Tonight on GeekNights, we share our early thoughts on Dispatch and Metroid Prime 4: Beyond. In the news, Frankfurt's Christmas market is lit, and the Netflix x Warner Brothers Discovery situation is even more dangerous than the baseline danger of capitalist consolidation of media.

Tonight on GeekNights we review the historical and topical 23 Knives (2025). It's worth playing, and Rym is probably going to buy it. In the news, PAX Unplugged 2025 was smooth as butter, Doodle Puzzle is a good idea that's hard to make work, Gingham is more vicious than it appears, and Scott surprisingly is enjoying Octopath Traveler.

Tonight on GeekNights we review Ugo Bienvenu's Arco (2025). Set in the future and the far future, it's a very French Science Fiction animated feature that's definitely worth seeing. In the news, we'll be at PAX Unplugged this weekend, as will the Night Market, and the Internet relies too much on one service.

Tonight on GeekNights, we consider anti-intellectualism. In the news, Valve has new hardware including a new VR headset Rym is going to get, and you should learn about the 1981 Air Traffic Controller strike. We will be live at PAX Unplugged 2025!

Tonight on GeekNights, we review (without spoilers) the third installment in the Knives Out Mysteries: Wake Up Dead Man. Benoit Blanc is a character for the ages, and it's worth seeing. In the news, Zohran Mamdani is the next mayor of New York and his victory speech is worth a watch. Democrats overwhelmingly vote to fight for democracy. Kodak quietly begins selling film again.

Tonight is a very special GeekNights. This is our 20th anniversary stream. GeekNights began on October 31 2005 and has continued for 20 years with no real breaks. We did a series of "beta" episodes even earlier to work out the show format and learn how to podcast. We've done 317 talks at conventions. We had a massive forum which we replaced with a smaller forum. And somehow we're still going!

YouTube video by Rym DeCoster

Tonight on GeekNights, we talk about when one messes up the rules in games. In the news, EA is being aquired by Trump-linked private equity, and VRChat has recaptured some of the magic of the Old Internet.

Tonight on GeekNights, we discuss tech bubbles like the Dot-com bubble. Unrelatedly here's a video by Hank Green titled The State of the AI Industry is Freaking Me Out, and a video by Adam Conover titled Sora Proves the AI Bubble Is Going to Burst So Hard. In the news, nearly 7 million Americans marched in defense of democracy, Amazon AWS went down Sunday night reminding us how fragile the Internet has become, and the end of Windows 10 shouldn't be ignored.

Tonight on the GeekNights Book Club, we discuss Stephen King's Richard Bachman's The Running Man (1982). In 2025, the world's economy is in shambles, and America has become a totalitarian dystopia. The better-known Arnold movie is loosely based on it, though thematically it was spot-on. The 2025 Edgar Wright film will be much closer to the original. In the news, No Kings Day is October 18th: find the march nearest you! The next GeekNights book club book will be I Who Have Never Known Men.

Tonight on GeekNights, we discuss fitness tech like heart rate monitors and Strava and Dance Dance Revolution. In the news, Tik Tok has a dubious deal to keep operating in the US and the regime has plans for the algorithm. Also go see Perfect Blue remastered while you can. And read The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay.

Tonight on GeekNights, we review The Gang, a fantastic cooperative tabletop game about pulling bank heists by ranking poker hands. In the news, there's lots to say about the Nintendo Direct, Borderlands 4 has angered gamers with its poor performance and Gearbox isn't handling it super well. 'Pitchford told people to “code your own engine and show us how it’s done, please,” and declared Borderlands 4 “a premium game made for premium gamers” whatever that means.

Tonight on GeekNights, we talk about specific mice. Mice we've used over the years, since the days of balls. In the news, Google dodges consequences in the US but not in the EU, Google is sued yet again for their advertising monopoly, and Google is looking to flood the phone lines of tiny businesses.

Tonight on GeekNights, we talk about the modern marvel that is video chat. In the news, Perplexity is using undeclared crawlers to scrape content, Samsung has a crazy Micro LED TV, real life ad block is possible, and Trump is forming the American SS.The next GeekNights Book Club book will be The Running Man, by Richard Backman, who you may know better as Stephen King.

Tonight on GeekNights, we share our thoughts on Donkey Kong Bananza. In the news, Gamescom happened, PAX West badges aren't sold out, and you should see The Relationship Between Game Design and Art Direction with Naoki Yoshida and Hiroshi Minagawa.

Tonight on GeekNights, we discuss audio interfaces. Rym uses a PreSonus Studio 1810c to record GeekNights, and as his general purpose "sound card" in the studio.In the news, the CEO of GitHub steps down, you can consider Forgejo if that worries you, Reddit will block the Internet Archive, and Trump illegally forces the National Guard to deploy to the streets of Washington DC.

Tonight on the GeekNights Book Club, we discuss Alex Michaelide' The Silent Patient. It's a fine mystery novel, and we both enjoyed our time with it.In the news, Texas Democrats have fled the state in a bit to fight fascism, and Disney's ESPN acquires the NFL Network in the continued consolidation of all sports media into one big casino.If you enjoy GeekNights panels and lectures, here's a list of all 315 we've done to date!

Tonight on GeekNights, we consider the popularity of anime over time. In the news, CITY The Animation continues to crush it, it's GUNDAM season, The Boy and The Beast is pin theaters August 18th[(https://www.cartoonbrew.com/anime/mamoru-hosoda-the-boy-and-the-beast-theaterical-release-crunchyroll-248944.html?cbtr=LATPOS), and expect this The Bad Guys 2 anti-AI statement to appear in more movie credits.

Tonight on GeekNights, we consider fancy restaurants. In the news, noted racist Terry Bollea has died at 71, Donald Trump is getting even more dangerously unhinged than usual, and the Canada World Junior assault case has ended.Here is a list of every significant lecture or panel that Rym and Scott have ever done, going back to the year 2002.

Tonight on GeekNights, we consider Tower Defense games like the famous Desktop Tower Defense (2007). In the news, Ozzy Osbourne made it to 76, the PS5 Store is full of AI slop, Steam is caught up in the war on "pornography", and Deltarune is fantastic.Rym's solo version of Every Game is the Same Game from Zenkaikon is live!

Tonight on GeekNights, we review Keiichi Arawi's City the Animation. It's delightful; we reviewed the manga in 2018. In the news, Umamusume: Pretty Derby is a surprisingly popular game, though we had a meh opinion of the anime it's based on.

Tonight on GeekNights, we consider why there, broadly, aren't major consumer technology developments lately. In the news, Debian reduces support for i386 and Chrome OS is combining with Android. Also we'll be live at PAX West!

Tonight on the GeekNights Book Club, we discuss Everything for Everyone: An Oral History of the New York Commune, 2052-2072 Despite several compelling aspects, its ultimately was a frustrating read which we discuss at length. That said, it's important to have post-apocalyptic works that imagine a better world rather than a worse one, however naive some of the interrogation of the subject ends up being.

Tonight on GeekNights, we consider auction and bidding mechanics in games. In the news, DriveThruRPG chose cowardice, and Microsoft lays of 9,000 people. GeekNights will be live at PAX West with an all new lecture on the same topic as this show! Our talk The Everlasting Game from PAX East is on youtube!

Tonight on GeekNights, we review Chris Sanders' The Wild Robot (2024), out of Dreamworks. It's fantastic animation and overall a good film. In the news, Rym has ascended to the open comb razor, Diamond's bankruptcy saga continues to be more and more insane by the day, and Rick and Morty has matured into a very good show.