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Thread: [Podcast] "Humans of Magic" -- interviews with players about life & Magic.

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    [Podcast] "Humans of Magic" -- interviews with players about life & Magic.



    I'm excited to launch a brand new podcast that's been lurking in my head for awhile: Humans of Magic.

    HUMANS OF MAGIC: THE BOOK

    The book! (COMING SOON)

    HUMANS OF MAGIC: THE PODCAST

    Subscribe on iTunes

    Soundcloud page

    THE GUEST LIST

    Dan Signorini. The People's Champ. Creator of "Team America" and living legend in these parts.

    Martin Juza. Hall-of-Famer. One of the greatest Limited players ever.

    Noah Walker. Legacy grinder, best known for his finishes with Grixis Delver and 4c Control a.k.a. Czech Pile. Gold Level pro.

    Tifa Robles. Founder of Lady Planeswalker Society, ex-WOTC employee, gamer extraordinaire, mother.

    Will Jonathan. Sports psychologist, mental performance coach, and Channel Fireball contributor. Writes about how to mentally excel at the game.

    Christian Calcano. Well-known NYC grinder. Finished 2nd at GP Seattle in 2015.

    Kai Sawatari. Legacy Storm player with 4th and 17th places at GPs.

    Wilson Hunter. Co-host of "The Brainstorm Show" podcast. Several Legacy GP Top 8s and SCG Invitational Top 16s.

    Roland Chang. Mr. Vintage AND Legacy World Champion. Roland's pretty good with the Eternal formats.

    Matt "sdematt" Pavlic. Source regular, lover of Siege Rhino, and a true card pimp. Also...power to Porsche.

    Gerry Thompson. Gerry is a very, very good Magic player.

    Bob Huang. The 2015 Legacy Champion! Mr. Bob Huang popularized the infamous UR Delver deck with Treasure Cruise, as well as the original BUG Delver with Lilianas and Abrupt Decays. You may have seen those decks before.

    Michael Bonde. Danish Gold Level pro. 2013 Bazaar of Moxen Vintage champion. Legacy Grand Prix Top 4 with Death and Taxes.

    Damon Whitby a.k.a. Parcher. Dredge specialist and one of the elder statesman of the 1.5 format.

    Alex Majlaton. Affinity specialist and player from the Maryland area. 26 Pro Tour appearances and 8 Grand Prix Top 8's.

    Jonathan Alexander: Part 1. Part 2. Part 3. Creator of Grinding Station and 24th place finisher in Grand Prix Prague.

    Mike Turian: Part 1. Part 2. Hall of Famer. One of the best Limited players ever.

    Bryant Cook. Creator of The Epic Storm and one of the original 1.5 players from Syracuse, NY.

    Paulo Vitor Damo Da Rosa. Hall of Famer and one of the best ever.

    Rodrigo Togores. Dedicated Storm specialist and winner of 2016 Grand Prix Prague.

    Ben Friedman. 3 GP Top 8s, 2 Pro Tour Top 16s, 1 Pro Tour Top 32. 150 Lifetime Pro Points. He plays Legacy.

    Thomas Enevoldsen. The Death and Taxes master. 2 Legacy GP Top 8s (including 1 win), Magic World Cup winner, 13 Pro Tours played.

    Anh Dao. Good friend of mine from the Bay Area. Legacy Grinder and Elves enthusiast.

    Caleb Durward. Remember Vengevine Survival? Yes, Caleb broke the format.

    Travis Woo. Magic Thinker and Content Creator.

    Julian Knab. Best Legacy Elves player on the planet. Eternal Grinder and Co-Creator of the Legacy Mediocre League.

    Jarvis Yu. Jarvis knows Legacy. Legacy GP Seattle 2015 Winner. Legacy GP Columbus Top 8.

    WHAT'S IT ABOUT?

    Traditional Magic: The Gathering podcasts discuss the game itself. What deck should I play this week? How will the new set change the metagame? What happened last weekend in Grand Prix X? Should I invest in card Y? There are a number of podcasts that conduct this analysis exceedingly well.

    I'm taking a different approach by focusing on the players themselves. Every player has a story -- their background, origins, and motivations. Every player has goals and experiences to share.

    Humans of Magic will focus on highlighting the players' journeys and how they came to be who they are. The game is only the starting point, but conversations can and will flow in multiple directions. The goal is to learn from each guest and hopefully give the audience some new ideas as well.

    In some ways, this is a continuation of my book about Magic. In my writing, I shared my personal struggles and experiences with the game. I feel that I've written enough about myself. Now I want to tell other players' stories.

    I'm new to podcasting, so I will need lots of feedback on the content in order to improve. I promise that I will get better with time.

    THAT'S IT!

    Thanks for reading (and listening!).

    James
    Last edited by Plague Sliver; 12-24-2017 at 06:48 PM.
    A book about the dark side of Legacy: "Magic: The Addiction" // Conversations with Magic players: "Humans of Magic"

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    Re: [Podcast] "Humans of Magic" -- interviews with players about life & Magic.

    Reserved for future updates.
    A book about the dark side of Legacy: "Magic: The Addiction" // Conversations with Magic players: "Humans of Magic"

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    Re: [Podcast] "Humans of Magic" -- interviews with players about life & Magic.

    I still feel so stupid about my "best Magic experience" answer. OF COURSE it was Team Euroswags 2 week US raid with my friends. Amazing time, would love to do it again! :-)
    The seven cardinal sins of Legacy:
    1. Discuss the unbanning of Land Tax Earthcraft.
    2. Argue that banning Force of Will would make the format healthier.
    3. Play Brainstorm without Fetchlands.
    4. Stifle Standstill.
    5. Think that Gaea's Blessing will make you Solidarity-proof.
    6. Pass priority after playing Infernal Tutor.
    7. Fail to playtest against Nourishing Lich (coZ iT wIlL gEt U!).

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    Re: [Podcast] "Humans of Magic" -- interviews with players about life & Magic.

    Quote Originally Posted by Julian23 View Post
    I still feel so stupid about my "best Magic experience" answer. OF COURSE it was Team Euroswags 2 week US raid with my friends. Amazing time, would love to do it again! :-)
    We DEFINITELY need a part 2. I haven't even asked you about Mario Kart and Yoshi!

    Don't feel bad about missing out on that mention, you've got too many awesome memories.
    A book about the dark side of Legacy: "Magic: The Addiction" // Conversations with Magic players: "Humans of Magic"

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    Re: [Podcast] "Humans of Magic" -- interviews with players about life & Magic.

    This sounds awesome! It's always good to see another podcast that's less about (e.g.) how to cast Brainstorm, and more lifestyle-oriented. I'll add it to my rotation.

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    Re: [Podcast] "Humans of Magic" -- interviews with players about life & Magic.

    Woo. Yu. Hsu.

    I'm sensing a theme. No, not that one. Well.....yes that one. But alliteration was what I was referring to.
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    Re: [Podcast] "Humans of Magic" -- interviews with players about life & Magic.

    Quote Originally Posted by Parcher View Post
    Woo. Yu. Hsu.

    I'm sensing a theme. No, not that one. Well.....yes that one. But alliteration was what I was referring to.
    You're on to me!

    Seriously though, I'd love to know what you think. And knowing that you have an illustrious Magic past, maybe we could even set up a 1:1...
    A book about the dark side of Legacy: "Magic: The Addiction" // Conversations with Magic players: "Humans of Magic"

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    Re: [Podcast] "Humans of Magic" -- interviews with players about life & Magic.

    Quote Originally Posted by Plague Sliver View Post
    You're on to me!

    Seriously though, I'd love to know what you think. And knowing that you have an illustrious Magic past, maybe we could even set up a 1:1...
    Well I love me some Jarvis. So I will give a listen later. It seems a weird site to be blocked at work. I am probably one of the only ones on The Source that's been playing as long as you.
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    Re: [Podcast] "Humans of Magic" -- interviews with players about life & Magic.

    Any chance that you'll be putting this up on Itunes, or is Soundcloud the only option?

  10. #10
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    Re: [Podcast] "Humans of Magic" -- interviews with players about life & Magic.

    Listened to the Jarvis one. I loved it! Exactly as described. The whole interview was about Jarvis. And while the central theme of the interview centered around Magic, it wasn't about Magic. It also spilt the difference between a structured questionnaire and a stream-of consciousness conversation between friends perfectly. It was a bit long, but I feel that's necessary for what you want to accomplish with these.

    One complaint, and one concern.

    The opening intro was pretty bad. The deep announcer's voice with the ultra slow diction made me almost turn it off before I realized that it was just an intro, and not the structure of the interview itself. You were very involved and upbeat throughout the entirety of the discussion, and that short opening was the opposite of that.

    My only concern is that Jarvis is a friendly acquaintance of mine, which gave me interest in most of what was said. I don't know that I would have kept interest in the breadth of personal topics covered if it was someone I didn't know or care about. I have no solution for this, just being honest. The appeal of these might get lost on the MtG public in general, since they're not really "getting" anything applicable to the game out of this two-hour podcast. Jarvis is a bit dry, and maybe a more effusive personality who is a stranger might keep me engaged otherwise.
    Quote Originally Posted by MacGruber View Post
    Look, I will suck your dick. I will suck your fucking dick. I will do it, just join my team. I’ll suck your dick. You can fuck me or get fucked by me. You can watch me fuck something. Just point at something, I’ll fuck it for you. Just tell me what you want me to fuck!
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    Re: [Podcast] "Humans of Magic" -- interviews with players about life & Magic.

    Quote Originally Posted by Stuart View Post
    Any chance that you'll be putting this up on Itunes, or is Soundcloud the only option?
    I will definitely be putting it up on iTunes soon.

    Quote Originally Posted by Parcher View Post
    The opening intro was pretty bad. The deep announcer's voice with the ultra slow diction made me almost turn it off before I realized that it was just an intro, and not the structure of the interview itself. You were very involved and upbeat throughout the entirety of the discussion, and that short opening was the opposite of that.
    I will re-record the intro for new episodes. Failed attempt at gravitas

    Quote Originally Posted by Parcher View Post
    My only concern is that Jarvis is a friendly acquaintance of mine, which gave me interest in most of what was said. I don't know that I would have kept interest in the breadth of personal topics covered if it was someone I didn't know or care about. I have no solution for this, just being honest. The appeal of these might get lost on the MtG public in general, since they're not really "getting" anything applicable to the game out of this two-hour podcast. Jarvis is a bit dry, and maybe a more effusive personality who is a stranger might keep me engaged otherwise.
    This is good feedback. I think my show will, by definition, be niche. And I'm OK with that. I want to highlight the personalities of the players and see it both as a personal challenge as well as mission. It's an interview show, not a Magic strategy show.

    Having said that, I'm hoping to get better at asking questions and generalizing the guests' learnings in real-time so that there are tidbits of knowledge to be had.

    Everything I've done so far -- both book and podcast -- are niche. And it's by design, because I have no intention of doing strategy or game-based content. I like the confessional format, and I like to draw it out of people.

    I think the Internet is big enough where this is OK, but we'll see.

    /soapbox
    A book about the dark side of Legacy: "Magic: The Addiction" // Conversations with Magic players: "Humans of Magic"

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    Re: [Podcast] "Humans of Magic" -- interviews with players about life & Magic.

    Aaaaaaand....we have an iTunes podcast link now! Please subscribe because more exciting episodes will be coming!

    https://itunes.apple.com/ca/podcast/...122286222?mt=2

    ---

    I also want to share a currently-unreleased episode, featuring my friend Anh Dao. Anh plays Legacy Elves and even though he's not well known in the Magic community, I wanted to feature people who were (1) friends of mine and (2) had Magic-related learnings to share. This episode will be added later, but for now you can get the direct MP3 link here:

    https://db.tt/cWipPxWj
    A book about the dark side of Legacy: "Magic: The Addiction" // Conversations with Magic players: "Humans of Magic"

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    Re: [Podcast] "Humans of Magic" -- interviews with players about life & Magic.

    In the latest episode of "Humans of Magic," I interview the one and only Caleb Durward! If you've played Magic in the past five years, chance are you've played with or against one of his sick brews.

    https://soundcloud.com/humansofmagic...-caleb-durward

    We talk about:
    - Caleb's early playing days
    - Breaking out at GP Columbus with UG Survival
    - Scumbag betrayals
    - The true grinder lifestyle
    - And much more!

    Caleb also made me laugh non-stop with his sense of humor and wicked stories. Check it out!
    A book about the dark side of Legacy: "Magic: The Addiction" // Conversations with Magic players: "Humans of Magic"

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    Re: [Podcast] "Humans of Magic" -- interviews with players about life & Magic.

    This one was great to compare with the Jarvis interview. They are both very different, but not in the ways I would have thought. Caleb appears to be very outgoing and gregarious normally, to me. While Jarvis is more terse and introverted. But I only know Caleb online, and Jarvis IRL. Caleb is a huge proponent of social media, and shows great personality when running his own show. But seemed to have difficulties with quite a few of the questions. Jarvis posts at most, one sentence responses on social media, but was very forthcoming and open in the interview. I believe it might be as simple as Jarvis, being who he is, fiercely studying the prep questions. As he had obviously thought over his answers at some point before. Even if unrelated to this interview. And Caleb, most likely, had not. That's just my impression.

    On a more general note; the vast majority of MtG players are highly analytical, and will respond best to singular, direct questions. Especially when they have time to comfortably form their answers while not on the spot. I think the Jarvis interview was a good example of this. The problem with that tactic is what I saw in this interview, when Caleb kept giving one word replies. Or, had trouble forming a cogent/complete response to the more open-ended and nebulous questions he didn't have pre-conceived answers for. I think this is going to be one of your most difficult tasks considering your chosen targets for interviews. Forming questions direct enough that the analytical mindset can allow for a succinct answer, while leaving both of you enough flexibility in what they may answer with to continue the line of questioning.

    I did enjoy it enough to listen for an hour and a half. So it was interesting and entertaining regardless. Please keep it up.
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    Re: [Podcast] "Humans of Magic" -- interviews with players about life & Magic.

    Excellent feedback. I think every player is different, and sometimes it's a combination of:

    1) Their preparation
    2) My preparation
    3) Our "on-air" chemistry

    I'm still quite new at it and I promise I will work on getting better. In fact, I've been analyzing the recordings, as well as studying how other interviewers do their thing.

    Some of my questions have been awkward -- one example being the "introduce yourself" question -- and I'm going to revise them. On one hand, it's awkward. On the other hand, sometimes it draws out interesting answers. I think the key is to go towards what my guests want to talk about.

    I also want to keep the recordings largely "organic" -- minimal editing. For example, when I asked Caleb a question which only prompted a "no" answer, I could have easily cut it out of the recording. But I chose to include so that it feels more raw and authentic to our conversation.

    Regardless, I must say that I've had fun talking to every single guest on the show, and there will be some more great people appearing very, very soon...so please stay tuned!
    A book about the dark side of Legacy: "Magic: The Addiction" // Conversations with Magic players: "Humans of Magic"

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    Re: [Podcast] "Humans of Magic" -- interviews with players about life & Magic.

    This week we have Thomas Enevoldsen on the show!

    https://soundcloud.com/humansofmagic...mas-enevoldsen

    Thomas Enevoldsen is one of the best Danish Magic players on the planet, with two Grand Prix Top 8s, a Magic World Cup win, and 13 Pro Tours played. Thomas talks about his childhood, a lifetime of competition, and what Magic means to him. Along the way, he also talks about a critical friendship that has kept him going strong over the years.
    A book about the dark side of Legacy: "Magic: The Addiction" // Conversations with Magic players: "Humans of Magic"

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    Re: [Podcast] "Humans of Magic" -- interviews with players about life & Magic.

    A book about the dark side of Legacy: "Magic: The Addiction" // Conversations with Magic players: "Humans of Magic"

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    Re: [Podcast] "Humans of Magic" -- interviews with players about life & Magic.

    Quote Originally Posted by Plague Sliver View Post
    I think this one was the most different from the others. Ben almost completely took over the interview. But in a great way. He's another local to me. And while he was always smart and talented, I'm amazed at how far he's matured in the past 2-3 years. This one is a great listen for the younger players, wanting to find balance between chasing the Magic dream, and determining what is actually most important to your life.
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    Re: [Podcast] "Humans of Magic" -- interviews with players about life & Magic.

    Rodrigo Togores Moli is in the house! I talk to the Grand Prix Prague champion about winning the biggest event of his life, the dark art of storm, past mastery in other card games, and lots more.

    https://soundcloud.com/humansofmagic...odrigo-togores
    A book about the dark side of Legacy: "Magic: The Addiction" // Conversations with Magic players: "Humans of Magic"

  20. #20

    Re: [Podcast] "Humans of Magic" -- interviews with players about life & Magic.

    is there a problem on my side or why are episodes 3+ unavailable for download?
    Quote Originally Posted by Dissection View Post
    .

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