The Boiled Leather Audio Hour

An in-depth thematic discussion of George R.R. Martin's epic fantasy series A Song of Ice and Fire, the basis for HBO's Game of Thrones, featuring Sean T. Collins and Stefan Sasse. Warning: Westerosi wonkery ahead.

BLAH Special - Fighting Trump, with Frank Spring

In a special, political episode, I talk with political operative Frank Spring about the upcoming presidential elections. If you don’t want politics from me, stay away from this episode :) You have been warned. Download the episode!TorrentOur iTunes page.Previous episodes.Podcast RSS feed.Stefan on Twitter. Stefan on Bluesky. Stefan’s blog.

01-28
01:02:11

BLAH 187 | Top Ten TV Shows of 2023, with Sean T. Collins

Sean has written a list of the top ten TV shows of 2023 (https://decider.com/2023/12/29/sean-t-collinss-top-10-tv-shows-of-2023/), and we’re here to talk about it. Take it as your to-do-list, nod along or vehemently disagree!Download the episode!TorrentOur iTunes page.Previous episodes.Podcast RSS feed.Stefan on Twitter.Stefan’s blog.Sean on Twitter.

01-24
01:06:11

BLAH 186 | Oppenheimer and logical insanity of nuclear weapons, with Tim Westmyer

Oppenheimer has been released on BlueRay. Having missed it in cinema and after covering Barbie with Sean, I’ll now took BLAH veteran and nuclear deterrence expert Tim Westmyer to debate why Oppenheimer is such a good movie, to clear up some of the technical questions and to have a deeper look at the genesis of nuclear weapons as portrayed by Christopher Nolan. Download the episode!TorrentOur PatreonStefan’s blog here.

12-24
01:02:45

BLAH 185 | Napoleon, way too short and way too long, with Steven Attewell

Ridley Scott’s new epic “Napoleon” sure is divisive and polarizing. It takes two historians to get the definitive judgement on the movie, and it’s greatly helped that we are in agreement: this movie is either way too short or way too long. Either one. Download the episode!TorrentOur PatreonStefan’s blog here.Steve’s blog here.

12-03
58:37

BLAH 184 | A Tale of Two Germanies - Democratization, with Jim McGeehin

BLAH 184 | A Tale of Two Germanies - Democratization, with Jim McGeehinWith Zero Hour dealt with, we’re looking at how the Western Allies laid the foundations for the democratization of Western Germany. From the foundation of parties to the Marshall Plan, the Allies were not exactly on the same page. Download the episode!Our Patreon page at patreon.com/boiledleatheraudiohour.TorrentOur iTunes page.Previous episodes.Podcast RSS feed.Stefan’s blog.Jim’s blogJim on Twitter.

11-13
01:24:38

BLAH 183 | Javi interviews Stefan, with Javi Marcos

In a crossover with Javi Marcos, you’re getting an episode in which he interviews me.Download the episode!Our Patreon page at patreon.com/boiledleatheraudiohour.TorrentOur iTunes page.Previous episodes.Podcast RSS feed.Stefan’s blog.Javi on Twitter.

11-02
56:06

BLAH 182 | A Tale of Two Germanies - Zero Hour, with Jim McGeehin

Jim and I started a new subseries in our ongoing coverage of German history. This time, we will cover the divided Germany after World War II up until reunification. In our first installment, we set the scene in 1945, directly after the war. How did Germany look, and how was its outlook? And what is the myth of Zero Hour?Download the episode!Our Patreon page at patreon.com/boiledleatheraudiohour.TorrentOur iTunes page.Previous episodes.Podcast RSS feed.Stefan’s blog.Jim’s blogJim on Twitter.

09-24
01:05:58

BLAC 48 | Barbie (the Movie)

In a surprise twist, we make a BLAC episode available for everyone! Enjoy, and if you do, pledge at the Conversationalist level and get access to 47 other episodes and everything that will come after!Download the episode!TorrentOur iTunes page.Previous episodes.Podcast RSS feed.Stefan on Twitter.Stefan’s blog.Sean on Twitter.

09-09
56:44

BLAH 181 | Designing board games, with Bryan Kromrey

With board game designer Bryan Kromrey, I talk about the adaptation of the famous RTS “Company of Heroes”, how the modern Kickstarter economy works and how his process for a second edition went.Download the episode!TorrentOur iTunes page.Previous episodes.Podcast RSS feed.Stefan on Twitter.Stefan’s blog.Company of Heroes on Boardgamegeek. Company of Heroes on Kickstarter.

09-08
01:10:51

BLAH 180 | Best of ASOAIF - The Hound’s Origin Speech, with Sean T. Collins

Origin stories are a Hollywood trope. Oftentimes, they’re rote and uninteresting, but if done right, they can recontextualize and enrich characters you never thought would rise above mid-level anti-hero-badassery. Case in point: the Hound, who gives the speech of a lifetime to Sansa in “A Game of Thrones”.Download the episode!TorrentOur iTunes page.Previous episodes.Podcast RSS feed.Stefan on Twitter.Stefan’s blog.Sean on Twitter.

08-05
55:47

BLAH 179 | Kaiserreich - War, 1918, with Jim McGeehin

Finally, we’re in the home stretch. From the peace of Brest-Litovsk to the Kaiserschlacht offensive to the breakdown of the Central Powers and the winding down of the war in the fall, we’re doing the whole picture.Download the episode!Our Patreon page at patreon.com/boiledleatheraudiohour.TorrentOur iTunes page.Previous episodes.Podcast RSS feed.Stefan’s blog.Jim’s blogJim on Twitter.

06-30
01:08:02

BLAH 178 | The best of ASOIAF - Bran’s Dream, with Sean T. Collins

In the next installment of our ongoing series, we talk about Bran’s Dream from AGOT, Bran III. It’s a testament to Martin’s abilities as a gardener as well as to our ability to constantly reinterpret the source text.Download the episode!TorrentThe text for reference.Our iTunes page.Previous episodes.Podcast RSS feed.Stefan on Twitter.Stefan’s blog.Sean on Twitter.

06-22
49:25

BLAM 177 | Kaiserreich: War 1917, with Jim McGeehin

We continue into the year 1917! This time, our focus is not on tactics, strategy, weapons and stuff but on the epochal events of the Russian Revolution and the American entry into the war.Download the episode!Our Patreon page at patreon.com/boiledleatheraudiohour.TorrentOur iTunes page.Previous episodes.Podcast RSS feed.Stefan’s blog.Jim’s blogJim on Twitter.

05-21
01:09:19

BLAM 176 | Kaiserreich - War 1916, with Jim McGeehin

We’re continuing the story of World War I with the year 1916. The battles of Verdun and the Somme are the most famous, and we’re giving them the space they deserve, but the Romanian campaign, the Brusilov offensive and the Battle of Jutland also get their share. To top it off, we delve into the politics of the year, which may surprise you in how consequential they were. Download the episode!Our Patreon page at patreon.com/boiledleatheraudiohour.TorrentOur iTunes page.Previous episodes.Podcast RSS feed.Stefan’s blog.Jim’s blogJim on Twitter.

04-27
01:15:46

BLAH 175 | The best of ASOIAF - Septon Meribald’s monologue, with Sean T. Collins

It was only a question of time until we hit one of the most profound and meaningful pieces of text in the whole ASOIAF corpus, but we did it! Sean and I talk Septon Meribald’s “broken men” speech. Follow us along hitting you over the head with deep in-text-analysis. Download the episode!TorrentThe text for reference. Our iTunes page.Previous episodes.Podcast RSS feed.Stefan on Twitter.Stefan’s blog.Sean on Twitter.

04-19
53:36

BLAH 174 | Who is the Knight of the Laughing Tree?

This is special episode. I have been challenged by Kienn Joiaf to defend my assertion that Lyanna Stark is the Knight of the Laughing Tree and to disprove their theory that in truth it is Eddard Stark. That theory is laid out here, but I will summarize it in the episode - and then take it apart. It’s not a kind thing to do that to a Podator, but we are rebels, so we rebel. Or something to that effect. Oh, and here’s the link to all Supreme Court of Westeros episodes.Download the episode!Our Patreon page at patreon.com/boiledleatheraudiohour.TorrentOur iTunes page.Previous episodes.Podcast RSS feed.Stefan’s blog.

03-27
37:01

BLAH 173 | Kaiserreich - War 1915, with Jim McGeehin

We’re continuing the story of World War I with the year 1915. From the massive loss of human lives in the big offensives, the Western stalemate and the breakthrough in the East, to technological innovations like aerial bombardement and poison gas to the political sphere, we have it all.Download the episode!Our Patreon page at patreon.com/boiledleatheraudiohour.TorrentOur iTunes page.Previous episodes.Podcast RSS feed.Stefan’s blog.Jim’s blogJim on Twitter.

03-10
01:16:43

BLAH 172 | Kaiserreich - War 1914, with Jim McGeehin

We are finally here: World War I has broken out, and now it’s off to the military history. But not so fast! Before you think we’re down to discussing which caliber of gun is superior to which, let me assure you: we take the big view, and look at how politics and war intersect and why the war isn’t over by christmas, but rather evolving into something else entirely.Download the episode!Our Patreon page at patreon.com/boiledleatheraudiohour.TorrentOur iTunes page.Previous episodes.Podcast RSS feed.Stefan’s blog.Jim’s blogJim on Twitter.

03-04
01:12:52

BLAH 170 | Back to the sources, with Mattea Barbagallo

Greek myths and medieval novels provide a rich tapestry of themes and inspiration that inspire literature for centuries now. Reason enough for us here at the Boiled Leather Audio Hour to go to that well and drink deep. I recruited Mattea Barbagallo for this, who expertly talks about Greek myth and medieval novels and how they pertain to our beloved saga.Download the episode!TorrentOur iTunes page.Previous episodes.Podcast RSS feed.Stefan on Twitter.Stefan’s blog.Matteo in Twitter.

12-22
01:18:06

BLAH 171 | Lightning doesn’t strike twice, with Sean T. Collins

Sean and I are on record being huge fans of the German series “Dark”. Their creators now published their follow-up work, “1899”, streaming on Netflix. However, lighting doesn’t strike twice, and the show doesn’t manage to live up to its predecessor. We analyze what went wrong and why it’s still worth the watch. Download the episode!TorrentOur iTunes page.Previous episodes.Podcast RSS feed.Stefan on Twitter.Stefan’s blog.Sean on Twitter.

12-22
53:49

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