Jordan Erica Webber

Jordan Erica Webber argues that she can no longer comfortably play The Sims after Electronic Arts was acquired in a $55bn leveraged buyout by Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund, Silver Lake and Jared Kushner’s Affinity Partners. She links the buyers to human-rights abuses, political influence and attempts to use popular culture for soft power, warning that The Sims’ long-standing support for racial, gender and sexual diversity could be weakened or exploited. The debt-financed deal may also encourage cost-cutting, generative AI, predatory microtransactions and layoffs. Sims creator Kayla Sims and Congressman Maxwell Frost are portrayed as opposing the deal, while Webber considers alternatives such as Paralives and older offline copies of the game.

Dressmaker is a sewing- and fashion-design game co-created by developer Jonathan Hau-Yoon and his sewing-focused partner Sabrina Becker. Players design garments by arranging patterns on fabric, fitting them to individualized measurements, and decorating them with trims and buttons. Developed with support from Free Lives after a popular prototype, the game aims to balance creative freedom with technically demanding garment construction, including seam alignment, scaling and pattern distortion. Becker’s sewing and historical-costume expertise shaped its bespoke-fitting system and vintage aesthetic, while the team incorporated player feedback and recorded the sound of her vintage Singer sewing machine. Dressmaker is scheduled for release on PC on 21 September.

The Mermaid Mask sends Detective Grimoire and his sarcastic sidekick Sally to a submarine to investigate the locked-room murder of Captain Magnus Mortuga. The review praises its colourful characters, fully voiced comedic conversations, stylish animations and soothingly methodical deduction system, while noting that the music is weaker than Tangle Tower’s, some puzzles and completion mechanics can feel formulaic, and the final chapter is slow. Despite these flaws, the mystery’s conclusion is satisfying and the game is judged worth the long wait.

A British indie studio, Friday Sundae, is developing There Are No Ghosts at the Grand, a genre‑blending ghost‑themed hotel renovation game rooted in British culture and inspired by stately homes. The gameplay mixes restoration, supernatural encounters, and musical numbers, with characters shaped by diverse real‑life influences and improvised voice performances. The developers emphasize British authenticity without explanatory glossaries and offer accessibility options such as painting autocomplete. The game is scheduled for release on PC and Xbox Series X/S in late 2026.

An archival podcast from 2021 examines China's position as the world's largest video game market and the increasingly strict censorship rules governing acceptable content, including restrictions on cults, politics and supernatural themes. It considers the compromises international game developers may need to make to gain access to the market.

A decade after its 2016 release, Stardew Valley has sold nearly 50 million copies and become a defining cosy farming and life-simulation game. Its appeal is attributed not only to calming gameplay but also to gender-neutral romance options, queer-specific narratives and an anticapitalist contrast between community life and the corporate Joja system. Fans including modder kcspace, crochet artist Jack Evil and cosplayer Lizard Leigh describe how the game has supported queer identity, creative expression, recovery from burnout and a sense of community.

Blue Prince is a puzzle-focused exploration game set in a mysterious, seemingly uninhabited family mansion. Players repeatedly draft rooms onto a shifting five-by-nine floor plan while managing limited energy and resources, searching for a hidden 46th room required to inherit the estate. Its roguelike structure, persistent puzzle solutions, atmospheric art and music, and gradually revealed family secrets make repeated runs feel rewarding rather than tedious. The review concludes that the game’s layered mysteries and clever design can make exploration deeply absorbing and habit-forming.

The podcast revisits a 2020 investigation into dyslexia, once widely accepted as an explanation for children’s difficulties with reading and writing. It examines why some experts have begun questioning dyslexia’s existence and explores the implications of that debate for children, schools and special educational needs provision.

A podcast revisits the 2018 Gatwick Airport disruption, when a reported drone sighting led to the airport’s closure for two days. Despite an extensive police investigation, no culprit was identified, leaving unresolved questions about what witnesses actually saw in the Sussex sky.

A Guardian archive audio feature examines radical conservationists who secretly breed endangered species and release them into the wild. Their efforts to counter extinction may involve breaking the law and confronting opposition from established scientific institutions.

China has the world’s largest video game market, attracting international developers despite increasingly strict rules governing acceptable content. The podcast examines how censorship affects games and asks whether access to the Chinese market is worth the compromises required by developers.

Debrett’s, a longstanding chronicler of Britain’s aristocracy, is reinventing itself by offering courses in manners, etiquette and social networking intended to help outsiders enter elite circles. The discussion examines whether this represents genuine social mobility or simply snobbery under a new label.

The Guardian offers a Christmas greeting and announces that its Audio Long Read publication will pause briefly before returning on 4 January 2021.

A drone sighting near Gatwick Airport in 2018 led to the airport’s closure for two days. Despite an extensive police investigation, no culprit was identified, leaving unresolved questions about what witnesses actually saw in the Sussex sky.

A group of radical conservationists is secretly breeding endangered species and releasing them into the wild, sometimes breaking the law and challenging the scientific establishment in an effort to prevent extinction.

In 1936, a school group from south London went hiking in Germany’s Black Forest, where five boys died despite rescue efforts by local villagers. Decades later, the tragedy remains the subject of questions among residents and is remembered for being exploited as a Nazi propaganda opportunity.

The feature examines five unconventional sports video games that deliberately depart from realistic simulations: QWOP, Behold the Kickmen, Regular Human Basketball, What the Golf?, and Blaseball. Developers explain how physics, satire, absurdist design and audience participation shaped the games, while Blaseball is highlighted for using randomness and fan decisions to create a shared, progressive fictional world.

MPs speak anonymously about climate change, revealing a striking gap between their private views and public statements. The podcast examines how this disconnect may affect efforts to make climate action a central part of post-pandemic politics.

The podcast examines the debate over dyslexia, once widely accepted as an explanation for why some children struggle with reading and writing. It explores why some experts have increasingly questioned whether dyslexia exists as a distinct condition.

The Guardian recommends 100 video games suitable for playing during lockdown, organized into categories including family, narrative, sport and fitness, simulation and strategy, multiplayer, creative, puzzle and word, and relaxing games. The selection spans PC, mobile devices, consoles and virtual reality, emphasizing variety for solo players, families and online groups. Recommendations range from accessible titles such as Wii Sports, Just Dance and Mario Kart 8 Deluxe to expansive adventures including The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild, Red Dead Redemption 2 and The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt, alongside creative and relaxing games such as Minecraft, Stardew Valley and Monument Valley 2.

The Guardian recommends 25 multiplayer and socially oriented video games for people isolated at home during the coronavirus pandemic. The list spans console, mobile and PC titles, highlighting cooperative adventures, competitive games, digital board games, trivia and experiences that encourage conversation. It also recommends services such as Discord, Steam, GOG.com and itch.io to help friends communicate and access games remotely.

The final episode of The Guardian’s Chips with Everything podcast features hosts Jordan Erica Webber and Alex Hern looking back at their favourite episodes from the past two years and discussing notable technology stories from the previous decade. The episode marks the end of the podcast, while listeners are directed to follow the hosts and listen to Jordan Erica Webber’s new podcast.

Jordan Erica Webber examines how Twitter’s plans to deactivate unused accounts prompted broader questions about what happens to people’s digital identities after death. The podcast explores online memorialization and points listeners to Leah Green’s Death Land series and an Internet Archive form created by Jason Scott for preserving Twitter accounts.