Idle Thumbs

Idle Thumbs is a podcast network founded in 2004 that produces long-running shows covering video games, game design, strategy gaming, cultural commentary, television, and books. Its catalog includes the namesake "Idle Thumbs" show, "Important If True," "Three Moves Ahead," "Designer Notes," "The Idle Book Club," "Every Game in This City," "Something True," and "Tone Control: Conversations With Game Developers," among others. Episodes combine in-depth discussion with off-topic humor and listener mail segments.

The network's hosts and contributors are current and former video game journalists and developers, including Chris Remo, Jake Rodkin, Nick Breckon, Troy Goodfellow, Rob Zacny, and Soren Johnson. Shows range from casual conversational formats to more structured interviews with game designers and esports researchers, serving an audience of game enthusiasts, industry professionals, and general pop-culture listeners.

Idle Thumbs distributes episodes through major podcast platforms and maintains an episode archive and community forums on its website. The network is supported in part through a Patreon campaign, which funds bonus content such as monthly listener-topic livestreams that are occasionally released to the main feed. Some shows have paused or resumed irregular release schedules over the network's history, while others continue on a regular cadence.