Snakes & Otters Podcast

Captain Martin went old school on Brother Andre and Robert but with the twist of providing some quotes to pick from for the episode, all from 20th century hero Winston Churchill.

Martin is in the Captain's chair and the guys come up with a topic on the fly, places we've been and where we want to go. A travel episode! First time ever. 

Robert crushes a Chesterton quote like a hammer this episode resulting in a lively discussion that veers into several unexpected directions. 

Francis is feeling a little ganged up on here but the guys tackle part 2 of a discussion of Napoleon Bonaparte covering his military and political history from Egypt on through Waterloo and finally St. Helena and into history.

Brother Andre brings the gang a timely and uplifting MLK quote. 

FINALLY! Francis leads the guys on an initial exploration of Napoleon Bonaparte. From his humble beginnings through his ascension as First Consul, the guys try and explain both the why as well as the who.

Francis brings the goodness with another character quote. 

The guys chat up indie author Mick Williams, discussing his Old Farts Club and Father Black series of books. Super fun. 

In a shocking turn of events, Robert shamelessly coopts Martin's love of Albert Camus and choses a quotation from him to bandy about with them and Francis. Great things ensue from there . . . 

The three OG (Original Guys) are back with an episode that should have never taken this long . . . our love and appreciation of the genius of the British Comedy troupe Monty Python! Yes be prepared for much quoting and much rejoicing . . . . 

Martin captains a three-person quote episode . . . and there was much rejoicing.

We didn't know what the hell we were doing or even what number we were on. Anyway, Martin, Robert and Brother Andre gathered at Studio M and just wandered off on a hoopajoob to beat all hoopajoobs. 

Once again Brother Andre takes the big chair in a throwback style episode with Robert and Martin. All the guys brought cool quotes to the party and Robert hammers it all home. 

Brother Andre takes the reins for this episode featuring a just Martin and Robert tagging along. The guys still rambled for 90 minutes about favorite Gen X movies and what they mean. And yes, Indy did have agency in Raiders. So there. 

Cajun takes us down a dark path with a quote from the popular Dexter TV show. And special guest Ms. Cajun breaks the glass ceiling as our first woman guest!  

This started out as an episode on Renaissance Art, but Martin used Arthur Herman's The Cave and the Light to twist and turn it like taffy into one just on the Renaissance itself, and Robert tied it all together. He does that. He's The Hammer after all. 

Once again with guest Maximus in attendance, Martin sits in the center seat and pulls a quotation from the great Nineteenth Century French economist Frédéric Bastiat on the nature of freedom, free markets, and how we as humans navigate the waters that come with both.

Francis takes command as the group welcomes Maximus, General of the Felix Legions, and discusses the history, consequences, and legacy of the Age of Reason as it both arose at the end of the Middle Ages and affects us all even today.

Brother Andre pulls out a great one from the Great One himself, Saint Pope John Paul II, with the quotation of "The more ready you are to give yourself to God and others, the more you discover the authentic meaning of life."

Martin brings another "What If?" conundrum to the boys, going back to World War I and wondering . . . what if the Allies told Germany to 'pound sand' with their request for an armistice in 1918 and decided to plow forward instead and seek the Central Powers total defeat?

Robert shoots from the hip and brings in an amazing quote about change, growth and the evils of stagnation from the great German polymath Johann Wolfgang von Goethe . . . 

Robert takes command as the guys discuss the quintessential Gen X director, the late John Hughes, and how his movies both captured and helped create the pop cultural phenomenon known as the Eighties . . .

Cajun brings us a Jefferson Davis (yes that Jefferson Davis) quote to digest. Does the Majority really rule? 

Francis does his best M for the guys as they discuss the ramifications of the recent sale of the Bond franchise creative rights to Amazon. Martin, per usual, isn't happy. 

Francis takes charge and the guys spend a LOT of time discussing an excellent Mark Twain quote and what it means for personal goals. 

Martin takes the conn on this inaugural episode of the guys highlighting some of history's worst - and yet not well remembered - doucebags. (Martin came up with the phrase with his usual directness.) This go-around the guys talk about some guys that caused a whole lot of trouble back in their day, Serbian Dragutin Dimitrijević and Frenchman Phillipe Petain. 

The guys take a moment to update everyone on their various writing projects before diving into a series of Robert's quotations, all linked to one from David Foster Wallace about depression, sarcasm, humor and helping those in need. Powerful stuff indeed!

Martin brings the boys back into the arena of philosophy and the intriguing person of French philosopher and writer Albert Camus and his reactionary philosophy of absurdism. It gives Martin the warm fuzzies.  The guys have to decide between Doors 1, 2 or 3 and there is plenty of debate all around.

Andre sits in the Captain's Chair and throws down an amazing quotation from the English poet Robert Browning and the guys bat it around all over the board, discussing Pelagianism, the nature of heaven and all sort of eternal things.

Martin takes the Captain's Chair as the fellas all discuss the films of the great director Michael Mann. Martin has a particular penchant for Heat, whereas Francis and Cajun are definitely Last of the Mohicans fans.

Martin takes the guys into a discussion on a Max Weber quote. Weber is credited as essentially the world's first sociologist, and the discussion gets pretty heated. 

The guys discuss the landmark career of the first American film director to be considered an auteur and artist. Blemishes and all. 

Robert delivers an on-the-spot interview of Master Distiller Joyce Nethery at Kentucky Bourbon Festival. She was super gracious and we're big fans. 

Francis brings in artist and activist Keith Haring and we talk propaganda vs art. Martin antagonizes the captain a bit. 

Francis mans the barricades and guys examine the second half of the French Revolution, the Reign of Terror and beyond.

Cajun takes the helm to drop an amazing quotation for the boys to bat around from Lieutenant General Hal Moore of "We Were Soldiers" fame.

The guys rave over their second annual trip to Bourbon Fest and relate all sorts of great anecdotes of "the many wonders they have seen" . . . 

Martin decides to go back to basics with a timely quotation from the great Ronald Reagan himself.

They guys take on the roots of the French Revolution and how it began to devolve into both murder and madness. (And yes, a good time was had by all.)

Brother Andre is up for captain on this one, he's got some favorite food and recipes he pitches as a starting point for a gastronomy Snakes & Otters style. And yes, it involves how to properly prepare a steak. 

Martin throws the guys an Albert Camus quote to pick apart and profundity promptly ensues.

Francis leads the guys in a talk of all things Terminator and what eventually happened with this groundbreaking sci-fi franchise. 

Andre once again proves his command fitness as he brings not one but three amazing quotations for the guys to chew on! Join us as we play around with some wise words from Seneca, Carl Jung, Pythagoras and maybe even a few more! Once again we prove why Snakes And Otters is the best podcast out there for deeps discussion and intellectual repartee par excellence!

Cajun takes the Captain's Chair and takes us on our fourth episode exploring the history of the United States westward expansion. This time we go deep with perhaps the biggest reasons for why things happened as they did . . . technological innovations in the area of transportation. Join the guys as they pick this one apart and discuss the western historical legacy and how it informs our world even today!

Andre takes command for the very first time and takes us all back to school. Remembering "brevity is the soul of wit" (which Francis is notorious for constantly forgetting) the guys take rapid fire questions one after another about our favorite things and why  . . . in just a few sentences! Hold on to your hats Otterites! Brother Andre is putting the boys through their paces!

Robert nearly gives Martin constipation with his choice of Clarence Darrow for this edition of Code of Honor. \As usual, though, things work out splendidly as the guys discuss patriotism's specific approach to injustice, and whether Darrow was spot on  (or not) in calling out what he saw as a dangerous blindness.

Robert gets to play in his favorite sandbox as he leads us through a discussion of the current state of the once mighty Star Wars franchise, including how we got here, what we once (and still do) love so much, along with a heaping helping (naturally) of what we find bloody awful and deserving of our our eternal ire . . . 

Cajun captains the Brotherhood through an examination of a poignant speech by Chief Joseph of the Nez Perce.

Cajun takes the guys through a discussion of culture clashes and human decency (or lack thereof) with a talk about the post-Civil War western expansion and its effects on the Native American Tribes. 

Cajun takes the big chair and discusses his experience at the Superstars Writing Seminar with the guys.