Video Game History Hour

Latest episodes

Showing 20 · updated from the feed

Episode 163: The Complexities of EULAs

Phil Salvador interviews Amy Thomas, legal expert and author of Copyright, Contract, and Video Games: Terms of Play, about the evolving landscape of digital rights and ow

Sep 11
1 h 09 min

Episode 162: Roberta Vaughn’s Retro Adventures

Library Director Phil Salvador is joined by guests Heather Fryling and Daniel Greenberg to discuss Roberta Vaughn’s Retro Adventures, a nonprofit organization that create

Aug 26
58 min

Episode 161: Blizzard Digital Vault

Our library director Phil Salvador sits down for another What’s Your Deal? episode with Blizzard’s senior digital archivist, Leah Williams, to discuss her critical work o

Aug 5
59 min

Episode 161: Blizzard Digital Vault

Our library director Phil Salvador sits down for another What’s Your Deal? episode with Blizzard’s senior digital archivist, Leah Williams, to discuss her critical work o

Aug 5
59 min

Episode 160: Founding E3

Phil Salvador hosts a special episode of the Video Game History Hour featuring Carolyn Rauch and Doug Lowenstein to discuss the origins and evolution of the Electronic En

Jul 22
1 h 13 min

Episode 159: Q1 & Q2 Update

This year’s first update starts off with the huge announcement of our newest team member, Meera Swanson, as Development Director. Meera shares some of her background as w

Jul 9
1 h 05 min

Episode 158: What’s Your Deal, Willem Hilhorst?

In this episode of the Video Game History Hour, host Phil Salvador interviews Willem Hilhorst, Media Manager for Games and Online at the Netherlands Institute for Sound &

Jun 24
1 h 08 min

Episode 157: Our Library Practices

Library director Phil Salvador and producer Robin Kunimune take you through the process of preserving a collection of over 10,000 digital files from our GamePro CD collec

Jun 10
1 h 27 min

Episode 156: Read Only Memo

Host Frank Cifaldi is joined this week by Wes Fenlon, author of the bi-weekly newsletter Read Only Memo, which focuses on emulation, ROM hacks, translations, and decompil

May 27
1 h 13 min

Episode 155: What’s Your Deal, Lindsey Kurano?

In this episode, Phil Salvador sits down with Lindsey Kurano, the Curator of Electronic Games at The Strong Museum of Play, to explore the intricate world of video game p

May 13
48 min

Episode 154: Sega in the 90’s: An Economic Post-Mortem

Historian Alex Smith (author and host of They Create Worlds) joins us to challenge the prevailing "Genesis does what Nintendon't" narrative. While Sega’s bravado captured

Apr 15
1 h 21 min

Episode 153: Sega Channel

Well before Xbox Game Pass or Steam, we had Sega Channel: a visionary service that delivered video games directly into homes via cable TV lines. This week, host Phil Salv

Apr 1
1 h 16 min

Episode 152: Japanese Mobile Game Preservation

In this episode, host Phil Salvador is joined by two digital preservationists, Ellen Cooper and Max Solensky, to explore the world of Japanese mobile game preservation. B

Mar 18
1 h 09 min

Episode 151: Games Preservation at MIT Museum

From vacuum tubes to virtual worlds, Dr. Flori Pierri, Associate Curator of Science and Technology at the MIT Museum, joins us to explore their unexpected journey into th

Mar 3
1 h 01 min

Episode 150: VGHF Founding Retrospective

It’s our 9th birthday and our 150th episode all at once; let’s party! Host and VGHF Director Frank Cifaldi is joined by two founding board members Simon Carless and Steve

Feb 25
1 h 26 min

Episode 149: Jeremy Parish Works

Frank is joined by Guest Host Kate Willaert, author, historian, and YouTuber, to interview Jeremy Parish, media curator at Limited Run Games, author, YouTuber, and podcas

Feb 5
1 h 35 min

Episode 148: Wrapping Up 2025

Our podcast Producer Robin Kunimune sits down with Director Frank Cifaldi and Library Director Phil Salvador to wrap up the final quarter of 2025. Listen to some of our b

Jan 23
1 h 35 min

Episode 147: H.E.R.O.

Atari game developer John Van Ryzin and Digital Eclipse Technical Director Kevin Wilson both join host Frank Cifaldi to reminisce about the Atari 2600 title, and Frank’s

Jan 14
1 h 15 min

Episode 146: A Monograph of Todd Howard

Phil Salvador hosts a discussion with Dr. Wendi Sierra, author of Todd Howard: World Building in Tamriel and Beyond, and Emily Higgs Kopin. Dr. Sierra’s, associate profes

Dec 24 2025
1 h 00 min

Episode 145: The 40th Anniversary of the NES: A PRGE Panel

At this year’s Portland Retro Gaming Expo, VGHF director Frank Cifaldi had the pleasure of hosting a panel celebrating the 40th anniversary of the Nintendo Entertainment

Nov 28 2025
1 h 45 min

Chart trend

Position in the Video Games chart (US), last 90 days.

#1#99#196JunJulAugSep

#15

all-time peak

days in the top 50 since Nov 2024

Chart positions

Where Video Game History Hour ranks today in each Apple Podcasts chart (US, Sep 20, 2026).

#109 ▲ 58 Video Games US

What listeners say

A curated, balanced selection of Apple Podcasts reviews.

I really like this show, it has very well spoken and interesting guests especially considering the subject matter and Frank and Kelsey are great at picking their brains.

Syntheticg · Feb 2022

If you are at ALL interested in video game history, you need to listen to The Video Game History Hour. Hosted by real video game historians who are co-directors of the Video Game History Foundation, Frank and Kelsey are great hosts and extremely knowledgeable about the subjects discussed in each episode, and the guests they have on have such interesting stories to tell. I even find myself listening to episodes about topics I have no previous knowledge/immediate interest in, which I normally tend to skip on other podcasts. I never thought I’d be that interested in Oregon Trail history for example, but I actually stopped what I was doing and sat down to really listen to what was being discussed because it was so interesting and engaging! I recommend starting with an episode discussing something you’re familiar with, then go back and learn something new!

SmugPorky · Jan 2021

You won’t find two more knowledgeable, entertaining hosts than Kelsey and Frank. They hit it out of the park with each and every episode with a perfect mix of history linked to the gaming industry of today and society at large. Their guests are fascinating and they do a great job of drawing out the best tidbits from these fascinating stories.

sportsracer-5 · Dec 2020

Really enjoyable. Frank is a fascinating individual who is knowledgeable and interesting. He gives of the vibes of someone with a pack of cigarettes rolled up into his sleeves that plays old punk and rock vinyl while waxing the woes of the system.

Baradale · Aug 2023

We strive to present a balanced view by showing a diverse range of reviews from Apple Podcasts.