Close All Tabs

When shareholders of gaming giant Electronic Arts approved an acquisition of the company by a group that includes Jared Kushner’s private equity firm and the Saudi Public Investment Fund late last year, it rocked the entertainment industry. The sale worth an estimated $55 billion sent the player community of the EA-owned game The Sims scrambling, afraid that a game known as a haven for LGBTQ+ expression might be changed for the worse. In this second part of our exploration of the inclusive history of The Sims franchise, we dive into what the deal might mean for the game, how it’s reshaping the future of the industry, and why a popular Sims streamer is ready to walk away from the game in protest.

Guests: Kayla Sims, Twitch streamer and YouTuber known as “lilsimsie”

Zefrine, Twitch streamer and organizer with The Players Alliance

Loel Phelps, senior game design director at Maxis

Jessica Croft, senior designer at EA on The Sims 4 

Further Reading/Listening:

Bay Area Gamers Rally Against Electronic Arts’ $55 Billion Acquisition — Azul Dahlstrom-Eckman, KQED 

'Gaming is the new oil:' How the EA buyout 'diverges from the traditional playbook' — Nicole Carpenter, Game Developer

Congressman Teams Up With Popular Sims Streamer To Oppose Saudi Purchase Of EA — Nathan Grayson, Aftermath

US representative Maxwell Frost protests Saudi buyout of EA — Diego Argüello, Game Developer

Sims streamers are distancing themselves from EA, but for some the choice is hard — Ash Parrish, The Verge

EA Advertisement Isn't New: A Look Back At The Sims' History With Brands (And What Comes Next) — Callum Bowyer, Sims Community

Private Equity's EA Takeover: Corruption, Contradictions, and Exploitation — Daniel Stone, Center for Economic and Policy Research

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Email us at CloseAllTabs@KQED.org

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Credits: Close All Tabs is hosted by Morgan Sung. Our team includes producer Maya Cueva, editor Chris Hambrick and senior editor Chris Egusa who also composed our theme song and credits music. Additional music from APM. Audio engineering by Brendan Willard and Chris Egusa. Audience engagement support from Maha Sanad. Jen Chien is our Director of Podcasts. Ethan Toven-Lindsey is our Editor in Chief.
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“Did The Sims make you gay?” is a long-running joke among Sims players. For millions, The Sims has been more than a video game — it’s been a place to experiment, tell stories, and explore identity. Long before LGBTQ representation became common in mainstream games, The Sims allowed same-sex relationships, helping create a devoted queer fan base that reshaped what players expected from virtual worlds.

In this episode, Morgan Sung talks with The Sims 4 senior designer Jessica Croft and Electronic Arts’ senior game design director Loel Phelps about the game’s unlikely emergence as one of the most queer-inclusive franchises in gaming. They explore the legendary story of how same-sex romance accidentally made it into the original game, the challenges of translating sexuality and gender into game systems, why so many LGBTQ players discovered their own identities in The Sims long before they felt safe doing so in real life — and why some players are worried about where the game might be headed.

Guests:

Jessica Croft, senior designer and lead designer at EA on The Sims 4

Loel Phelps, senior game design director at Maxis

Further Reading/Listening:

The Kiss That Changed Video Games — Simon Parkin, The New Yorker

Unearthed The Sims design docs show the internal debate over same-sex relationships — Steven Messner, PC Gamer

Did The Sims make you gay? - a video essay. — Alexander Avila, YouTube 

The Sims Knew I Was Queer Before I Did — Megan Elliot, BRICKS Magazine

Gay weddings for Russia: How The Sims became a battleground for the LGBTQ+ community — Tom Regan, The Guardian

The Sims designer says that the series’ diversity is “critical, especially at times like now” as the games must recognise “the fundamental truths of our humanity” to stay successful — Lewis White, FIVR

Read the Transcript here

Email us at CloseAllTabs@KQED.org

Follow us on ⁠Instagram⁠ and ⁠TikTok⁠

Credits: Close All Tabs is hosted by Morgan Sung. Our team includes producer Maya Cueva, editor Chris Hambrick and senior editor Chris Egusa who also composed our theme song and credits music. Additional production help from Francesca Fenzi. Additional music from APM. Audio engineering by Brendan Willard and Chris Egusa. Audience engagement support from Maha Sanad. Jen Chien is our Director of Podcasts. Ethan Toven-Lindsey is our Editor in Chief.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

During a recent phone call,  BBC tech columnist Thomas Germain couldn’t convince his aunt that he wasn’t AI. Being unable to distinguish a real person from a fabricated version is a problem born from the sheer volume of AI-generated content flooding the internet — and one that’s increased dramatically in the last year alone. Even world leaders are now plagued by the issue: a glitchy video of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu sparked an enduring conspiracy theory that he was really dead and his public appearances on social media were an AI-driven cover up.

In a world where everything looks fake, how do we know what’s real? Thomas joins the show to explain how we got here, where we might be headed, and a surprisingly analog technique that could save you from getting scammed by a deepfaked version of a loved one.

Guest:

Thomas Germain, co-host of the podcast The Interface, and tech columnist at the BBC.

Further Reading/Listening:

I tried to prove I'm not AI. My aunt wasn't convinced — Thomas Germain, BBC

The Interface Podcast — BBC

Benjamin Netanyahu is struggling to prove he’s not an AI clone  — Jess Weatherbed, The Verge

Cascade of A.I. Fakes About War With Iran Causes Chaos Online — Stuart A. Thompson and Alexander Cardia, The New York Times 

AI is intensifying a 'collapse' of trust online, experts say — Angela Yang, NBC News

Deepfakes, Elections, and Shrinking the Liar’s Dividend — Josh A. Goldstein, Brennan Center for Justice

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Email us at CloseAllTabs@KQED.org

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Credits: Close All Tabs is hosted by Morgan Sung. Our team includes producer Maya Cueva, editor Chris Hambrick and senior editor Chris Egusa who also composed our theme song and credits music. Additional music from APM. Audio engineering by Brendan Willard. Audience engagement support from Maha Sanad. Jen Chien is our Director of Podcasts. Ethan Toven-Lindsey is our Editor in Chief.
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When JetBlue replied to an angry customer on X that they should clear their cookies for a better flight price, it seemed to confirm a long-held consumer belief: companies use your personal data to determine what you should pay in real-time based on your urgency, habits and identity. It’s what’s known as surveillance pricing. According to economic sociologist Lindsay Owens, the practice is rampant. She says companies have been investing for years in sophisticated tools meant to squeeze every last dollar out of consumers — and for the most part, it’s legal. Lindsay joins Morgan to talk about how we got here, the U.S. laws designed to fight back against surveillance pricing and what you can personally do to sidestep the practice.

Guest:

Lindsay Owens, executive director of Groundwork Collaborative

Further Reading:

The Tiger Mom Tax: Asians Are Nearly Twice as Likely to Get a Higher Price from Princeton Review — Julia Angwin, Surya Mattu and Jeff Larson, Pro Publica

The hidden way using a rewards card can cost you more — Geoffrey A. Fowler, Washington Post

Issue Spotlight: The Rise of Surveillance Pricing — FTC Staff, Federal Trade Commission

Why surveillance pricing bans are suddenly gaining traction this year (and not just in California) — Khari Johnson, CalMatters

Influencers are peddling 'the library hack' as a way to score cheaper flights. Whether it works is beside the point — Grace Snelling, Fast Company

 

Read the Transcript here

Email us at CloseAllTabs@KQED.org

Follow us on ⁠Instagram⁠ and ⁠TikTok⁠

Credits: Close All Tabs is hosted by Morgan Sung. Our team includes producer Maya Cueva, editor Chris Hambrick and senior editor Chris Egusa who also composed our theme song and credits music. Additional production help from Francesca Fenzi. Additional music from APM. Audio engineering by Brendan Willard. Audience engagement support from Maha Sanad. Jen Chien is our Director of Podcasts. Ethan Toven-Lindsey is our Editor in Chief.
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

For three weeks, all eyes were on a salacious courtroom drama unfolding in Oakland, California. The Musk v. Altman trial had everything you’d expect from a favorite soap opera: Backstabbing? Check! Secret diary entries? Check! Pleading text messages? Check! And two billionaire buddies turned rivals duking it out over who did or did not steal a charity. Morgan and KQED’s Rachel Myrow explore the trial highlights, outcome and the big question: what was it all for?

Guests:

Rachael Myrow, senior editor, Silicon Valley News Desk at KQED

Further Reading/Listening:

Federal Court Rules Against Elon Musk in His Bitter Feud With Sam Altman — Katie DeBenedetti and Rachael Myrow, KQED

Everyone at the Musk v. Altman Trial Is Using Fancy Butt Cushions — Paresh Dave, WIRED

Musk v. Altman proved that AI is led by the wrong people — Hayden Field, The Verge

Sam Altman May Control Our Future—Can He Be Trusted? — Ronan Farrow and Andrew Marantz, The New Yorker

Advice for 2026 commencement speakers: Don't bring up AI — Jude Joffe-Block and Michelle Aslam, NPR

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Email us at CloseAllTabs@KQED.orgFollow us on ⁠Instagram⁠ and ⁠TikTok⁠Credits: Close All Tabs is hosted by Morgan Sung. Our team includes producer Maya Cueva, editor Chris Hambrick and senior editor Chris Egusa who also composed our theme song and credits music. Additional music from APM. Audio engineering by Brendan Willard. Audience engagement support from Maha Sanad. Jen Chien is our Director of Podcasts. Ethan Toven-Lindsey is our Editor in Chief.
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices