An hour of radio stories dedicated to the subtle and vampiric lure of the virtual world…

This is Xavier Naldo, the Vin Diesl of PC Gamers. Yo Xavier, pimp my PC!

• We’ll visit Greenbelt, Maryland, where a group of hardcore PC gamers settle in for a 14-hour video game marathon
• We’ll meet a cadre of cyber-artists who get paid to play video games at Firaxis Headquarters in Hunt Valley
• We’ll hear the story of an ill-fated sci-fi cyber-romance that blurs the boundary between fantasy and reality
• And a conversation with author Lev Grossman about his novel CODEX, which poses the question: Is there even a difference between “real life” and the virtual world?

(Click here for mp3’s of some recent stories from the show. And PODCASTERS, click here for a link to subscribe to The Signal’s weekly podcast.)

These gamers are wired together in a fire hall in Greenbelt, Maryland, for a fourteen-hour video game marathon.

(Click here for mp3’s of some recent stories from the show. And PODCASTERS, click here for a link to subscribe to The Signal’s weekly podcast.)

Style Warz host and co-organizer C Love (photo credit: Low Key God, courtesy of C Love)

We’ll take a look at Baltimore’s pre-eminent underground MC competition, Style Warz. And we’ll see it through the eyes of the rappers who make it happen, squaring off in front of a live audience, competing one-on-one in a battle royal, with cash and bragging rights on the line. We’ll meet seven contenders: Gatasheist, Abrock, Symphony, Haz, Fire Armz, Midas, and EJ. We’ll also hear from Style Warz co-organizers, host C Love and DJ P Funk, as well as celebrity judge Bilal Bahar of the hip hop promotions organization Krushforce. At the end of the night, there’s only going to be one MC left standing on-stage.

Style Warz competitor Midas (Photo credit: Low Key God, courtesy of C Love)

Style Warz competitor Symphony (Photo credit: Low Key God, courtesy of C Love)