Paul Dean is a writer, journalist, and games designer, among other things. You might know him as one of the founders of Shut Up & Sit Down, a website and youtube channel about board games. Or maybe you know him from a popular essay he wrote about Stardew Valley and his own small-town youth. These days, he’s working on a book about class and his childhood in England, and he has a lively patreon where he posts other pieces of his writing. Paul is based in Vancouver.

Paul and Michael discuss artistic influence, not fitting in, learning from others, the nature of trust, the joy of play, and the big quiet adventure of being in the world.