The What's Odyssey Podcast is back! After five long months, Joshua shares his plans for this show's future with Donald Treply, the owner and founder of AIO Writer's Block. This episode also releases on "What's Odyssey Podcast Day", one of seven days set aside to celebrate AIO Writer's Block's recent anniversary. Among all that, the hosts discuss creativity and what it means to be an AIO fan creator.

Visit Donald Treply's website here:

https://aiowritersblock.com

During the What’s Odyssey Podcast’s season one break, Joshua looked to his Instagram followers to get one fan-suggested episode topic. Of all of them, “gaming addiction” was both the most suggested and the most responsive suggestion. So he looked into them. Video games are among the largest parts of world culture, but that may not be. a good thing for everyone. Joshua takes the controls and looks at the multiple opinions surrounding gaming in the last regular episode of the What’s Odyssey Podcast’s first season.

The Grasp of Gaming additional resources:

Do video games make people violent? - BBC News

https://www.bbc.com/news/technology-33960075

technical-violent-games.pdf

https://www.apa.org/news/press/releases/2015/08/technical-violent-games.pdf

Guinness World Record for most YouTube subscribers goes to … a weird Swedish bro you’ve probably never heard of - The Washington Post

https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/arts-and-entertainment/wp/2014/03/25/guinness-world-record-for-most-youtube-subscribers-goes-to-a-weird-swedish-bro-youve-probably-never-heard-of/

Minecraft crosses 300 million copies sold as it prepares to celebrate its 15th anniversary | Windows Central

https://www.windowscentral.com/gaming/minecraft/minecraft-crosses-300-million-copies-sold-as-it-prepares-to-celebrate-its-15th-anniversary

The bestselling video games of all time | Digital Trends

https://www.digitaltrends.com/gaming/bestselling-games-of-all-time/

The Best-Selling Video Game of Each Year, Starting From 1995: LIST

https://www.businessinsider.com/best-selling-video-game-every-year-2018-11#2019-call-of-duty-modern-warfare-playstation-4-xbox-one-pc-25

Should Kids Play Video Games? 10 Strategies for Safer Gaming

https://www.aura.com/learn/should-kids-play-video-games

The Health Effects of Video Games in Children and Adolescents - PubMed

https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/36587018/

Number of Gamers Worldwide 2024: Demographics, Statistics, and Predictions - Financesonline.com

https://financesonline.com/number-of-gamers-worldwide/

GTA 6 Characters Guide: Main Protagonists, Leaks and more

https://www.gtabase.com/gta-6/characters

Video gaming audiences in the United States - Statistics & Facts | Statista

https://www.statista.com/topics/3070/us-gamers/#topicOverview

61% of Americans, or 190.6M people, play video games | ESA | VentureBeat

https://venturebeat.com/games/61-of-americans-or-190-6m-people-play-video-games-esa/

Smartphone 'addiction': Young people 'panicky' when denied mobiles

https://www.bbc.com/news/education-50593971

Gaming addiction, problematic gaming and engaged gaming – Prevalence and associated characteristics - PMC

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7744933/

The health effects of too much gaming - Harvard Health

https://www.health.harvard.edu/blog/the-health-effects-of-too-much-gaming-2020122221645

Video Game Addiction: What It Is, Symptoms & Treatment

https://my.clevelandclinic.org/health/diseases/23124-video-game-addiction

Addiction | Psychology Today

https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/basics/addiction

In a new, dynamic format for the podcast, Joshua has five people listen to Adventures in Odyssey. Three of them have never heard a single second outside of this podcast. He gets their (often hilarious reactions) to Connie the Counselor, a 2017 episode entirely focused on Buck, Jules, Connie and Eugene.

Listen to Connie the Counselor and get a free 14-day trial of the Adventures in Odyssey Club here (not sponsored):

https://adventuresinodyssey.com/

Joshua Mensah-Woode finally unravels all there is to Adventures in Odyssey from 1987 to the present in what he hopes is a new guide for anyone interested in Odyssey, both old and new fans. He breaks down eras, sagas, and episode arcs in the complicated mid-season episode of the What’s Odyssey Podcast.

Get a fourteen-day free trial of the Adventures in Odyssey Club to listen to every episode here (not sponsored): https://www.adventuresinodyssey.com/

After spotlighting Adventures in Odyssey's takes on education and homeschooling, Joshua gets personal as he pulls Adventures in Odyssey episodes from two different AIO eras. He unveils the stereotypes behind the pastor's kid experience, then wonders how there could be a trend of questioning faith. He then proceeds to talk about the pastor’s kid experience, both the challenging and rewarding parts, with the daughter of a pastor of a successful local ministry.

Additional references:

10 key findings about the religious lives of U.S. teens and their parents | Pew Research Center www.pewresearch.org

Prodigal Pastor Kids: Fact or Fiction? - Barna Group www.barna.com

Research Shows That Spiritual Maturity Process Should Start at a Young Age - Barna Group www.barna.com