The Boiled Leather Audio Hour

BLAH 221 | A tale of two Germanies - Turnaround, with Jim McGeehin

01 Mar 2026

Contributed by Lukas

We' re continuing our series and talk about the FRG in the 1980s.

BLAH 222 | A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms, S01E06, with Sean T. Collins

25 Feb 2026

Contributed by Lukas

We're reviewing the final episode of the season. What I show!

BLAH 220 | A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms, S01E05, with Sean T. Collins

21 Feb 2026

Contributed by Lukas

We talk about the big event, of course, but there's also a huge discussion about the worth of flashbacks and we even add a little addendum about t...

BLAH 219 | A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms, S01E04, with Sean T. Collins

10 Feb 2026

Contributed by Lukas

Payoffs are coming. We talk about the emotional impact this episode had.

BLAH 218 | A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms, S01E03, with Sean T. Collins

08 Feb 2026

Contributed by Lukas

We review the third episode of a show that's just getting stronger every week, and giving you some sound structural reasons as to why!

BLAH 217 | A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms, S01E02, with Sean T. Collins

28 Jan 2026

Contributed by Lukas

We review the second episode.

BLAH 216 | A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms, S01E01, with Sean T. Collins

19 Jan 2026

Contributed by Lukas

We are reviewing the first episode of the Dunk&Egg saga! Follow us along interpreting the new Laughing Storm and Dunk's extremely serious naiv...

BLAH 215 | The Best of ASOIAF - The Hedge Knight, with Sean T. Collins

22 Dec 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Without any reason in HBO's programming schedule whatsoever, we tackle the "Hedge Knight" and its value system.

BLAH 214 | A Tale of Two Germanies - Honecker, with Jim McGeehin

09 Nov 2025

Contributed by Lukas

In our 11th episode of the subseries about the history of the divided Germany, we're looking at East Germany from 1973 to 1989 - the era named aft...

BLAH 213 | Revenge in ASOIAF, with Grant Piercy (Heathen King)

06 Nov 2025

Contributed by Lukas

In this episode, I take Grant Piercy, better known as Heathen King, to task. We talk about revenge in ASOIAF and in the real world, as well. Find his ...

BLAH 212 Best of ASOIAF - The House of the Undying, with Sean T. Collins

28 Oct 2025

Contributed by Lukas

It is the day of days - we're tackling one of the biggest chapters yet. Who are the three heads of the dragon? What are the betrayals? Who's t...

BLAH 211 | Good and evil in ASOIAF, with Quinn the GM

13 Sep 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Is there good and evil in ASOIAF, or is just a morally grey mass and mess? I take this up with Quinn the GM, who made a very instructive video essay o...

BLAH 210 | A Tale of Two Germanies - Ostpolitik, with Jim McGeehin

18 Aug 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Today, we're taking a look at the detente between West and East Germany. What were the factors breaking the deadlock in domestic and international...

BLAH 209 | Best of ASOIAF - Jon's death, with Sean T. Collins

13 Aug 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Jon's death comes as a big surprise for first-time readers, and not because it's sprung on you but because Martin is a damn good writer. We ex...

BLAH 208 | The Best of ASOIAF - The Whispering Wood, with Sean T. Collins

23 Jul 2025

Contributed by Lukas

We’re talking about the Whispering Wood, and come off with one fundamental insight: GRRM is a good writer.

BLAH 207 | Designing board games, with Artyom Nichipurov

23 Jul 2025

Contributed by Lukas

I’m talking to Artyom Nichipurov from Wolffdesigna Games, a Latvian firm that’s most famous for the excellent “Guards of Atlantis II”, a table...

BLAH 206 | A Tale of Two Germanies - Change, with Jim McGeehin

28 May 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Today, we're talking about the period from 1966 to 1974. Witness the Grand Coalition and the coming into power of Willy Brandt, heading the first ...

BLAH 205 | A Tale of Two Germanies - Ulbricht, with Jim McGeehin

16 May 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Today, we’re covering the first half of the history of the Democratic Republic of Germany - or East Germany, to its friends. From the earliest days ...

BLAH 204 | The Best of ASOIAF - The Bridge of Dream, with Sean T. Collins

06 Mar 2025

Contributed by Lukas

In our ongoing series on the best moments of the series, we take apart the Bridge of Dream sequence, which provides us with some unusualy challenges -...

BLAH 203 | A Tale of two Germanies - Conservatism, with Jim McGeehin

28 Feb 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Today, we're looking at why the CDU could rule for 20 years in the early German republic. There's a good combination of electoral shenanigans,...

BLAH 202 | A Tale of Two Germanies - Berlin, with Jim McGeehin

05 Feb 2025

Contributed by Lukas

From the Berlin airlift to the Berlin wall, this episodes covers Germany’s capital (and the capital of spies) from wall to wall.

BLAH 201 | Few Dungeons and Rare Dragons, with Adrian Daub

05 Feb 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Everyone and their mother knows Dungeons&Dragons, at least in concept. But few people know the most important German roleplaying game, “The Dark...

BLAH 200 | Best of ASOIAF: The Red Wedding, with Sean T. Collins

05 Feb 2025

Contributed by Lukas

This is our 200th episode. Of course we wanted to do something special. George R. R. Martin asked us if he could guest host, but we were too busy, so ...

BLAH 199 | A Tale of Two Germanies - Establishment, with Jim McGeehin

05 Feb 2025

Contributed by Lukas

We’re back again! With Jim McGeehin, I talk about the founding of not one but two German states. We’ll have a look at why we’re creating two sta...

BLAH 198 | A Tale of Two Germanies - Collectivization, with Jim McGeehin

05 Feb 2025

Contributed by Lukas

After 11 months, we’re back talking the history of the divided Germany! After looking at western Germany last time round, this time, we’re taking ...

BLAH 197 | House of the Dragon, S02E08, with Sean T. Collins

05 Feb 2025

Contributed by Lukas

The season finale is here! Sean and I have a slightly different view about it, but as is our wont, we agree on a lot, and the show stays superb even t...

BLAH 195 | House of the Dragon, S02E07, with Sean T. Collins

05 Feb 2025

Contributed by Lukas

There’s a lot of dragons this episode, and we’re comparing the show to Better Call Saul, The Americans and Halt and Catch Fire, because that makes...

BLAH 195 | House of the Dragon, S02E06, with Sean T. Collins

05 Feb 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Three days, and there’s good news (even earlier if you’re a Patreon!): HotD is STILL one of the best things on TV right now. This episode, charac...

BLAH 194 | House of the Dragon, S02E05, with Sean T. Collins

05 Feb 2025

Contributed by Lukas

“House of the Dragon” continues to be excellent in this laid-back but still incredibly rich and textured episode. We discuss shot compositions, ni...

BLAH 193 | House of the Dragon, S02E04, with Sean T. Collins and Gretchen Felker-Martin

05 Feb 2025

Contributed by Lukas

The dragons danced and died, but Stefan skipped town. Yet Sean is not flying solo! Friend of the show Gretchen Felker-Martin, the acclaimed horror nov...

BLAH 192 | House of the Dragon, S02E03, with Sean T. Collins

05 Feb 2025

Contributed by Lukas

This may just be the best episode of a great show yet. Sean and I discuss why in exhaustive and euphoric detail. Also, more detail than you wanted abo...

BLAH 191 | House of the Dragon, S02E02, with Sean T. Collins

05 Feb 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Now we’re in episode 2. Who won? Ser Arryk or Ser Erryk? We’re not confused. Because we care about themes.

BLAH 190 | House of the Dragon, season 2, episode 1, with Sean T. Collins

05 Feb 2025

Contributed by Lukas

You didn’t think we’d miss this, right? Weekly episodes, from now on, on the regular channel! Listen to us how we discuss the most important thing...

BLAH 189 | Best of ASOIAF: Dracarys, with Sean T. Collins

05 Feb 2025

Contributed by Lukas

We finally did it and continue the “Best of ASOIAF” series. It’s a crowd pleaser, Daenerys’ “Dracarys” moment, which also marked a turnin...

BLAH 188 - Fighting Trump, with Frank Spring

05 Feb 2025

Contributed by Lukas

In a special, political episode, I talk with political operative Frank Spring about the upcoming presidential elections. If you don’t want politics...

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

05 Feb 2025

Contributed by Lukas

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...

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

05 Feb 2025

Contributed by Lukas

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 det...

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

05 Feb 2025

Contributed by Lukas

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...

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

05 Feb 2025

Contributed by Lukas

With Zero Hour dealt with, we’re looking at how the Western Allies laid the foundations for the democratization of Western Germany. From the foundat...

BLAH 183 | Javi interviews Stefan, with Javi Marcos

05 Feb 2025

Contributed by Lukas

In a crossover with Javi Marcos, you’re getting an episode in which he interviews me.

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

05 Feb 2025

Contributed by Lukas

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 ...

BLAH 181 | Designing board games, with Bryan Kromrey

05 Feb 2025

Contributed by Lukas

With board game designer Bryan Kromrey, I talk about the adaptation of the famous RTS “Company of Heroes”, how the modern Kickstarter economy work...

BLAH 180 | Best of ASOIAF - The Hounds origin speech, with Sean T. Collins

05 Feb 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Origin stories are a Hollywood trope. Oftentimes, they’re rote and uninteresting, but if done right, they can recontextualize and enrich characters ...

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

05 Feb 2025

Contributed by Lukas

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 w...

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

05 Feb 2025

Contributed by Lukas

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 garde...

BLAM 177 | Kaiserreich: War 1917, with Jim McGeehin

05 Feb 2025

Contributed by Lukas

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 Revoluti...

BLAM 176 | Kaiserreich - War 1916, with Jim McGeehin

05 Feb 2025

Contributed by Lukas

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 s...

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

05 Feb 2025

Contributed by Lukas

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...

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

05 Feb 2025

Contributed by Lukas

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 disp...

BLAH 173 | Kaiserreich - War 1915, with Jim McGeehin

05 Feb 2025

Contributed by Lukas

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 ...

BLAH 172 | Kaiserreich - War 1914, with Jim McGeehin

05 Feb 2025

Contributed by Lukas

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 discuss...

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

05 Feb 2025

Contributed by Lukas

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 ...

BLAH 170 | Back to the sources, with Mattea Barbagallo

05 Feb 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Greek myths and medieval novels provide a rich tapestry of themes and inspiration that inspire literature for centuries now. Reason enough for us here...

BLAH 169 | Andor, Episode 12, with Sean T. Collins

05 Feb 2025

Contributed by Lukas

The finale is out! We get a funeral, a rom-com between two fascists, a prison break, a child marriage, police shooting unarmed civilians, a terrorist,...

BLAH 168 | All Quiet on Netflix, with Peter Doyle

05 Feb 2025

Contributed by Lukas

I reviewed Netflix’ adaptation of “All Quiet on the Western Front” for the Patreon already, but now I want to do an in-depth-look with an expert...

BLAH 167 | Andor, episode 11, with Sean T. Collins

05 Feb 2025

Contributed by Lukas

What is this? A review of Andor? Isn’t this supposed to be exclusive to the Boiled Leather Audio Moment? Yes, of course. But christmas is coming ear...

BLAM 166 | Kaiserreich, July, with Jim McGeehin

05 Feb 2025

Contributed by Lukas

It’s been a long time since episode 151, but after the gruelling regime of covering three shows (HotD, LOTRTROP and Andor) simultaneously for weeks...

BLAH 165 | House of the Dragon, episode 10, with Sean T. Collins

05 Feb 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Not only did the Boiled Leather Audio Hour produce a roundtable about the finale, the regular episode with Sean T. Collin was produced as well! If my ...

BLAH 164 | House of the Dragon, episode 10 ROUNDTABLE with Elio Garcia and Matteo Barbagallo

05 Feb 2025

Contributed by Lukas

The first season has come to a close! Before you get to enjoy the final review that Sean and I do together, I have a special treat for you: a roundtab...

BLAH 163 | House of the Dragon, episode 9, with Sean T. Collins

05 Feb 2025

Contributed by Lukas

The Green Council finally has arrived! People get murdered, smallfolk massacred, a king gets lost, factions betrayed, convictions challenged, all agai...

BLAH 162 |House of the Dragon, episode 8, with Sean T. Collins

05 Feb 2025

Contributed by Lukas

What’s more relaxing than a nice family dinner? Maybe a wedding at the Twins. In this episode, the showrunners manage to make a dinner into one of t...

BLAH 161 |House of the Dragon, episode 7, with Sean T. Collins

05 Feb 2025

Contributed by Lukas

The newest episode of House of the Dragon is out, and so is our podcast! We’re covering a sad funeral, a nice family meeting, a kid finding a new p...

BLAH 160 | House of the Dragon, season 1, episode 6, with Sean T. Collins

05 Feb 2025

Contributed by Lukas

It’s ten years since the last episode, but lucky for everyone, only in narrated time. We meet up with new actresses, aged-up actors and a shit-ton o...

BLAH 159 | House of the Dragon, season 1, episode 5, with Sean T. Collins

05 Feb 2025

Contributed by Lukas

The fifth episode of “House of the Dragon” came out, and the show is still great. It’s one of the best shows out there right now, no question, a...

BLAH 158 | House of the Dragon, season 1, episode 4, with Sean T. Collins

05 Feb 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Last week we asked whether episode 3 was the best episode yet, and it was at the time. Now it’s been dethroned, and the new heir is episode 4! Sean ...

BLAH 157 | House of the Dragon, season 1, episode 3

05 Feb 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Is this the best “House of the Dragon” episode yet? Granted, it’s only three episodes in, but this is shaping out to be one of the best shows a...

BLAH 156 | House of the Dragon, season 1, episode 2

05 Feb 2025

Contributed by Lukas

We did it! Sean and I coordinated our schedules and join our forces once again to talk “House of the Dragon”. This time, it’s episode 2. Is it b...

BLAH 155 | House of the Dragon, episode 1, with Sean T. Collins

05 Feb 2025

Contributed by Lukas

The House of the Dragon is finally here! Sean and I have written our own reviews (here and here), but now comes the great synthesis of what we think a...

BLAH 154 | Best of ASOIAF - The Defenestration of Bran, with Sean T. Collins

05 Feb 2025

Contributed by Lukas

When Bran was thrown out the window by Jaime Lannister, this marked the first real signal that something was different about this series. Today, Sean ...

BLAH 153 | Obi-Who Kenobi

05 Feb 2025

Contributed by Lukas

The Disney+ Miniseries “Obi-Wan Kenobi” starring Ewan McGregor just concluded its six-episode run. We are talking about why it was a show that exi...

BLAH 152 | The best of ASOIAF - The Knight of the Laughing Tree, with Sean T. Collins

05 Feb 2025

Contributed by Lukas

We are returing to our new series on our favorite moments in A Song of Ice and Fire. After Sean’s pick of the Tower of Joy last time, this time Stef...

BLAH 151 | Kaiserreich, episode 7 - Alliances, with Jim McGeehin

05 Feb 2025

Contributed by Lukas

After we followed Bismarck’s delicate attempt at maintaining European balance in the favor of German foreign policy interests, we now watch it all c...

BLAH 150 | Best of ASOIAF - Tower of Joy, with Sean T. Collins

05 Feb 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Sean and I start a new series, analyzing our favorite moments of the series. This week is about the Tower of Joy.

BLAH 149 | Kaiserreich, Episode 6: Colonialism, with Jim McGeehin

05 Feb 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Bismarck famously refused to engage in colonialism, only to do an about-face in the 1880s to create the third-largest colonial empire of the world. It...

BLAH 148 | Kaiserreich, Episode 5: Balancing, with Jim McGeehin

05 Feb 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Bismarck felt, in the colloquial French of the times, the "cauchemar des coalitions", the nightmare of coalitions. He wanted to keep the pea...

BLAH 147 | Wheel of Time, with Sean T. Collins

05 Feb 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Amazon produced a gigantic fantasy series in the hopes of upstaging Game of Thrones - or at least its own "Lord of the Rings The Rings of Power&q...

BLAH 146 | The Expanse, with Tim Westmeyr

05 Feb 2025

Contributed by Lukas

I'm talking about the phenomenon of "The Expanse" with Tim Westmeyr.

BLAH 145 | Kaiserreich, episode 4 - Kulturkampf, with Jim McGeehin

05 Feb 2025

Contributed by Lukas

The first political conflict of the Kaiserriech is upon us! The Kulturkampf, the first and titular culture war, against the catholic church and the su...

BLAH 144 | Happy Birthday to us, with a lot of people

05 Feb 2025

Contributed by Lukas

We are ten years old! Almost everyone who is someone in nerddom came over to talk to me and say some kind words.

BLAH 143 | Kaiserreich, Episode 3 - Constitution, with Jim McGeehin

05 Feb 2025

Contributed by Lukas

With the Kaiserreich now founded, Jim and I take a look under the hood and dissect its constitutional framework.

BLAH 142 | The Fremen Mirage, the myth of the Chosen One and military strategy in the Dune universe, with Bret Deveraux

05 Feb 2025

Contributed by Lukas

To talk about his famous blog series, I invited Bret back over to talk about the myths mentioned in the title.

BLAH 141 | A heap of toxic nerddom, with DancingSean

05 Feb 2025

Contributed by Lukas

One of the most popular series right now is "The Boys", which is rather toxic. So what's the whole deal about?

BLAH 140 | Kaiserreich, Episode 2 - War with JimMcGeehin

02 Feb 2025

Contributed by Lukas

After we looked at the political unification process, we're now looking at the more martially oriented one.

BLAH 139 | Do Fantasy and SciFi stick at the wall?, with Aziz

02 Feb 2025

Contributed by Lukas

What's this question about? Listen to find out!

BLAH 138 | Kaiserreich, Episode 1 - Federation, with Jim McGeehin

02 Feb 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Jim and I start a new sub-series on our "history of Germany" bigger series, looking where it all began: in the Kaiserreich.

BLAH 137 | US presidents, part 4, with Jim McGeehin

02 Feb 2025

Contributed by Lukas

We continue our series.

BLAH 136 | Forget the numbers, with Marcus A. Roberts and Frank Spring

02 Feb 2025

Contributed by Lukas

I'm bringing back the two political experts to talk about how campaigns go.

BLAH 135 | US presidents, part 3, with Jim McGeehin

02 Feb 2025

Contributed by Lukas

We continue our series.

BLAH 134 | Battlefields of bits and bytes - the history of the RTS genre, with Bret Deveraux

02 Feb 2025

Contributed by Lukas

With Bret Deveraux, I'm talking about RTS and their stories. Come back to the Tiberium Wars with us!

BLAH 133 | Telepathy, portals, necromancy and other magic, with Sean T. Collins

02 Feb 2025

Contributed by Lukas

After we explored the role that magical creatures play in ASOIAF in  episode 131, it’s time to look at other fantastical elements. From  magica...

BLAH 132 | US presidents, part 2, with Jim McGeehin

02 Feb 2025

Contributed by Lukas

We continue our series on the American presidents.

BLAH 131 | Grumkins, Snarks and other monsters, with Sean T. Collins

02 Feb 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Do Snarks and Grumpkins exist? Do Squishers? If they did, what would it mean? And what have the Brothers Grimm to do with it? Are direwolves monste...

BLAH 130 | The Westeros Cinematic Universe, with Sean T. Collins

02 Feb 2025

Contributed by Lukas

It has been a wild week. After all that casting news of “House of  the Dragon”, the new bid-budget HBO show on the Dance of the Dragons, we  n...

BLAH 129 | US Presidents 1, with Jim McGeehin

02 Feb 2025

Contributed by Lukas

After German history, Jim and I look at American presidents.

BLAH 128 | A neophyte's guide to Twin Peaks, with Sean T. Collins

02 Feb 2025

Contributed by Lukas

I watched Twin Peaks for the first time, and boy was it weird. I'm talking to strangeness expert Sean about it.

BLAH 127 | Tell your story, politics edition, with Marcus A. Roberts and Frank Spring

02 Feb 2025

Contributed by Lukas

We're taking a little holiday from Westeros and talk about how stories are told in political campaigns. I have two campaign experts with me for this. ...

BLAH 126 | The Weimar Republic: Lessons, with Jim McGeehin

02 Feb 2025

Contributed by Lukas

What lessons can we draw from the fall of the Weimar Republic?

BLAH 125 | The Golden Age of Television: Sean T. Collins with Gretchen Falkner

02 Feb 2025

Contributed by Lukas

I'm away for the month, so Sean steps in.

BLAH 124 | The Weimar Republic: Collapse, with Jim McGeehin

02 Feb 2025

Contributed by Lukas

The shock of the Depression might have shaken the republic, but it's brought down by forces from within.

BLAH 123 | Teachers of Ice and Fire III, with Sean T. Collins

02 Feb 2025

Contributed by Lukas

We continue our series about the teachers of Ice and Fire.