{"podcast":{"title":"My Perfect Console with Simon Parkin","slug":"my-perfect-console-with-simon-parkin-5970647","podcast_index_feed_id":5970647,"rss_url":"https://feeds.acast.com/public/shows/63b458521043e00011114396","website_url":"https://shows.acast.com/my-perfect-console","image_url":"https://assets.pippa.io/shows/63b458521043e00011114396/1777821946817-906809b2-9c93-4b1c-b277-18517c7c67e0.jpeg","author":"Simon Parkin","episode_count":198,"summary":"In My Perfect Console , Simon Parkin, award-winning author video game critic for The Observer invites well-known guests from the worlds of gaming, film and television, music, comedy and more to pick the five video games they would like to immortalise on a fictional games machine. They discuss those five games in chronological order of release, interspersed with biographical chat about the guest’s life and career –– a lens that often leads to new and unexpected insights. \"Thoroughly modern and ahead of its time...a gift.\" - NEW YORK'S VULTURE \"Charming, insightful.\" -- THE GUARDIAN TIME OUT'S 50 Best Podcasts VULTURE's Best Podcast of the Year Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.","last_synced_at":"2026-07-21T14:20:51.393497+00:00","page_url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/my-perfect-console-with-simon-parkin-5970647"},"episode":{"title":"George Osborn, strategist, author (Power Play: Video Games, Politics, and the Battle for Global Influence.)","slug":"george-osborn-strategist-author-power-play-video-games-politics-and-the-battle-for-global-influence","published_at":"2026-06-16T05:00:00+00:00","page_url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/my-perfect-console-with-simon-parkin-5970647/george-osborn-strategist-author-power-play-video-games-politics-and-the-battle-for-global-influence","show_page_url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/my-perfect-console-with-simon-parkin-5970647","url":"https://shows.acast.com/my-perfect-console/episodes/george-osborn-strategist-author-power-play-video-games-polit","audio_url":"https://sphinx.acast.com/p/open/s/63b458521043e00011114396/e/6a283e7f6642088a10c74f56/media.mp3","summary":"George Osborn is a journalist, strategist, and analyst whose work explores the increasingly fraught intersection of video games, business, and politics. He has worked as a reporter, consultant, and as Head of Campaigns and Communications at Ukie , the UK trade body for games, developing a rare vantage point on how the medium shapes, and is shaped by, power. He is also the founder of Half-Space Consulting and the editor of the Video Games Industry Memo newsletter, where he examines the forces driving the modern games business. In his new book, Power Play: Video Games, Politics, and the Battle for Global Influence , he argues that games have become far more than entertainment: they are now digital third places, contested spaces in which authoritarian regimes, populists, and extremists seek to wield influence. LINKS: George Osborn: The book:  Power Play  – buy via Bookshop.org UK (supports independent booksellers) Power Play  – Waterstones Power Play  – Bookshop.org US   The newsletter: Video Games Industry Memo – George's newsletter (free to subscribe) The Games:   GoldenEye 007 (N64, 1997)   The Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask (N64, 2000)   Championship Manager 01/02   Mass Effect 2   Balatro Also mentioned   Bellingcat – investigative journalism outlet founded by Eliot Higgins   Support My Perfect Console on Patreon Become a My Perfect Console supporter and receive a range of benefits at www.patreon.com/myperfectconsole Take the Acast listener survey to help shape the show: My Perfect Console with Simon Parkin Survey 2025 Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.","meta_description":"George Osborn is a journalist, strategist, and analyst whose work explores the increasingly fraught intersection of video games, business, and politics. H…","key_points":[],"chapters":[],"topics":[],"duration_seconds":5393,"processing_state":"not_requested","actions":[{"name":"request_transcript","method":"POST","url":"https://stenobird.com/v1/public/podcasts/my-perfect-console-with-simon-parkin-5970647/episodes/george-osborn-strategist-author-power-play-video-games-politics-and-the-battle-for-global-influence/transcription-requests","description":"Idempotently request low-priority transcript generation for this episode."},{"name":"read_markdown","method":"GET","url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/my-perfect-console-with-simon-parkin-5970647/george-osborn-strategist-author-power-play-video-games-politics-and-the-battle-for-global-influence.md","description":"Read the agent-friendly Markdown representation of this episode resource."}]}}