goingWhy Steward and Evan decided to discuss conversations happening on the conservative site and debate whether they were getting things right as a talking point to Democrats who are looking to take a more conservative view on politics and their expansion beyond the “Never Trump” crowdIs it arrogance or is it victory? - The Bulwark seems to be slow to catch up on matters that will shape an election (after the fact, by a mile) and have a very narrow viewpoint on whose opinion mattersStereotypical archetypes are used (the moonshining hillbilly, the longhorn-riding Texan, the Callifornian juicer, etc.) to drive how politician candidates are told to talk to different voters, infantilizing and demoralizing votersAnd more!Links: Evan’s Substack: https://substack.com/@therealevanstern Steward’s Substack: https://substack.com/@stewardbeckham Stew on This Podcast: https://www.stewonthis.com/podcast Connect with Stephen: Twitter: https://twitter.com/SER1897 YouTube: https://youtube.com/@ThePlayTyperGuy Email: ser1840@gmail.com Join  the Player Typer Guy Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/stephenrobinson

  7. Apr 18

    #78 The Swalwell Fallout With Evan Barker

    Evan Barker is a former Democratic campaign operative and political strategist. Her upcoming book Nothing Left explores her departure from the party. Eric Swalwell, the disgraced former congressman and gubernatorial candidate, perhaps represents everything Evan dislikes about her former party.  Evan and I discuss the Swalwell fallout and debate how to maintain the balance of believing victims while preserving the presumption of innocence. We also reject guilt by association, which we're starting to see more of recently. You will hear: The difference in America of the presumption of innocence is what we want (when it applies to us), but how one anonymous accusation of sexual misconduct can ruin a life or career long before any guilt is established Consensual versus nonconsensual relationships with staffers and othersDoes “believe all women” automatically equate to “don’t believe all men”?And more! Guest Info:  Evan Barker is a political and cultural commentator who has worked in Democratic politics, primarily as a fundraiser for progressive US Senate, House, and DA campaigns. After attending the DNC in 2024, she left the party and became an Independent. Evan has been published in The Times, Newsweek, and The Free Press. She has appeared on System Update with Glenn Greenwald, Batya!, Cuomo, Jesse Watters Primetime and Fox News at Night. Evan writes on substack, hosts a podcast, and her first book, NOTHING LEFT is forthcoming from Simon and Schuster in July 2026 and is now available for pre-order. Links: Evan’s Website: https://www.evanbarker.net/ Evan’s Substack: https://evanbarker.substack.com/ Evan’s Podcast: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SHtWrIrkPmY Evan’s Book (pre-order): https://www.amazon.com/dp/1668213176?ref=cm_sw_r_ffobk_cp_ud_dp_T6J7K2VZ9R6MB0KCV192&ref_=cm_sw_r_ffobk_cp_ud_dp_T6J7K2VZ9R6MB0KCV192&social_share=cm_sw_r_ffobk_cp_ud_dp_T6J7K2VZ9R6MB0KCV192&bestFormat=true Connect with Stephen: Twitter: https://twitter.com/SER1897 YouTube: https://youtube.com/@ThePlayTyperGuy Email: ser1840@gmail.com Join  the Player Typer Guy Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/stephenrobinson

  8. Apr 4

    #77 How The Search For Self Became The Performance Of Self: A Discussion With Author Patricia Martin

    Author Patricia Martin joins me to discuss her new book, Will the Future Like You? Reflections on the Age of Hyper-reinvention. Martin has written four books, and her work has been featured in Harvard Business Review, Huffington Post, The New York Times, and Psyche Magazine. She holds an MFA in non-fiction from Bennington College, with post-graduate work in medical narrative at Duke University. She holds workshops in Jungian theory at the C. G. Jung Institute of Chicago and hosts the podcast Jung in the World. You will hear: How other people see us is how we see ourselves (letting the algorithm define us) and how we can consciously choose who we want to be and claim our authentic selvesOur consciousness is for sale and social media is the supply chain - How parasocial relationships affect and influence usHow social media has exacerbated the FOMO (fear of missing out) because we can see everything everyone is doing and wondering why we weren’t invitedModern society is in the grips of what Freud termed a cultural “death drive”And more!Links:   Patricia’s website: https://patricia-martin.com/ Patricia’s book: https://rb.gy/fojfup Connect with Stephen: Twitter: https://twitter.com/SER1897 YouTube: https://youtube.com/@ThePlayTyperGuy Email: ser1840@gmail.com Join  the Player Typer Guy Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/stephenrobinson

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Ratings & Reviews

5
out of 5
9 Ratings

About

"The Play Typer Guy” offers an engaging deep dive into politics and pop culture. Your host is Portland, Oregon-based playwright, columnist, and media critic Stephen Robinson. His son describes him as “play typer guy."

Information

  • Creator
    Stephen Robinson
  • Years Active
    2023 - 2026
  • Episodes
    84
  • Rating
    Explicit
  • Copyright
    © 2026 The Play Typer Guy
  • Show Website
    The Play Typer Guy