Get ready to step into another world again with Robert Ashley’s A Life Well Wasted. The first segment focuses on a cosplayer named Kelly who is very active in the community and has dressed up as many notable anime characters.
The second segment is an interview with Jon Gibson, the founder of the game-inspired “i am 8-bit” art show. He talks about what the idea was behind the show and how he got is started. The concept behind the show was hard for many to understand at first, but people came around to the idea that it wasn’t about redesigning characters/worlds, but simply to use them as inspiration.
Things take a sharp turn back to the surreal with the third segment focusing on fan fiction radio play creators. The usual fan fic tropes appear here with Final Fantasy and Kingdom Hearts.
The final segment is an interview with Jeri Ellsworth. She has a lot of stories about being chip designer/adrenaline junky. She currently hosts the internet video show The Fatman and Circuit Girl.
Robert Ashley visits a cosplay enthusiast, talks to the founder of an art show about videogames, discovers the strange world of fan fiction radio plays, and profiles a self-taught computer chip designer racecar driver/roller derby bruiser.
Runtime – 1:00:27
Links → [web] [mp3] [iTunes] [rss]
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An absolute must listen.
I’ve been listening to This American Life for a little while, which Robert Ashley admitted was a direct inspiration for his video game-focused radio show. If you enjoy A Life Well Wasted, it’s definitely worth checking out. However, I think this episode of ALWW shows that Robert isn’t looking to create a branch of TAL, but he wants to evolve this particular podcast genre… he really ties together the content that he gathers with some great music he produces into an entertaining, relaxing, and even sometimes funny experience that is directly born from this convergence. I’m really eager to see him get back into his monthly schedule.