If you've been feeling lately like life is an unfair game, you're not alone. And game designer, author, and anti-fascist scholar Max Haiven knows why. In his latest book, The Player and the Played: From Gamed Capitalism to Twenty-First Century Fascism, Haiven uses games to explain how financialized capitalism recruits us into our own exploitation, seeing ourselves as "players," rather than people, who would be winning and succeeding... if only someone wasn't cheating us!—and how fascist politics takes that justified anger and directs it away from precisely the people and institutions who are rigging the game and reaping the rewards.

Tune into Max Haiven's vibrations at: https://maxhaiven.com/

And get the book (available as a free download!) at: https://maxhaiven.com/player/

Join the ritual: www.patreon.com/thispodcastisaritual

In the tiny fishing village of Rif, out on the coast of the Snæfellsnes Peninsula in western Iceland, you'll find an unlikely cultural hub: The Freezer. Built in a former fish freezer, this hostel / performing arts venue is the work of Kàri Viđarsson, a local Icelander who left his village and returned having changed... only to change the cultural landscape of his community in the process.

Tune into the Freezer's magic (or book a stay!) at: https://www.thefreezerhostel.com/

The Freezer also provided a home to the Wizard and 50 other artists this summer as part of the Portal residency. You can hear all about that in the This Portal is a Ritual miniseries: https://www.patreon.com/c/thispodcastisaritual/posts?filters%5Btag%5D=This+Portal+is+a+Ritual

Join the ritual: www.patreon.com/thispodcastisaritual

Sometimes things suck. Sometimes we feel bad, can't get what we want, or just plain don't know what to do. And that's hard. But there's a cultural narrative that often makes it way worse, the insidious idea that "it shouldn't be like this." That somehow, feeling this way is a personal failure. That's why the Wizard is here to remind you that sometimes things really do suck! And it's okay to feel bad! And you don't even gotta feel bad about feeling bad. And sometimes, remembering that can help us feel better...

...and if you'd like to really be reminded of that, you can do so with the full length bonus episode available exclusively on our Patreon! Or you can just listen to this preview version and get the gist of it.

Listen to How to Feel Bad:

https://www.patreon.com/thispodcastisaritual/posts/how-to-feel-bad-170369117

Join the ritual: www.patreon.com/thispodcastisaritual