Adam and Steph are back after a long break! They chat about the struggles with layoffs in academia and the games industry that has been all over the news lately. Then, they bring on special guest William Mellamphy, a PhD candidate an expert in all things nostalgia, video games, and, much to Steph's delight, Pokemon! A long chat ensues around the commodification of nostalgia, the newfound ability for parents to share gaming passions with their children, and what it all means for capitalism. We then zero in on some Pokemon myths, the mechanics of gender in the series, and the power of the hero's journey in children's media.

The podcast finishes off with talk of the many CFPs MultiPlay has out right now, including one for a special edition Game Boy issue of MultiPlay's new journal, as well as a call for abstracts around the communities of play in video games and "Gitting Gud".

Check out MultiPlay's active CFPs: https://multiplaynetwork.org/call-for-papers/

Follow us on Twitter: https://twitter.com/multiplayn

Send questions and abstracts to networkmultiplay AT gmail DOT com

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