The depressing subject matter train keeps on rolling! Instead of talking about toxic, extractive, colonial-feudal systems, we’re talking about the toxicity of a world in which all the messaging says you have to be either a perpetrator of violence or a victim of it. Yay? The Last of Us is dark in a different way; a great, character-driven story that makes skillful use of the videogame medium to tell a familiar story in a novel way. We go a bit into the weeds on how Naughty Dog leverages standard and innovative videogame mechanics to control the tension and move the story forward and speculate on what the evolution of Cordyceps might look like in the sequel. And we only briefly mention toxic masculinity! 

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Show Notes:   

NY Times - Decision Fatigue – Article that references the parole study and the effect of blood sugar on decision fatigue 

Yale News - Warm Coffee, Warm Heart 

Design Practices and Uncertainty - need login or abstract-only 

ASCE News - What COVID-19 Has Taught Us About Our Infrastructure 

Urban Parks Survey – How have you been using urban green space during COVID-19? 

BBC - The hidden biases that drive anti-vegan hatred  

Grey’s Anatomy 14x10 – Ben and Miranda Give Tuck ‘The Talk’ About Surviving Contact with Police 

Get Home Safely - 10 Rules of Contact with Police 

Movement for Black Lives – Learn about the movement from the movement leaders! M4BL has an array of amazing resources, including policy platforms, toolkits, and ways to help the movement. They even have a great Q&A section on what ‘Defund the Police’ really means and what it could look like. 

Equal Justice Initiative (EJI) – Excellent site to start educating yourself on the history of racial terror in the U.S., as well as about the forms in which racial injustice persists today. If you are able to visit the Memorial or the Museum, we highly recommend it. It is a truly powerful and humbling experience. 

EJI Community Remembrance Project – If your area has a freshly vacated spot for a statue or monument, or even if it doesn’t, encourage your local officials and community to partner with EJI to install a historical marker at the site of racial terror lynchings.   

Rolling Stone - Here’s Where You Can Donate to Help Protests Against Police Brutality 

Push Square - The Last of Us 2 May Be the Most Accessible Action Game Ever Made