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Sacred Symbols+, Episode 515 | When Winning the Culture War Isn't Enough (Video) (Patreon)

Published:
2026-05-16 16:01:16
Edited:
2026-05-19 14:40:58
Imported:
2026-05
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When Winning the Culture War Isn't Enough | Sacred Symbols+, Episode 515

It's me, Colin. Please welcome journalist and writer Alyssa Mercante to Sacred Symbols+. Though I've heard of Alyssa and knew her name for some time, it wasn't until a few-ish years ago that she more properly popped onto my radar. It was then that the dreaded Sweet Baby Inc. Crisis (a moniker I just now made up) erupted, and Alyssa -- then at publication Kotaku -- was one of the most visible media-types covering the affair. Now, with the Slay the Spire II-slash-Anita Sarkeesian situation unfolding before us, it felt like a great time to sit down and talk things through. This whole scenario is, after all, a distinct echo from the past. To keep things simple, we started with a basic premise and then went off from there: Did Anita Sarkeesian ultimately lose the culture war? Why does her name still resonate more than a decade after so-called GamerGate kicked-off? Can the victors of these sorts of fights simply not accept that they now wield the power they once coveted? And perhaps most importantly of all: Why can't more people have conversations just like the one we've conducted? There's a lot to get to, so let's not delay further. Please enjoy.

Comments

Michael Welter

You said only an hr! Lets go! Alyssa thank you for having these conversations and thanks Colin for hosting!

thesonofit

This'll be interesting.

Dieter Hoeller

Hmmm. I can't access youtube anymore via this link. I'm always getting an error message. Apparently it's a youtube, not a patreon thing. No idea what's going on.. :/

Zack

Much respect to both of you for having this convo. Can’t wait to listen, we need more of this kind of thing.

thesonofit

Last Stand brings civilized discourse back to the gaming conversation.

Thomas Dempsey

Great conversation, I love how we get such varied people and viewpoints on lsm, would even be cool to see Alyssa on the other shows! Thanks Colin and co!

Agony

“The most offensive thing about you is that you’re a Rangers fan”. Bravo on the ultimate icebreaker lol

Chris Walsh

Superb conversation. This is the kind of chat/interview/convo that very few can have these days and this is absolutely must watch/listen. Well done Colin, top tier as always

NerfedNinja

Great convo. Refreshing to hear adults discussing topics.

JB

Most palatable left-winger yet.

Trevor

I think a lot of people agree, but holy shit - this is, I think, the best thing LSM has done in a long time. Colin is a natural with getting people to *talk*. That's why I've loved him for 14 years lol. This was excellent, and I'd love more Alyssa - she seemed to genuinely get along with Colin. She'd be great on ANY of the other shows too. Her with Brad and Micah on Summon Sign?!

Dayngls

Great episode!

Ian

Great episode. Thanks for having her, and Alyssa, thank you for coming on! I’d love to see her back

JoshM

This was one of the best episodes of Sacred+ you’ve all done, loved this conversation and would really like to see more!

Joosh

Put this one on the top shelf with the interviews with Ken and Neil

Ryan Harvey

She seems really nice, great interview Colin.

chris holmyard

That was great. Would love to hear more from her. maybe a spoiler cast or just invite her on randomly

twodaydrunk

In such a “us vs. them” culture-war time, it’s refreshing to listen to such a understanding and level-headed conversation. Would love to see her on the show again in the future.

Austin Evans

Great conversation, really enjoyed hearing her perspective and would love to see her on to discuss a particular game or topic. Having conversations like this differentiates the brand from the likes of JT smash and is why I subscribe. It’s hard to make someone seem like a boogyman when you have a regular conversation with them. I hope that this leads to more conversations with differing views. I’m sure there will be negative comments but please keep this up. I lean more left then Colin but I really enjoy his ability to articulate the reason he believes what he believes, and listening to him has helped me understand his perspective a little better. So i hope everyone is civil, it’s ok to be exposed to different perspectives, it can strengthen your argument or possibly pole holes in your opinions and change your views.

Nicholas Guarente

Good convo Alyssa and Colin. Happy that you guys got to talk for a long while.

Nicholas Guarente

Ok . Second comment. Just fully finished the episode. Speaking to your invitation at the end, Alyssa would be a pretty prime Summon Sign guest.

alteraf

Alyssa was really great, and this was a very relevant conversation. Would love to hear her again in this space. Thank you both for doing this.

Chris Walsh

Oh hell yeah, I could see that being superb 👌🏻

Rowan Godwin

What a great conversation, it absolutely flew by for me, hopefully we can see her around these parts again in whatever capacity.

Hyatt

Very good interview

WhatDarrenPlays

I’m not in culture war stuff at all, so I don’t share the enthusiasm others do in the comments. I thought the chat was fine, wished you pushed back a tiny tiny bit more. For instance when you mentioned modern politics in historical games, she quickly talked over you and said it could be a zombie Victorian game so what does it matter. So personally I feel like… nothing was deeply discussed really. I kinda think if you get more “different perspectives” on, you should just talk about industry news/topics and games, rather than talk about “modern discourse”. It reminds me of Joe Rogan episodes where a comedian would come on but they would just talk about the state of comedy clubs for an hour. It applies to such a small bubble of people I’m not sure it matters really. But I’m probably in the minority here.

Adam Niksch

Great job with this Colin. It’s really nice to see people who disagree sit down and have a respectful conversation. You both nailed it when you said it seems like we’ve lost the ability to see the humanity with those we disagree with. I also think that age plays a big role in having conversations like this. I’m in my early 40s too and over time I’ve realized life is too short to be constantly fighting over things like politics, gaming takes, etc. I certainly didn’t feel that way 10-15 years ago and also probably contributed to the negative discourse. Hopefully some of the younger folks can learn from us on this one!

Misanthropic_Altruist

Great conversation! Listening to them talk about LI and the neighboring townships to where I grew up gave me the warm fuzzies.

Yixel

A great conversation and exactly the kind of thing I like to see

Sofreeto Bandito

Great interview! Hope Alyssa comes back for summon sign or SS+!

Rayner 38

What a great conversation Gotta say Alyssa was not at all what social media led me to think she was like Love the fact that two adults from opposite sides of the cultural divide can have such an open and honest and respectful conversation I’m filled with hope that the human race isn’t totally dead yet and that normal people with humanity do still exist

Nick Vascello

It seems clear from the comments that most others feel the same way; any chance to have Alyssa on LSM content in the future would be incredibly welcomed. She brings another unique take to the company and seems like she can "hang" with open discussion.

Lewis Priday

Well this was fantastic. She was fantastic, would love to have her back.

LSMRuinedMyMarriageAndAllIGotWasThisUsername

I agree with you here. There was civil discourse, but it was really just Alyssa saying what she wanted and Colin kind of shrugging it off instead of defending his position. At least that's my interpretation. Still listened, still enjoyed but I am far less enthusiastic than the other commenters here.

MR. MOHAM

Alyssa was great - I would love to have her as a regular guest on content (I think she would be awesome for a Summon Sign here and there).

ludacritz

Great job! Unification!

UK Steelers Podcast

A fantastic discussion - and testimount to why these open discussions are essential. here here.

Steven

I think it's helpful to try and understand the intention behind this podcast. It wasn't meant to be a debate or a chance to put Alyssa on the spot to defend her perspective. Maybe the conversation would have taken that turn if the conversation was more combative from either side, but it's clear that both Colin and Alyssa went into this with the intention of building a bridge. Colin's not dumb, so he likely felt the same positive vibes early on that the rest of the audience noticed (myself included), as evidenced by the comment threads on this episode. When you have something good like that building, especially in a brand new relationship, you don't try to "win" the conversation or put the other person on the spot with gotchas. That's the exact mentality that got us into this broken culture that they spent basically the whole podcast diving into. Sometimes people can just have different opinions, share them, and then move on. There isn't always a correct opinion (that's why they're called opinions). From that point, it's up to the audience to listen to both perspectives and come to their own conclusions. I don't listen to podcasts to tell me how to think or to reinforce my beliefs. I listen to get a deeper understanding of the gaming space (and the world, more generally), and you can only do that through hearing wider perspectives. I personally loved this episode and would be super happy to see Alyssa back for future shows.

WhatDarrenPlays

I did say in my comment “a tiny tiny” bit more push back or challenge. I know it’s not a debate, nor a grilling session and it doesn’t need to be. What frustrated me is they scratched at interesting topics like historical accuracy in games and then just dismissed it before ever even having a chance to disagree.

Erancal

Great episode! Have her on more often.

Luke Cockcroft

I have been a Patron since the start and yet this is my first time even logging into this app. I just wanted to say this was such a fantastic and IMPORTANT interview. Me and my friends are not aligned on various topics politically, it never stops us being utterly civil and yet online this maturity appears impossible due to the insanity of social media. Your chemistry in this was superb, Alyssa was a really cool, interesting person and showed that she is the polar opposite of what absolute pond life like Smash JT and his followers try to convey. I really hope she’s on again!

Kevin Cooper

This interview was fantastic all around, but the last thirty minutes in particular were really on-point. The Death of the Expert... The Psyche of Loneliness... The Bob analogy -- all thought provoking stuff.

Kyle S.

Wonderful conversation! Would love if Alyssa came back for another chat.

mudder12

I watched this having no idea what the deal with her was just that people were very aggressively against her. After watching this I’m kinda confused what their deal is, then I remember that people are bitches. Great conversation as always

Matthew

Is the video not working for anyone else ?

DillonPrestige

This was a good episode, enjoy the layers of conversation