Everyone’s A Critic (With Harper Jay)

On this week’s episode, Nathan and Gita are joined by their former Kotaku colleague Harper Jay for a discussion of criticism’s role in a world that seems determined to reject it – or at least cast it out of mainstream publications like Vanity Fair, The New York Times, The Washington Post, and the Associated Press, as well as many video game publications. What does it mean for institutions to cede this ground to fandoms and social media? What do we lose when we cease to respect the expertise that goes into well-considered critical work – or even eliminate the idea of “critic” as a legitimate role or job altogether? Then we talk about the news of the week: Unionized workers at Arkane, a Microsoft-owned studio, released a statement decrying the company’s complicity in Israel’s genocide of Palestinians – a subject that hits close to home for Harper, who until very recently worked at Double Fine, another Microsoft studio. Finally, Gita explains why Eevee is the best Pokémon design (it’s a prism through which to view the infinite possibilities of childhood, obviously). Credits - Hosts: Nathan Grayson, Gita Jackson, & special guest Harper Jay - Podcast Production & Ads: Multitude - Subscr…