EPISODE 19: INTERVIEW WITH BRYAN ALEXANDER

What this episode covers

Episode 19: Interview with Bryan Alexander | 31 March 2026 Stephen and Trent interview their colleague, friend, and author of The Worldbuilding Workshop’s foreword, Dr. Bryan Alexander. The trio discusses: The poly-crisis engulfing higher education, the United States, and the broader world; How financial stress, declining enrollment, and political pressures have put universities in a “defensive crouch”; Why universities should encourage graduate students/future faculty to study contemporary pedagogy within their respective domains; Institutional constraints and their effects on “bottom-up” innovation; Generative AI as both a threat and a tool; Preventing devolution into a transactional cycle where instructors use AI to write questions that learners use AI to answer; Persistent resistance to gaming and playful learning in higher education, especially compared to K-12 environments; Applying Kaufman and Beghetto’s “4C Model of Creativity” to evaluate individual acts versus societal contributions; Differences between worldbuilding content versus concepts, including the use of fictional storyworlds as vehicles for deconstructing reality; The relationship between transmedia storytelling, ethical decision-making, and professional collaboration; Navigating the tension between metrics and process; Identifying ways to quantify qualitative data and qualify quantitative data; Treating critical reflection as an essential component of fostering empathy; and Worldbuilding as an act of care. Episode References: Alexander, B. (2026). Peak higher ed: How to survive the looming academic crisis. Johns Hopkins University Press. Shoulson, J. & Burkey, D. D. (Chairs). (2021, June). Future of Learning Committee final report. University of Connecticut, Office of the Provost. https://provost.uconn.edu/wp-content/uploads/sites/2165/2021/08/FoL-Final-Report-Final-June-2021-1.pdf Kaufman, J. C. & Beghetto, R. A. (2009). Beyond big and little: The four C model of creativity. Review of General Psychology, 13(1), 1-12. Slota, S. T. & Young, M. F. (2017). The inevitability of epic fail: Exploding the castle with situated learning. In Young, M. F. & Slota, S. T. (Eds.) Exploding the Castle: Rethinking How Video Games & Game Mechanics Can Shape the Future of Education. Charlotte, NC: Information Age Publishing. Bradley, E. (Reporter). (1985, September 15). Dungeons & Dragons [TV series episode]. In D. Hewitt (Executive Producer), 60 Minutes. CBS News. Stern, S. H. (Director). (1982). Mazes and monsters [Film]. McDermott Productions; Procter & Gamble Productions. Ringenbach, C. (2018). Climate Fresk (V8.1) [Card game]. La Fresque du Climat. Leacock, M. (2008). Pandemic [Board game]. Z-Man Games. Leacock, M. & Menapace, M. (2023). Daybreak [Board game]. CMYK. Bogost, I., Ferrari, S., & Schweizer, B. (2010). Newsgames: Journalism at play. MIT Press. Schwartz, D. L. & Bransford, J. D. (1998). A time for telling. Cognition and Instruction, 16(4), 475–522. https://doi.org/10.1207/s1532690xci1604_4 Alighieri, D. (2004). Inferno (A. Mandelbaum, Trans.). Bantam Classics. (Original work published ca. 1307–1314). Asimov, I. (1966). Fantastic voyage. Houghton Mifflin. Gick, M. L. & Holyoak, K. J. (1980). Analogical problem solving. Cognitive Psychology, 12(3), 306–355. https://doi.org/10.1016/0010-0285(80)90013-4.

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