Dr. Emily Friedman
@friede.bsky.social
Storyteller about storytellers.
18th century to today & beyond.
J.W.Liles Prof of English
Words: Polygon (RIP), LARB, etc
Next book: THE ACTUAL HISTORY OF ACTUAL PLAY (#TTRPG digital storytelling performance)
ecfriedman.com
(free) patreon.com/ecfriedman
18th century to today & beyond.
J.W.Liles Prof of English
Words: Polygon (RIP), LARB, etc
Next book: THE ACTUAL HISTORY OF ACTUAL PLAY (#TTRPG digital storytelling performance)
ecfriedman.com
(free) patreon.com/ecfriedman
Pinned
Dr. Emily Friedman
@friede.bsky.social
· Nov 14
Howdy, y’all.
I’m a tenured prof who studies storytelling outside the rules of mass media. This has included never-published manuscripts from during the age of print (1750-1900) & of late has made me a leader in the study of #TTRPG Actual Play.
I’ve learned a lot about friendship along the way.
I’m a tenured prof who studies storytelling outside the rules of mass media. This has included never-published manuscripts from during the age of print (1750-1900) & of late has made me a leader in the study of #TTRPG Actual Play.
I’ve learned a lot about friendship along the way.
Reposted by Dr. Emily Friedman
January 18, 2026 at 1:25 PM
Reposted by Dr. Emily Friedman
What tabletop roleplaying games are there that use multiple GMs?
January 18, 2026 at 11:43 AM
What tabletop roleplaying games are there that use multiple GMs?
Reposted by Dr. Emily Friedman
"In 30 years, we will look back, and this era – the wild west of the tech princes’ smash-and-grab into our hearts, souls and relationships – will be difficult to explain to our grandkids."
How can we defend ourselves from the new plague of ‘human fracking’?
Big tech treats our attention like a resource to be mercilessly extracted. The fightback begins here
www.theguardian.com
January 18, 2026 at 1:12 PM
"In 30 years, we will look back, and this era – the wild west of the tech princes’ smash-and-grab into our hearts, souls and relationships – will be difficult to explain to our grandkids."
Reposted by Dr. Emily Friedman
I wrote about my experiences being sexually exploited as a child, and what we need to do to make sure AI doesn’t make that a reality for millions of children.
www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...
www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...
My picture was used in child abuse images. AI is putting others through my nightmare | Mara Wilson
I was a child actor, exploited by strangers on the internet. Now millions of children face the same danger
www.theguardian.com
January 18, 2026 at 2:20 AM
I wrote about my experiences being sexually exploited as a child, and what we need to do to make sure AI doesn’t make that a reality for millions of children.
www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...
www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...
Content creators who deal in “drama” often cloak themselves in righteous “service to the community” — but generally their targets have already been blasted to obscurity.
I wonder sometimes if they understand that they need to weigh the impact of making someone’s name trend upwards for good OR ill.
I wonder sometimes if they understand that they need to weigh the impact of making someone’s name trend upwards for good OR ill.
January 18, 2026 at 1:10 PM
Content creators who deal in “drama” often cloak themselves in righteous “service to the community” — but generally their targets have already been blasted to obscurity.
I wonder sometimes if they understand that they need to weigh the impact of making someone’s name trend upwards for good OR ill.
I wonder sometimes if they understand that they need to weigh the impact of making someone’s name trend upwards for good OR ill.
Reposted by Dr. Emily Friedman
More people should know about the day 90% of Icelandic women went on strike, forcing real political change towards gender equality:
www.bbc.com/news/magazin...
www.bbc.com/news/magazin...
January 18, 2026 at 4:32 AM
More people should know about the day 90% of Icelandic women went on strike, forcing real political change towards gender equality:
www.bbc.com/news/magazin...
www.bbc.com/news/magazin...
Reposted by Dr. Emily Friedman
Reposted by Dr. Emily Friedman
I tire so of hearing people say,
Let things take their course.
Tomorrow is another day.
I do not need my freedom when I’m dead.
I cannot live on tomorrow’s bread.
(langston hughes was the poet that made me fall in love with poetry. i was 13. that’s when i knew i wanted my life to be about poems.)
Let things take their course.
Tomorrow is another day.
I do not need my freedom when I’m dead.
I cannot live on tomorrow’s bread.
(langston hughes was the poet that made me fall in love with poetry. i was 13. that’s when i knew i wanted my life to be about poems.)
Freedom
Freedom will not come Today, this year Nor ever Through compromise and fear.
www.poetryfoundation.org
January 18, 2026 at 4:26 AM
I tire so of hearing people say,
Let things take their course.
Tomorrow is another day.
I do not need my freedom when I’m dead.
I cannot live on tomorrow’s bread.
(langston hughes was the poet that made me fall in love with poetry. i was 13. that’s when i knew i wanted my life to be about poems.)
Let things take their course.
Tomorrow is another day.
I do not need my freedom when I’m dead.
I cannot live on tomorrow’s bread.
(langston hughes was the poet that made me fall in love with poetry. i was 13. that’s when i knew i wanted my life to be about poems.)
Reposted by Dr. Emily Friedman
Come join us! It's a Hittite-flavored mashup of Archipelago III and Dogs in the Vineyard with some Desperation mixed in as a treat. Your dad might be a giant boulder and also a god. Maybe you'll fight an eagle-headed giant. Somebody will probably complain about property lines and water rights.
Parseler, Crusher, and Scut is a fantasy #TTRPG for 3-6 players that atomizes facilitation authority into three bite-sized roles that can get shared around in various ways! Now available via our Patreon! #games
Parceler, Crusher, and Scut | Bully Pulpit Games
Get more from Bully Pulpit Games on Patreon
www.patreon.com
January 16, 2026 at 8:47 PM
Come join us! It's a Hittite-flavored mashup of Archipelago III and Dogs in the Vineyard with some Desperation mixed in as a treat. Your dad might be a giant boulder and also a god. Maybe you'll fight an eagle-headed giant. Somebody will probably complain about property lines and water rights.
Reposted by Dr. Emily Friedman
Let me tell y'all about guys like Newsom, because we learned the hard way in Dallas.
Eric Johnson was a respected Democratic state rep when he was elected mayor in 2019. This made sense, as Dallas is deep blue. Johnson's tenure began normally.
But then he started hanging out with Republicans. 🧵
Eric Johnson was a respected Democratic state rep when he was elected mayor in 2019. This made sense, as Dallas is deep blue. Johnson's tenure began normally.
But then he started hanging out with Republicans. 🧵
Ben Shapiro: "Israel did not commit a genocide in Gaza"
Gavin Newsom: "I agree with you."
Gavin Newsom: "I agree with you."
January 17, 2026 at 10:04 PM
Let me tell y'all about guys like Newsom, because we learned the hard way in Dallas.
Eric Johnson was a respected Democratic state rep when he was elected mayor in 2019. This made sense, as Dallas is deep blue. Johnson's tenure began normally.
But then he started hanging out with Republicans. 🧵
Eric Johnson was a respected Democratic state rep when he was elected mayor in 2019. This made sense, as Dallas is deep blue. Johnson's tenure began normally.
But then he started hanging out with Republicans. 🧵
Reposted by Dr. Emily Friedman
Respectfully, I am going to whisper to some of our white comrades a truth that should be more widely known: You definitely have some ancestors to be proud of, ancestors who refused white supremacy, and poured out their lives in many of these struggles over time.
Time to claim your true history.
Time to claim your true history.
January 17, 2026 at 7:29 PM
Respectfully, I am going to whisper to some of our white comrades a truth that should be more widely known: You definitely have some ancestors to be proud of, ancestors who refused white supremacy, and poured out their lives in many of these struggles over time.
Time to claim your true history.
Time to claim your true history.
Reposted by Dr. Emily Friedman
every child in America should receive a copy of “The Westing Game” at birth
If you are only now learning about THE WESTING GAME, written by Ellen Raskin in 1979 & winner of a Newbery Medal, find it and read it NOW.
It's the best puzzle mystery novel ever, and is illustrated and typeset by Raskin herself (who started as an illustrator and book cover designer)
It's the best puzzle mystery novel ever, and is illustrated and typeset by Raskin herself (who started as an illustrator and book cover designer)
January 17, 2026 at 9:03 PM
every child in America should receive a copy of “The Westing Game” at birth
Yeah, this is the friction I have with migration: for personal playlists, it's pretty fine aside from one band that isn't available.
But the playlists of Actual Play get totally destroyed.
But the playlists of Actual Play get totally destroyed.
It does look like the transfer has mangled some podcast-based playlists – it's not found the episodes, so it's populated the playlists with songs with similar titles, amusingly – but the number of 'not found' songs was pretty low.
January 17, 2026 at 8:02 PM
Yeah, this is the friction I have with migration: for personal playlists, it's pretty fine aside from one band that isn't available.
But the playlists of Actual Play get totally destroyed.
But the playlists of Actual Play get totally destroyed.
Reposted by Dr. Emily Friedman
Anywho, the main truth I know is that there's ALWAYS something that can be done. Always. You just have to find the things you can do.
January 17, 2026 at 6:13 PM
Anywho, the main truth I know is that there's ALWAYS something that can be done. Always. You just have to find the things you can do.
God I love a spreadsheet. STRUCTURE THAT DATA. CONTROL THAT VOCAB. And ooooooh did I see a little conditional formatting?
NEW VIDEO ALERT:
230 games came out on Steam the first week of 2026. I looked at every page to see what I could learn about the state of Steam. It made me feel like I was dying.
youtu.be/Yjf-GPp3n5k
230 games came out on Steam the first week of 2026. I looked at every page to see what I could learn about the state of Steam. It made me feel like I was dying.
youtu.be/Yjf-GPp3n5k
January 17, 2026 at 7:36 PM
God I love a spreadsheet. STRUCTURE THAT DATA. CONTROL THAT VOCAB. And ooooooh did I see a little conditional formatting?
Reposted by Dr. Emily Friedman
This thread is now an op-ed:
Opinion | I'm a Minneapolis sociologist who studies violence. Here's how ICE observers are helping.
Research into how violence occurs shows that disapproval from the people around you can help reduce it.
www.ms.now
January 16, 2026 at 6:53 PM
This thread is now an op-ed:
Reposted by Dr. Emily Friedman
The "default" of game design, let us not forget, is playable hentai.
NEW VIDEO ALERT:
230 games came out on Steam the first week of 2026. I looked at every page to see what I could learn about the state of Steam. It made me feel like I was dying.
youtu.be/Yjf-GPp3n5k
230 games came out on Steam the first week of 2026. I looked at every page to see what I could learn about the state of Steam. It made me feel like I was dying.
youtu.be/Yjf-GPp3n5k
January 17, 2026 at 4:53 PM
The "default" of game design, let us not forget, is playable hentai.
Reposted by Dr. Emily Friedman
When I lecture to students about how the apparently thriving economy of the 1920s was really a house of cards just waiting to be knocked down, one of the points I stress is how much a small number of the very rich were essentially propping up consumer spending in unsustainable ways
The top 10% now account for nearly half of all consumer spending.
January 17, 2026 at 6:50 PM
When I lecture to students about how the apparently thriving economy of the 1920s was really a house of cards just waiting to be knocked down, one of the points I stress is how much a small number of the very rich were essentially propping up consumer spending in unsustainable ways
I have two active game groups (and a third on hiatus), and yet I'm documenting the development of a new one -- from scratch.
In this installment, I talk about overthinking it, scheduling, and progression.
In this installment, I talk about overthinking it, scheduling, and progression.
Gathering My Parties, Part Three: Emails and Logistics
YouTube video by Critical Prof
youtu.be
January 17, 2026 at 6:57 PM
I have two active game groups (and a third on hiatus), and yet I'm documenting the development of a new one -- from scratch.
In this installment, I talk about overthinking it, scheduling, and progression.
In this installment, I talk about overthinking it, scheduling, and progression.
I went searching for yesterday's post on this subject to solicit unorthodox uses for the boudin, tasso, and andouille in my freezer, only to find this post from *2024*:
I need the brain space currently being taken up with “why do my loved ones express their love with meat, and how am I ever going to cook this boudin/andouille/tasso/mystery sausage?” but here we are.
January 17, 2026 at 6:13 PM
I went searching for yesterday's post on this subject to solicit unorthodox uses for the boudin, tasso, and andouille in my freezer, only to find this post from *2024*:
Reposted by Dr. Emily Friedman
"A tattoo on a woman is like putting a bumper sticker on a classic car."
If you've never seen an illuminated manuscript, just say so. If you've never gently touched vellum in an act of worship, you can just say that! I was down at the scriptorium and nobody knew your sorry ass!
If you've never seen an illuminated manuscript, just say so. If you've never gently touched vellum in an act of worship, you can just say that! I was down at the scriptorium and nobody knew your sorry ass!
January 17, 2026 at 2:49 PM
"A tattoo on a woman is like putting a bumper sticker on a classic car."
If you've never seen an illuminated manuscript, just say so. If you've never gently touched vellum in an act of worship, you can just say that! I was down at the scriptorium and nobody knew your sorry ass!
If you've never seen an illuminated manuscript, just say so. If you've never gently touched vellum in an act of worship, you can just say that! I was down at the scriptorium and nobody knew your sorry ass!
Reposted by Dr. Emily Friedman
Today in complex comforts, we’re discussing Chapter One of Mary Shelley’s THE LAST MAN (1826).
I suggest we begin with the concept of mutability, a clear nod to Percy Bysshe Shelley’s famous poem.
www.poetryfoundation.org/poems/54563/...
#LastMan200
I suggest we begin with the concept of mutability, a clear nod to Percy Bysshe Shelley’s famous poem.
www.poetryfoundation.org/poems/54563/...
#LastMan200
January 16, 2026 at 4:51 PM
Today in complex comforts, we’re discussing Chapter One of Mary Shelley’s THE LAST MAN (1826).
I suggest we begin with the concept of mutability, a clear nod to Percy Bysshe Shelley’s famous poem.
www.poetryfoundation.org/poems/54563/...
#LastMan200
I suggest we begin with the concept of mutability, a clear nod to Percy Bysshe Shelley’s famous poem.
www.poetryfoundation.org/poems/54563/...
#LastMan200
Reposted by Dr. Emily Friedman
This is not un-wow. Detail of large intaglio-printed astronomical board game, Paris 1671, called ‘Le jeu de la sphere, ou de l’univers selon Tycho Brahe’.
January 17, 2026 at 4:08 PM
This is not un-wow. Detail of large intaglio-printed astronomical board game, Paris 1671, called ‘Le jeu de la sphere, ou de l’univers selon Tycho Brahe’.
Reposted by Dr. Emily Friedman
“Jane Miller… discusses, inevitably, Jane Austen, the Brontës and George Eliot. But none of these writers refers to men as ‘that inferior branch of the human family’ or simply as ‘They’, or ‘Them’. The writer who does do that is Margaret Oliphant…”
#BookWormSat #C19 💙📚
www.lrb.co.uk/the-paper/v4...
#BookWormSat #C19 💙📚
www.lrb.co.uk/the-paper/v4...
Tom Crewe · On the Shelf: Mrs Oliphant
Margaret Oliphant, like Jane Austen, was a realist. Marriage was no guarantee of happiness. She could manage without a...
www.lrb.co.uk
January 17, 2026 at 3:53 PM
“Jane Miller… discusses, inevitably, Jane Austen, the Brontës and George Eliot. But none of these writers refers to men as ‘that inferior branch of the human family’ or simply as ‘They’, or ‘Them’. The writer who does do that is Margaret Oliphant…”
#BookWormSat #C19 💙📚
www.lrb.co.uk/the-paper/v4...
#BookWormSat #C19 💙📚
www.lrb.co.uk/the-paper/v4...
Reposted by Dr. Emily Friedman
One thing that I have loved about social media since the beginning, and which still somehow persists in spite of all the horrors, is how it will, without fanfare or warning, offer you a door and let you walk into a world you had no idea existed.
It's early and this is a truly atrocious cup of coffee, so it seems like a good time to pick a fight with the world.
"System doesn't matter" is a valid, reasonable, and *critically important* argument which has been rendered ragebait and a punchline by pedantry.
"System doesn't matter" is a valid, reasonable, and *critically important* argument which has been rendered ragebait and a punchline by pedantry.
January 17, 2026 at 2:18 PM
One thing that I have loved about social media since the beginning, and which still somehow persists in spite of all the horrors, is how it will, without fanfare or warning, offer you a door and let you walk into a world you had no idea existed.