edmo's Apocalypse World podcast syllabus
The best thing anyone can do to learn about and understand the playstyle and perspective that Vincent and Meguey Baker brought to the tabletop RPG hobby with Apocalypse World is to read the game itself (ideally 1e or 2e, for the original sauce), then the various supplemental and retrospective writings of the Bakers.
The next best thing is to play it for yourself. Naturally.
After that? Or if you don't have time to play, or aren't sure how you'd make it work at your table?
Perhaps consider the perspectives and responses of other creators and critics, and that's what this post is about.
I love a good podcast. Learn as you wash the dishes or hang the laundry, etc. You wouldn't believe how many podcasts episodes I crushed on the night shifts with our newborn last year; especially when I was compensating for the fact I didn't have time to run games.
So here's some good podcasts for diving deep into Apocalypse World and the PbtA ecosystem of play culture and game design the Bakers instigated with their most famous work...
RTFM
RTFM: Apocalypse World
Essential listening, imo. Max Lander and Aaron King (with their guest Sarah Frank) are insightful, funny, and brilliant.
Aaron explains PbtA style gaming in a way that works for my particular brain better than anyone else, and Max drives discussion of the inclusion of sex in TRPGs and how elegantly the Bakers handled this in their game.
RTFM: Brain Power One (PbtA)
Max and Aaron return to talk about PbtA games more broadly, from the perspective of the struggles one might experience when you come to these games having previously mainly played D&D. There is a different rhythm and judgements required for PbtA games, versus the reflexive mental processes you acquire if you're primarily running trad Dungeon Dragon; and this episode explains ways in which Max and Aaron struggled initially then relearned their GM-ing practice.
Party by the Apocalypse
Party by the Apocalypse
An actual play series featuring Sam Dunnewold (of Dice Exploder), KeganEXE (of PlusOneEXP), Essay (of Three of Hearts) as players and (once again) Aaron King as the MC.
This is an intentionally pedagogical AP series, where the players and MC explain the process of play, their decisions and their personal responses to the fiction and the rules of the game as they go. It's also really fuckin' good.
Dice Exploder
The Brainer VS The Brain-Picker (Apocalypse World 2e/3e) with the Bakers
Oh hey! It's the Bakers! In their appearance on Sam Dunnewold's podcast they discuss the changes they made between Apocalypse World 2e and the upcoming 3e through the lens of a single player-character playbook, breaking down every change they made to the sheet between editions. It's a great insight into PbtA Moves, picklists and the subtleties of writing for PbtA style games and the power even a single word can carry when it's presented for players.
Rascal
Reading Club: Apocalypse World
As part of Thomas Manuel's ongoing series, in which he reads and analyses TRPG books for their GM advice, Thomas takes a deep dive into the . He puts particular emphasis on the question of when advice should be rules, what it means when the MC section of Apocalypse World tells us to treat the Agenda and Principles it lays out "as rules", and the perspective of the Bakers when they produced their revolutionary game in the context of pre-5e trad and "post-Forge" RPG design.
Talkback: Apocalypse World
Thomas returns alongside Lin Codega and Luke Jordan (creator of Harvest) to respond to listener feedback after the episode above, and continue the discussion in more depth. There is a moment or two where the classic memetic if you don't like this game you're doing it wrong often ascribed to PbtA gamers in places like reddit looms large, but it's an insightful and lively discussion.
Dead Letters
6: Apocalypse World
Sam Sorensen, Walid Raouda, and Misha Favorov approach the Apocalypse World text from a games academic and design perspective, backed by their varied play experiences of Apocalypse World and PbtA games. Sam plays the part of the provocateur, at times, and I think you'll come away with many thoughts provoked.
Afterword
Yeah... that's a lot of hours of podcasting. I've listened to all of it over the course of years, so y'know, pick and choose. If you don't like one you'll probably like another.
Yes - I know - I didn't include many where Vincent or Meguey Baker make an appearance. They're out there, you can find them, but I think they explained themselves pretty fuckin' well in their own game, I had to stop compiling this list somewhere, and I wanted to emphasise a set of podcasts by people with different perspectives.
You can also look to the entire 11 year run of Friends at the Table to see the impact of Apocalypse World on RPG play. Personally, I'd recommend picking out a few Bluff City episodes (free on youtube) for some short-run one-shots; particularly "The Eighty Six" (playing Action Movie World) and "The Grapplers Down at Promenade Arena" (playing World Wide Wrestling).