Strength Check is an Actual Play RPG podcast with a rotating set of participants and rulesets. The current season is Cull’s End, based largely on D&D. Past seasons have focused on innovative interdisciplinary pedagogical development, happening in (almost) real time and finding new ways to engage students and the public. Games have included Kids on Bikes, D&D and Acquisitions Inc.-based side-quests. The first season focused on Dr. Andy Wilczak exploring topics relevant to higher education.
Episodes
Monday Jun 17, 2019
Season 2, Episode 0.1: Zero Sessions (Part 1)
Monday Jun 17, 2019
Monday Jun 17, 2019
Welcome to Backfire! An introduction to our first set of players.
Play for Progress on Discord! https://discord.gg/nNNZUHS
Strength Check @ Mages & Mentors on Discord! https://discord.gg/sDrP9gD
Play for Progress GoFundMe - gofundme.com/play-for-progress
E-mail the show: strengthcheckpodcast@gmail.com
Follow the show on Twitter: @StrengthCheck
Follow our cast: @heydrwil, @griffmoy, @SneakAttack29, @conmyt2
Sunday Jun 09, 2019
Season 2, Episode 0.0: We're Back!
Sunday Jun 09, 2019
Sunday Jun 09, 2019
We couldn't quit you, Strength Check! A preview of what's coming up in season 2!
Play for Progress on Discord! https://discord.gg/nNNZUHS
Strength Check @ Mages & Mentors on Discord! https://discord.gg/sDrP9gD
Play for Progress GoFundMe - gofundme.com/play-for-progress
E-mail the show: strengthcheckpodcast@gmail.com
Follow the show on Twitter: @StrengthCheck
Sunday Jun 02, 2019
Episode 14: The Thrilling Conclusion of Season 1
Sunday Jun 02, 2019
Sunday Jun 02, 2019
The first season of Strength Check concludes this week with a talk about our on demand culture and what it's doing to us and how that influences how we consume art. Also, a preview of what's to come in the future of the show.
Play for Progress on Discord! https://discord.gg/nNNZUHS
Strength Check @ Mages & Mentors on Discord! https://discord.gg/sDrP9gD
Play for Progress GoFundMe - gofundme.com/play-for-progress
E-mail the show: strengthcheckpodcast@gmail.com
Follow the show on Twitter: @StrengthCheck
Sunday May 26, 2019
Episode 13: Lost Together
Sunday May 26, 2019
Sunday May 26, 2019
This week we talk about Giuseppe Petrosino and the label of Sherlock Holmes. Why aren't there more of them today? We also talk about mental health and dealing with the sense that we aren't doing enough when we very much (probably) are.
Play for Progress on Discord! https://discord.gg/nNNZUHS
Strength Check @ Mages & Mentors on Discord! https://discord.gg/sDrP9gD
Play for Progress GoFundMe - gofundme.com/play-for-progress
E-mail the show: strengthcheckpodcast@gmail.com
Follow the show on Twitter: @StrengthCheck
Sunday May 19, 2019
Episode 12: Let the Past Die
Sunday May 19, 2019
Sunday May 19, 2019
This week, we introduce the Black Hand Society, an organization that terrorized the U.S. in the early 20th century and talk about the development of gangs in America. We also talk about nostalgia and why we feel nostalgic about things and what it means, especially when those things are bad. It's important to tell these stories and we talk about why that is -- and what your story could mean to someone else.
Play for Progress on Discord! https://discord.gg/nNNZUHS
Strength Check @ Mages & Mentors on Discord! https://discord.gg/sDrP9gD
Play for Progress GoFundMe - gofundme.com/play-for-progress
E-mail the: strengthcheckpodcast@gmail.com
Follow the show on Twitter: @StrengthCheck
Sunday May 12, 2019
Episode 11: Anarchy and Dreams
Sunday May 12, 2019
Sunday May 12, 2019
What kind of world can we envision if not this one? Following up on our discussion of the assassination of President McKinley, we talk about what anarchy actually stands for and why it is that people think it is nothing but chaos. We also talk about the work of Natalie Goldberg and Dorothea Brande and what our obsessions and our dreams can do for us, that it's OK to have them, that they're valid, and that they're worth working towards even if they're not something that's going to make us rich.
Play for Progress on Discord! https://discord.gg/nNNZUHS
Strength Check @ Mages & Mentors on Discord! https://discord.gg/sDrP9gD
Play for Progress GoFundMe - gofundme.com/play-for-progress
Write Down the Bones by Natalie Goldberg - https://www.amazon.com/Writing-Down-Bones-Freeing-Writer/dp/161180308X/
Becoming a Writer by Dorothea Brande - https://www.amazon.com/Becoming-Writer-Dorothea-Brande/dp/0874771641/
Scratticus Academy on Twitch https://www.twitch.tv/Scratticus
E-mail the: strengthcheckpodcast@gmail.com
Follow the show on Twitter: @StrengthCheck
Sunday May 05, 2019
Episode 10: Keep Star Wars Day In Your Heart All Year
Sunday May 05, 2019
Sunday May 05, 2019
Follow the show on Twitter: @StrengthCheck
Sunday Apr 21, 2019
Episode 9: Power in the Past
Sunday Apr 21, 2019
Sunday Apr 21, 2019
The Assassination of President McKinley seems like it should be an event that every American child is taught about, and that McKinley should be someone who is memorialized and maybe even deified in American culture. So why isn't he? What could possibly be lost by teaching people about his administration and his assassination? We discuss this and put out a call for participants this summer for a criminal justice themed D&D project.
E-mail the show: strengthcheckpodcast@gmail.com
Follow the show on Twitter: @StrengthCheck
Sunday Apr 14, 2019
Episode 8: Epic Fails
Sunday Apr 14, 2019
Sunday Apr 14, 2019
Gaming can teach us a lot about failure, and it's a lot more than just learning that you can't win all the time. Games can also show us that sometimes the system is rigged against us and that we're going to fail no matter how hard we try. And that's OK! Because failure is inevitable, we should feel free to take more chances. Failure isn't oppressing, it's liberating. We also take a few minutes this week to talk about the assassination of President William McKinley and the anarchy movement in the U.S. and how much we conform to what's expected of us.
McKinley information taken from The President and The Assassin by Scott Miller.
E-mail the show: strengthcheckpodcast@gmail.com
Follow the show on Twitter: @StrengthCheck
Sunday Apr 07, 2019
Episode 7: Thanos Snapped
Sunday Apr 07, 2019
Sunday Apr 07, 2019
What is it that makes some people rise up in the moment? This week, we talk about how superhero stories are modern American mythologies and what these characters represent to us in the 21st century. Spoilers: it's more than just a throwaway popcorn movie for kids. There's a lot of hope that we're going to be able to take out of Avengers: Endgame no matter how the story ends. Plus, we introduce next week's talk on President William McKinley and talk about a future Play for Progress podcast.
E-mail the show: strengthcheckpodcast@gmail.com
Follow the show on Twitter: @StrengthCheck