Monday, 26 February 2024, 7.30 pm, diffrakt | centre for theoretical periphery
Conversation and game night with
Max Haiven | Jay Jordan | Weird Economies | and other guests
Play has moved from the margin to the centre of global capitalism. It’s not just the multi-billion dollar video game, gambling and sports industries. This trend also includes the profound influence of “game theory” over finance and government policy and the gamification of everything (romance, learning, health). From Game of Thrones to Squid Game to The Hunger Games to Fortnite, popular culture reflects the widespread feeling: we’re trapped in a high-stakes unwinnable game. Is it any wonder more and more people are breaking the rules?
The Exploits of Play is an eight-episode interview-driven podcast hosted by Max Haiven and produced by Halle Frost for Weird Economies. On the occasion of the launch of its first episode, diffrakt will host a conversation between Max and one of the podcast’s special guests, the art-activist Jay Jordan who, for over 30 years, has been masterfully incorporating play and games into protests, riots and other anti-capitalist interventions.
Following the conversation, we’ll bring out the games! We’ll be playing a beta version of Max’s new card game Billionaires and Guillotines as well as other radical and anti-capitalist and anti-colonial board and card games.
