Read, Watch, Play Podcast

This week Nick and Randy enter the world of 64 squares with Elizabeth Harmon by covering the 2020 smash hit for Netflix, The Queen’s Gambit. They start the episode by discussing their experiences with chess before dishing out their takes on the original story written by Walter Tevis in 1983.  They then delve into their memories and thoughts on the television adaptation that enthralled us all durin...

Nick and Randy leave the vault this week and set out in the wasteland to cover the 2024 hit tv adaptation Fallout. This massive success of a show is based upon the Fallout video games and was released this April by Amazon. To start the episode Nick and Randy discuss Amazon as a TV/Movie studio before sinking their teeth into their experience playing the Fallout games. Randy focused his play throug...

The super bowl is here for Nick and Randy as they cover the 2001 blockbuster Ocean’s 11 starring George Clooney, Brad Pitt, and Julia Roberts. They first went through the absolute slog that was the original movie released in 1960 starring the Rat Pack. This original movie features Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin, and Sammy Davis Jr. and is hardly remembered today and most are surprised when they learn...

Author Rebecca DiTore joins the show this week to preview her upcoming book ‘I’d Still Choose You’ . Rebecca’s debut novel is the story of love and loss after her 29 year-old husband was diagnosed with brain cancer and passed away in 2022.  Mike was a tremendous husband, father, and one of my best friend’s. When we found out that Becca was writing a book about the story of her journey with Mike it...

Original Story: The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins Adaptation: The Hunger Games directed by Gary Ross, released in 2012, distributed by Lionsgate  A Young Adult adaptation classic is hitting the feed this week as Nick and Randy ready themselves to fight to the death in The Hunger Games. They cover the massive Hunger Games series from author Suzanne Collins and the movie adaptation directed by Gar...

This week Nick and Randy grab their pipe and funny looking hat and travel back to Victorian London to solve crimes with Holmes and Watson. This episode covers a few of the original Sherlock Holmes stories (A Study in Scarlet) by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle that inspired the 2009 adaptation of Sherlock Holmes by Guy Ritchie Robert Downey Jr., Jude Law, and Rachel McAdams.  To start the episode Nick and...

This week Nick and Randy strap on their double holsters and return to the video game world and tackle the Uncharted movie adapted from the hit Playstation video game series.  To start the episode Nick and Randy cover their history with the original series of games and some background before getting into analyzing the adaptation based on their Keys of the Adaptation scoring this movie on casting, p...

Big week! Nick and Randy are tackling the movie event of the year so far and covering Dune Part 2 on this installment of Read Watch Play. This is the follow up to the 2021 hit Dune Part 1 from Denis Villeneuve adapting the 1965 novel by Frank Herbert.  To start the episode Nick and Randy cover their thoughts on the popcorn bucket phenomenon before discussing some overall thoughts on the novel. The...

This week on Read Watch Play Randy and Nick cover the latest entry into the Hunger Games franchise The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes. The podcast covers the prequel story to the Hunger Games that was released in 2020 by Suzanne Collins and the motion picture, The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes, that was released in the fall of 2023. To start the episode Nick and Randy cover thei...

This week on Read Watch Play Randy and Nick cover the newly released book and movie Argylle. They discuss the mystery surrounding the book author Elly Conway, is it a ghostwriter, Taylor Swift, or possibly AI as well as the Apple Productions adaptation by Matthew Vaughn. To start the episode Nick and Randy cover the background of the unique marketing behind the movie and tie-in book, they discuss...

Randy and Nick head to Los Alamos this week as they cover the 2024 Best Picture nominee Oppenheimer the 2023 movie adaptation by Christopher Nolan starring Cillian Murphy, Robert Downey Jr., Matt Damon, and Emily Blunt. They cover the movie and its source text American Prometheus the biography of J. Robert Oppenheimer written by Kai Bird and Martin Sherwin. To start the episode Nick and Randy cove...

Randy and Nick spot the wolves this week as they tackle Killers of the Flower Moon a history novel written by David Grann and the 2023 movie adaptation by Martin Scorsese starring Leonardo DiCaprio, Lily Gladstone, and Robert DeNiro. To start the episode Nick and Randy discuss their overall thoughts of Killers of the Flower Moon, how the adaptation came to be, and then they hit the categories disc...

Randy and Nick let the spice flow this week as they tackle the epic science fiction novel Dune written by Frank Herbert and the 2021 film adaptation by Denis Villeneuve.  To start the episode Nick and Randy cover a brief overview of the fantasy genre and how Dune fits in. They then discuss their background with the book and movie, their thoughts on both stories, and then they hit the categories di...

Join Nick and Randy for this special holiday episode as they countdown the best books, movies, tv shows, and games they have consumed in 2023. Both hosts come prepared with their Top 7 and alternate sharing their picks for the year. They also discuss what they were surprised did not make their list, what they had difficulty cutting, and some honorable mentions. Finally they close out with some thi...

Randy and Nick continue their journey from Pittsburgh to Salt Lake City by continuing their coverage of the The Last of Us Part I. This episode covers episodes four through nine of the HBO adaptation and as well as the remainder of the PS3 video game and Left Behind DLC. Listen in to hear Nick and Randy's highlights and lowlights from these episodes and then hit the categories discussing their...

Randy and Nick test their survival skills this week by covering the The Last of Us Part I. This episode covers the first three episodes of hit HBO television show and up through Bill's Town in the PS3 video game. We will be following up on the rest of the season in the next episode. Listen in to hear Nick and Randy's relationship to the story, how the adaptation came to be, and their take...

This week join Nick and Randy as they check-in to the Overlook Hotel and cover the best selling novel and the hotly debated adaptation of The Shining. The is one of the most divisive adaptations in history that has split fans for years and even our hosts. Listen in to hear Nick and Randy's relationship to the story, the horror genre in general, and some interesting background on the origin of...

Welcome to the first ever episode of Read, Watch, Play. Your new favorite podcast diving into the stories we love and how they are adapted.  We are kicking things off discussing the 1990s blockbuster book and movie Jurassic Park. This is a story near and dear to us and one of the best book to movie adaptations in our opinion. Listen to hosts Randy and Nick as they discuss their earliest memories o...