Yet another tricky topic for me. I got into gaming podcasts back in 2006, right at the start of the movement. Not only did I listen to pretty much all the podcasts of the first wave, a year later I became a podcaster myself (if a short-lived one). I don’t listen to gaming podcasts anymore, but I do have great memories of those early days. I have made lifelong friendships thanks to podcasting, which is awesome.
I’ll start with a quick shout-out to Paul Tevis’ Have Games, Will Travel, probably the first podcast I listened to, and how I was introduced to the larger world of small-press/indie/story games.
My first favorite podcast would be Sons of Kryos, hosted by Judd Karlman and Jeff Lower, later joined by Storn Cook. SoK was fantastic in that it truly felt like I was sitting at a table with Judd, Jeff, and Storn, just talking about games, having a chilled time. They talked about the games they were playing, what they wanted to play, what they had bought, how to be a better player and gamemaster, and just general gaming chatter. They were polite, upbeat, and positive about gaming, and I liked them for that. SoK ended in 2009, and I know many people who miss it to this day.
My second favorite podcast is Fear The Boot, hosted primarily by Dan Repperger, with a number of co-hosts that has changed throughout the year. With 375 episodes and counting, FtB is the longest running gaming podcast, broadcasting weekly (with few exceptions) since 2007, if I recall correctly. They have covered pretty much every single aspect of gaming I can think of, and every so often they revisit older topics for their newer audience. In addition to the podcast, FtB has put on a successful gaming con in St Louis, MO for the past 8 years, and have published two fiction anthologies. Dan and company run an amazingly tight ship that continues to do great things for their audience, and gaming in general.
During the month of August, I am participating in #RPGaDay, an opportunity to talk daily about different topics related to games and gaming, organized by Dave Chapman, designer of Doctor Who: Adventures In Time and Space. I’ve been out of gaming for a while, so this is gonna be an interesting exercise.
