Episodes

  • Between the Borderlands: The Gordon Child... of NIMH (E313)
    Feb 6 2026

    I begin this episode by talking about two Kickstarters I recently backed.

    Tanya Flocker’s The Thunder Perfect Mind (ending February 10th) https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/floaker/the-thunder-perfect-mind?ref=discovery&term=the%20thunder%20perfect%20mind&total_hits=1&category_id=34

    Three Sail Studio’s Gallows Corner - A Peasants’ Revolt RPG https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/threesailsstudios/gallows-corner-a-peasants-revolt-rpg?ref=nav_search&result=project&term=gallows%20corner&total_hits=1

    This is followed by some Movie Monday feedback from Evil Jeff of Minions & Musings (podcast), Joe Richter of Hindsighless (podcast), and Mirke of Mirke the Meek (podcast).

    Find the Movie Monday Letterboxd list here https://letterboxd.com/the39thman/list/movie-monday-1/

    This month’s Movie Monday is The Golden Voyage of Sinbad from 1973. Directed by Gordon Hessler and featuring stop-motion effects of Ray Harryhausen. That episode will air on February 23rd, so please send in your submissions by the 21st if you’d like to be included in the show.

    Also, be sure not to miss the new podcast I’m involved with, entitled With Wife and I. My wife, Isla, suggested we take turns choosing movies to watch together, then share our thoughts with anyone who cares to listen. You can find it wherever you get your podcasts.

    Leave me an audio message via ⁠https://www.speakpipe.com/KeepOffTheBorderlands

    You can email me at ⁠spencer.freethrall@gmail.com⁠ or look me up on Discord as FreeThrall

    You can find me in a bunch of other places here ⁠https://freethrall.carrd.co⁠



    This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit freethrall.substack.com
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    19 mins
  • Movie Monday: The Golden Child (1986) (E312)
    Jan 25 2026

    For the first Movie Monday of 2026, we watched dark fantasy action comedy The Golden Child from 1986. Directed by Michael Ritchie and starring Eddie Murphy, Charlotte Lewis, Charles Dance, and Victor Wong.

    This episode features contributions from:

    (in order of appearance)

    Joe Richter of Hindsighless (podcast)

    Goblin’s henchman (podcast, blog) and the UmberBulk of the Southwest Sofa Crew

    M.W. Lewis from The World of M.W. Lewis (podcast)

    Find the Movie Monday Letterboxd list here https://letterboxd.com/the39thman/list/movie-monday-1/

    The movie for February is The Golden Voyage of Sinbad from 1973. Directed by Gordon Hessler and featuring stop-motion effects of Ray Harryhausen. That episode will air on February 23rd, so please send in your submissions by the 21st if you’d like to be included in the show.

    Also, be sure not to miss the new podcast I’m involved with, entitled With Wife and I. My wife, Isla, suggested we take turns choosing movies to watch together, then share our thoughts with anyone who cares to listen. You can find it wherever you get your podcasts.

    “Warning” by Lieren of Updates From the Middle of Nowhere

    Leave me an audio message via ⁠https://www.speakpipe.com/KeepOffTheBorderlands

    You can email me at ⁠spencer.freethrall@gmail.com⁠ or look me up on Discord as FreeThrall.

    You can find me in a bunch of other places here ⁠https://freethrall.carrd.co⁠



    This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit freethrall.substack.com
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    1 hr and 3 mins
  • Flash Gordon 2: Flash Back (E311)
    Jan 21 2026

    Well, I think it’s high time Flash Gordon got its sequel, so here it is, a sequel to December’s Movie Monday episode at least.

    Featuring messages from DarkFluid and Q, M.W. Lewis from the Worlds of M.W. Lewis (podcast), Joe Richter of Hindsightless (podcast), Goblin’s Henchman (podcast), and Jason Connerley of Nerd’s RPG Variety Cast.

    Find the Movie Monday Letterboxd list here https://letterboxd.com/the39thman/list/movie-monday-1/

    This month Movie Monday is dark fantasy action comedy The Golden Child from 1986. Directed by Michael Ritchie and starring Eddie Murphy. That episode will air on January 26th, so please send your submissions by the 24th if you’d like to be included in the show.

    Also, be sure not to miss the new podcast I’m involved with, entitled With Wife and I. Isla and I take turns choosing movies to watch together, then share our thoughts with anyone who cares to listen.

    “Warning” by Lieren of Updates From the Middle of Nowhere

    Leave me an audio message via ⁠https://www.speakpipe.com/KeepOffTheBorderlands

    You can email me at spencer.freethrall@gmail.com, follow me on BlueSky @freethrall.bsky.social or look me up on Discord by searching for freethrall

    You can also hear me in actual plays on Grizzly Peaks Radio and find me in a bunch of other places here ⁠https://freethrall.carrd.co⁠



    This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit freethrall.substack.com
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    1 hr and 1 min
  • Boxes & Books (Helluva Town, Cosmic Dark, Rune) (E310)
    Jan 14 2026

    Welcome to my first episode of 2026, wherein you will hear some audio unboxings, I talk about improving my reading habits, and my in-house book reviewer, Fox Loves Carrots (formerly known as Little Munchkin), returns to talk about Carlos Sanchez’s Rune: The Tale of a Thousand Faces.

    Featuring: Helluva Town - Cartoon Gangster RPG from Achron Games, Cosmic Dark by Graham Walmsley, The Wind’s Twelve Quarters by Ursula K. Le Guin, A Dreamer’s Tales by Lord Dunsany, Bound In Flesh: An Anthology of Trans Body Horror edited by Lor Gislason.

    Find the Movie Monday Letterboxd list here https://letterboxd.com/the39thman/list/movie-monday-1/

    This month Movie Monday is dark fantasy action comedy The Golden Child from 1986. Directed by Michael Ritchie and starring Eddie Murphy. That episode will air on January 26th, so please send your submissions by the 24th if you’d like to be included in the show.

    Also, be sure not to miss the new podcast I’m involved with, entitled With Wife and I. Isla and I take turns choosing movies to watch together, then share our thoughts with anyone who cares to listen.

    “Warning” by Lieren of Updates From the Middle of Nowhere

    Leave me an audio message via ⁠https://www.speakpipe.com/KeepOffTheBorderlands

    You can email me at spencer.freethrall@gmail.com, follow me on BlueSky @freethrall.bsky.social or look me up on Discord by searching for freethrall

    You can also hear me in actual plays on Grizzly Peaks Radio and find me in a bunch of other places here ⁠https://freethrall.carrd.co⁠



    This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit freethrall.substack.com
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    44 mins
  • Movie Monday: Flash Gordon (1980) (E309)
    Dec 29 2025

    Notes coming soon!



    This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit freethrall.substack.com
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    1 hr and 8 mins
  • Between the Borderlands: Miracle on Dirty Thought Street (E308)
    Dec 11 2025

    The debate continues. Jason Hobbs (Random Screed, Hobbs & Friends podcast) and MW Lewis (The Worlds of MW Lewis podcast) call in to convince me that Nausicaä is mooning us all.

    See the case for the defence below…

    Exhibit A: https://www.reddit.com/r/ghibli/comments/q9z5j6/is_anybody_else_bothered_by_all_the_gratuitous/

    Exhibit B: https://anime.stackexchange.com/questions/32328/does-nausica%C3%A4-wear-underpants-and-if-not-what-outside-universe-reason-is-there

    Exhibit C: https://nausicaa.fandom.com/f/p/3083158488613143982

    Exhibit D: https://discuss.panzerdragoonlegacy.com/t/nausicaas-ass/774

    Find the Movie Monday Letterboxd list here https://letterboxd.com/the39thman/list/movie-monday-1/

    The movie for December is Mike Hodges’ 1980s camp classic Flash Gordon. That episode will air on December 29th, so please send your submissions by the 27th if you’d like to be included in the show.

    Also, be sure not to miss the new podcast I’m involved with, entitled With Wife and I. My wife, Isla, suggested we take turns to choose movies to watch together, then share our thoughts with anyone who cares to listen. Our second episode is already available, pitting Neil Jordan’s Byzantium against Kathryn Bigelow’s Near Dark.



    This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit freethrall.substack.com
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    11 mins
  • Flying Solo (Carved in Stone, Star Borg, Astroprisma) (E307)
    Dec 8 2025

    Welcome to another episode of Keep off the Borderlands, wherein I answer some calls, open some boxes, and chat about solo tabletop roleplaying games.

    Featuring calls from Karl Rodriguez of The GMologist presents…, Jason Connerley of Nerd’s RPG Variety Cast, Joe Richter of Hindsightless and Mirke of Mirke the Meek podcast.

    We talk about getting older, Miyazaki’s Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind, and Mothership hack Cloud Empress.

    Cloud Empress by Watt can be found here: https://www.drivethrurpg.com/en/product/454022/cloud-empress-rulebook?src=hottest_filtered

    I open some parcels containing such delights as Carved in Stone by Brian Tyrell and Lizy Simenon…

    Astroprism by Camila Mera of Crescent Chimera…

    Scarred For Life: Volume III by Stephen Brotherstone & Dave Lawrence and The Feast of Tegney Wood by Yochai Gal.

    The Feast of Tegny Wood PDF is available for free here: https://www.drivethrurpg.com/en/product/541026/cas-3-the-feast-of-tegny-wood

    I then talk about a few solo role-playing games that have piqued my interest:

    Solo D6 Fantasy Expanded by sceptr, which can be found here: https://cseptr.itch.io/solo-d6-fantasy-expanded

    Star Borg by JP Coovert, which can be found here: https://jpcoovert.com

    and TREY - Solo Roleplaying by Mattias Peterburg & Clarence Redd, which can be found here: https://www.drivethrurpg.com/en/product/469224/trey-solo-roleplaying

    Find the Movie Monday Letterboxd list here https://letterboxd.com/the39thman/list/movie-monday-1/

    The movie for December is Mike Hodges’ 1980s camp classic Flash Gordon. That episode will air on December 29th, so please send your submissions by the 27th if you’d like to be included in the show.

    Also, be sure not to miss the new podcast entitled With Wife and I. My wife, Isla, suggested we take turns choosing movies to watch together, then share our thoughts with anyone who cares to listen. Our second episode is another vampire double-bill, pitting Neil Jordan’s Byzantium against Kathryn Bigelow’s Near Dark.

    “Warning” by Lieren of Updates From the Middle of Nowhere

    You can find me in a bunch of other places here ⁠https://freethrall.carrd.co⁠

    Follow me on BlueSky @freethrall.bsky.social or look me up on Discord by searching for freethrall

    You can also hear me in actual plays on Grizzly Peaks Radio



    This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit freethrall.substack.com
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    41 mins
  • Movie Monday: Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind (E306)
    Nov 23 2025

    Welcome to Movie Monday! This month’s movie was Hayao Miyazaki’s animated post-apocalyptic fantasy Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind from 1984. A based on Miyazaki’s own critically acclaimed manga series of the same name.

    This episode features contributions from:

    (in order of appearance)

    James Knight and Ellen of the Southwest London Sofa Gang

    James and Judy of the South Pacific Sofa

    Jason Connerley of Nerd’s RPG Variety Cast (podcast, blog)

    Goblin’s Henchman (podcast & blog) & the Umber Bulk

    Joe Richter of Hindsighless (podcast)

    Jason Hobbs of Hobbs and Friends, and Random Screed (podcasts)

    MW Lewis of The Worlds of MW Lewis (podcast)

    Mirke of Mirke the Meek (podcast)

    Find the Movie Monday Letterboxd list here https://letterboxd.com/the39thman/list/movie-monday-1/

    The movie for December is Mike Hodges’ 1980s camp classic Flash Gordon. That episode will air on December 29th, so please send your submissions by the 27th if you’d like to be included in the show.

    Also, be sure not to miss the new podcast I’m involved with, entitled With Wife and I. My wife, Isla, suggested we take turns to choose movies to watch together, then share our thoughts with anyone who cares to listen. Our second episode is already available, pitting Neil Jordan’s Byzantium against Kathryn Bigelow’s Near Dark. https://open.spotify.com/episode/3gAZmllf145wZLkdbkYbra?si=O5ZQFgBLQ0yjzkMvbzDaCg

    “Warning” by Lieren of Updates From the Middle of Nowhere

    Leave me an audio message via ⁠https://www.speakpipe.com/KeepOffTheBorderlands

    You can email me at ⁠spencer.freethrall@gmail.com⁠

    You can find me in a bunch of other places here ⁠https://freethrall.carrd.co⁠



    This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit freethrall.substack.com
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    1 hr and 43 mins