Magic | Polygamer

Polygamer #104: Creatrix Tiara

Posted on August 19, 2020 by Ken Gagne

Creatrix Tiara is a shenaniganist — one who performs in a variety of media and activities, from spoken word to interactive storytelling to sleight of hand to event organizing. Tiara performs as Queer Lady Magician, has been a writer for such games as Here’s Your Fuckin’ Papers and What The $!#&@! Do They Need Now?, and uses their art to address themes such as immigration, intersectionality, and liminality.

In this podcast interview, I ask Tiara how they elevate stage magic to address social issues; the xenophobia inherent in immigration policies; why video games can produce a more visceral reaction than other media; the interrelation of multiple media that makes them inseparable; and how one gets up to shenanigans in the midst of a pandemic.

Stream the audio edition of this interview below or from Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Spotify, Amazon Music, Overcast, Pandora, Pocket Casts, iHeartRadio, TuneIn, RadioPublic, or the Internet Archive. Click past the jump for a full transcript and links to resources mentioned in this episode.

Podcast: Download (Duration: 57:51 — 27.4MB) | Embed

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Polygamer #71: Susan Arendt of Genii Online

Posted on October 11, 2017 by Ken Gagne

Susan Arendt is the editor-in-chief of Genii Online, a website that covers magic and deception for magicians and anyone interested in the art and craft of magic. While Genii has existed as a print magazine since 1936, Genii Online’s September 2017 launch marked the publication’s online debut. It also marked a shift for Susan: after many successful years helming gaming publications such as GamesRadar+, Joystiq, and The Escapist, Susan is bringing her digital media experience and expertise to the realm of magic.

In this podcast, Susan and I chat about how she landed this magical gig; what constitutes legitimate magic, and whether magicians get their powers from dealing with the devil; how Susan assembled the team behind Genii Online and what new skills she’s had to learn in this industry; and whether print is a sustainable business model for a niche publication. We also talk about Continue, her new co-hosted gaming podcast (and which I back on Patreon), as well as Take This, the mental health non-profit she co-founded. What’s the best way to help someone who’s experiencing an anxiety or PTSD attack? Susan offers her advice.

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Podcast: Download (Duration: 1:11:26 — 33.6MB) | Embed

Polygamer #42: Tifa Robles of the Lady Planeswalker Society

Posted on April 27, 2016 by Ken Gagne

Tifa Robles is the founder of the Lady Planeswalkers Society, which aims to create welcoming, friendly environments for women (and everyone) to learn Magic: The Gathering. Since its founding in 2011, the group has grown and now has branches in cities around the globe.

In this episode, Tifa and I discuss how the Magic: The Gathering scene has changed in the last five years and what the LPS has done to address issues of harassment; how players can create diverse, safe play spaces, including starting their own LPS branch; and how playing a collectible card game isn’t as expensive as it may seem.

We also talk about Tifa and her husband’s challenges raising a family. In 2015, Tifa and Mike experienced a miscarriage — a phenomenon that is more common than they realized. They want to let parents-to-be know how to cope with this tragedy and that it’s okay to talk about it.

This episode does contain some language as an example of the harassment some gamers receive, and discussion about starting a family may hit close to home for some; therefore, despite the absence of swear words, this episode has an “explicit” tag.

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Podcast: Download (Duration: 1:10:06 — 33.0MB) | Embed