Episode 106. Sylvan Lawrence: Before the Flood, Gravemire, and Other Games
Untying Knots: Minds and Souls Untethered
Release Date: 06/02/2025
Untying Knots: Minds and Souls Untethered
Celebrating LGBTQ+ Pride Month. As we wrap up Pride month, I chat with Queer Cartoonist, Educator, and Scholar, Justin Hall. Justin and I discuss the history of comics, Queer comics, and their work in creating True Travel Tales, Hard to Swallow, and Theater of Terror: Revenge of the Queers, as well as their work chronicling some of the Queer history of San Francisco. We also discuss the education of future Comic Creators, and the Myth & Realities of Mental Health. Listen, and share. Links: https://www.justinhallawesomecomics.com https://www.instagram.com/justinhallcomics/ California...
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I chat with Rupert Kinnard (he/him), who is a BIPOC & LGBTQ identified Cartoonist and Creator of Cathartic Comics. His collective work has been gathered together and is being release by StackDeck Press as OOOPs, I just Catharted! 40 years of Cathartic Comics. Please listen, check it out, and support this part of our BIPOC & LGBTQ History. Links: OOOPs, I just Catharted! 40 years of Cathartic Comics Kickstarter: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/stackeddeckpress/ooopsi-just-catharted-50-years-of-cathartic-comics?ref=user_menu https://stackeddeckpress.com
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Today I chat with Cassie Walker (they/them) of the Woke Mental Wellness podcast. We talk about their journey to becoming a mental health professional and to becoming a tabletop games player and streamer. Lamia (Cassie) is a Black Queer Social Worker, Trauma Therapist, Streamer, Storyteller, Death Doula, Consultant, Activist and generally your mysterious neighborhood mental health cryptid. They enjoy podcasting and playing games for fun and professionally. Woke Mental Wellness is their podcast. Their clinical work focuses on the intersections of trauma, mental wellness, and...
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I am once again joined by Mercedes Samudio as we discuss the recent Marvel movie Thunderbolts. Mercedes works with parents around the world in developing a healthy parental identity with her revolutionary Parental Identity Development Model and incorporating her Shame-Proof Parenting philosophy to help reduce the shame parents experience as they raise healthy children. Mercedes is also trained in trauma-informed modalities which she uses in her work with parents to help them heal the past traumas that can influence the ways parents interact with themselves and their...
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Today I chat with game designer Sylvan Lawrence. We talk about how they got into game designing, their new game Before the Flood, Gravemire and the concept of "play to grow", as well as the other games, including solo journaling games, they've worked on. Sylvan Lawrence (they/them) is a librarian and the director of Clawhammer Games. They are the co-author and creator of Before the Flood, and the creator of Gravemire, bestselling solo journaling game Athanor, two-player TTRPG Singularity, and more. They are an avid indie tabletop fan, and can often be found grubbing about on...
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Today, I chat with Liam Stevens. Liam is a Maori game designer and consultant descended from the Ngāti Kahungunu ki Te Wairoa iwi. His works are always framed through a cultural lens and his credits include Tomb Raider: Shadows of Truth, Death Match Island, Monster of the Week, and Hull Breach. He has provided cultural consultation on many projects, including Candela Obscura and Ironsworn's Sundered Isles. We talk about KiwiRPG, projects Liam is working on, the Toa Tabletop Podcast, why people are drawn to tabletop role-playing games, and the mental health work Liam does. Links: ...
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I chat once more with Mercedes Samudio, DSW, licensed clinical social worker, bestselling author, international speaker, and visionary entrepreneur. We dissect Ryan Coogler's new horror film Sinners and the use of imagery, metaphors, and history to explore the African-American experience. Mercedes works with parents around the world in developing a healthy parental identity with her revolutionary Parental Identity Development Model and incorporating her Shame-Proof Parenting philosophy to help reduce the shame parents experience as they raise healthy children. Mercedes is also...
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I speak with Steven Sawyer LCSW, CSAC. Steven is a dual-licensed psychotherapist filled with passion and knowledge surrounding the Interventlon and change process. Steven is a trainer of Brainspotting, HeartMath, and Wellbriety modules, as well as Co-founder of New Vision Wildness Therapy. We discuss trauma, Brainspotting and HearthMath, and the Power and Control Dynamic found in many levels of our world as we work to heal, including the Myths and Realities around mental health. Links: Www.SteveSawyerLCSW.net Steve Sawyer LCSW CSAC Senior Clinical Consultant/ Co-founder New Vision...
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I chat with Amber Ontiveros, who is the author of Heal The Four Woundings: A Guide to Ending Discord and Discrimination. We discuss the 4 wounds, as well as the blend of mental health and spirituality. Please listen, enjoy, and share Links: healthefourwoundings.com linkedin.com/in/amberontiveros
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I chad with Mercedes Samudio, DSW, licensed clinical social worker, bestselling author, international speaker, and visionary entrepreneur. She works with parents around the world in developing a healthy parental identity with her revolutionary Parental Identity Development Model and incorporating her Shame-Proof Parenting philosophy to help reduce the shame parents experience as they raise healthy children. Mercedes is also trained in trauma-informed modalities which she uses in her work with parents to help them heal the past traumas that can influence the ways parents interact with...
info_outlineToday I chat with game designer Sylvan Lawrence. We talk about how they got into game designing, their new game Before the Flood, Gravemire and the concept of "play to grow", as well as the other games, including solo journaling games, they've worked on.
Sylvan Lawrence (they/them) is a librarian and the director of Clawhammer Games. They are the co-author and creator of Before the Flood, and the creator of Gravemire, bestselling solo journaling game Athanor, two-player TTRPG Singularity, and more. They are an avid indie tabletop fan, and can often be found grubbing about on solitary corners of the internet for new and strange games to play with their friends. When not making or playing TTRPGs, they can be found at your local library, yes, YOUR local library! Don’t believe me? Go visit for yourself!
Links:
Bluesky: @lonelamplighter.bsky.social
clawhammergames.itch.io