RPGaDay: How would you get more people playing RPGs?

That's a tough one.  But I think it needs a two-part approach.

1. Raise awareness of RPGs as a fun and popular hobby.
2. Raise awareness of RPGs that aren't D&D.

For part 1 I think Stranger Things is probably doing something, especially in season 4 where we see it played by characters like Eddie who's significantly older than Mike and friends, and also portraying it as just as exciting and memorable as a sporting event.  The upcoming D&D movie could also be a positive, if it can refrain from being terrible, but really just more media with RPGs shown as a normal thing that normal people do for fun.  Unfortunately it's not always that way.  What I've seen of The Big Bang Theory seems to portray playing D&D as more of a thing weird nerds do than normal people.

And yes, the hobby does have a substantial number of weird nerds, but it's also played by actual cool people like Vin Diesel and Tom Morello, so yes, more celebrities talking about their hobby could help overcome the nerd stigma attached to this game.

Part 2 means addressing the sticky point that there are a lot of people out there who might love RPGs but don't like fantasy, and because D&D is the big name, don't realise that there are other options.  So that's what I'm doing to get more people playing RPGs: attempting to promote my own game that contains no fantasy, sci-fi or horror elements and attempts to emulate an extremely popular genre.  I've heard from several married gamers who've managed to convince their wives to give RPGs a go with Matrons of Mystery.

And the bit I can't do, but I hope others are doing, is teaching kids how to play.  I'd like to think that kids aren't encumbered by a bunch of stereotypes and misconceptions about who RPGs are for, and encouraging young people to play not just D&D but games like Doctor Who means that when my generation are all in nursing homes, there'll be people out there willing to smuggle us in some dice and character sheets.