Imaginary Hatchets

“Bro”

“We’ve had our differences.” 

The push notifications hit my phone. It’s from Chris Kooluris (Kaneda’s Pinball Podcast). My heart rate spikes, and I clench my teeth. It’s pure fight or flight, after years of tense, unpredictable exchanges that have conditioned me to brace for conflict.

It’s 4:30 p.m. on a summer Friday, and I’m at a playground with my family. My son is 2 years old, and I’ve been dealing with Chris for just as long. We’re having fun, and I want to be present for them, so I put away the phone.

Later, I’d learn Chris was intoxicated and flinging messages. I don’t reply.

Earlier that afternoon, Chris had already fired off the opening lines to what would later prove to be a lie. 

“Retro Ralph just called to bury [the] hatchet! Great guy! Love his stuff! Don next?”

While it may seem like another weird flare-up in pinball media, it’s more than that. It’s a new chapter in the long story of an exhausting pattern of behavior by Chris Kooluris that vacillates between conflict and half-hearted apology.

This article isn’t about canceling Chris Kooluris or his podcast. Everyone is allowed to have their opinion and voice it within the community. It is, however, an opportunity to reflect on what we want the pinball community to represent and the accountability we expect from our most prominent voices. 

This feud, if you can call it that, had been simmering since at least the first episode of The Pinball Roundtable podcast with Jamie Burchell, Retro Ralph, and Cale Hernandez. Maybe it dates back to this year’s TWIPYs and Chris’ reaction to losing the podcast award to Cale’s Electric Bat Podcast. It’s tough to say for sure. 

In the Roundtable show, the three discuss negativity in pinball, and the conversation turns to Chris Kooluris and his show, Kaneda’s Pinball Podcast. 

“Is it a schtick or is it reality?”. 

The hosts don’t land on a conclusion. Instead, they make a show of unsubscribing from Chris’ Patreon account for the podcast.

Thus begins a new cycle of conflict in the pinball media space, with Chris at the center.