The startmenu podcast, reborn (sort of)
Welcome (finally) to a new episode of the startmenu podcast.
It’s been a LONG time since one of these last got recorded, so we decided it’d be best to just fully reboot it and start fresh. It’s technically episode 4, but time and continuity are irrelevant in the year 2020. It is/was May (look, this got posted rather late due to *gestures at everything*) and games are heating up for the summer. On this episode, Ollie, George and Issy discuss the impending PlayStation 5 reveal, what they’ve been playing in lockdown, and how Ollie just can’t stop playing terrible games. Enjoy, and of course, if you want to join our lovely community, get in touch!
This was recorded on May 29th, before the events of the past week and a bit, so we want to make it clear here: black lives matter. Here’s the full transcript of what I said to our community about the state of things:
I will not tolerate any racism here, and I sincerely hope that everyone in the startmenu community has been thinking about what they can do to challenge themselves and those around them to do better. It's not enough to be "not racist", we all need to be actively challenging and dismantling racist ideologies and actions. I encourage everyone to look into resources such as https://blacklivesmatters.carrd.co/# and the countless Twitter threads floating around to find all the ways you can make a difference.
If you can't donate, you can go to: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLtooIklzheqzORPbQBiEZKsw2T4s6SUxv&app=desktop
OR
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bCgLa25fDHM&feature=youtu.be
for a really inventive way of helping raise money through YouTube. Make sure you disable your adblock for them.
A college friend of mine just published a really neat little breakdown of all the things you can be doing: https://thebadgeronline.com/2020/06/black-lives-matter-activism-and-allyship/
A couple of my favourite Twitter threads have been:
https://twitter.com/cadmiumcoffee/status/1268544736400478210 - resources to educate yourself on the history of policing, prisons and punishment
https://twitter.com/athenakugblenu/status/1267571802986942465 - "happy black books"
https://twitter.com/mireillecharper/status/1266335563197501440 - Non-optical allyship
https://twitter.com/victoriaalxndr/status/1266829408268095493 - more great books and lit
It shouldn't have taken the deaths of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, Ahmaud Arbery, Tony McDade and countless others to grease these wheels, but we need to do better going forward. Educate yourselves, amplify black and POC voices and hold the people around you accountable for the throwaway racist shit they casually drop on a day-to-day basis.
