Colin's Last Stand: Fireside Chats

It's only in recent years that the gaming industry has become louder, more vocal, and more visible. But in quieter times, David Jaffe led the charge when it came to what we today term "being a personality." Jaffe is most famous for being the driving force behind Twisted Metal (pardon the pun), and was the director and creative visionary behind the original God of War, too. These days, however, Mr. Jaffe lives a quieter and more subdued life. We got together in his hometown of San Diego for a candid chat about video games, video game development, and video game journalism, not to mention politics, spirituality, and much more. It turns out putting two guys well-known for speaking their minds in the same room is a good idea. (You may notice that the audio quality is different than usual. This episode was recorded in a friend's studio using his equipment, and I'm grateful for that opportunity. -Colin)

I've admired Pat Contri from afar for about 18 months, now. Pat and I first started chatting around the time I started Colin's Last Stand, and while we've kept in touch via DM and text, we never had the pleasure of meeting in person. Well, until now. Pat is a fascinating guy, a prolific collector of retro games and memorabilia, a skilled podcaster, and the author of two amazing Nintendo books. We sat down in his San Diego home for a lengthy crossover between his podcast -- Not So Common -- and my own, and had a wide-ranging chat about games, growing up out east, and politics galore.

It was only a few months ago that I had US Navy Lieutenant Michael Autery on Fireside Chats. I liked our conversation about the Constitution so much that I invited him back to the show for a game of Five Questions, all surrounding American history and politics. Is American Exceptionalism real? How would he amend the Constitution if he could? America's greatest President was...? Is anything going right in America? And the big one: How will America ultimately end? We cover all of these questions (and more) in a deep back-and-forth.

When TV programming began reliably broadcasting in the 1940s, the world changed forever. The advent of radio decades earlier already made the world smaller, but with television, you didn't only listen. You watched, too. Fast forward some 70 years, though, and TV seems outright quaint, and the evidence of its decline is everywhere around us. Or is it? Today's guest -- Ethan Anderson -- works at an NBC affiliate in the Dakotas, and it turns out that, depending on your market, the kind of content you're looking for, and the type of audience you're catering to, there's still a tangible demand for the way things were. Indeed, it could very well be that rumors of television's demise are just a bit premature.

Owning a small business is hard work. Really hard work, actually. Today's guest, Kyle Eastman, reinforces this notion with his story of determination and grit. Eastman owns a used games and sports equipment store in Oklahoma, but his journey in getting there is an interesting one. Telling that story requires us to ask a series of questions, though. Is college really that important? Should people leap into uncertain situations with equally uncertain outcomes? What's more important: Money or happiness? We discuss all of that and more. But in reality, this episode consists of two small business owners trading war stories and commiserating. Small Business Catharsis, if you will.

In today's exceptionally hostile us-versus-them political environment, nuance often slips through the cracks. From immigration and economics to foreign policy and the social contract itself, everything is presented in a binary, and there simply isn't room for discussion or compromise. It's all black or white. One or zero. A or B. Reality, of course, is far more complicated. In today's conversation with Tiana Lowe -- political commentator and podcaster who first appeared on Fireside Chats this past March -- we delve into the fractured American psyche from an admittedly conservative point of view, but a point of view that asks an open question: Can the moderate right and the moderate left put aside their differences, unite with one another, and destroy the extremes that are engulfing them both?

Japan is a country with a complicated history. Once closed off to the world for centuries, Japan was rapidly exposed to the west in the 19th century, went on a decades-long conquest in the early 20th century that helped plunge the planet into World War II, and then rebuilt from the ashes of conflict, creating one of the most successful societies in the modern era. Yet, even today, Japan remains rooted in homogeneity and tradition, which is why the perspective of an American living there is so incredibly interesting. It's through the eyes of an exceptionally smart 20 year old that you're about to learn more about the island nation so many of us have a keen interest in.

Nearly a year ago, CLS changed directions: It became a brand, and not just a show, and that all began with Fireside Chats. Originally designed to be a short, weekly spoken op-ed about something random, Fireside Chats quickly morphed into the eclectic interview series it is today, and has since exposed dozens of interesting, unique, intelligent, and diverse voices to the world. To celebrate its 50th episode, though, it's time to turn the formula on its head, because today, Colin is the guest. Better yet, he's interviewed by his girlfriend, Erin. Episode 50 holds laughter, crying, and just about everything in between. But above all else, it's an honest look at what was, what is, and what's still to come.

I've never been a fan of eSports. Or esports. Or Esports. Or however you want to type it. Yet, I also acknowledge that it's a gigantic blind spot in my gaming knowledge, and I want to do something to rectify that. So I figured, why not bring my old friend Leah Jackson by for a Fireside Chat? Leah and I worked at IGN together back in the day, and in 2014, she joined the ranks of Riot Games here in Santa Monica, the massive developer behind League of Legends. Leah's entire professional life revolves around something I understand almost nothing about. After our hour talk, I'm confident in saying I know quite a bit more than I did. After you listen, you'll probably feel the same.

Last October, Jeff Cannata -- well-known online personality, podcast and video host, and actor -- joined me on Fireside Chats to talk about Donald Trump and the political landscape of the United States. I invited him back, 43 episodes of Fireside Chats later, to revisit our conversation. What does Jeff think about Donald Trump and the whole Russia fiasco now? And, most importantly, what are his solutions to fix the serious problems we now face? Let us show you yet again how two people who don't agree with each other politically can speak respectfully and constructively, and even find lots of common ground in the process.

Blake Harris is a world-renown writer best known for Console Wars, the written authority on the Nintendo-SEGA drama of the early-to-mid '90s. You may have also seen Blake and his work on ESPN, IGN, MSNBC, BBC, CBS, NPR, and other acronym-obsessed news outlets. But for this episode of Fireside Chats, Blake came through SoCal to talk about, well, whatever! Our conversation veers in and out of games, entertainment, and the politics engulfing just about everything these days. I'm a pessimist. Blake's an optimist. Together, we find consensus on just what's going on all around us. Put on your thinking caps, and join us.

For many, traveling the world is a luxury, but for Jacob Spellman, it's a passion he's willing to sacrifice and work for. From Thailand, Laos, and Cambodia, to Australia and India, to Peru, Bolivia, Argentina, and beyond, Jacob hasn't only seen many of the world's sights. He's actually lived for a time in many of these cultures, and has a lot of stories to tell. Before he makes his next trip to Spain and elsewhere in Western Europe, Jacob swung by Santa Monica to regale us with tales of his exploits, and to encourage others to see the world... even if it's well outside of your comfort zone.

Annand Virk -- better known online as Bunty King -- is a Canadian social commentator, and a bit of a lightning rod online. But in reality, Bunty is an extremely friendly, personable man with a great energy and a fantastic spirit. So Bunty came to Santa Monica to have a Fireside Chat all about who he is, what he does, and the state of Canada, the US, and the world in general. Oh, and we talk about video games, too.

Many of us can only imagine what it's like growing up in a warzone, but Mason Mallak didn't have the luxury of imagining it. He lived it. Born in 1995, Mason was only eight when the United States invaded his country of Iraq. Ten years later, in 2013, he moved to the US, and is on the verge of becoming an American citizen. But it was a harrowing and difficult experience getting from Point A to Point B. This is Mason's story about coming of age in a war-torn country, and what it's like living in the nation that helped tear his own land apart, a nation that he nonetheless deeply admired from afar, and now gets to be a part of.

Jools Watsham has been a game developer for two and a half decades. He cut his teeth at Acclaim before co-founding popular Nintendo-centric indie studio Renegade Kid in 2007. These days, Jools operates Atooi, a tiny operation that makes games for Switch. During E3, I invited him to take the short drive to Santa Monica to sit down with me, so we can chat about his life. How did he get into gaming? How did he land his first gig in the industry? And what has it been like operating two different studios over the last decade? Jools has shipped 22 games since he went independent, so he has a ton of experience. Let's pick that brain of his, shall we?