Ep. 449 - Gathering Lavender, with Jesse Thorn

Legendary podcaster and founder of Maximum Fun Jesse Thorn joins Ash and Brandon for summer speedruns, a Def Jam: Vendetta update, and the besta Bethesda. Hosted by Alex Jaffe, with Ash Parrish, Brandon Sheffield, and Jesse Thorn. Edited by Esper Quinn, original music by Kurt Feldman.

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SHOW NOTES:

• Vampire
• Diphthong
• Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles
• “Striker to the line! Leg it! Leg it!”
• selectbutton podcast
• Topher Florence
• GameRankings.com
• WatchMojo
• Splitscreen
• Kotaku
• Retronauts
• Bonk series
• PC Engine
• Sega Saturn
• Taito
• Gamasutra
• GDC
• Jordan, Jesse, Go!
• Jordan Morris
• Judge John Hodgman
• Bullseye with Jesse Thorn
• Maximum Fun
• Jesse Thorn
• Monk
• Never Not Funny
• Archive.org

1: What’s going on with speedrunning lately? (04:30)

• Summer Games Done Quick
• Kotaku: 8 Incredible Speedruns You Have To Watch Right Now
• Balatro by adef in 1:04:49
• Tetris by meme and huff 36:00
• Sonic Dream Team by huds601 and Argick in 1:06:25
• Hollow Knight: Silksong by mathulu in 1:42:41
• Peanut Butter the Speedrunning Dog
• Ken Griffey Jr. Presents MLB by Peanut Butter the Dog & JSR_ in 29:48
• Mr. Bones by shmumbler and Spectral in 36:09
• Ep. 423 - Explode My Bones
• Gracie’s Game Gauntlet
• Superman 64
• Wayne’s World
• Costco Connection
• Gray Matter Inc.
• The Crow: City of Angels
• God Hand

2: How are old bad games bad differently from how new bad games are bad? (11:32)

• PowerWash Simulator
• Roblox
• Call of Ponchy: Mahjong Warfare

3: Design a new Def Jam fighting game for 2026 (17:11)

• Def Jam: Vendetta
• PaRappa the Rapper
• Scarface
• Ludacris
• WC
• Jay-Z
• Mankind
• Stone Cold Steve Austin
• Wu-Tang: Shaolin Style