EOT 435 Christina Koch + Game & Geek Expo

Christina Koch speaks directly with Autumn Smith of WKNC during her visit to NC State campus on August 24th.

Then, Autumn Smith speaks with Jeff Thomas and Mady Shelton from Raleigh Retro Gamers about the upcoming Game & Geek Expo on September 5th and 6th. Eye on the Triangle listeners can use the code 'WKNC881' to get 20% off when registering for the event.

Eye on the Triangle is a podcast produced by WKNC 88.1 FM HD-1/HD-2, student-run radio from NC State University. Like what you hear? Consider supporting it with a gift to the WKNC Enhancement Fund. Visit our podcast page to hear more and follow us on all social media platforms @WKNC881. Thanks for listening.

Creators and Guests

Host

Autumn Smith

Public Affairs Director (2026-2027)

What is Eye on the Triangle?

Eye on the Triangle is WKNC 88.1 FM HD-1/HD-2’s weekly public affairs programming with news, interviews, opinion, weather, sports, arts, music, events and issues that matter to NC State, Raleigh and the Triangle.

00:04
Autumn Smith
You are now listening to Eye on the Triangle, WKNC's weekly public affairs program from the campus of North Carolina State University. Any views and opinions expressed during Eye on the Triangle do not represent NC State or student media. This is WKNC 88.1 FM HD-1 Raleigh. Hello everyone. Thank you for tuning in to Eye on the Triangle. My name is Autumn Smith. This episode covers Christina Koch's return to NC State, followed by an interview highlighting the upcoming Game and Geek Expo in Raleigh on August 24th. Artemis 2 crew member and NC State alumni Christina Koch spoke at the around the Moon and Packaging event on Centennial campus.

00:48
Autumn Smith
According to ABC7, over 1,200 people attended as Chancellor Kevin Howell announced two additions on campus to honor the astronaut, the renaming of Engineering Building 2 to Koch Hall, and the introduction of a limited time Howling Cow ice cream flavor called Howl at the Moon. Christina Koch was the mission specialist on NASA's Orion spacecraft, nicknamed Integrity by its four inhabitants, on an unprecedented journey around the moon. CBS 17 reports that the crew traveled farther than any previous spacecraft, reaching 252,756 miles from Earth. After the record breaking journey, Koch's next step was none other than a return to North Carolina State University where she graduated with a Master's degree in Electrical Engineering and a Bachelor's in Physics. After the main event, NC State invited university student media to ask Christina Koch questions, one of which came directly from WKNC. Take a listen.

01:38
Autumn Smith
You spoke about your life as just a regular student at NC State. It's hard for us to understand you being in that position nowadays with you as an astronaut. What specific day to day advice do you have for students to get through their undergraduate, graduate any program they're in to reach their goals?

01:54
Christina Koch
So you asked about the day to day advice and that is I would say the most important thing is don't do as much as I did every single day. That was probably too much. I remember sort of paint a picture of my life here. I was very busy. I did shy away from early classes but I also did extra career clears all the way up to, you know, maybe 10pm and I remember coming back to my room starting some of my problem sets that late and thinking oh I can get through this. So you know I think that the first thing I would share is that it's okay to have self care, it's okay to have boundaries and to think about those things when you're achieving your goals. Another thing I would say is embrace teamwork.

02:36
Christina Koch
I was along with that kind of go getter attitude. I found myself to be just fiercely independent. I loved problem solving on my own, but what I discovered when I actually came to NASA and had some of my jobs was how much I loved working with other people and that problem solving on a team meant you could actually achieve way more and enjoy it more along the way. So that's something that I would give people day to day and just forgive yourself. Be ready to have good days and bad days and to have a time horizon outlook that allows you to know that if you're having a bad day, bad week, bad month, it can probably get better and to just remember that you have kind of within you that horizon to change and affect your future and your outlook.

03:27
Christina Koch
Every day you wake up is kind of a choice with how to regard the way you move through your day.

03:34
Autumn Smith
Let this be your daily advice and inspiration from NC State's newly hailed astronaut, courtesy of WKNC. Moving forward: On September 5th and 6th, the Game and Geek Expo is returning to the Raleigh Convention center, now known as the Atlantic Union Bank Convention center in downtown Raleigh. Raleigh Retro Gamers is hosting the event for its second year, bringing in video game voice actors and WWE Hall of Famers for the two day event. Joining eye in the Triangle for an interview segment is Jeff Thomas and Mady Shelton from Raleigh Retro Gamers to showcase the event and its appeal to a rising scene across the unseen triangle.

04:05
Autumn Smith
So for our listeners, what exactly is Game and Geek Expo?

04:12
Jeff Thomas
Well, Game and Geek Expo is a two day gaming centric expo with pop culture elements. This is our second year at the Raleigh Convention center and we're super excited to be there again this year. When we say gaming centric, we're going to have everything from retro to modern gaming, free play areas, vendors, we're going to have VR arcades, a tcg, a little bit of everything for every gamer in your family.

04:40
Autumn Smith
With this being only the second Gaming Geek Expo, how did you guys go into planning this year's event? Did the first year provide you guys any specific ideas or goals that you went into 2026 with?

04:50
Jeff Thomas
Absolutely. With any large scale event there's always a learning experience your first year. So even though we've been doing gaming events as Raleigh Retro Gamers for many years, here in the Triangle we've moving into the convention center and doing a full scale event like this did have its challenges, but it's also something that we've learned a lot from. This year, we've added a lot of great elements to this year's show. Things that we felt may have been lacking or missing from last year's show. We were really pleased with the show that we put on last year for everyone. But just so everyone knows, we had about a three month Runway from the time we signed contracts to the time we put on the show. Last year was only about a three month window.

05:37
Jeff Thomas
So that presented plenty of challenges for us just on logistics and the type of guests we could bring and the type of programming we could have. So this year we had a much longer Runway, eight to nine months and it's proved to be exactly what we needed. So we can get more of the guests that we want, we can get more of the programming in there and just put on a better event for all of our attendees.

05:59
Autumn Smith
I'm glad you guys had a lot more time to work with. Three months is very short.

06:03
Jeff Thomas
Some would say don't do that. That's, you know, it's just one of those things like for those that aren't familiar with convention spaces and some large scale venues, a lot of times you have to just do what you can do to get your foot in the door and you know, that's just kind of how it goes sometimes. A lot of these venues are scheduled out years in advance, so when you can find an opening, you know, it's best to take it if you can.

06:30
Autumn Smith
That is wonderful. Super glad to have you guys back for a second year. Something I've noticed especially since the Pandemic is that gaming has become a lot more incorporated into Raleigh culture. Obviously Hitbot Games being at Gateway Plaza, live streaming and esports has become such a huge sector just around the North Carolina triangle. In general, more developments such as Epic Games HQ being built and carrying. So I wanted to ask both of you broadly what has been like navigating the gaming landscape locally.

06:57
Mady Shelton
So I actually started my career, my event career at Epic Games and so I have been integrated with the gaming industry for quite a while now. And Jeff found me on LinkedIn where I have like a pretty broad game industry connection and community there, I would say. And he brought me in to his like, it felt like North Carolina was like his community of gaming almost. You know, like I'm used to working with people all across the world and so it was really cool to be able to switch that up and see from a different lens like our community and how large it really is here in North Carolina.

07:41
Jeff Thomas
Yeah, I would just add to that what Mady was saying. We started doing events back in 2019 as Raleigh Retro gamers which is our parent company that produces the Game and Geek Expo. And you know, I was a collector before I started doing events. I used to be a music promoter years ago here in Raleigh. So I was, I had a lot of ties to the event industry. But as gaming started becoming so popular here in North Carolina and you know, really around the country, right before the Pandemic hit, we started doing shows just locally in Raleigh and there was just a massive turnout of people that were coming out. We were doing it shows at breweries and places that the public was coming to just because they were coming to that venue.

08:27
Jeff Thomas
They weren't necessarily coming to our event, but they were seeing the gaming stuff that were setting up. We were setting up retro consoles and you know, fun things for us retro gamers to play and the public, it was really resonating with them. So we started doing bigger and bigger events and then the Pandemic happened and that's really just blew up Retro gaming in general and gaming in general, people were stuck at home. They were pulling out their old consoles to find things to play. They were playing Switch and they were being interactive. You know, they're working out at home using, you know, Wii Sports and playing games with their families and we fit and that type of thing. So it's really, since we started, it's really come full circle with just the impact that gaming has had on our country.

09:15
Jeff Thomas
And you know me growing up in the 80s and 90s, gaming was always a big part of pop culture. And back then we didn't really call each other gamers. I mean you just, everyone had a Nintendo in their house. Usually one in three houses in the US had a Nintendo in it by 1990. So gaming was just around, it was just one of those things. But nowadays kids are literally going to college for esports and they're getting careers and there's all these professional opportunities, especially here in the triangle for people that are into gaming. So we've really seen it explode.

09:51
Autumn Smith
Moving forward, while many people might focus on the game part of this Expo, as we've been talking about, something I noticed with the Geek part of it is that as a large focus on professional wrestling with two WWE hall of Famers showing up, just wrestling events in general, I wanted to ask what part of like what drives that market at a Raleigh event?

10:11
Jeff Thomas
Well, I think for us, I know again, being a child of the 80s and 90s, wrestling was a big part of pop culture and it was on television, we all knew the big names and stuff. And even though I wasn't a huge wrestling fan growing up, I was still inundated with, you know, when you go to the store, you see the toys, you know, the names. It's one of those things that there was just an intersection of where attendees that go to conventions, it's something that you see often. You, you see different wrestling elements and things like that. I know North Carolina itself has a big wrestling following and population here that love to go to the events. And I actually went to, I think it was Monday Night Raw at the PNC arena earlier this year, and it was a blast.

11:01
Jeff Thomas
And I think that's the first professional wrestling event I've ever been to. And of course, this is a major production at pnc, but it was just a lot of fun. Just seeing the fans interact and seeing how hype they got. Seeing the wrestlers and seeing these people that they watch on television and being able to see them in person was just really cool. And I was like, we have to bring wrestling to Gaming Geek Expo this year. People here are having a blast.

11:24
Mady Shelton
Well, it is, it's just wrestling is so fun, right? And it has always been a part of geek culture because of their, like, larger than life attitudes and just the fun storytelling of it all. And so it really does integrate well with Gaming Expo.

11:44
Autumn Smith
So with even going past the wrestling. But the other celebrity guests you guys have invited, just all the stuff going on. Would you guys say this ability to interact with characters with cosplayers, all of this sort is just like a big focus for you guys at this convention?

11:57
Mady Shelton
It's a great part of the convention. I mean, as a mom of teenagers myself, and a game and geek enthusiast, I get really hyped up to go and meet like the Power Rangers. I get really excited to meet the folks from Silent Hill and so does my entire family. And that's the whole, you know, premise of the event is it's supposed to be family friendly and gaming geek centric. And so for someone like me, it's perfect. And that's really our demographic.

12:27
Jeff Thomas
I love that. Mady. I will say I took my son to Galaxy Con. This was probably about six years ago, and he was a bit at the time, he was a big Zelda fan. We were playing Breath of the Wild and he saw a cosplayer who was dressed up as Princess Zelda. And seeing his face light up when he thought you would thought he just met the biggest superhero, best person ever. And he was like, nervous, even though he was only like 5 years old. And we got a picture with her. We asked her if we could get a picture and she said yes. And that's a picture that we still have framed and hanging up in the house because it just. The way that he lit up was amazing.

13:09
Jeff Thomas
And seeing people meet, even though there might not be the actual characters or they're in cosplay, just seeing people interact with the cosplayers and the. Even the celebrity guests and stuff that we have come in is just so awesome to see.

13:25
Autumn Smith
That is so sweet. That is very heartwarming. I love to hear that and I hope this event can bring a lot of more moments like that for a lot of different people in the triangle. Outside of attending though, how can people get involved here in the triangle with Gaming Geek Expo?

13:40
Mady Shelton
I mean, we're still accepting volunteer applications for Gaming Geek Expo. If people want to come and see how behind the scenes works, how we put on a production like this, we accept volunteers like pre event. And it's just, it's. I would say that volunteers are the heartbeat of any good convention and without them we literally could not do it. So, you know, getting involved that way is extremely beneficial. We still are accepting sponsor applications if anybody is interested in sponsoring like an exhibit or a piece of the show. Jeff, what would you say?

14:21
Jeff Thomas
Yeah, so you can go to our website, gaminggeek.com and right at the top it says, I believe it says be involved or get involved. And we have all the ways that you can do that. So whether you are a content creator or a featured cosplayer, I think those applications have closed. But we opened it up to the community because we want to get everyone involved that wants to be involved with the geek culture. Whether you're a cosplayer, you're a content creator, if you have a blog, if you have a podcast, any type of media, we just love for you to come out and experience the show. We give you tickets, we give most of these individuals badges to the show so they can come and enjoy it and they can talk about it and share their experiences with everyone else.

15:02
Jeff Thomas
I will tell you one of the goals of Game and Geek Expo is to have a convention in the gaming and with pop culture elements here in Raleigh that is local and that we have our community here in North Carolina behind it and involved with it. That's really important for us as a community here as since Raleigh Retro gamers, we really built our community here. Everyone that shows up to our shows really are what make it. Along with our incredible vendors and Volunteers, just the people that come and show support is just huge to us, and we want to get as many people involved and then highlight them as well. So if they have channels and podcasts and blogs and things like that, we love to get them involved.

15:45
Autumn Smith
Absolutely. Lastly, I wanted to ask you guys, for anyone who may be listening that's on the fence about attending, what do you want to say to them?

15:53
Jeff Thomas
I would say, come, have fun. You're going to have fun. One of the first conventions I ever went to was the Playthrough Gaming convention here in Raleigh. And they have been a staple for many years. But I just didn't know what to expect. I think a lot of people, when they think of conventions, they might not know what to expect. They might feel like it's overwhelming. The one good thing about the Raleigh Convention center is it is very big. So for a convention, a local convention of our size, there's plenty of quiet spaces and places that you can get to feel more comfortable. But the people, and you just, you alluded to it before, but the people are amazing. We're really trying to bring everyone that loves these fandoms into one place.

16:35
Jeff Thomas
And if you've ever been to a Raleigh retro gamer event, one of the things that we hear so often is just how awesome the vibes are. Like, you are finding your people, you're finding a shared experience, or you're experiencing shared things that you relate to and that you're like, man, I didn't realize there were this many people here. Well, when you come out to a ROG event or Gaming Geek Expo, that's exactly what you're going to find. You're going to find people that have the same interests that you do, and you're just going to have a great time.

17:06
Mady Shelton
Yeah, I mean, other than, like, you know, making you feel included, like making you know, see that there are other people that are interested in the same things as you. You should come out to Gaming Geek Expo because it's not just like a place to look at booths. Right. It's not just a place to buy collectibles, it's a place to play. So from retro arcades and tournaments to the cosplay and wrestling and all of the artists, you know, there is shopping, there's tabletop games, and we, I mean, we have so many interactive experiences around every corner that there's always something happening. Whether you're 8 years old or 80 years old, if you're a lifelong gamer or just curious, you're going to find something that you love at Gaming Geek Expo.

17:57
Autumn Smith
That was Mady Shelton and Jeff Thomas with Game and Geek Expo. The second annual event will take place next week on Saturday, September 5th and Sunday, September 6th. This has been Eye on the Triangle from WKNC 88.1 HD-1 Raleigh. Our theme song is City Lights by BerryDeep, licensed under Creative Commons. To relisten to this or any other episode, visit wknc.org/podcast or subscribe to Eye on the Triangle on your favorite podcast site or app. Thank you for listening.