It's spooky season! Stephen is SO over it, but he can't escape all the scary stuff happening in this week's episode. We start with a lesson on the necromantic arts of branding and iconography, guided by Mark, a master of these dark magics. After the break, Ellen raises a past topic from the dead in order to explore the ethics of manipulating players' brainnnsssss. Also mentioned: candy corn, houseplants, and—you guessed it—Star Trek.

Star Trek: Ascendancy

0:10:10

Branding & Iconography

Smash TV

Wikipedia

Thomas Was Alone

Bithell Games

0:36:22

The Ethics of Engagement

Egg, Inc.

Auxbrain, Inc.

Idle Acorns

Aleros LLC

BeReal social media

A little learning is a dangerous thing

Drink deep, or taste not the Pierian spring.

This is a line from Alexander Pope's Essay on Criticism (1711). The Pierian spring is a fountain in Pieria, a district round Mount Olympus and the native country of the Muses. You can read the full text for free here on Project Gutenberg.