My Perfect Console with Simon Parkin

Amelia Tait is a British journalist and author whose work has made her one of the sharpest observers of modern life online and off. As a freelance writer, she has built a reputation for following the strange, revealing currents of contemporary culture — writing about the internet, and remarkable people for publications including The New Yorker, The Guardian, Wired, and the New York Times.

Her reporting is often drawn to the places where technology and absurdity collide, finding the human story inside subjects other people might dismiss as niche or ephemeral. Now she has turned that same wit and curiosity to fiction with her debut children’s book, Lily Tripp: Diary of an Accidental Time Traveller, a funny, fast-moving adventure about a girl bouncing through history while trying to survive friendship drama and the general embarrassment of being thirteen.

LINKS

Amelia Tait – website & writing
Amelia Tait – official website
The Waiting Room – Amelia's Substack newsletter

Lily Tripp: Diary of an Accidental Time Traveller
Lily Tripp – Waterstones (Waterstones Children's Book of the Month, June 2026)
Lily Tripp – Amazon UK

Amelia's Perfect Console
Theme Hospital (1997) – Wikipedia
The Simpsons: Road Rage (2001) – Wikipedia
The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker – Wikipedia
The Sims Bustin' Out (Game Boy Advance, 2003) – Wikipedia
Stardew Valley – official site
Stardew Valley – Steam

Other games mentioned
Animal Crossing: New Horizons – Nintendo
The Simpsons: Hit & Run – Wikipedia

Amelia's journalism – selected pieces
Are Disney Adults the Happiest Debtors on Earth? – The New Yorker
Amelia Tait – articles on The Guardian

Next week's guest
Duppy Detective Tashia – Glen Henry / Spritewrench Studios – Steam
Spritewrench Studios – itch.io

Support the show
My Perfect Console – episode archive
Support My Perfect Console on Patreon
Become a My Perfect Console supporter and receive a range of benefits at www.patreon.com/myperfectconsole

Take the Acast listener survey to help shape the show: My Perfect Console with Simon Parkin Survey 2025
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

James Trickey is a British comedian whose work blends sharp writing, physical comedy, and, in his new show, one of the more extraordinary Edinburgh Fringe stories in recent memory. By day he works as an accountant; by night he has been building a reputation as one of the most promising young voices on the live circuit, with appearances across the UK, a Chortle Student Comedy Award nomination, and a Best New Show nomination at the Leicester Comedy Festival.

Last year, his sold-out Edinburgh debut, Don’t Count on Me, marked him out as a rising talent, earning strong reviews and an enviable word-of-mouth reputation. Since then, he has appeared on the BBC’s Funny Parts and returned to the Fringe with a new show shaped in part by the strange and unexpectedly dramatic events of last summer.

LINKS:

James Trickey – follow & tickets
James Trickey – Instagram (@jamestrickey_)
James Trickey: Split – Edinburgh Fringe 2026 tickets (Pleasance Courtyard, 9:25pm, 5–30 August)
James Trickey: Split – Avalon press release

James's Perfect Console
The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion – Wikipedia
The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion Remastered – Steam
Halo 3 – Wikipedia
Undertale – official site
Undertale – Steam
God of War (2018) – PlayStation
God of War (2018) – Wikipedia
The Last of Us Part II – PlayStation
The Last of Us Part II – Wikipedia

Bristol comedians to watch
Abi Clarke – comedian and content creator
Alex Kitson – Chortle profile
Jessie Nixon – Chortle profile
Ted Milligan – British Comedy Guide
Pravanya Pillay – PBJ Management

Also mentioned
Alfie Brown – comedian
Glenn Moore – at the Monkey Barrel, Edinburgh Fringe
Pokémon Crystal – Wikipedia
Super Mario Advance (Game Boy Advance) – Wikipedia
League of Legends – official site

Support the show
My Perfect Console – episode archive
Support My Perfect Console on Patreon
Become a My Perfect Console supporter and receive a range of benefits at www.patreon.com/myperfectconsole

Take the Acast listener survey to help shape the show: My Perfect Console with Simon Parkin Survey 2025
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Pierce Brown is an American novelist whose work has made him one of the defining voices in modern science fiction. After a restless childhood that saw his family move repeatedly and left him passing through more than ten schools, he began writing in earnest just after high school. After years of rejection, he found his breakthrough with Red Rising, the first instalment in an epic saga that fused classical tragedy, Roman myth, and space opera into an international bestseller.

Since then, the series has grown into a global phenomenon, winning a devoted readership for its high-stakes politics and fierce emotional intensity. Alongside his work as a novelist, he has embraced gaming culture—contributing to the Red Rising board game and speaking openly about his love of everything from StarCraft II to Mass Effect and Cyberpunk. Now, as the series is being reissued in special tenth-anniversary editions, a new generation of readers is discovering the world that made his name.

LINKS

Pierce Brown – website & books
Pierce Brown – official website
Red Rising – the complete saga
Red Rising: Sons of Ares – prequel comic series
Pierce Brown – Instagram (@piercebrownofficial)

Red Rising board game
Red Rising – Stonemaier Games (designed by Jamey Stegmaier)

Pierce's Perfect Console
Command & Conquer (1995) – Wikipedia
Command & Conquer: Red Alert – Wikipedia
Command & Conquer: Tiberian Sun – Wikipedia
Shogun: Total War (2000) – Wikipedia
Total War series – official site
Baldur's Gate II: Shadows of Amn – Wikipedia
Black & White (2001) – Wikipedia
The Elder Scrolls III: Morrowind – Wikipedia

Books and other references mentioned
Plato's Republic – Wikipedia
Antigone by Sophocles – Wikipedia
The Count of Monte Cristo by Alexandre Dumas – Wikipedia
Ender's Game by Orson Scott Card – Wikipedia
The First Law trilogy by Joe Abercrombie
Gattaca (1997 film) – Wikipedia
Gustave Doré – illustrator, Wikipedia

Support the show
My Perfect Console – episode archive
Support My Perfect Console on Patreon
Become a My Perfect Console supporter and receive a range of benefits at www.patreon.com/myperfectconsole

Take the Acast listener survey to help shape the show: My Perfect Console with Simon Parkin Survey 2025
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

John Robertson is an Australian comedian, writer, and performer who has carved out a singular space between stand-up, theatre, and video games. Beginning his career on the UK and international comedy circuit, he became known for his high-energy, unpredictable style—before creating The Dark Room, a live-action text adventure where audiences shout commands, face absurd deaths, and attempt to survive his chaotic world.

The show has toured globally, sold out runs at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe, and grown into an online phenomenon, streamed to millions and adapted into digital formats. Alongside this, he has written and performed a wide range of solo shows and interactive work, creating a unique space where comedy, games, and audience participation collide.

John Robertson – website & show

John Robertson – official website
The Dark Room – live show information
The Dark Room – live dates and tickets
The Dark Room – Edinburgh Fringe 2026 at the Gilded Balloon
The Dark Room – Dark Room Deathstravaganza at Leicester Square Theatre, 22 November
John Robertson – Twitch (Robbotron)

John's Perfect Console
Sonic the Hedgehog 2 (Mega Drive, 1992) – Wikipedia
Super Puzzle Fighter II Turbo – Wikipedia
Wii Sports Resort – Wikipedia
Sid Meier's Civilization V – Wikipedia
Hitman: World of Assassination – official site
Hitman: World of Assassination – Steam

Other games and references mentioned
Caves of Qud – official site
Caves of Qud – Steam
PAX West – Seattle gaming convention
Switch Sports – Nintendo

Next week's guest
Pierce Brown – official website
Red Rising – Pierce Brown's debut novel

Support the show
My Perfect Console – episode archive
Support My Perfect Console on Patreon
Become a My Perfect Console supporter and receive a range of benefits at www.patreon.com/myperfectconsole

Take the Acast listener survey to help shape the show: My Perfect Console with Simon Parkin Survey 2025
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Andreas Thorstensson is a Swedish entrepreneur, former professional gamer, and studio founder whose career has moved from the early days of esports to the challenge of rebuilding one of the world’s biggest sports genres from the ground up. Born in Stockholm, he began programming as a child and later emerged in competitive Counter-Strike under the name ‘bds’, becoming world champion in 1999 and earning a reputation as both a player, and builder of tools, platforms, and communities around the game.

In 2001, he co-founded SK Gaming, helping turn esports into a more professionalised business, and later spent a decade in technology and startups. In 2021, frustrated by the state of football games, he returned to development to found GOALS AB, a Stockholm studio with an ambitious aim: to give football the video game it deserves. Its first title, GOALS, is a free-to-play, cross-platform football simulator built around a gameplay-first, fully skill-based philosophy.

Become a My Perfect Console supporter and receive a range of benefits at www.patreon.com/myperfectconsole

Take the Acast listener survey to help shape the show: My Perfect Console with Simon Parkin Survey 2025
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.