SocJus and Boardgame Podcasts

Our New Friend over at the R&G for Justice blog has a post that's at least partly right. I've spent a bit of timee listening to boardgame podcasts, and well, I got better.

I can tell some of you are already thinking, "Why would the Injustice Gamer even jokingly disparage boardgame podcasts? Aren't boardgames his thing in gaming?". Yes, they are. Podcasts, on the other hand, are much less so, and I have trouble finding the time to listen even to the podcasts I would like to(Geek Gab, Catholic Geek, JimFear138, Kennings and Cantrips, Superversive). And those are people I LIKE.

But, with regards to boardgame podcasts, they tend to break down into boardgame news, what's being played, reviews, and maybe a guest. And there's nothing wrong with that. But there's a ton of podcasts, and a lot of them follow this exact set of discussion points.

And, due to the "Cult of the New" nature the hobby's culture has, many of the podcasts will discuss the same game or games in the same week. Now, we do have a chunk here where Our New Friend goes wrong. He seems to think that "similar and redundant" content(reviews) are unoriginal. Now, I will say that most game reviews follow a few standard formats, and few try to inject real personality to differentiate themselves.

That's FINE. They're reviewing boardgames. He wants more "diverse" content, and by that he states he wants diverse opinions and perspectives(which would be good), from more "diverse" people with different lived experiences. Maybe he should find some guys that like heavier games, or some blue collar gamers(I'm one). But no, by diverse, he means minorities.

Then he discusses some podcasts he listens to. And by some, I mean the five left after culling from 15 to 20. Now, I'm guessing somebody spends office hours to listen to some of these, because otherwise I have no clue how anyone listens to that many podcasts.

Here's another idea if you want actual diversity: listen to podcasts about different things, if you want that to be your media consumption. Fiction, philosophy, politics, hiking, fitness, specific games, etc. There's a whole lot of ideas out there, and if you limit yourself to one field, you limit yourself. If you're going to be a SocJus idjit, at least be a well rounded one. You might become aware of things like what Christians actually believe(including differences between denominations/sects).

But you want to focus on diversity within the hobby. Go listen to the Dice Tower, instead of your friends with the cats. What? You don't want to listen to a guy who was a missionary in Far East, and had to come back because his wife got pregnant again? So much for diversity.


When you play Social Justice, the world loses.