The Cups are a husband-and-wife podcasting duo. You might also know us as Austin and Shelby. Long before they started podcasting, the Cups were playing video games. Austin convinced Shelby to get into gaming by playing Knights of the Old Republic I and II. Later on, during the Covid-19 lockdown in 2020, Austin also convinced Shelby to play the Dragon Age games. An obsession was born. Shelby played Dragon Age Origins, Dragon Age 2, and Dragon Age Inquisition; when she finished Inquisition, she immediately picked Origins back up again. Then, Shelby started reading all of the extra books and comics that take place in the Dragon Age universe. They were constantly talking and theorizing about Dragon Age lore and implications for the next game.
That’s when Austin said, “Maybe we should start a Dragon Age podcast.” And so, the Dragon Age Lorecast was born. The Cups joined the Robots Radio Network and Rocket Club and released the first episode of the Dragon Age Lorecast in August of 2021. They were blown away by the response to our show. The Cups kept building and growing their community, and pretty soon, they’d launched three more podcasts. The Assassin’s Creed Lorecast and The Holocron Histories Podcast (with Ben of Temeria) were launched around the same time, in February of 2022. Most recently, The Inheritance Cycle Page by Page Podcast was launched in September of 2022.
By far, the Cups’ favorite thing about all of the podcasts they’ve created together is the people. They built a positive and welcoming online community—which can be really hard to find on the internet! When they’re not podcasting or gaming, Shelby likes to garden, take walks, read, and listen to music. Austin likes to cook, play guitar, read, and play Settlers of Catan. They also spend time with their dog, Snips.