54: The Streisand Effect (ft. Mark Larson)

Whatever you do, don’t listen to this episode. And definitely don’t read these show notes. Because if you do, you might discover that we’re talking about the Streisand effect: the phenomenon where trying to hide something only makes everyone more interested in it.

Our guest is puzzle and game designer Mark Larson, who has contributed to some of my favorite games, including the RECON convention game. (Seriously, his games are great). Mark also tells us about one of his wildest escape room projects: building a 15-minute escape room inside an actual ambulance for a medical convention. What could possibly go wrong?

David then dives into the Streisand effect. This was an attempt to suppress a photograph of Barbra Streisand’s Malibu home, which actually resulted in hundreds of thousands of people suddenly going looking for it. Before the lawsuit, only six views. After the lawsuit, over 420,000. Sometimes the best way to make something famous is to loudly announce that everyone should avert their eyes.

Today’s games include The Puzzle Effect, where players must find the missing word connecting two compound phrases, and an onerous round of Barbra Streisand trivia. Mark turns the tables on me with his game, Where’s the Break? In his game, two clues are crammed into a single sentence, and we had to figure out where one clue ended and the other began.

Full Show Notes

Production Credits

Hosted by Peih-Gee Law & David Spira

Puzzles by Peih-Gee Law

Produced by Theresa Piazza & Sheena Vira

Supported by Lisa Spira

Edited by Peih-Gee Law

Music by Matt Farthing