Snakes & Otters Podcast

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. 

The guys risk heading to gaol, as they used to say in Britain, to work through an Oscar Wilde quote. 

Another in our "great directors" series, the guys tackle the legacy of Francis Ford Coppola, of Godfather saga and Apocalypse Now fame.

Martin captains this episode and chooses a quote from C. S. Lewis for us to toss around for a while. It's a lively discussion and lots of back and forth about the meaning to us and Lewis.

Listen to the Brotherhood of Snakes and Otters discuss, dissect, and opinionate about the man, the myth, the legend Clint Eastwood and his career move from in front of the camera to behind it too.

Robert leads the discussion with a quote from the great G. K. Chesterton. The man is one of the greatest writers you'll ever encounter. Hundreds of books. 9000 essays. Absolute wit and genius from Chesterton.

Join the Brotherhood discussing the films and work of Ridley Scott, genius filmmaker behind Alien, Blade Runner, and especially Gladiator. Three obvious greats of his incredible corpus of work, although we discuss tons more too . . . 

The Brotherhood talks resolutions and goals for the New Year. Hear the boys discuss what they're going to do and why Robert absolutely hates the term "resolutions"!

Join the boys at the Imperator's vast farmlands as they do CODE OF HONOR! It's a single quote now, and this one's from George Washington.

Join the Brotherhood (minus the missing Francis) as they discuss more of those movies they just have to stop and watch whenever they're on. 

The Brotherhood of Snakes & Otters continues the series on Manifest Destiny and its effect on history. Listen in as they discuss not just the California Gold Rush, but also various others throughout history. As always there's bourbon in the middle and discussion on the why and what it all meant. Plus a surprise special guest joins us for this episode.

Join the Brotherhood of Snakes & Otters for another episode of Code of Honor. Francis provides the quote for the guys this episode and he goes back to one of his favorites, Voltaire. The boys don't have a lot of agreement on the chosen quote this time, so the discussion gets lively. 

Cajun provides a quote from Josh Billings, a contemporary of Sam Clemens, AKA Mark Twain. He's awesome and we're all quite enthralled.

On the heels of the last episode talking about the KY Bourbon Fest, the Brotherhood of Snakes and Otters returns to a favorite subject: BOURBON!!!! That's right. We talk about the history of bourbon and the effect it's had on the local region, nationally and of course, us! Cajun also provides a flight of bourbons for us to try. It's a blind taste test. Hear what we have to say.

The Brotherhood visits the KY Bourbon Fest in Bardstown, KY. Also known as the Holy Land, and not just because it's considered the home of Bourbon. Three days of bourbon tasting and soaking up the ambience that comes from hundreds, if not more, of bourbon fans from all across the world. Yes, the world. Someone was apparently from Australia.

Martin captains our first "new format" Code of Honor where the Captain now rules!

At Martin's able direction, we go back to forever-flowing well of Friedrich Nietzsche and discuss the general sanity of individuals versus the general insanity of groups.

Things get lively with five guys to bat this one around!

The Brotherhood of Snakes and Otters takes a look at Helter Skelter phenomenon.

No, not the Beatles song.

Or the cover by Siouxsie and the Banshees.

Or the latter one by U2.

Who was Charles Manson, how did he create his cult and keep them under his sway? Perhaps most importantly, what influences did he have on society and the culture?

Robert the Hammer captains our search for meaning once again as all five members of the Brotherhood postulate meaningful (and sometimes hilarious) quotations from points all across time and space!

Join Snakes and Otters as they take a look at the beginnings of Manifest Destiny in the United States. What was Manifest Destiny? What drove the people of the day to expand the U.S. from "sea to shining sea"?

Listen in as the Mirror Universe version of Snakes and Otters takes over our 200th episode!

SERPENTS AND BEAVERS!!!!

Join the boys for a discussion of meaningful quotes that take us deep into what it means to be human, to be a good person or just stuff people should ponder once in a while. 

Snakes & Otters expands to five! Cajun and Marcus Aurelius join Martin, Robert and Francis in the Official Brotherhood of Snakes and Otters to talk about one of, if not THE, greatest dynasties in history: The Hapsburgs. 

Martin captains and the guys analyze some great quotes about what it means to have good government.

Francis stands in the prow of the boat and the guys work through all the phases of figuring out the question: "Ok, we won, now what?" Also, big news on discussion as well. 

Robert leads a special edition of Code of Honor with quotes about honor. Of course it runs 90 minutes. 

Francis takes command and we talk Benedict Arnold, John Andre and other scumbags of the American Revolution. 

More from the founders. 

Take on the most power empire of the time? Sure, no problem for a bunch of merchants and farmers on the other side of the world.

Robert runs a hoopajube episode on the guys' favorite contemporary authors. 

Martin captains a fun code of honor episode with quotes from Founding Fathers Ben Franklin, John Adams, and Samuel Adams. 

Robert takes charge of the troops and the guys discuss the social and economic seeds of the American revolution. 

Robert is in charge and the guys continue talking about George Washington through his own words. 

Martin takes the prow of the rowboat and the guys cross the Delaware to discuss hero George Washington. 

Martin captains a free form Code of Honor this month. Plus a salute to Benedict XV and more shouts to Spragga the NYC house sitter. 

Robert got another one of his topics placed on the schedule! There was much rejoicing! He then takes the head of the table to discuss Charlemagne and the Holy Roman Empire.

Robert takes the keyboard, and the guys discuss at length the writing process. Robert and Francis school the beginner Martin and display a passion for the craft that has such a hold on them. Also, the guys give a big shout out to the Bourbon Experience at the Frazier Museum and new bourbon pal Spragga the Housesitter from NYC.  Yes, we know this hoopajoob is a couple days late, but hey, it's a hoopajoob, anything can happen.

Robert the Hammer takes charge with Stoic philosopher and emperor Marcus Aurelius in tow. It was a wild one, 100+ minutes of swinging ax handles and dropping f bombs. Merry Christmas. 

Francis sits at the head of the table as the guys are joined by emperor and Stoic philosopher Marcus Aurelius to discuss the last philosopher in our series, John Dewey. 

Martin leads the discussion on 3 pertinent quotes of John Stuart Mill.

Francis heads the table this episode and we dive into John Stuart Mill, who have on good authority, after half a pint of shandy, was particularly ill.

Martin again has the big chair in Studio F and works the guys through the big cultural events of 1971 and why 1971 mattered.

Robert has the big chair for our discussion of Enlightenment figure Immanuel Kant.

Code of Honor and Martin takes the big chair as the guys talk Immanuel Kant quotes as a warm-up for Our Heroes.

Francis captains an episode that picks back up on the theme of dirty elections and the guys examine 1876 and Tilden vs Hayes.

Robert pulls the cork for the guys here as they do a second hoopajoob on bourbon.

Martin as at the controls of the Nostromo, subbing for Captain Dallas, and the guys talk the impact of the Aliens franchise.

Francis takes charge here leading the guys through an in-depth discussion of the philosophical and political ideas of Scottish Enlightenment figure David Hume. 

Robert takes the head of the table and the guys talk words of wisdom from David Hume. 

Martin gets elected Secretary General and leads the guys on a discussion of the good, the bad and the contemptible of the United Nations. 

Martin is the front man this episode and the guys take on Gene Simmons and the question "is rock and roll dead?" The prognosis is bleak, Otterites. 

Francis is our tenured professor on this episode detailing the philosophy of the great intellectual and polymath John Locke. Unfortunately, Monty Python didn't include him the ever-awesome philosopher's drinking song so no snappy title to this one. 

Robert takes lead on this themed Code of Honor featuring the words of John Locke.

Martin takes the head of the table as the guys discuss the meaning and effects of the Kellogg-Briand Pact to outlaw war in 1928.

Martin sits at the head of the table and the guys expound and expand on a blog post on www.snakesandotters.com, namely, of all people now living, who would you love to invite to dinner?

That's right listeners, a fun pop culture episode on Frasier Crane and Company. Discussions of favorite characters and episodes abound as Francis captains and Martin gets to yell "That dingo's got your baby!"

We kick off our series on philosophers with political theorist Thomas Hobbes. And yes, we've named these episodes after lines from Monty Python's "Bruce's Philosophers Song". Martin mangles the lyrics, Francis ably captains.

Robert is sovereign this episode and the guys talk quotes from political philosopher Thomas Hobbes. This one really gets Martin's hackles up as he seeks to slay Leviathan. 

Martin takes the seat at the head of the negotiating table for the third of our episodes on 'treaties that changed the world' where the guys take down the disaster that was the Treaty of Versailles.

As expected, Woodrow Wilson comes in for more deserved criticism.