Joining us for our first episode of 2026 is the mathmetician and narrative designer, @jon.inkle.co. In 2011, Jon co-founded the independent studio Inkle, and has since worked on titles such as 80 Days, A Highland Song, and now a game set in a wartime computer: TR-49. Listen now: apple.co/45JM19p

I love listening to this podcast and I’ve been looking forward to doing this episode for ages - hear our countdowns of our favourite games of 2025, right here!

The Guardian picked THE FORBIDDEN GARDEN by Simon Parkin as one of the Best Science Books of 2025! https://bit.ly/3MoIE0x

This week's episode––our last interview of 2025––features @harvey1966.bsky.social, co-designer of Deus Ex and Dishonored, in a profoundly reflective mood, exploring a life spent at the bleeding edge of immersive sim design. Listen wherever you get your podcasts.

Critics once wielded savage pens. Now, audiences crave cheer. As the age of the vicious restaurant review fades, have we lost our appetite for honesty along with our taste for cruelty? In today's @observeruk.bsky.social: observer.co.uk/style/featur...

Great read, and can’t help but make parallels to other reviews

Critics once wielded savage pens. Now, audiences crave cheer. As the age of the vicious restaurant review fades, have we lost our appetite for honesty along with our taste for cruelty? In today's @observeruk.bsky.social: observer.co.uk/style/featur...

Join Simon live in Chicago as he chats with pioneering American video game developer Alex Seropian. Find out how Alex founded Bungie while a student at University, and why, after Apple's Steve Jobs revealed the game on stage, they took Halo to Microsoft. Listen now: bit.ly/48DkCGz

My book about Nintendo is out soon! Early readers have said incredibly nice things about it! Pre-order here for US/UK: linktr.ee/super_nintendo

‘The Forbidden Garden of Leningrad’ is one of @theguardian.com’s science books of the year. Pick up a copy for a loved one who enjoys nonfiction wherever you get your books: www.theguardian.com/books/2025/d...

Incredible @myperfectconsole.bsky.social episode with Mark Cerny sharing a ton of annecdotes. Atari, Sega, Universal, Cystal Dynamics, Naughty Dog, Insomniac, Playstation, you name it. Priceless stories for videogame history enthousiasts. Give it a listen! Mark, write a biography I beg you! 🙏

A phenomenal interview within the format of the show while the guest clearly has about 100 hours at least of stuff to talk about. One day maybe. A book. But in the meantime, an excellent interview by Simon Parkin

A rare Pokémon appears: Mark Cerny, on the show, next week.

The story of how a Bournemouth schoolboy developed Worms, a video game that went on to become a global phenomenon, is extraordinary. One of my favourite conversations on the show this year-

A privilege to speak with @yosp-jp.bsky.social, whose passion and belief in independent gamemakers is both infectious and authentic. Among many other things he tells the story of how a failure led him to join Ken Kuatargi's PlayStation project, an opportunity that changed the course of his life:

Origins of a Species 🐟 At the turn of the millennium one of gaming’s most unique and bizarre titles was released for the Dreamcast. @simonparkin.bsky.social sits down with its creator Yoot Saito to discuss the evolution, extinction and potential revival of the weird and wonderful Seaman.

A privilege to speak with @yosp-jp.bsky.social, whose passion and belief in independent gamemakers is both infectious and authentic. Among many other things he tells the story of how a failure led him to join Ken Kuatargi's PlayStation project, an opportunity that changed the course of his life:

🤖🌟 Issue 6 of APWOT is live on Kickstarter! 🌟🤖 Featuring a beautiful lenticular cover of Astro Bot marking both our feature interview with the game’s director, Nicolas Doucet, and the 30th anniversary of PlayStation. Get in there! 💫 kck.st/4i1GAHT 💫

Named a Best Book of the Year by Scientific American and The Economist! The true story of the botanists who made “the heroic decision during the siege of Leningrad to guard biodiversity at the cost of human life” (NYT) The Forbidden Garden by Simon Parkin, now in paperback! https://bit.ly/3BIYQod

I am such a huge fan of @myperfectconsole.bsky.social, because I'm such a huge fan of @simonparkin.bsky.social. Getting to be on the show was a delight, and folks are telling me it was good - I'm glad to hear.

While alive, Einstein fought all attempts to use his name and likeness as a promotional gimmick. His death, however, turned his face into a battleground, kickstarting the celebrity image rights industry. Inside the murky world of Einstein’s rights, now in audio: www.theguardian.com/news/audio/2...

🚨 It's that time of year again! Please sign up for the upcoming ISSUE 6 campaign! 🙌🙏 www.kickstarter.com/projects/caz...

*The Audience Versus* is coming to The Pleasance, Islington next Tues, 28th Oct. Face-off against @elliegibson.bsky.social and www.instagram.com/_ednight/ in a series of bastardised video game-challenges. With host @thenewsatglenn.bsky.social. Tickets here: www.pleasance.co.uk/event/audien...

The success of Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 caught everyone by surprise, including those intimately involved in its creation. Join @SimonParkin.bsky.social in conversation with Lorien Testard as he recounts his journey from guitar teacher to game's composer. Listen now: apple.co/47xkVDw

I'll be talking with @simonparkin.bsky.social today for a live recording of the @myperfectconsole.bsky.social podcast as part of the University of Chicago's amazing Year of Games Symposium. Come through if you can! www.eventbrite.com/e/my-perfect...

Chance the Rapper vs Animal Crossing - prob the best thing I made in lockdown tbh.

[email protected] is one of the sharpest, loveliest people working in tech journalism, whose work at The Verge and Polygon has helped shape the way we talk and think about games. Still, there was so much about his life and journey I didn't know. Listen here: open.spotify.com/episode/6tTY...

In 2014 I wrote for @newyorker.com about @kurtjmac.bsky.social, a YouTuber who began walking in Minecraft and never stopped. His quest was to reach the Far Lands, a place at the limits of the algorithmic world, where the landscape breaks apart. On Saturday, after fourteen years, he arrived:

In 2014 I wrote for @newyorker.com about @kurtjmac.bsky.social, a YouTuber who began walking in Minecraft and never stopped. His quest was to reach the Far Lands, a place at the limits of the algorithmic world, where the landscape breaks apart. On Saturday, after fourteen years, he arrived:

Blippo+ is a handcrafted TV-channel surfing game from a past that never existed. L.A.-based actors, comedians and artists collaborated to direct and film hours of footage. A joy to interview @theuniverse.bsky.social, one of its creators, whose career is studded with bright jewels like these.

Thrilled to have spoken to Alexander, whose translation work I have long admired, and whose influence can be clearly seen in so many games, including this week’s rerelease of Final Fantasy Tactics.

Slow Horses is back. To celebrate, listen to our episode with Daniel Pemberton, composer of the show’s theme tune (and many more), who reveals how Rolling Stones’ frontman Mick Jagger recorded the song’s vocals — using a studio on his ‘back-up’ island: www.patreon.com/posts/daniel...

this is, hands down, the best video I've seen on men's influencer content and it's not close either

This was a special conversation for me for many reasons. Was fab talking to @simonparkin.bsky.social of course. But also, talking about my childhood, my family, how game discovery was woven in to my very first job, and how these 5 games mean the world to me. If you like my stuff, do share widely.

This NYT interview with Cameron Crowe is a great listen. At one point the interviewer shares several of his theories as to why Crowe's more recent work might be weaker than his earlier films. Ballsy! podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/t...

For today’s Observer magazine I interviewed Brett Goldstein at the house he’s renovating in Fulham, about the secret tape that made him Roy Kent, his new film’s rejection of algorithmic love, and why, after 5 years in the froth of success, he’s ready to put down roots: observer.co.uk/culture/inte...

For today’s Observer magazine I interviewed Brett Goldstein at the house he’s renovating in Fulham, about the secret tape that made him Roy Kent, his new film’s rejection of algorithmic love, and why, after 5 years in the froth of success, he’s ready to put down roots: observer.co.uk/culture/inte...

How do you balance a career in games PR with punk stardom? In our latest episode, @lizzietrouble.bsky.social , lead vocalist and guitarist of indie Teens in Trouble, discusses her dual life and, reveals her surprising link to Street Fighter 4. 🎧 Listen now: bit.ly/4m0JOvj

Comedians x Video Games = The Audience Versus, a new live show that pits the audience against a team of comedians in a series of match-ups using silly rules. Debuts at The Pleasance on 29th September, featuring Sarah Keyworth, @pierrenovellie.bsky.social and hosted by @thenewsatglenn.bsky.social.

How did viral indie hit Blue Prince make it from concept to reality? In this week's episode, the game's creator, Tonda Ros, reveals the "golden goose" that made it all happen and shares the five games he'd put on his perfect console. Listen now: buff.ly/0KlvTFO

I spoke with Tonda Ros, creator of this year’s indie hit, Blue Prince, about how, as a child, an unexpected bequeathment - not unlike the one that powers his game - provided him a near endless supply of NES games.

What happens when a ghostwriter wants to become famous? On the biographer who, for six figure sums, writes the stories of the unnotable: observer.co.uk/news/profile...

This week on #bbcinsidescience: solar panels in space, @simonparkin.bsky.social and @valmcdermid.bsky.social talk about Simon’s book, The Forbidden Gardens of Leningrad, shortlisted for the @royalsociety.org Trivedi Book Prize. @adamhartscience.bsky.social talks hunting for conservation.

I saw Lightning Bolt play at ATP years ago, an experience that was both intimate and feverish. A joy to have Brian on the show, discussing his band, working on Guitar Hero, and his indie game projects Thumper and Thrasher, which are just as exhilarating as his live music:

In 'The Forbidden Garden of Leningrad', Simon Parkin draws on previously unseen sources to tell the remarkable story of the botanists working at the world's first seed bank during the siege of Leningrad in 1941 and the moral dilemmas they faced: #SciBooks royalsociety.org/medals-and-p...

The Forbidden Garden of Leningrad is out today in UK paperback. The book tells the true story of the botanists who worked at world’s first seed bank during the siege of Leningrad. It’s a finalist in the Orwell Prize and the 2025 Royal Society Prize. Pick up a copy wherever you get your books.

The Forbidden Garden of Leningrad is out today in UK paperback. The book tells the true story of the botanists who worked at world’s first seed bank during the siege of Leningrad. It’s a finalist in the Orwell Prize and the 2025 Royal Society Prize. Pick up a copy wherever you get your books.

Ralph is one of the sharpest critics working in games, and his journey to running one of Australia’s largest and most impactful channels is fascinating.

I hugely enjoyed chatting to Simon about the video games that defined my life, and the place of gaming in public history 👇

'There are no depictions of violence here – but as you puzzle together the pieces, you witness a slow collapse of innocence, replayed in dreamlike fragments, some tender, others unbearable.' On Luto, a game about abuse, grief and hope: observer.co.uk/news/science...