Keep off the Borderlands

"It's about RPGs and stuff" ~ Free Thrall
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Welcome to Keep off the Borderlands. Initially a podcast documenting my return to table top roleplay gaming following a thirty-year hiatus. Currently searching for excuses for why I haven't GM'd yet. You can leave me an audio message here or via Speakpipe at https://www.speakpipe.com/KeepOffTheBorderlands Email me at spencer.freethrall@gmail.com You can also follow me on Twitter https://twitter.com/FreeThrall and join the podcast Facebook group https://www.facebook.com/FreeThrall/ freethrall.substack.com

  1. 1 DAY AGO

    Movie Monday: The Golden Voyage of Sinbad (1973) (E315)

    For February’s Movie Monday, we watched The Golden Voyage of Sinbad from 1973, a fantasy adventure directed by Gordon Hessler and featuring stop-motion effects of Ray Harryhausen. This episode features contributions from: (in order of appearance) Jason Connerley of Nerd’s RPG Variety Cast (podcast) Goblin’s henchman (podcast, blog) and the UmberBulk of the Southwest Sofa Crew Joe Richter of Hindsighless (podcast) James Knight, Tyranner the Dwarf, and Ellen the Elf of the Southwest London Sofa Gang Find the Movie Monday Letterboxd list here https://letterboxd.com/the39thman/list/movie-monday-1/ The movie for March is The Adventures of Buckaroo Banzai Across the 8th Dimension from 1984, directed by W. D. Richter and starring Peter Weller. That episode will air on March 30th, so please send in your submissions by the 28th 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

    1h 10m

  2. 15 FEB

    Games, Books, Movies & Improv (Cloud Empress) (E314)

    This is an off-the-cuff episode, wherein I cover a variety of things. Free PDFs: Cairn: Barebones Edition by Yochai Gal https://yochaigal.itch.io/cairn-barebones-edition Intergalactic Bastionland: Beyond Into The Odd: Playtest by Chris McDowall https://open.substack.com/pub/bastionland/p/bastionland-goes-intergalactic?utm_campaign=post-expanded-share&utm_medium=web Books: Promethean Horrors: Classic Tales of Mad Science by Xavier Aldana Reyes for British Library Tales of the Weird The Uncanny by Sigmund Freud It Was All A Dream: An Anthology of Bad Horror Tropes Done Right by Brandon Applegate Films: Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde (1931) dir. Rouben Mamoulian The Black Cat (1934) dir. Edgar G. Ulmer Black Pit of Dr. M (1959) dir. Fernando Mendez The Plague of the Zombies (1966) dir. John Gilling Theatre of Blood (1973) dir. Douglas Hickox Frightmare (1974) dir. Pete Walker Messiah of Evil (1974) dir. Willard Huych, Gloria Katz Phantasm (1979) dir. Don Coscarelli Weapons (2025) dir. Zach Cregger RPG Material: Cosmic Dark by Graham Walmsley The No-Prep Gamemaster: Train Your Brain to Run Tabletop Roleplayng Games Second Edition by Matt Davids https://www.drivethrurpg.com/en/product/524180/the-no-prep-gamemaster-train-your-brain-to-run-tabletop-roleplaying-games Cloud Empress Core Boxed Set by Watts Honourable Mentions: Dave Aldridge of dPercantile (podcast) Weird Studies podcast Episode 86: On E.T.A. Hoffmann's “The Sandman” https://open.spotify.com/episode/5LwYzcmq29EJXXa9C5SSH4?si=vDE7gzUfQQay5i-gWK8uXQ&context=spotify%3Ashow%3A7MtLPVWIcFbl5XPsMiF9f8 Scott Doward of The Good Friends of Jackson Elias (podcast) Andy Goodman of Grizzly Peaks Radio (podcast) Jen Fridy at GrimHumor https://www.jenfridy.com/ 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. “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

    33 min

  3. 6 FEB

    Between the Borderlands: The Gordon Child... of NIMH (E313)

    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

    19 min

  4. 25 JAN

    Movie Monday: The Golden Child (1986) (E312)

    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

    1h 3m

  5. 21 JAN

    Flash Gordon 2: Flash Back (E311)

    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

    1h 1m

  6. 14 JAN

    Boxes & Books (Helluva Town, Cosmic Dark, Rune) (E310)

    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

    44 min

  7. 29/12/2025

    Movie Monday: Flash Gordon (1980) (E309)

    For December’s Movie Monday, I chose a film that’s as camp as Christmas. Mike Hodges’ 1980 cult classic space fantasy Flash Gordon starring Sam J. Jones, Melody Anderson, Topol, Max von Sydow, Ornella Muti, Timothy Dalton, Brian Blessed, Mariangela Melato, Peter Wynguarde, with music by Queen and Howard Blake. This episode features contributions from: (in order of appearance) James V. West (https://www.jvwest.art) Jason Connerley of Nerd’s RPG Variety Cast (podcast, blog) Karl Rodriguez of The GMologist presents… (podcast, YouTube) Goblin’s henchman (podcast, blog) and the UmberBulk of the Southwest Sofa Crew James and Judy of the South Pacific Sofa Joe Richter of Hindsighless (podcast) Find the Movie Monday Letterboxd list here https://letterboxd.com/the39thman/list/movie-monday-1/ The movie to kick off 2026 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. 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, and can be found 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

    1h 8m

  8. 11/12/2025

    Between the Borderlands: Miracle on Dirty Thought Street (E308)

    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

    11 min
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About

Welcome to Keep off the Borderlands. Initially a podcast documenting my return to table top roleplay gaming following a thirty-year hiatus. Currently searching for excuses for why I haven't GM'd yet. You can leave me an audio message here or via Speakpipe at https://www.speakpipe.com/KeepOffTheBorderlands Email me at spencer.freethrall@gmail.com You can also follow me on Twitter https://twitter.com/FreeThrall and join the podcast Facebook group https://www.facebook.com/FreeThrall/ freethrall.substack.com

Information

  • Creator
    "It's about RPGs and stuff" ~ Free Thrall
  • Years Active
    2019 - 2026
  • Episodes
    315
  • Rating
    Clean
  • Copyright
    © Free Thrall
  • Show Website
    Keep off the Borderlands

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