341: Food and Horror, with Cuppycup

Release Date: 06/06/2026

345: Alien, with Holly from RPG Reanimators

The Good Friends of Jackson Elias

Main Topic: Alien Since its release in 1979, Alien has become a fan favourite, spawning any number of spin-offs across every medium. But what is the secret of its enduring appeal? How well does it stand up after almost five decades of imitators and pastiches? And what can we take from its strange DNA for our own games? Our Guest Host We are delighted to welcome Holly back to the Good Friends! Holly co-hosts , a podcast focusing on providing resources for GMs and players of horror RPGs. She’s also a regular on , an actual play YouTube channel. In addition to RPGs,...

344: Why You Shouldn't Learn to Roleplay From Actual Plays, with Zach Reeves

The Good Friends of Jackson Elias

Main Topic: Why You Shouldn’t Learn to Roleplay From Actual Plays Actual play podcasts and streams have grown in popularity massively over the past 20 years, redefining and dominating the hobby. They play a huge role in bringing people into roleplaying games, and possibly an even larger one in teaching new players how they work. But is this always a good thing? What are the advantages and possible pitfalls of learning from APs? And what other approaches might we recommend? This episode was recorded live at A Weekend With Good Friends 2026. While it mostly follows the usual format, we do...

343: Reactive GMing, with Ross Bryant

The Good Friends of Jackson Elias

Main Topic: Reactive GMing No game ever goes to plan. Whether you have prepared for every eventuality or are running off the cuff, players will always do the unexpected. Improvisation is a key skill for GMs, from spinning narrative on the fly to incorporating whatever chaos the players come up with. But what are some of the key techniques in making this work? How do you learn to let go as a GM? And are there ever times when you might want to keep a grip on the reins? We have discussed similar topics in earlier episodes on and . This episode was recorded live at A Weekend With...

342a: ENnies Nomination Special

The Good Friends of Jackson Elias

We were delighted to hear that The Good Friends of Jackson Elias has been nominated for an ENnie Award in the Best Streaming Content category. This is both exciting and unexpected. The Good Friends has been running for over 13 years now and we’re just happy that people are still listening! The awards themselves are decided through . If you are a fan of the podcast and you’d like to vote for us (and earn our undying gratitude), you can find . Voting runs between the 10th and 19th of July 2026. If you are voting, you might also consider casting votes for Jayson Green’s “The...

342: The Stuff, with cuppycup

The Good Friends of Jackson Elias

Main Topic: The Stuff Following on from our discussion of last episode, we’re taking a look at Larry Cohen’s 1985 film The Stuff. Cohen blended horror, social satire, and absurd comedy to create one of the stranger mainstream releases of the decade, lampooning America’s growing obsession with guilt-free snack foods and the intrusive ways in which they were marketed. As well as discussing the film itself, and how it might inspire our games, we’ll talk a little about Larry Cohen himself and what made him such a unique filmmaker. Our Guest Host We are delighted to...

341: Food and Horror, with Cuppycup

The Good Friends of Jackson Elias

Main Topic: Food and Horror To live is to require sustenance. Food is not only nutrition but usually a source of pleasure. But our relationship with food is complicated and filled with potential horror. Can we trust that what we eat is not tainted? What happens when our relationship with food becomes dysfunctional? Should we blind ourselves to the horrors of how our food is manufactured? And how do we react when humans find themselves on the menu? We touched on some of these issues in episode 182, on . Content Warnings After our episode on gore, we had some requests for content warnings...

340: Environmental Storytelling, with Alex Sun

The Good Friends of Jackson Elias

Main Topic: Environmental Storytelling Every location bears scars. These might have been left by human occupation, entropy, natural disasters, or something altogether more eldritch. Whatever the cause, places have their own stories to tell. But just how does environmental storytelling work in fiction and gaming? What turns seemingly random items into a non-linear narrative? And how might we use these techniques in our own games? We touched on related matters when we discussed with Heather Miller in episode 304. Our Guest Host This episode we’re delighted to welcome Alex Sun back...

339: Liminal Spaces, with Alex Sun

The Good Friends of Jackson Elias

Main Topic: Liminal Spaces Liminal spaces have been a source of fascination on the internet for several years now. Like much of the analogue horror movement, they are defined more by an aesthetic than any specific subject matter or tropes. But for all their vagueness, they have found their way into fanfic, short films, video games, and now, with the forthcoming Backrooms movie, onto the big screen. So what makes a space liminal? Why are they so uncanny? What are some of the best uses we’ve seen in media? And how might we use them in our own games? We touched upon this topic when...

338: New Takes on Classic Monsters, with Sasha Sienna

The Good Friends of Jackson Elias

Main Topic: New Takes on Classic Monsters It’s probably safe to say that every horror fan loves monsters. While we regularly see new creations breaking free from the laboratory, so many monsters in media are old favourites. Whether they’re vampires, werewolves, or Deep Ones, there are certain archetypes we’re drawn to over and over. But what are some ways of making them feel fresh? How have we seen others do so in films, stories, or other media? And how might we come up with some new takes on old favourites in our own games? Our Guest Host This episode we’re welcoming Sasha Sienna...

337: Gateway Horror, with Sasha Sienna

The Good Friends of Jackson Elias

Main Topic: Gateway Horror Every horror fan started out somewhere. The works that draw us into the genre are often gentler ones, created to appeal to those put off by terror or gore. These are often aimed at children or teens, although there are plenty of entry points for adults as well. What are some of our favourite examples of gateway horror? What makes them more accessible to someone who isn’t already a horror fan? And how can we use this approach in our games? We’ve touched on similar topics in , with Baz Stephens, and , with Josephine McAdam. Our Guest Host Sasha Sienna is...

More Episodes

Main Topic: Food and Horror

To live is to require sustenance. Food is not only nutrition but usually a source of pleasure. But our relationship with food is complicated and filled with potential horror. Can we trust that what we eat is not tainted? What happens when our relationship with food becomes dysfunctional? Should we blind ourselves to the horrors of how our food is manufactured? And how do we react when humans find themselves on the menu?

We touched on some of these issues in episode 182, on Disgust and Body Horror.

Content Warnings

After our episode on gore, we had some requests for content warnings when we discuss extreme or potentially upsetting subject matter. In this episode, we discuss contaminated food, coprophagy, factory farming, disordered eating, body dysmorphia, bullying, cannibalism, brain diseases, and parasites.

Our Guest Host

We are delighted to welcome Cuppycup back to the Good Friends!

Cuppycup is the creator and producer of Ain’t Slayed Nobody and Push the Roll with Ross Bryant, both part of the Push the Roll umbrella. His work in actual play has earned an ENnie Gold Award, Golden Lobe, AudioVerse Awards, and a place in the EN World Actual Play Hall of Fame. Across his shows, Cup blends horror, comedy, and sound-rich production, with a special love for Call of Cthulhu and stories where bad decisions only make things better.

He can be heard as a player on Push the Roll with Ross Bryant. Find him on pushtheroll.com or via Instagram or Bluesky.

News

Thanks for A Weekend With Good Friends

As we wrap up another Weekend With Good Friends, we would like to thank all the lovely people who made it happen. The convention organisers and staff did a staggering amount of work behind the scenes to ensure everything went smoothly.

PT, Sue and Mike handled the organisational and technical work that underpins the entire convention, creating and maintaining code that handles everything from game signups with localised times to the lottery system that assigns places in games. Without their efforts, the convention simply would not have happened.

Miranda and Nate organised and ran the panels, sorting out guests, handling the technology on the day, and ensuring it all went onto YouTube after the event. This year, these panels included two live episodes of the Good Friends, which will go out in edited form on the podcast feed in July, and we couldn’t have done them without Miranda’s help and expertise.

Our wonderful volunteers and moderators helped tirelessly throughout the weekend, ensuring people got into games and that vacancies were filled quickly. Thank you to Dave, Wishmoon, AnalogFrog, Martin, Mav, Chris, and anyone I may have missed for answering tickets, offering advice, and generally providing moral support.

And I would also like to thank all of you who joined us this weekend, whether as a GM, a player, a panellist, or if you read a story on the bar stage. A convention is only as good as the people who attend it, and this was as wonderful a collection of attendees as we could have wished for.

Tools of the Trade

The book that cost Matt many sleepless nights and at least 1D20 points of Sanity has been announced! Tools of the Trade will be out later this year, containing the fruits of countless hours spent picking through old catalogues from the classic Call of Cthulhu era and converting the entries into gameable items.

For Whom the Taco Bell Tolls

Scott recently did a reading for our good friends at the Titterpigs podcast, relating Scott Joest’s sanity-blasting burrito experiences at Chaosium Con 2026. Check it out below or on their podcast feed.

Main Topic: Food and Horror

Content Warnings

Our Guest Host

Links

News

Thanks for A Weekend With Good Friends

Tools of the Trade

For Whom the Taco Bell Tolls

TOPICS