The Legend of SwordQuest
The Legend of SwordQuest
Playlist by The Legend of SwordQuestWhat started as a promotion for a new Atari game would become one of the most controversial moments in ‘80s pop culture, with a central mystery that’s consumed fans for decades: what happened to the m…Follow the podcast:
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Very Special Episodes: JFK's Forgotten Summer [Best of 2025]
Eighty years ago, a young John F. Kennedy took a summer job as a journalist for Hearst newspapers, filing dispatches in the final days of World War II. Even the most seasoned JFK scholars often overlook this chapter, missing the influence those months had on the future president. * "JFK's Forgot…
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Very Special Episodes: Live From New York, It's Your Grandmother
During its first 50 seasons, Saturday Night Live has welcomed legendary actors, superstar athletes, and notable politicians. But for one memorable night in 1977, Lorne Michaels turned the show over to an 80-year-old amateur. * On the Very Special Episodes podcast, we tell one incredible story ea…
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Bonus Episode: The Landfill
A waste management specialist unearths thousands of Atari games buried in a New Mexico landfill. As gaming historians rejoice, he plots to turn Atari’s unwanted trash into cash.
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8: Endgame
After decades of speculation, a mysterious source emerges that may solve the mystery of the missing SwordQuest treasures once and for all.
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7: The Swordsman
The trail to find the missing SwordQuest treasures leads back to one of the most controversial figures in Atari history.
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6: Plunder
An unreleased SwordQuest game suddenly surfaces online; the fate of the missing prizes undergoes fresh scrutiny by gaming historians.
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5: Stay Gold
Years after SwordQuest came to an abrupt and disappointing end, a gamer makes a surprising discovery in a Brooklyn thrift shop.
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4: Descent Into Darkness
Atari’s financial problems force the company to issue an ultimatum to SwordQuest players—one that may involve a top-secret gaming tournament closed to the public.
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3: The Chalice
SwordQuest players discover that being video game rock stars comes at a price. Meanwhile, delays in the contest raise suspicions among contestants that Atari may not intend to see it through to the end—and that the prizes may not even exist at all.
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2: Gentlemen, Start Your Joysticks
Expert gamers are invited to an all-expenses paid trip to California for the first round of Atari’s SwordQuest contest and a chance at the first treasure: a $25,000 medallion. The problem? Solving the game’s central puzzle will prove nearly impossible.
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