We weren’t originally going to do an espresso podcast in December, but then the timing and theme of our main episode for the month almost made it obligatory for us to replan: since our recent episode “Ozmosis” only covered Wicked, the first part of the movie adaptation of the hit musical by Stephen Schwartz and Winnie Holzman, and not its 2025 continuation, Wicked: For Good, we are hereby remedying this. Join Matt and Sam as they take a trip to the Emerald City to talk about part 2 of this revisionist take on L. Frank Baum’s classic novel The Wonderful Wizard of Oz. Did they find the film a worthy follow-up to the 2024 hit? Are Cynthia Erivo and Ariana Grande still as effective as Elphaba and Glinda? Do the new songs live up to the best numbers of either part? And just how does The Wizard of Oz fit into Wicked? Follow us down the Yellow Brick Road for this concluding conversation in our final espresso of the year.
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I recently read an interview with a game designer. Among other things, she talked about how, in many computer games, your avatar is often in mortal peril, and how such a situation is not only an option, but the very point of many computer games. You might die, so your main goal is to survive. She called that the stress of dying. I am very much a non-gamer, but I know what she means. Although the drama of life vs. death, whether it be your avatar’s or any other character’s in a game, is higher in a potentially fatal scenario, it might take your attention away from the intriguing story, the elaborate graphics or the well-written characters themselves. Sometimes it’s about exploring and going places, about living in a new universe, not just surviving it. Or about admiring the craft. 
A Damn Fine Cup of Culture 