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Gamer Sensei, ‘Pokémon Go,’ and Funemployment

Ben Lindbergh and Jason Concepcion discuss e-sports coaching and celebrate the anniversary of 'Pokémon Go,u0026#39; before an economist weighs in on whether the rise in quality videogames is contributing to unemployment
Photo by Michael Loccisano/Getty Images

The Ringer's Ben Lindbergh and Jason Concepcion first talk to William Collis, cofounder of Gamer Sensei, an e-sports startup that matches players with coaches who tutor them on how not to be bad at games (2:14). Then they welcome colleague Claire McNear to celebrate the first birthday of Pokémon Go, discuss how the game has evolved, and explore the depths of Claire's determination to "catch them all" (26:44). Lastly, they bring on economist Ernie Tedeschi to critique the controversial claim that games have gotten so good that they're keeping young players unemployed (43:55).

Ben is a writer, podcaster, and editor who covers culture and sports. He hosts ‘Effectively Wild’ at FanGraphs and previously wrote for FiveThirtyEight and Grantland, served as editor-in-chief of Baseball Prospectus, and authored ‘The MVP Machine’ and ‘The Only Rule Is It Has to Work.’

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