The Playground Podcast

Sue Warfield is the president of ASTRA, and a good friend.She has been a passionate leader of her organization and an equally passionate proponent of play and its value in culture.

In this episode, Chris talks with Sue about their shared perspectives on play and its role in child development, and the necessity of play in building healthy children.

The Playground Podcast is supported by Global Toy News, The Toy Guy® and Beacon Media Group.

He's created a sensation from his kitchen table. This is one of those wonderful, classic toy biz stories about a great idea that finds its way.

With a combination of creativity, ingenuity, social media, and timing, Josh Carman has created a hit with Popdarts and along the way created a great family activity, a challenging game...and a new sport.

Listen in to his story!

In this episode, Chris talks to Brea Brand, founder of the Australian-based magnetic tile company Connetix.

With a combination of passion, creativity, and a commitment to excellence, Brand and her company have made a strong entry into the highly competitive magnetic tile business.

How she's built the brand and kept the focus on kids' play experiences make this a great conversation with some great tips for other visionary entrepreneurs.

In this episode James Zahn of Toy Book and Toy Insider, John Baulch of Toy World UK, and Chris talk about the show, the products, the toy biz, and the year ahead.

It's the 7th time these three industry experts have sat down to have a conversation about the toys and the times.

Listen in to the conversation.

Chris talks with Greg Ahearn president and CEO of the Toy Association on the last day of the recent NY Toy Fair from the show floor.

They talk about the almost universally positive response to the show, the future of the NY show, what's going on in LA, the exceptional work being done by the Association in DC, and the important work of The Toy Foundation.

It's a somewhat wide-ranging conversation, but it's important listening for those who want to stay in the know about the work the Association is doing on behalf of the entire toy industry.

Chris talks to Billy Lagor about his stellar career, today's toy industry, and his role as the CEO of retailer Entertainment Earth.

His insights on licenses, properties, successes and social media are a must-listen for anyone in the toy industry.

In this episode, Chris talks to Sophia Chong, acting executive director of the Hong Kong Trade Development Council, organizers of the Hong Kong Toys & Games Fair.

Chris & Sophia talk on the opening day of the fair about the show, the role of Toy Fairs in the industry, the growth of the toy business in the region, and the ongoing importance of Hong Kong on the global toy stage.

The Playground Podcast is supported by Global Toy News, The Toy Guy, and Beacon Media Group.

As the 2025 Toy Fair season begins, we kick off Season 7 of The Playground Pocast.

Chris talks with Christian Ulrich, spokesperson of the Executive Board of the Spielwarenmesse about the upcoming Nuremberg show.

They talk about the expansion of the show, trends to watch, and more.

This is Ulrich's third appearance on The Playground Podcast, and you'll find him as insightful, entertaining and knowledgeable as ever. (And get ready for an even bigger show in Nurmeberg, if you an imagine!)

The Wow in the World podcast is the centerpiece of a groundbreaking entertainment platform--and an emerging licensing powerhouse.

In this episode, Chris talks to Nicole Blake, chief brand office at Wonderry and Andy Quartin, CEO of Thames & Kosmos.

It's a conversation about a dynamic licensing program, that capitalizes on contemporary entertainment...with a healthy dose of classic play.

Listen in as these two game changers talk about their individual and joint journeys.

In this episode Chris talks to Nelo Lucich, one of the co-founders of Skyrocket Toys about the company and notably their introduction of Poe: The AI Storytelling Bear.

Nelo and Chris talk about the process, the underlying structure and a little bit about the future of AI in the toy business.

The Playground Podcast is supported by Global Toy News, Th Toy Guy and Beacon Media Group.

Designing effective and engaging learning toys for children is always a challenge. It's one that Dr. Ben Miller has embraced. He's a learning scientist and senior learning designer for LeapFrog.

He talks with Chris about the concept of purposeful play, designing for learning, the opportunities and challenges for AI in learning toys, and best practices for those developing learning toys.

It's a wide-ranging conversation, but you'll be impressed by Ben's insight and passion for building play-based learning.

In this episode, Jay Foreman, CEO Basic Fun makes his fifth visit to The Playground Podcast.

This is one of our most important and timely episodes to date as Jay and Chris discuss the current state of China, the reality of doing business, and the implications for our business if threatened economic developments occur.

Jay is his usual frank self with insight, thoughtful commentary, and humor. Let this interview be your first step to examining the complex issues surrounding our relationship with China and what it means for toys.

In this episode, Chris talks to Barry and Jason of the eponymous Barry and Jason games about their careers, their work, the process of pitching games, and more.

Listen in as two of the most entertaining and thoughtful guys in the business talk about what they're doing, and what's next.

We promise you a good time.

Chris talks to drag racing star Alex Taylor who has been a star in her field since she was 16. She is the co-host of Hot Rod Garage and has a popular YouTube channel as well.

This is a story that goes beyond cars and talks about passion around which to build a life and career. Even more, it's a great tale for folks in the industry looking to build meaningful marketing relationships to build brands, and sales and expand franchises.

In this episode, Chris talks to Matt Nuccio, president of Design Edge.

This full-service design, production, and marketing agency over its long history has been involved in groundbreaking innovation. From Tickle Me Elmo to POGS, to, yes, a very successful stick; the team has guided inventors and companies to exceptional successes.

Matt talks about design, innovation, AI, what's needed to make a (hopeful) hit, and much more.

In this episode, we talk to Greg Ahearn, the new president and CEO of The Toy Association.

Greg takes the reins in a dynamic time for the 108-year-old organization, and talks about its vital role in the industry today and where it's going in the future.

Listen in and get a new appreciation for all the association does, and much more.

With Pickleball a huge trend in the U.S. in 2024, leave it to savvy industry veterans Jeffrey Breslow and Frank Adler to adapt that into a clever, fun, and opportunistic game.

Listen in as Chris talks to them about how they did it, how a popular sport became a card game, and how they Jeffrey and Frank are riding the trend to create a new game company.

Chris talks to veteran inventor Dan Klitsner about his new toy Sling-It. Dan was the genius behind Bop-It, but with this new venture, he's decided to manufacture and market under his own company.

It's a wild toy, with an even wilder story. (We love wild stories.)

Listen in, as he talks about development, manufacturing, and strategy for launch in the dynamic toy industry of 2024.

There is a lot happening at the Toy Foundation! Near and dear to our heart is the new entrepreneurship program honoring Richard Gottlieb, but that's just part of it.

Listen in as Chris talks to Pam Mastroka, executive director of the foundation about all the excitement...and your opportunities to get involved.

There are big changes ahead for the Toy Association. After months of work and listening, there's news about LA in the Fall (and Spring), New York, ongoing advocacy and much more.

Andy Keimach, interim president and CEO of the Toy Association gives us the scoop on what's happening...and it's good news.

In this episode, Chris talks to author and historian Rob Goldberg about his fascinating book Radical Play. It's a look at the social movements of the 1960s and 1970s and how those challenged and changed the toy industry–and the ways in which the industry responded.

We cover the major issues of the era–war toys and guns, race and gender–and look at the ways the world and by extension playthings changed.

It's a lively and informative conversation. Listen in.

And you can buy Rob's book here.

In this conversation, Chris talks with Joost Poulus, chief product officer for Moose toys. They talk about Joost's 20-plus year career with Moose, building a culture that supports innovation and the company's BHAG (Big Hairy Audacious Goal) for the future.

In a time when "innovation" can merely be a buzzword, Moose is one of the first companies to build, and publish, a series of metrics to determine how innovation as they define it is succeeding.

Not surprisingly, it encompasses people, product and play.

The Playground Podcast is supported by Global Toy Experts, The Toy Guy, and the Hong Kong Trade Development Council.

Richard Gottlieb's death on October 26 from ALS was a blow for the people who knew and loved him, the toy industry, and, of course, this podcast.

In this short segment, Chris remembers and honors Richard and all his contributions, his amazing spirit and kindness, and much more.

We also talk a bit about continuing this show both to serve the industry and to honor Richard's memory.

Chris talks to John Tong, chairman of the Hong Kong Trade Development Council Toys Advisory committee. (Just one element of his diverse career.) They talk about Toy Fairs, opportunities in Hong Kong and how Hong Kong is coming back as a business center and gateway to Asia coming out of the pandemic.

The conversation was recorded at New York Toy Fair, and Richard and Chris divided and conquered to see as much of the show as possible...and find new guests for the rest of the season.

Richard and Chris talk with Michele Litzky and Josslynne Welch about the history of Litzky Public Relations, the evolution of PR over the past quarter century, and the transition as Josslynne takes over the reins of the company.

It's a great conversation about toy industry history, succession planning, and much more. Listen in as we talk to two major players in the toy industry.

(Apologies for the cellphone going off. We didn't want to edit that out. Just pretend you're at a Broadway theater and annoyed. That's what Chris would do.)

Richard and Chris talk with game inventor Elan Lee about his hugely successful game Exploding Kittens, developing great games, and his new line of Kitten Games, which Elan developed with his 4-year-old daughter.

This high-energy conversation will have you thinking about what makes a good game in the current market. Elan is also hugely entertaining and thoughtful about the role of games in our lives.

Serial inventor, professor, inveterate innovator and advocate of play Brendan Boyle of Fuse London joins us for a lively and wide-ranging conversation.

From his early career to his current gig with Fuse, Brendan has been a joyful advocate of play for kids, for organizations and for enhancing life overall.

Join us for a super fun episode.

We kick of season five of The Playground Podcast with Madame Alexander's VP of sales, David Morgenstern. Richard, Chris, and guest host Chris Bensch from The Strong Museum of Play chat about this history, the legend, and what's new for the next chapter in the life of this iconic brand. 

Richard and Chris talk to Isaac Larian, founder and CEO of MGA. From his earliest days to having unprecedented success in the industry, Isaac talks about his vision, how he's built the company, worked with his team, and what the toy industry means to him. In this exclusive conversation, Isaac shares what it takes to make it in the toy industry, how it's a non-stop challenge, and why it's actually good to be paranoid. (It's a business strategy that drives non-stop innovation.)