Games | Radiolab Podcast

From the Radiolab podcast: Why are some games more than just games? And when is it not okay to root for the underdog?
In this episode, first aired in 2011, we talk about the meaning of a good game - whether it's a pro football playoff, or a family showdown on the kitchen table. And how some games can make you feel, at least for a little while, like your whole life hangs in the balance. This hour of Radiolab, Jad and Robert wonder why we get so invested in something so trivial. What is it about games that make them feel so pivotal?
We hear how a recurring dream about football player Franco Harris turned into a real-life lesson for Stephen Dubner, we watch a chessboard turn into a playground where by-the-book moves give way to totally unpredictable possibilities, and we talk to Dan Engber, a one time senior editor at Slate, now at The Atlantic, and a bunch of scientists about why betting on a longshot is so much fun. And finally, we talk to Malcolm Gladwell about why he loves the overdog.
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Photo illustration Jared Bartman

[@Owl-of-Minerva]

"Man's maturity: to have regained the seriousness that he had as a child at play." - Nietzsche

[@ipsofaxmachine4716]

Here's my favorite "out of book" moment on the ice.
ruclips.net/video/7TPk4RGqwVo/видео.html