Polygamer – A Podcast of Equality & Diversity in Gaming & Video Games

Host Ken Gagne concludes eight years of Polygamer with clips and reflections from eight of his most memorable episodes.

Helene Utterback discusses polyamory, why we don't see this romantic relationship modeled in video games, and how modders have closed the gap.

A podcast interview with Aenne Schumann, narrative designer of the Arcade Spirits visual novels, about social justice, ADHD, and FMV games.

Game to Grow is a non-profit that promotes the therapeutic, educational, and community growth benefits of gaming. With structured online sessions of Dungeons & Dragons and Minecraft, as well as their own tabletop …

Cyndi Wiley is the Digital Accessibility Lead for Iowa State University’s Digital Accessibility Lab. Equipped with everything from screenreaders to …

Honey P. Rosenbloom is the executive director of Friendship Garden, a founding member of the Alphabet Workers Union, and an accomplished indie game …

A podcast interview with Allison Holt, a Webby-award-winning web developer who's worked at such video game companies as Turbine, Harmonix & 38 …

Arthur Inasi has spent the last 15 years at Harmonix, developer of the Guitar Hero and Rock Band rhythm games, working as a sound designer, level designer, voice actor, mocap actor, and more. As creative lead of Dance …

After years as a Dungeons & Dragons player, Sabriel Mastin stepped behind the DM screen to run her own campaign. She immediately loved it, creating her own adventures in the world of Eberron. With that experience …

Bonnie Gordon is an actor, voice actor, and musician extraordinaire. Having previously been a Starfleet ensign at Star Trek: The Experience in Las Vegas, she now voices the ship’s computer on the animated series Star …

Chel Wong is a Boston-based video game composter and sound designer. As a freelancer, she has worked on such titles as the music puzzler Kine, the Starfox-inspired Whisker Squadron, and the surreal adventure RPG She …

Dr. Lindsey Migliore, also known as GamerDoc, is a licensed esports physician. While hiking the Appalachian Trail, she realized that only by …

Beth Daggert has been a game designer, software engineer, lead programmer, director of engineering, and vice president of engineering, within and without the gaming industry. Having worked on such historic franchises as …

Brianna Dym is a Ph.D student in the University of Colorado Boulder’s information science department under Dr. Casey Fiesler. Brianna’s field of …

Dr. Melissa Chaplin is the head of client strategy at Game If You Are, a UK-based marketing firm helping indie video games get the attention they deserve. When not writing press releases, editing trailers, and landing …

Maia Weinstock is the creator of LEGO Women of NASA, a kit she proposed on the LEGO Ideas site that won approval to be made into a real product. Now she’s pitching the Women of Computing, a set that pays homage to Ada …

Kate Olguin knew that finishing her undergraduate career and searching for a job would be difficult; she did not expect a pandemic to make it even …

Ivy Dolamore is an artist, cryptid, and unschooler. The product of a curriculum-free homeschooling education, Ivy quit her job at GameStop to become …

Amanda Pegg-Wheat is a children’s librarian and branch manager in Quincy, Massachusetts. In addition to books, movies, video games, and Internet access, Amanda offers her patrons another service: Dungeons & Dragons …

Dianna Lora is an account manager at Massive Entertainment, the Ubisoft studio working on the next Star Wars video game. She is an accomplished …

A podcast interview with Dr. Rachel Kowert -- gamer, psychologist, author, research director at Take This, and host of the YouTube channel Psychgeist.

A podcast interview with Kelsey Lewin, the co-director of the Video Game History Foundation and co-owner of Pink Gorilla retail stores in Seattle, …

A podcast interview with Courtney Garcia, who uses media psychology to analyze video games and how they can help us develop our emotional …

Dr. T.L. Taylor of MIT is the author of 'Watch Me Play'. We talk about Twitch, esports, online play, teaching during a pandemic, and amusement parks.

A podcast interview with Creatrix Tiara, a Melbourne-based shenaniganist using stage magic & video games to advocate for immigration reform.

An audio podcast interview with Jordan Jones-Brewster, narrative designer of the video game We should talk.

A podcast interview with Jason Oda of Waking, a game that uses the player's personal memories as weapons in the fight to awaken from a coma.

How do we hold onto our identity as gamers after becoming parents and find time for our favorite hobby? Ken Gagne talks with parents on this PAX East …

Ken Gagne's podcast interview with Sarah Elmaleh, voice actor from video games Gone Home, Gears of War 5, Final Fantasy XV & co-founder of …

A podcast interview with Dr. Dana Plank, a ludomusicologist devoted to the study of video game music and audio.

Nic Tompkins-Hughes talks about being a gamer parent, raising neuroatypical children on the rainbow spectrum, and transitioning themselves.

A podcast interview with Dr. Carly Kocurek, who's crowdfunding issue #2 of Save Point zine on Kickstarter while studying the Games for Girls movement.

A podcast interview with the founder & creative director of APWOT, an independent magazine inspired by video games, about the Kickstarter for its …

A podcast interview with Dr. Jessica Hebert, placentologist & nerd musician with the PDX Broadsides, about nerd music, touring, Rosalind Franklin …

A podcast interview with Jeri Ellsworth, CEO of Tilt Five, about her successful Kickstarter to produce a mixed reality gaming headset to succeed …

A podcast interview with Dr. Aurit Lazerus, a gamer with a clinical practice who uses video & board games to incorporate playfulness into daily …

A podcast interview with Bobbi Sand of Transcenders Media, developer and publisher of Knife Sisters, a BDSM visual novel released for Steam in April …

A podcast interview with Alicia Caillier, product manager at Harmonix, developer of Dance Central for Oculus.

An audio podcast interview with Athena Peters, the founder and co-owner of Adventure Pub, a gaming gastropub located outside Boston in Arlington, …

SlyTQ is a variety Twitch streamer who hosts charity streams for Take This. We podcast about avoiding creative burnout and emotional support animals.

A PAX East 2019 panel, moderated by Ken Gagne, featuring independent artists who create arts and crafts inspired by video games.

Tifa Robles is a freelance writer whose first book, the young-adult fantasy novel The Explorers of Azullucent, is currently on Kickstarter.

A podcast interview with Geneviève "Eve" Leblanc is the community manager and QA tester for Clever Endeavor Games, developer of Ultimate Chicken …

Shannon Symonds is a curator at the Strong Museum of Play, home to the International Center for the History of Electronic Games (ICHEG).

A podcast interview with Meagan Marie of Crystal Dynamics, author of Women in Gaming: 100 Professionals of Play, a book of profiles and interviews.

A podcast interview with Bahiyya Khan, the developer of after HOURS, a full-motion video (FMV) game about sexual assault & borderline personality …

A podcast interview with Stacy and Mari of YouTube channel GeekRemix, in which the two women Let's Play and analyze mainstream and indie video games.

A podcast interview with Cynthia Lowen, the director and producer of Netizens, a documentary that exposes the proliferation of gendered, online …

Angela O'Hara is the senior artist at Big Viking Games in London, Ontario. In this podcast interview, we talk vector art, Sailor Moon, and Flash …

Abbey Perl is the founder of the Diverse Gaming Coalition, a non-profit charged with ending bullying in gaming and other media -- and having fun …

Katie Kaitchuck is the executive director of GaymerX, an LGBT video game convention. In this podcast interview, we talk about Pride Month and queer …

A podcast interview with Harris O'Malley, aka Dr. NerdLove, about online dating, video gaming, being a geek, and healthy relationships.

A panel of Tanya C. DePass, Lon Seidman, and Ian Danskin about crowdfunding their YouTube channels, Twitch streams, and 501c3 non-profits.

A podcast interview with Matt Baume, dungeon master of Queens of Adventure, a Kickstarter-funded podcast based on Dungeons & Drag Queens.

Joseph Bein of Out of Sight Games talks about the Kickstarter-funded audio-only game A Hero's Call, development tools for blind gamers & visual …

A podcast interview with Wally S, a Twine game developer and author who recently gave a GaymerX East talk on nonbinary character representation in …

Nicole Hunter is a freelance writer for BlackGirlGaming.com and a moderator for Black Gamers Revolution, an intersectional safe space for Black …

Susan Arendt is the editor of Genii Online, a website dedicated to magic and deception for magicians, as well as co-host of the Continue gaming …

A podcast interview with Kellian Adams Fletcher, mastermind behind Green Door Labs, which builds mobile and transmedia games for museums and …

Tanya DePass is the founder of I Need Diverse Games and former host of diversity audio podcast Fresh Out of Tokens, which we discuss in this …

An audio podcast interview Katie Hallahan, whose studio created the King's Quest fan game The Silver Lining. She also covers The Walking Dead for …

Sarah LeBoeuf reports from E3 about the Nintendo Switch and how the AFK Room by Take This made the event that much more tolerable. Also: Breath of …

Wonder Woman starring Gal Gadot and Chris Pine is a successful film for DC, director Patty Jenkins, and feminists everywhere. Sabriel Mastin and I …

The Charles Babbage Institute at the University of Minnesota is an archive and research center dedicated to preserving the history of information …

Prof. Kishonna Gray teaches in MIT's Comparative Media Studies/Writing, coming from Eastern Kentucky University, where she founded the Critical …

Dr. Noah J. Springer wrote his Ph.D. dissertation about how the online communities of reddit empowered GamerGate through the Kotaku In Action (KIA) …

Ken Gagne, Susan Arendt, Alexander Sliwinski & Jonathan Holmes give advice for being a better writer in the video games industry in this PAX East …

A podcast interview with Sabriel Mastin, head of social media and support for Overbuff, a stats-tracking company for Blizzard's first-person shooter, …

A podcast interview with Jonathan Holmes of Destructoid, Nintendo Force, and A Profound Waste of Time about voice acting, journalism, and PewDiePie.

A podcast interview with Kungfufruitcup, a Twitch streamer and speedrunner who recently attended the Awesome Games Done Quick (AGDQ) marathon.

EMiSpicer is a video game culture photographer who travels the world capturing gaming events and moments. From GaymerX in New York and California to …

An interview with Matt Baume of the book Defining Marriage and podcast Sewers of Paris about his and James Morris' video project, Playing With Pride.

A podcast interview with Natalie Juhasz of ReVenture Games about point-and-click adventure games and crowdfunding Lorna Bains on Indiegogo.

Podcast alumni Ken Gagne, Matt Conn, Khadeja Merenkov, and Francesca Carletto-Leon reunite to share their inspiration for pursuing diversity in …

A podcast interview with SeriouslyClara, a Twitch content creator and livestreamer of indie games who promotes mental health awareness and body …

A podcast interview with Amy Allison of Women in Games International about the Girl Scouts Greater Los Angeles' new video game patch.

Ian Danskin is a freelance animator, writer, video editor, and visual essayist. His YouTube channel, Innuendo Studios, hosts a dozen videos analyzing …

A podcast interview with Tristan D. Lalla, the voice actor of Adéwale in Ubisoft's Assassin's Creed, about speech disorders, motion capture, and …

An interview with theologian Ben Chicka of the TheoNerd podcast about theology, philosophy, and empathy in video games.

A podcast interview with Chris Klimas, creator of Twine and co-founder of the Interactive Fiction Technology Foundation, about IF, text adventures, …

A podcast interview with Serenity Caldwell of iMore on Pokémon GO, Twitter, telecommuting, Macworld, and roller derby.

Ken Gagne & Sabriel Mastin review the movie Star Trek Beyond (2016), from Krall as a villain to the references to Enterprise.

In this audio podcast interview, Professor Gillian Smith of Northeastern University discusses diversity in procedurally generated content in video …

Mike Robles of Take This, formerly of Microsoft, Lone Shark Games & Wizards of the Coast, discusses interviewing Stan Lee, the EVO fighting …

A podcast interview with Tatjana Vejnovic, editor at The Koalition, about writing in the games industry, working at GameStop & living with social …

"You're a Games Journalist! Now What?", a panel by Ken Gagne at PAX East 2016 and featuring Susan Arendt, Samit Sarkar, Alexa Ray Corriea, and Holly …

An audio podcast interview with Stephen Duetzmann, editor-in-chief of website Engaged Family Gaming, about gaming, children, families, and parenting.

A podcast with Jordan Pailthorpe and Johnny Richardson about promoting civic engagement through the Engagement Lab at Emerson College in Boston, …

Tifa Robles is the founder of the Lady Planeswalkers Society, which aims to create welcoming, friendly environments for women to learn Magic: The …

Adelle Lin joins the Polygamer podcast to discuss the Code Liberation Foundation, which offers free game programming workshops to women in New York …

Chachi Bobinks, co-host of BioWare fan podcast The Dialogue Wheel, discuss Mass Effect, Dragon Age, feminism, GamerGate, and volunteering as a PAX …

This week's podcast features Mark Saville of SpecialEffect, a UK-based organization that makes video games accessible to people with physical …

In this podcast, Ashe Dryden discusses AlterConf, a traveling conference series of marginalized voices from the tech and gaming industries.

In this podcast interview, game designer and developer Carolyn VanEseltine shares her experience in the Global Game Jam.

Steven H. Garcia is an artist of gay erotica pinups based on male characters from geek culture. We met at GaymerX, leading to this podcast interview.

In this podcast, Take This co-founder Susan Arendt discusses mental health in Tomb Raider and Life Is Strange and the upcoming holiday Twitch stream.

Taylor Davis speaks to the Polygamer podcast about her music video covers of video game theme songs, her recent American tour, and YouTube …

Francesca Carletto-Leon is the founder of the Diversity in Gaming student group at Worcester Polytechnic Institute (WPI) in Massachusetts.

Matt Conn of MidBoss discusses Read Only Memories, the point-and-click adventure game featuring a diverse cast of characters and marginalized voices.

Holly Green discusses being the managing editor of Gameranx, the author of the video game cookbook Fry Scores, and a gamer with OCD.

GeekGirlCon 2015 is happening October 10-11 in Seattle! Manager of Gaming Alyssa Jones & PR Manager Danielle Gahl give the Polygamer podcast the …

Kara Stone, independent game developer of Sext Adventure, Medication Meditation, and more, discusses mental health portrayals in video games and more.

In this podcast interview, Benjamin Williams, co-founder of Queer Geek, discusses diversity playgroups, the PAX Diversity Lounge, and white knighting.

Cosplayer Emma Bell talks about not being limited by gender when cosplaying,and what prompted the need for the instruction that "cosplay is not …

In this podcast, Christian Donlan of Eurogamer.net shares how XCOM & Spelunky taught him how to cope with his diagnosis of multiple sclerosis.

Lilian Chen (Milktea) is a semi-retired Super Smash Bros. e-sports gamer whose TED-Ed talk focused on sexism and misogyny in the competitive gaming …

Edward F. Gagne reflects on 70 years of entertainment technology and, as a parent, how he raised a generation of geeks.

Ken Gagne & Monica Castillo interview Shannon Sun-Higginson, director of GTFO, a new documentary about women in gaming.

Philip Jones, director of Gaming In Color, a documentary about the LGBTQ community in gaming, discusses the film's production, distribution, and …

Fargo native Sabriel Mastin is a prolific games reviewer for sites such as Indie Haven & Indie Gamer Chick, as well as being a Let's Player and …

Zephyr Workshop COO Sarah Como talks about breaking out of college and into the game business, bringing board games & digital games to PAX and …

Sociology Ph.D candidate Elisa Meléndez discusses racial diversity, virtual avatars, the FragDolls, GamerGate, gaming within a relationship, and much …

Charles Battersby discusses his successful PAX East panel, "The End Boss Doesn't Exist: Atheism in Video Games", and how religion is represented in …

Jandy Hardesty of Row Three, The Frame, and Not At Odds discusses how to juggle being a film critic, blogger, podcaster, gamer, reader, producer, and …

Fiona Cherbak discusses her upcoming GDC panel on hiring and retaining women in gaming and co-founding the Boston Festival of Indie Games, or …

Zoe Quinn & Alex Lifschitz discuss why they founded an online anti-harassment task force and why gaming culture allowed GamerGate to happen.

Avida Michaud, Chris Hart, Amanda Warner, Caleb Garner, and Scott Macmillan discuss juggling the dual roles of game developer and parent at WIG …

Lorien Green discusses making the gaming documentaries Going Cardboard and Shoot Again while being a gamer, parent, and introvert.

I found four gamers who had never heard of GamerGate. After introducing them to the concept, I recorded their reactions.

Ryan Green & Josh Larson discuss That Dragon, Cancer, an game that represents caring for Ryan's son Joel, who was diagnosed with cancer at 1 year …

PushingUpRoses (Sarah Wilson) talks with Khadeja Merenkov about being a YouTube personality, video producer, Let's Player, and body modification …

Duane de Four of HowManly.com discusses depictions of men in gaming, toxic masculinity, and what men can do to make game culture more inclusive for …

Chris Barney, game developer and sociologist, examines video games as a tool of social capital and change and how they can reinforce or influence …

An interview with Susan Arendt and Russ Pitts of Take This, a non-profit that promotes awareness of mental health issues and resources in the gaming …

Alexa Ray Corriea, Brianna Wu, Tifa Robles, Susan Arendt, and Andrea Rene discuss feminism in this PAX Prime 2014 panel.

Voice actor and ethnographer Khadeja Merenkov speaks about the need to represent culture accurately in gaming and use white privilege responsibly.

Sheri Graner Ray, author of Gender Inclusive Game Design: Expanding the Market, discusses how games and the industry can and have evolved to include …

Shawn Allen of NuChallenger is developing Treachery in Beatdown City, featuring a diverse cast of characters; could that impact the game's commercial …

Keisha Howard is the founder of Chicago's Sugar Gamers, a female-oriented gaming group that encourages young women to enter the hobby and industry.

Why does gaming need a separate convention for the LGBTQ community? Matt Conn, founder GaymerX, addresses these issues in the premiere episode of …