Retronauts Episode 614: Video Games and the Nuclear Apocalypse

I dunno, gotta nuke somethin'

Everything ends. We know this, inherently, yet we try not to think about it too often. Better to enjoy the ride than perpetually wonder about how much time is left. Longtime video game fans will remember, however, a time when entire nations viewed the sudden end of the world as a very real possibility. The Cold War hung over our heads for decades, impacting our psyches and all our media as well.

Host Nadia Oxford, joined by Jeremy Parish and Jaz Rignall, spends this week's podcast looking back at how video games reflected those nuclear anxieties. Some games turned that looming sense of doom into a hardline anti-war stance, while others speculated about what might come after the bombs dropped.

Description: Nadia Oxford, Jaz Rignall, and Jeremy Parish look back at gaming's best (and scariest) depictions of nuclear apocalypse.

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MP3, 52 MB | 1:44:58 Direct download Retronauts on iTunes Retronauts at Audioboom

Artwork for this episode by Nick Wanserski and editing thanks go to Greg Leahy.