Video games are radical. Not in the way you think

Video games make you violent. Video games corrupt the youth. Video games rot your brain! You’ve probably heard that narrative before … but Kawika Guillermo offers a fresh take in their new essay collection, Of Floating Isles: On Growing Pains and Video Games. The book is part memoir, part cultural analysis about the roles that video games play in our lives. For Kawika, games aren’t just a mindless escape — they’re thoughtful works of art that help us understand our identities and the world we live in. Kawika joins Mattea to talk about gaming as a catalyst for social change, rethinking shooting games and how video games helped them grapple with grief. Liked this conversation? Keep listening:Why this Pulitzer Prize winner is done with writing booksWeightlifting made Casey Johnston stronger — in muscle and mind