These days, you have no shortage of podcasts to choose to listen to, gaming or otherwise. We know that. We understand your time is valuable. We don’t want to waste it. But in the not too distant future, we’re hoping you can find just a little bit more to spare. Because the microphones are switching back on.

When we created our own gaming podcast, Vox Republica, in the summer of 2013, there simply wasn’t the bevy of choices and voices at your fingertips in the hobby as there are now. While that’s a positive sign that the industry has grown – as well as demand for such voices – so too has the competition for your attention. Part of the reason we ultimately decided to bring the Vox to a close back in March was because we felt that with all of the excellent choices out there, it was evident that a more broad-spectrum gaming podcast didn’t resonate with people as much as a podcast with a much more specific focus.

Nowadays you can browse through podcasts that focus exclusively on game reviews, with many going further and focusing on specific types of games. There are podcasts about game design, about the business side of the industry, about the various announcements and major events that crop up throughout the the year, and podcasts that entice and entertain audiences solely by the infectious personalities of their hosts. All of this is great! They allow focused dives into their respective topics while better catering to the audiences who care about those topics.

Gaming, though, isn’t just about chits and meeples and which publisher is putting out which new game. Beneath the resin paint and linen-coated cards, gaming is fundamentally about people and the interactions between them. Gaming is social, personal, and cultural. Gaming can be a fun form of escapism, but it doesn’t exist in some vacuous space devoid of people or the world around us. Gaming is about people. And people have stories to share.

Yet, oddly, this is one avenue of gaming podcasting that isn’t widely discussed. At least, until now.

Today we’re happy to announce that in the very near future we’ll be helping to rectify that gap with the upcoming podcast series, Beside The Box.

In Beside the Box, Erin Ryan of The Cardboard Republic interviews the brightest minds and biggest hearts in analog gaming. Each episode is an in-depth conversation focusing on the personal side of professional game making. Approaching her subjects with respect, curiosity, and a healthy dose of humor, Erin unearths the most captivating and heartfelt stories that tabletop has to offer.

We figured it’d be fun to properly explore some of these stories. So pull up a chair in August 2018 and get ready for lively interviews where we talk about all things gaming. Well, everything…Beside the Box.