Episodes

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125: What It’s Like to Be a 14-Year-Old Go Player in Japan w/ Kai

125: What It’s Like to Be a 14-Year-Old Go Player in Japan w/ Kai

S3E125 · · 01:13:49

Kai is a young 3-dan Go player living in Japan! He is very passionate about Go and was kind enough to come on the show to talk to me about all sorts of Go things – from time controls...

124: Are games decided by “effort”?

124: Are games decided by “effort”?

S3E124 · · 39:31

What does it mean to “lock in”? Can you try too hard? Can you try too little? Can the amount of effort you apply really make a difference in the outcome of the game? Or is our fate d...

123: The Purpose of a Stone

123: The Purpose of a Stone

S3E123 · · 53:54

Why do we make the moves that we make? Let’s discuss the importance of knowing the reasons behind our moves and explore as many types and purposes of moves that I can come up with!Jo...

122: Can Go Be a Cozy Game? Dissolving the Stress of Go

122: Can Go Be a Cozy Game? Dissolving the Stress of Go

SE · · 44:43

Go is too competitive and too stressful to be considered a “cozy” game. Or is it? I think Go has a lot of cozy DNA and I will tell you in this episode right here how to approach Go i...

121: The Beginner Go Experience

121: The Beginner Go Experience

S3E121 · · 46:34

Is Go a good fit for you? What is Go like to learn and pursue? I’ll tell you about some of the big reasons I think you should give this game a chance as well as common hurdles that b...

120: Getting Rid of Bad Habits, Fear of Playing Go, Japanese vs AGA Ranks

120: Getting Rid of Bad Habits, Fear of Playing Go, Japanese vs AGA Ranks

S3E120 · · 51:59

It’s a Reddit Roundup episode! Or a Reddit Review? Reddit Retrospective? Whatever, we’re reading Reddit posts from r/baduk in this one.Join the Discord⁠Support Star Point⁠The Star Po...

119: Developing Your Go-cabulary

119: Developing Your Go-cabulary

S3E119 · · 47:04

Go strength is about expanding your Go vocabulary: “Go-cabulary”, if you will. But how does having a large Go-cabulary help us? And how do we expand our Go-cabulary? Is Go more than ...

118: One Stone, Two Stones, Three Stones

118: One Stone, Two Stones, Three Stones

S3E118 · · 58:10

I read my old Go journal from 2019 and it was very interesting to see into the mind of a DDK… that is also my own mind. It was really fun to see how I have changed and grown as a Go ...

117: Essential Go Terms

117: Essential Go Terms

SE · · 01:11:31

Do you find it hard to understand Go players because they use weird terminology like “tiger’s mouth” or T H I C K N E S S? And for some reason they all sound like they are speaking J...

116: AlphaGo to ChatGPT - Who are we in the age of AI?

116: AlphaGo to ChatGPT - Who are we in the age of AI?

S3E116 · · 01:00:19

It’s the 10th anniversary of the famous and historic showdown between Lee Sedol and AlphaGo. A lot has changed since then, and Go players have already been facing the first wave of t...

115: Why Go Should Be Your Next Hobby

115: Why Go Should Be Your Next Hobby

S3E115 · · 52:52

Go is a great hobby! It’s affordable and has good vibes :D But I’m sure you know that already. Regardless, we’re going to talk about why you should take up Go as a hobby (even though...

114: Should Go be an Olympic sport?

114: Should Go be an Olympic sport?

S3E114 · · 43:51

Why isn’t Go an Olympic event? Or any other mental sport for that matter? Let’s talk about the nature of the Olympics, the World Mind Sports Games, and what a ‘Mentalympics’ might lo...

113: What makes Go a "good" game?

113: What makes Go a "good" game?

SE · · 51:15

What is a good game? What is a bad game? Is Go a good game? Well, spoiler alert, yes it is. Go is fantastic, I assure you. But why? Hmm….Overview of TGM (Tetris) TGM DocuseriesJoin t...

112: How to Count

112: How to Count

S3E112 · · 48:25

1… ah ah ah… 2… ah ah ah… 3… ah ah ah… Counting in Go is an important skill! But how exactly do you count? Why should we count in the first place? Let’s talk about it!Join the Discor...

111: How I Defeated My Arch-Nemesis and Rival, Akira Toya

111: How I Defeated My Arch-Nemesis and Rival, Akira Toya

S3E111 · · 35:53

Let me tell you all the story of how I defeated my Arch-Rival and Nemesis (or was it Arch-Nemesis and Rival?) Akira Toya. Also, a little discussion about rivalries in Go!Join the Dis...

110: Inner Growth vs. External Growth: The Gaming DNA of a Go Player

110: Inner Growth vs. External Growth: The Gaming DNA of a Go Player

SE · · 37:39

Go player! Yes, you. What kind of video games do you like? I think I might know and it involves the kind of growth that a game demands of you. In this episode, some thoughts about wh...

109: How to Get Good at Go (and anything else)

109: How to Get Good at Go (and anything else)

S3E109 · · 56:52

The eternal question: How to get good? I’m going to answer this with a slightly unorthodox approach and avoid mentioning tsumego and game review. This is truly the secret sauce of wh...

108: 2025 Year-in-Review

108: 2025 Year-in-Review

S3E108 · · 01:04:37

We’re back! Let’s talk about what Spotify Wrapped says about YOU GUYS. After that I do a reaction to my previous year’s year-in-review and get through a small portion of the listener...

107: Go Commentating is Really Fun!

107: Go Commentating is Really Fun!

SE · · 41:48

Star Point returns Monday, January 12th, 2026!I commentated the first round of the CA State Go Championship and it was a great time! Here’s a post-commentary reflection on what I enj...

106: How do we make Go more exciting to watch?

106: How do we make Go more exciting to watch?

S3E106 · · 40:31

Go should be a spectator sport along with the greats! But what’s the missing secret sauce?James' Palm Pilot PenJoin the Discord⁠Support Star Point⁠The Star Point Store