A conversation about Matching Minds from the Dr. Broadway podcast with Dr. Tracey Brent-Chessum and Dr. Kristin Stultz Pressley, focusing on researching Sondheim’s lifelong puzzle-and-game design—from cryptic crosswords and treasure hunts to Atari sessions with John Weidman, escape rooms, puzzle boxes, and antique board-game collecting—and on Joseph’s methods, interviews, archival work, publishing journey with Applause/Bloomsbury, and ongoing efforts to place materials in institutions like NYPL, the Library of Congress, and the Strong Museum.

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00:00 Podcast Welcome

03:01 Introducing Dr Broadway

06:14 Barry’s Sondheim Journey

07:25 Games For Change Background

09:35 Atari And Game Mechanics

11:36 Sondheim Designed Games

13:18 Walls Of Antique Boards

15:03 Research Methods Archives

16:18 Pandemic Timeline Interviews

16:43 Tracking Memories Ephemera

17:04 Unlocking Interviews

18:06 Honoring Emotional Memories

18:53 Documenting And Archiving

20:49 Publishing Puzzle Theater Hybrid

23:18 New York Times Breakthrough

25:27 Research Rigor And Impact

26:52 Biggest Sondheim Revelation

28:12 Questions For Sondheim

31:21 Ongoing Projects And Farewell

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Thanks to everyone who contributed behind the scenes to this episode: the Musical Stingers composed by Mateo Chavez Lewis, our line producer Dennis Caouki, and the theme song to our podcast with lyrics and music by Colm Molloy and sung by the one only Anne Morrison, currently on the road starring in Kimberly Akimbo.

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#26-Researching Sondheim--A Repod of Matching Minds on the Dr. Broadway Podcast