Select and Start

Here we go! Keifer celebrates the 64th episode of the podcast by talking about Super Mario 64 with Hamish Steele. We also talk about the long shadow of this game’s influence, Mario Autism, the ineffable nature of this lovable plumber, and Fortnite. This episode was originally recorded on July 13th, 2025. It’s normal for a podcast episode to take a whole year to come out, actually. Other games discussed in this episode: Fortnite, Persona 5, Fortnite, Marvel Rivals, Sonic Adventure 1 and 2, Super Mario Galaxy 1 and 2, Yoshi’s Island, Yoshi’s Story, Bomberman Hero, Bakeru, LittleBigPlanet, Astro Bot, Tomb Raider, Jumping Flash 2, Super Mario RPG, PilotWings 64, Crash Bandicoot, Turok, Mario Kart World, Animal Well, Kingdom Hearts: Chain of Memories, Death Stranding, Half-Life, and more! Select and Start is a video game podcast where the host, Keifer Lirette, talks with his guests about their most meaningful and memorable video game experiences. It is part of the Moonshot podcast network. Follow Hamish and support their projects: https://linktr.ee/hamishsteele https://www.hachettebookgroup.com/series/hamish-steele/go-man/ https://www.patreon.com/c/hamishsteele Follow Keifer and support the show: https://www.patreon.com/KeifersCorner https://linktr.ee/KeiferL Artwork provided by Avry Ott: https://linktr.ee/AvryRobinOtt Theme Music Provided by Mike Pettry: https://linktr.ee/mikepettry Works Cited: https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/movies/movie-news/mission-impossible-plane-stunt-tom-812158/ https://www.ign.com/articles/1997/04/30/outrageous-uk-n64-price-dropped https://shmuplations.com/mario64/https://shmuplations.com https://tcrf.net/Super_Mario_64_(Nintendo_64)/Regional_and_Version_Differences https://kotaku.com/the-smithsonian-has-picked-the-games-of-its-art-of-vide-5799017 https://www.mobygames.com/game/3533/super-mario-64/ https://pixelatron.com/blog/the-making-of-super-mario-64-full-giles-goddard-interview-ngc/ https://www.timeextension.com/features/best-of-2025-we-did-try-to-keep-forest-in-the-name-how-mario-64s-princess-peach-helped-bring-animal-crossing-to-the-west https://web.archive.org/web/19970606114122/http://www.nintendo.com/newsroom/articles/kondo.html https://web.archive.org/web/20130926112215/http://www.nytimes.com/2012/11/10/arts/video-games/q-and-a-rockstars-dan-houser-on-grand-theft-auto-v.html?pagewanted=all&_r=2& https://web.archive.org/web/20140719042917/http://www.zoonami.com/briefing/2004-09-02.php https://archive.org/details/NextGeneration48Dec1998/page/n143/mode/2up https://www.famitsu.com/article/202606/78576 https://www.nintendo.com/en-gb/Iwata-Asks/Iwata-Asks-Nintendo-3DS-Third-Party-Game-Developers/Vol-11-KINGDOM-HEARTS-3D-Dream-Drop-Distance-/1-The-Impact-of-Super-Mario-64/1-The-Impact-of-Super-Mario-64-839624.html https://www.mariowiki.com/Super_Mario_64#Version_differences https://www.mariowiki.com/Super_Mario_64_DS#List_of_changes_from_the_original_game Find out more at https://select-and-start.pinecast.co Send us your feedback online: https://pinecast.com/feedback/select-and-start/94a734c5-c2f9-4ca3-bfec-a0285ecffd5b This podcast is powered by Pinecast.

Live, Laugh, Love A Live! Keifer brings on cartoonist John P Golden (BONEMEN and Adventure Time: The Test For Heroes) to talk about a video game that changed the way he Lives His Live: Live A Live. Other topics we discuss include: how Live A Live is even pronounced, the incredible music of Yoko Shimomura, the intersection of nerd culture with wrestling culture, monster-taming games, fan translations, dealing with Linux, the beauty of 7/10 video games, being one of the dozens of Americans who played Romancing SaGa, the incredible work of fan translation groups like Aeon Genesis, and more! Other games discussed: The Pokemon series, Mischief Makers, Castlevania: Symphony of the Night, Castlevania: Lords of Shadow, the Dragon Quest Monster series, Dragon Quest III, IV, VII, and IX, Robopon, Keitai Denjū Telefang, Shin Megami Tensei, Persona, Earthbound, Mother 3, Dark Cloud, Chrono Trigger, RPG Maker Romancing SaGa, SaGa Frontier, Undertale, Deltarune, Mega Man Legends, Final Fantasy IV, Final Fantasy VIII, Final Fantasy Tactics, Octopath Traveler, Hanjuku Hero, Gargoyle’s Quest II, Golden Sun, and more! Select and Start is a video game podcast where the host, Keifer Lirette, talks with his guests about their most meaningful and memorable video game experiences. It is part of the Moonshot podcast network. Support John Golden and his projects: https://www.jpegolden.com/ https://www.instagram.com/johnpgolden/ https://bsky.app/profile/jpegolden.bsky.social https://www.webtoons.com/en/canvas/bonemen/list?title_no=483238 https://skeletonbreakfast.bigcartel.com/ Follow Keifer and support the show: https://www.patreon.com/KeifersCorner https://linktr.ee/KeiferL Artwork provided by Avry Ott: https://linktr.ee/AvryRobinOtt Theme Music provided by Mike Pettry: https://linktr.ee/mikepettry Works Cited: https://livealive.wiki.gg/wiki/Wiki_A_Live https://www.mobygames.com/person/36644/takashi-tokita/ https://www.mobygames.com/game/9313/live-a-live/ https://www.mobygames.com/game/188012/live-a-live/credits/switch/?autoplatform=true https://www.famitsu.com/news/202202/10250530.html https://web.archive.org/web/20150619221155/https://dengekionline.com/elem/000/001/071/1071784/ https://web.archive.org/web/20220520091524/https://www.famitsu.com/news/202205/20262145.html https://www.gematsu.com/2022/09/live-a-live-remake-shipments-and-digital-sales-top-500000 https://aeongenesis.nethttps://www.mobygames.com/game/188012/live-a-live/credits/switch/?autoplatform=true Gameplay Audio sources: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ngMC6b6csco  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wgKxPQFjYy8\&t=834s https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MKChh8ZWICc https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1kQJWlgLWI0\&t=240s https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sVaZPWBwQEM https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ueenJaWckdo Find out more at https://select-and-start.pinecast.co Send us your feedback online: https://pinecast.com/feedback/select-and-start/3771beeb-7bff-427d-91c5-394b3f667be8 This podcast is powered by Pinecast.

War, war never changes. Keifer returns with the most ambitious episode of the show to date, bringing on Jane from the Unwise Girls podcast to talk about war through Spec Ops: The Line. We also talk about perspective as artistic intention, exploring gender through customizable characters, life on the road with a Steam Deck, and more.  Other games discussed in this episode: Bastion, Transistor, The Beginner’s Guide, Undertale, Deltarune, the Professor Layton series, Deep Rock Galactic, Civilization 5, Misericorde, Hades, Live A Live, We Love Katamari, Ridger Racer 2, Ridge Racer Type 4, Mario Kart Wii, The Walking Dead: A Telltale Game Series, Thomas Was Alone, Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare, Kane and Lynch 2: Dog Days, Army of Two, the Metal Gear Solid franchise, and more.  Select and Start is a video game podcast where the host, Keifer Lirette, talks with his guests about their most meaningful and memorable video game experiences. It is part of the Moonshot podcast network.  0:00 - Prologue  11:00 - Introducing Jane 42:10 - On Harry Belafonte 48:40 - Introducing Spec Ops: The Line 1:11:30 - No Country for Old Games 1:26:20 - Discussing Spec Ops: The Line 2:03:25 - White Phosphorus and war crimes  2:27:10 - Perspective, abstraction, and cognitive dissonance 2:43:00 - The legacy Spec Ops The Line 3:00:25 - Impact, weaknesses, and final thoughts  3:10:45 - Recommendations and Outro Support Jane and her projects: https://www.patreon.com/unwisegirls https://bsky.app/profile/did:plc:gmybspzp4ycf32zql3ssivsm https://moonshotpods.com/unwise-girls/ Follow Keifer and support the show: Patreon https://linktr.ee/KeiferL Artwork provided by Avry Ott: https://linktr.ee/avryrobinott Theme Music Provided by Mike Pettry: https://linktr.ee/mikepettry Murder at the Birch Tree Theater Works Cited:  Research:  Chalmers Johnson - American Militarism and Blowback Gamesradar - Spec Ops: The Line - Learn about the story with lead writer Walt Williams Digital Spy - 'Spec Ops: The Line' - interview Kotaku - The Full Story Of Spec Ops: The Line, From Audacious Storytelling to 'Cancerous' Publisher-Mandated Multiplayer PC Gamer - 2K confirms Spec Ops: The Line has been removed from sale because of expiring 'partnership licenses' The Verge - Spec Ops: The Line permanently removed from Steam and other digital stores Delisted Games - Spec-Ops: The Line Steam Curator - Games at risk of removal George Monbiot - 11/ 15/2005 - War Without Rules NBC News - U.S. denies using phosphorus against civilians Washington Post - Israel used U.S.-supplied white phosphorus in Lebanon attack Under Fire: White Phosphorus, Civilians, and Arkansas | Amnesty International USA Human Rights Watch - Lebanon: Israel’s White Phosphorous Use Risks Civilian Harm Audio Sources: Colin Powell's Speech at the UN Defense Department Briefing March 21st, 2003 C-SPAN.org Rumsfeld "known unknowns" and "unknowns unknowns" Ronald Reagan - Iran-Contra Joe Biden: Were there not an Israel the USA would have to invent an Israel to protect her interest in the region. | Video | C-SPAN.org Democracy Now - 1/30/2006 - Harry Belafonte on Bush, Iraq, Hurricane Katrina and Having His Conversations with Martin Luther King Wiretapped by the FBI Democracy Now - 11/8/2005 - U.S. Broadcast Exclusive–“Fallujah: The Hidden Massacre” on the U.S. Use of Napalm-Like White Phosphorus Bombs Democracy Now - 11/17/2005 - Pentagon Reverses Position and Admits U.S. Troops Used White Phosphorus Against Iraqis in Fallujah Democracy Now - 10/13/2023 - A Second Nakba? Israel Orders 1.1 Million Palestinians to Evacuate Northern Gaza Amid Bombing & Siege Democracy Now - 12/14/2023 - Washington Post: Israel Used U.S.-Supplied White Phosphorus to Attack Civilians in Lebanon Democracy Now - 6/7/2024 - Israel’s Widespread Use of White Phosphorus in Lebanon, Gaza Violates Int’l Law: Human Rights Watch Democracy Now - 10/18/2024 - UNIFIL Says Israel Has Used White Phosphorus as Israeli Military Continues to Attack Its Forces In-game audio sources: Spec Ops The Line - Combat Barks and Animations changes Spec Ops: The Line - Chapter #4 - The Refugees Eerily Realistic AC-130 Mission - Modern Warfare Remastered Other referenced works: Reik, Theodor (1965). Curiosities of the self: illusions we have about ourselves.  Jacob Geller - What We Don't Talk About in "Spec Ops The Line" Tobi Smethurst - "We put our hands on the trigger with him": Guilt and Perpetration in Spec Ops: The Line The Second Coming - W.B. Yeats The Hollow Men - T.S. Eliot Heart of Darkness by Joseph Conrad Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe Blowback Find out more at https://select-and-start.pinecast.co Send us your feedback online: https://pinecast.com/feedback/select-and-start/03e3e84b-4da3-42b0-8ed1-be5ac542ba88 This podcast is powered by Pinecast.

It's good to be back. Keifer brings on Emmett, co-host of the ASOIAF Re-Read Podcast NotACast, to talk about the PS2 classic Sly 2: Band of Thieves. We also talk about the rise and decline of 3D platformers, the platformers of the PS2 era, inappropriate games to play next to your partner, and more! Other games discussed in this episode include Jak and Daxter, Ratchet and Clank, The inFamous series, Spider-Man, Uncharted, Astro Bot, Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater, Katamari Damacy, Death Stranding, Rocket: Robot on Wheels, Super Mario 64, and more! Select and Start is a video game podcast where the host, Keifer Lirette, talks with his guests about their most meaningful and memorable video game experiences. It is part of the Moonshot podcast network.  Timestamps: 0:00 - Introducing Emmett 6:50 - The rise and fall of 3D Platformers 26:25 - Sucker Punch and Sly Cooper 34:15 - Introducing Sly 2: Band of Thieves 43:45 - 2004 in video games 47:15 - Sly 2 Discussion 1:14:20 - Children Left Behind 1:26:22 - No Country for Old Games 1:35:32 - What Sly 2 means to us 2:12:40 - Keifer's recommendations and Outro Support Emmett and his projects: https://notacastasoiaf.podbean.com/ https://www.patreon.com/NotACastASOIAF Follow Keifer and support the show: https://www.patreon.com/KeifersCorner https://linktr.ee/KeiferL Artwork provided by Avry Ott: https://linktr.ee/avryrobinott Theme Music Provided by Mike Pettry: https://linktr.ee/mikepettry Murder at the Birch Tree Theater Works Cited: The Making of Sly 2 - Bonus Video Sucker Punch's Nate Fox on Sly 2 Creating the Visuals of Sly 2: Band of Thieves Sly 2 Band of Thieves Credits Humongous cuts 40 percent of its staff - Seattle PI 125 Rapid-Fire Questions About Ghosts of Yotei With Sucker Punch's Nate Fox - MinnMax The Sly Collection - Sly Cooper Wiki Find out more at https://select-and-start.pinecast.co Send us your feedback online: https://pinecast.com/feedback/select-and-start/b1fcc54f-eb2f-4b63-9fdd-35ceda7d55a7 This podcast is powered by Pinecast.

Writer, editor, and critic Autumn Wright joins me to talk about the Boycott, Divest, Sanction Movement and the Microsoft Boycott. Timestamps: 0:00 - Introduction 6:35 - What is BDS? 9:42 - Boycotting Microsoft 12:58 - We can do it 36:05 - Ideology, values, and the material 50:07 - What is to be done? 1:08:15 - No Azure for Apartheid 1:12:02 - External Pressure 1:14:52 - Developer Pressure 1:16:10 - Other Pressure Points 1:19:45 - Change da world 1:29:45 - How does this affect the show? Works cited: Autumn's piece for Aftermath: Games Media Can't Ignore BDS Xbox Boycott - Aftermath BDS Movement:  BDS Movement - What is BDS? Guide to BDS Boycott & Pressure Corporate Priority Targeting Microsoft | BDS Movement Boycott Microsoft's Xbox | BDS Movement The Guardian - Revealed: Microsoft deepened ties with Israeli military to provide tech support during Gaza war +972 Magazine - Leaked documents expose deep ties between Israeli army and Microsoft Other pieces referenced during the episode: Microsoft confirm they've supplied AI tech to the Israeli military for use in Gaza, following BDS Xbox boycott | Rock Paper Shotgun From economy of occupation to economy of genocide - (A/HRC/59/23) Report of the Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in the Palestinian territories occupied since 1967 (Advance unedited version) - Question of Palestine Xbox has been added to the BDS list. So what now? – No Escape Indie Dev Who Pulled Game From Xbox In Solidarity With Palestinian-Led BDS Hopes Others Will Do The Same - Aftermath Brian Eno Calls On Microsoft To Cease Partnership With Israel, Will Donate Windows ‘95 Chime Fee To Victims In Gaza Microsoft Statement on the Issues Relating to Technology Services in Israel and Gaza Microsoft’s Retaliation Against Employees: Microsoft fire employees who protested the sale of genAI tech to the Israeli military | Rock Paper Shotgun Microsoft Bans the Word “Palestine” in Internal Emails Microsoft workers fired over Gaza vigil say company ‘crumbled under pressure’ | US news | The Guardian Microsoft employee disrupts 50th anniversary and calls AI boss ‘war profiteer’ | The Verge Microsoft CEOs interrupted by another employee protestor: ‘shame on all of you’ | The Verge Microsoft terminates jobs of engineers who protested use of AI products by Israel's military Palestinian developer disrupts Microsoft keynote: ‘my people are suffering’ Microsoft’s AI security chief accidentally reveals Walmart’s AI plans after protest | The Verge Microsoft and Gen AI: 'AI is no longer optional': Microsoft is allegedly pressuring employees to use AI tools through manager evaluations | PC Gamer Xbox exec suffers bout of terminal LinkedIn brain, suggests folks laid off by Microsoft use AI to 'reduce the emotional and cognitive load that comes with job loss' | PC Gamer Fresh from telling laid-off employees to console themselves with AI, Microsoft doubles down by advertising Xbox jobs with pathetic AI image: 'So tone deaf I hope it is satire' | PC Gamer No Azure for Apartheid: No Azure for Apartheid Public Petition - Microsoft: End Complicity in Apartheid and Genocide August’s Recommendations: https://aftermath.site/ https://noescapevg.com/ https://www.abnormalmapping.com/ https://skyboxcritics.com/ https://bulletpointsmonthly.com/ https://unwinnable.com/ https://www.simonandschuster.com/books/Genocide-Bad/Sim-Kern/9781623716363 Select and Start is a video game podcast where the host, Keifer Lirette, talks with his guests about their most meaningful and memorable video game experiences. It is part of the Moonshot podcast network.  Follow Autumn Wright: https://autumnwright.bearblog.dev/ Follow Keifer and support the show: https://linktr.ee/KeiferL Artwork provided by Avry Ott: https://linktr.ee/HotSodaDesigns Theme Music Provided by Mike Pettry: https://linktr.ee/mikepettry Find out more at https://select-and-start.pinecast.co Send us your feedback online: https://pinecast.com/feedback/select-and-start/f457056f-3c79-461f-a06c-b3e825119800 This podcast is powered by Pinecast.