194 episodes
Humans of Magic Humans of Magic
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- Society & Culture
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4.6 • 41 Ratings
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Conversations with the Magic The Gathering community. https://humansofmagic.com/
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A Primer on Israel-Palestine with Spice8Rack
An introduction to the Israel-Palestine conflict with Spice8Rack, Magic YouTuber and political activist.
0:00 Intro
3:00 Ground rules and expectations
6:47 Resources - journalists
9:07 Resources - coordination
10:32 Resources - education
11:15 Resources - books
22:26 How do we know if a resource is legitimate?
32:12 How do we know if an influencer is legitimate?
40:32 Social media has real value (but use it wisely)
49:52 Be well-informed - and take action
53:10 It's okay to be emotional (on the internet)
58:59 Willful ignorance and team mentality
1:03:18 Why the Israel-Palestine conflict is important
1:09:52 Campus protests and institutional response
1:16:15 Student protesters should be commended
1:19:23 anti-Zionism vs. anti-Semitism
1:27:04 Scale of what's happening, business interests
1:35:46 Use of force - the Israeli state's position
1:44:59 Definition of "Nakba"
1:49:44 What needs to happen next?
1:58:25 Israeli government and American dependency
2:08:28 Managing expectations with the West
2:16:38 Final words - call for action
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Spice8Rack's recommended resources:
[JOURNALISTS]
- WizardBisan1 - on Instagram & TikTok
- Eye on Palestine, Middle East Eye - on Instagram & TikTok
[COORDINATION]
- National Students for Justice in Palestine - on Twitter & Instagram
- BDS (Boycott Divest & Sanction)
- Palestine Action
- Jewish Voice for Peace
- Palestine Solidarity Campaign
[EDUCATION]
- Dr. John Duncan - "JohntheDuncan" on YouTube
[BOOKS]
- S. Englert - "Settler Colonialism: An Introduction"
- R. Khalidi - "The Hundred Year’s War on Palestine"
- S. Awad, & B. Bean - "Palestine: A Socialist Introduction"
- B. Bashir, & A. Goldberg - "The Holocaust & the Nakba"
- A. Lowenstien - "The Palestine Laboratory"
- A. Davis - "Freedom is a Constant Struggle"
- F. Fanon - "The Wretched of the Earth"
- J. Abusalim, J. Bing & M. Merryman Lotze - "Light in Gaza"
In the conversation, we referred to Kyle Hill as "Phil" -- sorry, Kyle! -
Magic The Gathering's Most Prolific Writer - Alison Luhrs
Alison Luhrs is a creative writer and worldbuilder for Magic The Gathering. She was also the creative lead for Baldur's Gate 3, and is currently the narrative director for Destiny 2.
0:00 Intro
1:00 Doing improv
6:49 Improv's learning curve, embracing failure
12:23 Connecting with the audience
15:37 "Book Club"
19:21 Getting into the games industry
21:46 Career at Wizards of the Coast
24:25 Ixalan
25:38 Magic storytelling evolution
29:27 Writing the Thunder Junction epilogues
32:29 Why Alison left her name off the Ixalan stories
38:12 Subverting expectations
39:50 Research and writing frameworks
43:23 Magic storyline starter kit
46:13 Collaborative writing with friends
49:30 Advice for folks entering the games industry
54:56 Living through the COVID era
56:53 "Badass wilderness woman" (and "Lost" commentary)
1:03:25 Alison's friendship philosophy
1:10:11 Legendary Kaladesh PAX improv event
1:13:15 Being the Baldur's Gate 3 creative lead
1:21:54 Lightning round Q&A
Patreon: patreon.com/humansofmagic -
An Unfiltered Conversation with Andrea Mengucci
Andrea Mengucci is a Magic The Gathering content creator and player.
0:00 Intro
1:27 Interview start
3:14 Content evolution, new YouTube channel, logistics
8:32 Connecting with audience, making it fun
13:02 Magic content innovation
16:29 Why Mengu isn't making Commander content
17:56 Modern format bans
20:35 Tournament and Pro Tour mindset
23:00 COVID changed EVERYTHING
26:04 The REAL life of a top Magic content creator
35:38 Surrounding oneself with strong players
38:01 Competitive Magic is in a weird place
39:02 CovertGoBlue's big impact on Mengu
43:31 "I have a bad relationship with Magic Arena"
49:21 The Karnies podcast
54:36 Content creator vs. pro player lifestyle
1:01:12 Mengu's legacy
Patreon: patreon.com/humansofmagic -
Magic The Gathering Artist - Victor Adame Minguez
Victor Adame Minguez is an artist and illustrator for Magic The Gathering.
Victor's Instagram → https://www.instagram.com/victoradameart/
0:00 Intro
1:00 Beginning of Victor's creative journey
5:53 Making art a viable career
6:38 Artistic ability vs. practice
9:30 "I don't have any other skills"
15:32 Magic art guidelines
17:06 Advice for aspiring Magic illustrators?
20:18 The Grist that sold for $35K
26:09 Early days of working with Wizards of the Coast
29:05 Moving from digital art to oil paintings
35:42 Experiencing creative burnout
41:45 Developing the grind mindset
44:44 How Victor met his wife, Carley Hart
50:17 Magic artist celebrity
57:50 Magic Con Chicago
1:02:39 Fun fact about Victor (that nobody knows about)
1:06:39 Favorite illustration / favorite artists
1:10:23 Value of original paintings
1:12:19 Illustrating for different card rarities
1:14:41 Victor's new passion project
Patreon: patreon.com/humansofmagic -
Modern Innovations, Pro Tour Learnings - The Aspiringspike Interview
Evart "Aspiringspike" Moughon is a Magic player and streamer. He is best known for his deckbuilding innovations in the Modern format.
0:00 Intro
0:50 Streaming Dark Souls
6:02 Personal off-stream projects
7:58 Value of effective practice
13:45 Viewership drop when variety streaming
15:53 Deckbuilding process
23:17 Innovating (and breaking) the Modern format
27:50 The Crokeyz tweet
31:30 Right place, right time
36:01 Talking about success
37:42 What Spike learned from Kai Budde and Reid Duke
46:59 Level-up - Pro Tour deck selection process
53:01 Questioning assumptions, intuitive learning, stream feedback
58:28 On expressing negative emotions on-stream
1:01:55 Working on the Lord of the Rings set
1:15:34 Making a tabletop RPG with TCG elements
1:19:12 Boundaries of creative output and personal life
1:22:06 Five questions with Aspiringspike (lightning Q&A)
Patreon: patreon.com/humansofmagic -
Magic Pro & World Champion - Javier Dominguez
Javier Dominguez is a Magic pro player from Spain. He won the 2018 Magic World Championship.
0:00 Intro
1:24 The language of Magic
3:43 Repeatable decision-making
5:23 Leveraging poker skills, studying the game
10:20 Frustrations
12:49 Being competitive vs. having fun
16:46 Choosing Magic over poker (and Hearthstone)
24:57 Was the old Magic Pro Tour ACTUALLY good?
34:42 The love of the game
37:42 Nature of competitive games
42:43 How Javier wants to be remembered
43:15 Becoming World Champion - did Javier change?
49:40 Preparing for Worlds (work-life-happiness balance)
59:33 Javier's climb to greatness
1:01:49 Hitting a ceiling and starting over
1:05:54 "You can be wrong" - a healthy approach to doubt
1:08:16 Goals and process for 2024
1:10:31 Lightning round Q&A
Patreon: patreon.com/humansofmagic
Customer Reviews
I thought this was about tribal human EDH!??!
Oh well. I love learning about the small handful of people who have made MTG such a huge part of their lives, particularly those who have taken the risk and the workload in earn a living off of MTG. Streaming, designing, podcasting, pro touring. Whatever. It's neat.
Interview rough to listen to.
The people you have on are GREAT and you ask good questions but man I cringe when you ask them. Idk if your nervous or what but the delivery of your (good) questions is so rough and monotonous it just needs work. Good interviews but just not done in an entertaining way!
Truly Eternal Content
I came to this podcast looking for English content on the experience of playing Legacy in China. Sure, I get a little of that here and there during the casts but the guest interviews on their personal experience is far better than I was expecting.
I’m still not caught up to the current episodes but everything I’ve heard so far is very relevant. I wish that I had found this podcast earlier in my competitive play and recommend it for anyone who wants to play and be successful in sanctioned magic tournaments. Listen to the people that have been there before, decks don’t matter forever, your approach to the game and life does.