What if you could play a game of Friends? Or The Wire? What would that be like? We saw Duncan at Playful 09 and were instantly hooked by his idea that dramatic storytelling and video games could merge in a new interactive concept called "Fictive Worlds". Duncan also shares his experience of developing the first PMOG (Passively Multiplayer Online Game), The Nethernet, and learning to program in COBOL (without a computer!) You should most certainly add him on Twitter.
Meanwhile, Leila reports from Grid ref TQ2191, an overgrown section of motorway near the end of the M1; Dave mops up some unlikely Valentine's Day bargains (and answers a listener's question - send them in via #askdavegreen on Twitter); we update you on our fridge sounds appeal (the audio equivalent of Roo's Flickr group) - and lots more.
Oh! And you can now donate to us by Paypal, and we've even done an FAQ page. I know! Mental.
We loved putting this episode together, and think it sounds pretty sweet. For a lot of it you can hardly even tell we're drunk.
Duncan was the architect of the first "Passively Multiplayer Online Game" - later called The Nethernet, and is now developing an intriguing idea for blending educational stories with gameplay, that he has dubbed "Fictive Worlds". This, plus an abandoned motorway sliproad, after-Valentine's bargains, internal fridge noises, news on that cassettes idea, and loads more in the full-length episode coming up on Thursday the 18th!
We love a bit of tech abuse on this podcast, so it's a real pleasure to bring you James Larsson, mad scientist extraordinaire. James hit the headlines on the BBC news site with his most recent project, Boot Fetish Pong, but old-skool listeners might remember seeing his prawn sandwich BBC micro clock back when Dave and Danny were still a couple, at Notcon 04.
We also read out some of your letters, greet our new listeners, road test Britain's spiciest crisps, and come up with an infallible new business model for the podcast. Roo has a go on a vintage adding machine and, to celebrate the week in which the podcast went nuclear, Leila visits the steamy reactor towers of scenic Dungeness. Just look at the links below. Phew! What a line-up.
Oh, and we were serious about putting limited edition hand made Shift Run Stop episodes on cassette tapes. Buy one now, quick, before you change your mind.
This video also features footage of Dungeness Nuclear Power Station, which Leila visited this week, and the sounds of which will feature on a forthcoming episode.
This week we are lucky enough to be joined by technology broadcaster Aleks Krotoski, known for her work at the Guardian (particularly the Tech Weekly podcast) and most recently for her new four-part prime time BBC Two series, Virtual Revolution. Aleks tells us about some of the leading lights she spoke to on this innovative show and explains why she believes we live in such exciting times. Still, we can't resist reminding her of some of her more dedicated followers.
Virtual Revolution is on Saturdays, 8:15, BBC 2, and you can watch the latest episode on iPlayer. Needless to say, she can be found on Twitter.
We also accost Mark, one of the dashing chaps who stands on a box outside Hamleys in a top hat. He tells us about the origins of the biggest toyshop in the known universe, and why his daughter hates Toy Story.
Meanwhile, Dave Green continues to eat rubbish so you don't have to, as we look back on the second half of the decade in snacks.
Aleks also heads up the Guardian's Tech Weekly podcast. She shot to geek megastardom in the late 90s, hosting TV shows like Bits and Thumb Bandits, and she maintains a loyal follower base from those days.
What if you could play a game of Friends? Or The Wire? What would that be like? We saw Duncan at Playful 09 and were instantly hooked by his idea that dramatic storytelling and video games could merge in a new interactive concept called "Fictive Worlds". Duncan also shares his experience of developing the first PMOG (Passively Multiplayer Online Game), The Nethernet, and learning to program in COBOL (without a computer!) You should most certainly add him on Twitter.
This week we are lucky enough to be joined by technology broadcaster 
