Best Jeff Gill Podcasts (2025)

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Episode 375: Matthew Rodela, Twisted Trumpets Designer 31:15

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13h ago31:15

31:15

Matthew Rodela is an entrepreneur, musician, and game designer based in Frederick Maryland. He started designing games in 2020 with a focus on building strategy games around musical themes. His first published game, Twisted Trumpets, is a whimsical tile laying game about building crazy Dr. Seuss-like horns with various ways to score. The game is be…

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The Perfect Tuba: How Band, Grit, and Community Build a Better Life (with Sam Quinones) 1:00:43

3d ago1:00:43

1:00:43

Journalist and author Sam Quinones talks about his newest book, The Perfect Tuba: Forging Fulfillment from the Brass Horn, Band, and Hard Work with EconTalk's Russ Roberts. Known for his reporting on the opioid crisis, Quinones turns to a more uplifting subject--the world of tuba players and high school marching bands. What begins as curiosity abou…

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The Status Game (with Will Storr) 1:01:11

8d ago1:01:11

1:01:11

Will Storr talks about his book The Status Game with EconTalk host Russ Roberts, exploring how our deep need for respect and recognition shapes our behavior. The conversation delves into how we constantly judge others and compare ourselves to them, the pain of losing status, and the freedom of escaping judgment. Storr and Roberts discuss how status…

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Episode 374: Jeff & Andrew, Road to Infamy (R2i) Games 32:40

20h ago32:40

32:40

Jeffrey Chin and Andrew Nerger are old high school friends from Chicago living out their dream as game designers, publishers, and co-owners of R2i Games. They design light to medium weight games with easy-to-learn rules and strategic gameplay. Famous for titles such as Canvas, Crypt, After Nova, and Fromage. Their newest title, Pop Art, their newes…

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Are custom baits worth the bucks? Part 2 (ft. Lee Sisson, Terry Battisti, and Marty Burns) 3:43:12

10d ago3:43:12

3:43:12

Bass After Dark — inch for inch and pound for pound, the best show in fishing — is back for another lively, and LIVE, episode. Don't miss Brian the Carpenter, special guest co-host Epic Eric, and our three mystery panelists (spoiler alert: it's Lee Sisson, Terry Battisti, and Marty Burns) as we continue to tackle the question: Are custom baits wort…

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The Wonder of the Emergent Mind (with Gaurav Suri) 1:39:40

10d ago1:39:40

1:39:40

How is your brain like an ant colony? They both use simple parts following simple rules which allows the whole to be so much more than the sum of the parts. Listen as neuroscientist and author Gaurav Suri explains how the mind emerges from the neural network of the brain, why habits form, why intuition often knows before language does, and why our …

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Episode 373: Zev Shlasinger, Play to Z Games 43:53

1d ago43:53

43:53

Zev Shlasinger has been in the hobby game industry for almost 30 years. He founded Z-Man Games in 1999, sold it in 2011, then worked for the new owners until mid-January 2016. At the end of January, he took the position of Director of Board Games with Wizkids. Some of the titles you might be familiar with are: Pandemic, Fantasy Realms, Agricola, Si…

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What’s so special about JDM? (ft. Matt Paino, Munenori Kajiwara, and Oliver Ngy) 2:34:40

7d ago2:34:40

2:34:40

Bass After Dark — inch for inch and pound for pound, the best show in fishing — is back for another lively, and LIVE, episode. Don't miss Ken Duke, Brian the Carpenter, and our three mystery panelists (spoiler alert: it's Matt Paino, Munenori Kajiwara, and Oliver Ngy) as we travel across the world to tackle the question: What’s so special about JDM…

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Shampoo, Property Rights, and Civilization (with Anthony Gill) 1:08:19

24d ago1:08:19

1:08:19

Why is it okay to take the little shampoo bottles in hotels home with you but not the towels? And what stops people from taking the towels? Listen as political scientist Anthony Gill discusses the enforcement of property rights with EconTalk's Russ Roberts. Backing up their observations with insights from Adam Smith, Friedrich Hayek, and our everyd…

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Episode 372: Travis Chance, Game Designer 33:18

10d ago33:18

33:18

Travis started making games in 2013. He cofounder Action Phase Games, where he designed and published a number of games including the first Aeon’s End release. After selling Action Phase, he started Kolossal Games, whose first release was Western Legends. From there he went on to be a senior designer at CMON. In the last 12 years he’s worked on ove…

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How do you improve your mental game? (ft. Dr. Michael T. Lardon, Jared Lintner, and Drew Gill) 3:01:59

26d ago3:01:59

3:01:59

Bass After Dark — inch for inch and pound for pound, the best show in fishing — is back for another lively, and LIVE, episode. Don't miss Ken Duke, Brian the Carpenter, and our three mystery panelists (spoiler alert: it's Dr. Michael T. Lardon, Jared Lintner, and Drew Gill) as we tackle the question: How do you improve your mental game? VOTE for Ba…

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Episode 371: Andreas & Viktor, Murdoch Games 31:10

30d ago31:10

31:10

Murdoc Games consists of childhood friends Viktor Kadziolka and Andreas Kobari. Both fans of games and movies, the two of them have been playing all sorts of games together for as long as they can remember. Competing against each other in old NES and arcade games, engaging in epic roleplaying campaigns, and of course, having lots of board game nigh…

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Primal Intelligence (with Angus Fletcher) 1:20:41

1M ago1:20:41

1:20:41

What do Shakespeare, Hollywood storytelling, and military special operations have in common? They all excel at inventing new plans, or improvising when we're facing radical uncertainty. Listen as professor of story science Angus Fletcher tells EconTalk's Russ Roberts how we've misdefined intelligence, equating it with data--driven reasoning in plac…

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Where should I take my talents in 2026? (ft. Kurt Dove, John Johnson, and Ben Milliken) 3:09:54

1M ago3:09:54

3:09:54

Bass After Dark — inch for inch and pound for pound, the best show in fishing — is back for another lively, and LIVE, episode. Don't miss Ken Duke, Brian the Carpenter, and our three mystery panelists (spoiler alert: it's Kurt Dove, John Johnson, and Ben Milliken) as we tackle the question: Where should I take my talents in 2026? 🚨🧢 Official Bass A…

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Episode 370: Zach Sullivan, Grazing Bear 31:39

22d ago31:39

31:39

Zach Sullivan is a co-founder and operator of Grazing Bear Games and the designer of games including 14ers, Chateau Gardens, and Noble Escape. A fervent game player and designer since childhood, he also organizes the Huntsville Board Game Playtesting & Design Group. He enjoys hiking and spending time outdoors with his wife, daughter, and two dogs b…

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A Mind-Blowing Way of Looking at Math (with David Bessis) 1:21:53

1M ago1:21:53

1:21:53

What if math isn't about grinding through equations, but about training your intuition and changing how your brain works? Mathematician and author David Bessis tells EconTalk's Russ Roberts that the secret of mathematics isn't logic--it's the way we learn to see. He explains why math books aren't meant to be read like novels, how great mathematicia…

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Is kayak bass fishing for you? (ft. Kristine Fischer, Jeff Little, and Adam Riser) 3:02:59

1M ago3:02:59

3:02:59

Bass After Dark — inch for inch and pound for pound, the best show in fishing — is back for another lively, and LIVE, episode. Don't miss Ken Duke, Brian the Carpenter, and our three mystery panelists (spoiler alert: it's Kristine Fischer, Jeff Little, and Adam Riser) as we tackle the question: Is kayak bass fishing for you? 🚨🧢 Official Bass After …

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Episode 369: Fei Feng, Orbio 30:25

1M ago30:25

30:25

Fei Feng is a young designer and creator passionate about turning playful ideas into meaningful experiences. She is the Designer of Orbio, a tactile strategy board game that blends fidget-like mechanics with creative strategy, which she successfully launched on Kickstarter. With a background rooted in design and innovation, she thrives on collabora…

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Twenty Years of Freakonomics (with Stephen Dubner) 1:42:44

1M ago1:42:44

1:42:44

Quantitative, contrarian, and nuanced: these are the hallmarks of the Freakonomics approach. Hear journalist and podcaster Stephen Dubner speak with EconTalk's Russ Roberts about the 20th anniversary of the popular-economics book Dubner co-authored with Steven Levitt. They discuss how the book came to be, how the journey changed Dubner's life, and …

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What's good in the bass world in 2025? (ft. John Cox, Bailey Eigbrett, and John Murray) 2:31:51

1M ago2:31:51

2:31:51

Bass After Dark — inch for inch and pound for pound, the best show in fishing — is back for another lively, and LIVE, episode. Don't miss Ken Duke, special guest co-host Paul Benson, and our three mystery panelists (spoiler alert: it's John Cox, Bailey Eigbrett, and John Murray) as we tackle the question: What's good in the bass world in 2025? 🚨🧢 O…

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Episode 368: Marc Dür, Treeceratops 30:19

2M ago30:19

30:19

Marc Dür is the founder and CEO of Swiss board game publisher Treeceratops, known for games such as Darwin's Choice, P'achakuna, and Zoo Tycoon: The Board Game. Treeceratops stands for creative, sustainable products with a connection to nature and is the most successful Swiss company on Kickstarter, having raised $2.5 million in funds (in 11 campai…

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The Magic of Tokyo (with Joe McReynolds) 1:09:23

2M ago1:09:23

1:09:23

What drives the seeming relentless dynamism of Tokyo? Is there something special about Japanese culture? Joe McReynolds, co-author of Emergent Tokyo, argues that the secret to Tokyo's energy and attractiveness as a place to live and visit comes from policies that allow Tokyo to emerge from the bottom up. Post-war black markets evolved into today's …

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How do you catch bass from the back deck? (ft. Bryan New, Cornell Badra, and Justin Kimmel) 3:20:31

2M ago3:20:31

3:20:31

Bass After Dark — inch for inch and pound for pound, the best show in fishing — is back for another lively, and LIVE, episode. Don't miss Brian the Carpenter, special guest co-host Epic Eric, and our three mystery panelists (spoiler alert: it's Bryan New, Cornell Badra, and Justin Kimmel) as we tackle the question: How do you catch 'em from the bac…

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The Invisible Hierarchies that Rule Our World (with Toby Stuart) 1:13:15

2M ago1:13:15

1:13:15

Status isn't fixed; it's transferred and "bestowed," shaping who gets resources, attention, and opportunity. So argues author Toby Stuart of UC Berkeley in his book, Anointed. He and EconTalk's Russ Roberts explore why hierarchies persist--reducing conflict, allocating scarce resources, and curating our overwhelming choices--and how endorsements, b…

3M ago1:03:22

1:03:22

What makes some groups thrive while others crash and burn? According to organizational-behavior scholar Colin Fisher, the real villains are rarely individuals, but dysfunctional teams and organizations. Listen as he and EconTalk's Russ Roberts discuss the reasons for the free-rider problem and the importance of meaningful, well-defined tasks to inc…