The Grasshopper
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The Grasshopper by Bernard Suits comes up on The Ezra Klein Show, with transcript quotes, timestamps, and episode context.
The Grasshopper by Bernard Suits appears 2 times across 2 podcast episodes on 1 show, with transcript quotes and timestamps.
“Suits offers the following definition of what it is to play a game: he says to play a game is to voluntarily take on unnecessary obstacles for the sake of making possible the activity of overcoming them.”
Why people keep bringing this up
Podcasts keep returning to The Grasshopper because Bernard Suits’s formulation of play provides a concise concept that hosts can quote and apply. On The Ezra Klein Show, episodes labeled “Best of: A Life-Changing Philosophy of Games” and “A Philosophy of Games That Is Really a Philosophy of Life” both cite Suits’s definition: that playing a game involves voluntarily taking on unnecessary obstacles in order to make possible the activity of overcoming them. Those repeated, nearly identical excerpts show the definition’s utility as a memorable analytic tool in discussions about games and life.
The recurrence across two Ezra Klein Show episodes suggests the book is treated as a touchstone for explaining or reframing activities in terms of voluntary challenge. The specific phrasing from the episodes is used as a compact way to introduce the concept and to anchor broader reflections, which explains why the book is mentioned multiple times on that podcast.
The host mentions 'The Grasshopper' by Bernard Suits to explore the philosophical underpinnings of games and why people engage with them. Suits' definition of playing a game as taking on unnecessary obstacles highlights the intrinsic value of the gaming experience.
The host mentions 'The Grasshopper' by Bernard Suits to explore the philosophical underpinnings of games and why people engage with them. Suits' definition of playing a game as taking on unnecessary obstacles for the sake of overcoming them provides a framework for understanding the value of games beyond their end goals.
Recent show rotation: The Ezra Klein Show.
Fastest path back to the source: the strongest indexed mention lands at 30:40 in the episode where we captured it.
Quick FAQ
Answers to common book, episode, podcast, and guest questions.
Which episode mentioned The Grasshopper?
A Philosophy of Games That Is Really a Philosophy of Life on The Ezra Klein Show is one of the clearest indexed episodes that mentioned The Grasshopper by Bernard Suits. Other indexed episodes include Best of: A Life-Changing Philosophy of Games on The Ezra Klein Show. The first indexed transcript timestamp lands at 30:40.
Which podcast mentioned The Grasshopper?
The Ezra Klein Show is the main indexed podcast currently tied to The Grasshopper by Bernard Suits.
Who mentioned The Grasshopper on podcasts?
PodcastMentions ties The Grasshopper by Bernard Suits to The Ezra Klein Show, but the underlying mentions do not yet expose stable guest names for every episode.
Why do podcast guests bring up The Grasshopper?
The host mentions 'The Grasshopper' by Bernard Suits to explore the philosophical underpinnings of games and why people engage with them. Suits' definition of playing a game as taking on unnecessary obstacles highlights the intrinsic value of the gaming experience. It most often appears in conversations about philosophy of games.
Mentions across episodes
Every mention card links back to the episode page and exact transcript anchor.
“Suits offers the following definition of what it is to play a game. He says to play a game is to voluntarily take on unnecessary obstacles for the sake of making possible the activity of overcoming them.”
“Suits offers a definition of what it is to play a game, emphasizing the voluntary taking on of unnecessary obstacles for the sake of overcoming them.”