The year is 1982. The first compact disc player is released. George R. R. Martin’s book A Game of Thrones is still 14 years from being published. And a teenager named Robert Wardhaugh starts a game of Dungeons & Dragons. Thirty-eight years later, Wardhaugh and his group of friends are still playing the same game of D&D, quite possibly the longest continuous ... Show More
Sep 2020
The Hidden History of Hollerin'
Back in the days before electricity, a peculiar tradition rose out of southeastern North Carolina. Over vast swaths of farmland, voices would ring out to say good morning, ask for help, or just to share a ditty. The old timers called this tradition “hollerin’.” Part singing and p ... Show More
21m 47s
Aug 2020
One of the Weirdest Crimes in Austin, Texas
In the summer of 1989, someone had tried to kill a beloved resident of Austin, Texas, and the people were demanding justice. The victim was barely clinging to life, as countless well-wishers sent get-well cards and cans of chicken soup. Who was this icon of Austin? A 600-year-old ... Show More
27m 38s
Oct 2023
The Sunday Read: ‘The Dungeons & Dragons Players of Death Row’
The first time Tony Ford played Dungeons & Dragons, he was a wiry Black kid who had never seen the inside of a prison. His mother, a police officer in Detroit, had quit the force and moved the family to West Texas. To Ford, it seemed like a different world. Strangers talked funny ... Show More
34m 29s
Jan 2022
EP168: From Bagatelle to Video Games: The History of Pinball, These Guys Use Dungeons and Dragons as a Therapy Tool and Ethics: Bill Daniels and the Utah Stars
On this episode of Our American Stories, Jeremy Saucier of the Strong Museum of Play shares the long, and surprising, history of pinball--from its origins in French parlor games, to its prohibition, and then to its emergence as the immersive and popular game that it is today. Ada ... Show More
38m 16s
Apr 2022
Ep234 - Oliver Roeder | Seven Games: A Human History
Checkers. Backgammon. Chess. Go. Poker. Scrabble. Bridge. These seven games, ancient and modern, fascinate millions of people worldwide. In his book Seven Games, game theorist Oliver Roeder charts their origins and historical importance, the delightful arcana of their rules, and ... Show More
1h 1m