What do bananas have to do with American history? On this week’s episode, how the sweet fruit became an American staple because of one entrepreneur who took business off US shores, expanding the country’s economic reach and influence.  To access bonus episodes and listen to Throughline sponsor-free, subscribe to Throughline+ via Apple Podcasts or at plus.npr.org/throughline.

Many older adults improve their physical and cognitive health over time, overturning the idea that aging equates to a decline

Nina Badzin, host of the podcast Dear Nina: Conversations About Friendship, has spent a lot of time thinking about the richness that old friends add to our lives. In our lows and in our highs, our old friends can remind us of who we are. But time can also do a number on those relationships. So on this episode of Life Kit: how to maintain your longstanding friendships. This episode was originally published on May 19, 2025.Follow us on Instagram: @nprlifekitSign up for our newsletter here.Have an episode idea or feedback you want to share? Email us at lifekit@npr.orgSupport the show and listen to it sponsor-free by signing up for Life Kit+ at plus.npr.org/lifekit

This article focuses on the zone of proximal development. It will begin by defining the zone and address how “tasks” are addressed within it as activities for learning.

In this article we’ll review what “sandbagging” is in games as well as provide examples from the most prevalent games where this happens.  This article will also review competition in games as well as how players use and exploit the competitive advantage. Lastly, this article will end with an overview on designing for balance in games in order to make the best use of those competitive elements.

Discover the Games-Based Learning Digital Library: research, resources, and tools on gamification, serious games, and learning through play.

This article will review different areas of player feedback from play testing. It includes the steps for collecting feedback as well as how to specifically ask for actionable feedback from your playtesters. It includes the top three questions that I ask from all of my playtesters as well as common interpretations for the kinds of feedback that you’ll receive.

What is “Gamification?”

This article will define educational games. It’ll explore why we should consider using educational games for teaching and learning as well as explore the evolution of educational games over time. Specific disciplines and how they are addressed by educational games will be discussed as well as different types of educational games. Engagement and efficacy of educational games will be covered...

Military simulations replicate real-world combat scenarios to train, test strategies, and improve decision-making. This article explores their history, types, benefits, limitations, and future trends, including AI, VR, and AR integration. Learn how military simulations enhance training, strategy, and readiness for both professional and recreational applications.

What do we want from sports? The very best athletes competing as hard as they know how, putting all their effort and training and natural ability to the test against their opponents. But this time of year, that’s not the product the NBA is putting on the court. Instead, teams at the bottom of the league are competing … to lose, because it could help them get a top pick in next year’s draft. It’s called tanking — it’s bad for fans, and it’s bad for the league.Tanking has gotten especially egregious this year. Even NBA Adam Silver has called out teams for tanking. He recently announced that league bigwigs are considering “every possible remedy” to “align incentives.”Today on the show — Planet Money fixes the NBA’s tanking problem by … fixing the NBA draft. We get solutions from Hockey Hall of Famer Jayna Hefford, World Cup Champion Sam Mewis, and long-time NBA analyst Zach Lowe. Handles for the NBA fans in the episode: thevoiceofevan, fullcourtblitz, ashleynevel, igotnxtpodcast, finesse.wes, basketballsavant, and mikedaddino__.Live event info and tickets here / Pre-order the Planet Money book and get a free gift. / Subscribe to Planet Money+Listen free: Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or the NPR appFacebook / Instagram / TikTok / Our weekly NewsletterThis episode was hosted by Keith Romer and Erika Beras. It was produced by James Sneed with an assist from Sam Yellowhorse Kesler. It was edited by Jess Jiang and fact-checked by Sierra Juarez. Alex Goldmark is our executive producer.

High drama from our nation's workplaces.

Death can be an uncomfortable and scary topic. But J.S. Park, a hospital chaplain and author of As Long as You Need: Permission to Grieve, says talking about it can help us prepare for and process death — our own and those we love. On this episode of Life Kit, Park shares how to support someone who’s dying, what death can look like, and how to consider death without obsession or fear.Follow us on Instagram: @nprlifekitSign up for our newsletter here.Have an episode idea or feedback you want to share? Email us at lifekit@npr.orgSupport the show and listen to it sponsor-free by signing up for Life Kit+ at plus.npr.org/lifekit

This article will explore some larger concepts such as “What is meaning?” More specifically, the article will attempt to define what meaning making is as well as how it is connected to meaningful play. Developing an understanding about how making occurs is important to addressing how meaning making and learning are connected. Only then can meaning making through games and game play be further...

What is fun? What is hard fun? Is there easy fun? Gaming and games-based learning uses the fun of games, the joy of engagement, and the thrill of overcoming challenges as powerful motivators to get students to meet learning outcomes.

Discover the Games-Based Learning Digital Library: research, resources, and tools on gamification, serious games, and learning through play.

This article will answer the question “what is a simulation?” In addition, the connection between games and simulations will be outlined and discussed. The role that simulations play in teaching and learning will be covered as well as some of the biggest benefits of using simulations for education. Steps for applying and using simulations for learning will be outlined.

What is “Gamification?”

The Ideal Board Game Player Part 1On today’s episode, we’ll answer the question “What makes the Ideal Board Game Player?” What makes the “ideal” board games ...

Hanabai is a cooperative card game designed by Antoine Bauza.  Players are dealt a series of cards face down. These cards are never revealed to their holders. Instead they can only provide information to teammates around the table. Each card comes in one of six colors: green, blue, red, yellow, white, and rainbow. In addition each card has a rank: 1-5.

Helping a player make informed and meaningful choices is part of what makes good games great. Those meaningful choices provide the player weight and substance to their player experience. But often in the pursuit of creating interactive and engaging experiences, we often fall into the trap of creating meaningless choices.

Discover the Games-Based Learning Digital Library: research, resources, and tools on gamification, serious games, and learning through play.

What is “Gamification?”

Outcomes Focused Games-Based LearningIn this episode, we’ll explore the practical applications of GBL, key design principles, and strategies for motivating l...

This article will dive deeper into abstraction in games. Specifically what abstractions are; why they are used in games; and how they affect the player experience. This article will also review specific examples of abstraction in games and how they affect our play and engagement.

Playing with Purpose: ISU Doctoral Grad’s Research Explores Therapeutic Uses of Video Games

If natural selection boils down to survival of the fittest, how do you explain why one creature might stick its neck out for another?

A tool for rediscovering Africa and its legacy in the Caribbean, integrating inclusive content and participatory dynamics into school teaching.

Deep in the forests of the Japanese Alps, Shinto priests keep watch as woodsmen dressed in ceremonial white chop their axes into two ancient cypress

A man walks into an airport body scanner, and with eerie consistency, the machine flags the exact same part of his body. What could be going on? Search Engine investigates a Bermuda Triangle.

In a study, volunteers were given a coin and told to flip it.

2025 marks 20 years of Google Maps — a tool that many of us would be lost without. We hear from New Orleanians who used Google Maps in its inaugural year to survey the damage following Hurricane Katrina, and from the Map Men, who wonder whether "the best maps humanity has ever produced are simultaneously the worst maps for humanity?"

Chiseled into gray granite of the James A. Farley Building, the main post office in New York City, are the words: “Neither snow nor rain nor heat nor gloom...

What is a Simulation?On today’s episode we’ll answer the question: “What is a Simulation?”Simulations and games are mediums that players, designers, academic...

Discover the Games-Based Learning Digital Library: research, resources, and tools on gamification, serious games, and learning through play.

This article will provide an overview of interactive experiences. Specifically addressing how they are created with users’ needs in mind. Interactive experiences benefit from the connection between users and the environment. But that connection is often nothing without control, agency, and decision making capacity.

What is “Gamification?”

This article will review the role of play testing games. It will cover what a play test is as well as reasons why designers should play test their games. This article will also cover some player limitations of play testing as well as how to keep designer bias in check. Objectives of play testing and stages of play testing will also be covered and discussed.

This article will address why understanding player behavior is important. Player behavior will be defined as well as what characteristics make up player behaviors. Influences that affect player behavior are reviewed in depth as well as different players’ responses to different influences in the game environment. Finally, outcomes of player behaviors are discussed as well as how to design...