Welcome, Crawler. The System has detected a new episode, and it has already begun counting your attention span.

This week, host Alyssa Much is joined by Krissy Hanthorn, HR tech expert, theme park enthusiast, devoted new mother, and a woman who spent date night painting Princess Donut. Her credentials are not in question.

Together, they descend into Dungeon Crawler Carl, Book One by Matt Dinneman: the story of a man in pink crocs, a show cat with dangerously high charisma stats, and an alien corporation that has claimed Earth for its resources and its entertainment.

Current objective: dissect all of it.

Spoilers are contained to Book One. In this episode: what makes Carl so devastatingly lovable, whether Donut is grieving or just performing, the slow-burn tragedy of Mordecai, why every character in this dungeon is performing for a corporation that controls their fate — and what that says about the world outside the dungeon. Also discussed: the chosen one debate, the Truman Show theory, and the fan theory that the System itself wants Carl and Donut to survive.

Your listening experience is ready. Ratings, as always, are everything.

Created by: Alyssa Much

Music by: Dan D'Addeo (Providence, RI)

Art by: Jorm Sangsorn (Licensed via Adobe Stock)

Follow us on Social Media:

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/storyobsessedpodcast/

TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@storyobsessedpod

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@StoryObsessedPodcast/