2) Prologue: Occupation - Conquest & Glory

This episode of 235 bloom features guests from outside the Des Moines area, who dive into the TTRPG Conquest & Glory (Expanded) by Kyle Serafin of Salmonjumpsuit, a game about exploring themes of conquest, occupation, and those who glorify it. Playing as rival factions within the Demeter Group, our cast explores and invades a transformed Des Moines cityscape. During play the participants collaboratively build the world’s social fabric through their roles—ranging from propagandist mercenaries to theocratic fascists to technocratic girlbosses—they define their strategy and routes across the city. The episode ends with our player characters changed and the city changed further. Featuring guests intentionally from outside of Des Moines: Jennings Mergenthal of the Department of Puppet Studies, rapper and podcast producer Tony Williams, and artist/educator/software engineer Anniessa Antar.Content Warnings:Themes of conquest and occupationDepictions of violence and warfareDiscussion of colonialism and settler colonialismReferences to death and lossExploration of oppressive systems and resistancePossible distress related to bio-horror and body horror elementsDiscussion of sex toysSpidersProduced by Jordan Lee Thompson and Paul Privitera, supported by Anniessa Antar, Tony Williams, Jennings Mergenthal, and guest co-facilitator Annelise Tarnowski.Edited by Jordan Lee Thompson.Music by Javier Lopez of Goatfoam.Cover Art by Maddy Fusco.Voice over by LIPING VONG.235 bloom is a collaboration between Des Moines & Dragonsand The Institute for Manufactured Futures. It is a work of speculative fiction taking place in the year 2089. The locations may be real, but any similarity to actual persons or their descendants is unintentional.