PODCAST

Authors Die Twice

Nathan Wainstein and Bryan Counter

A podcast on video games and aesthetic theory hosted by two Living Failures.

leisure video games

All Episodes

00:41:45

Pretty Inscrutable and Fairly Bizarre

Authors Die Twice ·

2026/02/09

In this episode, Nathan and Bryan return to Ebisugaoka to talk more about Silent Hill f. They discuss the abstract nature of horror, Hinako’s two worlds, and the worst room in the game.Find us on YouTube at youtube.com/@authorsdietwiceHave questions or comments? Email us at authorsdietwice@gmail.com

01:29:45

Systemic Chekhov's Gun (with Justin Carpenter)

Authors Die Twice ·

2026/01/26

Bryan and Nathan welcome back friend of the show Justin Carpenter to talk about Metal Gear Solid 3 and the larger Metal Gear saga. Here's a link to Justin's recent essay on Kentucky Route Zero (subscription or library access required): https://reference-global.com/article/10.2478/abcsj-2025-0022Find us on YouTube at youtube.com/@authorsdietwiceHave questions or comments? Email us at authorsdietwice@gmail.com

01:01:38

Loud Valley Pianissimo

Authors Die Twice ·

2026/01/12

Bryan and Nathan return to Silent Hill to discuss Silent Hill f (2025). They talk about the question of origin, moments of horror in gameplay, the banality of horror, and the horror of banality.Find us on YouTube at youtube.com/@authorsdietwiceHave questions or comments? Email us at authorsdietwice@gmail.com

00:51:11

Nonrectangular

Authors Die Twice ·

2025/12/29

Bryan and Nathan wrap up their discussion of Metal Gear Solid 2 by talking about the trippy sequence in the game's final location, and begin their discussion of Metal Gear Solid 3 with Bryan's initial impressions of the game.Find us on YouTube at youtube.com/@authorsdietwiceHave questions or comments? Email us at authorsdietwice@gmail.com

00:36:42

The Blithetown Holiday Special

Authors Die Twice ·

2025/12/24

Join us for a special holiday chat.Find us on YouTube at youtube.com/@authorsdietwiceHave questions or comments? Email us at authorsdietwice@gmail.com

00:50:30

Ambient System Flavor

Authors Die Twice ·

2025/12/15

Bryan and Nathan continue their discussion of Metal Gear Solid 2. They talk about its elaborate structure of nested simulations, the importance of chance, and why "postmodern" feels like an unsatisfying term to apply to the game. Find us on YouTube at youtube.com/@authorsdietwiceHave questions or comments? Email us at authorsdietwice@gmail.com

01:13:57

Formless 1-3: Club Silencio

Authors Die Twice ·

2025/12/01

Bryan and Nathan are back with another Formless One. Bryan starts off the episode recounting his recent experience seeing the metal band Ulcerate, while Nathan shares some thoughts on the 2002 remake of the original Resident Evil. They then turn to Algernon Blackwood's eldritch short story "Secret Worship" to discuss Abstract Horror, Blackwood's relation to H. P. Lovecraft, and whether a demon is still a demon if it's just the outline of a man. Find us on YouTube at

01:05:47

Oikospiel: The Twin Snakes (with Michael Barr)

Authors Die Twice ·

2025/11/17

Bryan and Nathan are joined by Michael Barr to discuss David Kanaga's experimental indie game Oikospiel (2017). Find us on YouTube at youtube.com/@authorsdietwiceHave questions or comments? Email us at authorsdietwice@gmail.com

00:45:43

Death Metal Gear Head

Authors Die Twice ·

2025/11/03

Bryan and Nathan begin their discussion of Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty (2001). They talk about the game's unique interplay between immersion and abstraction, its deep silliness, and the complexity of its simulated embodiment.Find us on YouTube at youtube.com/@authorsdietwiceHave questions or comments? Email us at authorsdietwice@gmail.com

00:39:49

The Old Hunters Beach Vacation Halloween Special

Authors Die Twice ·

2025/10/31

Please enjoy this bonus Halloween episode on Bloodborne’s The Old Hunters DLC. We'll post a full episode next Monday as usual.Find us on YouTube at youtube.com/@authorsdietwiceHave questions or comments? Email us at authorsdietwice@gmail.com

01:13:56

Critical Attack: Lightning Boult

Authors Die Twice ·

2025/10/20

In this episode, Bryan and Nathan discuss Jonathan Boulter’s 2015 book Parables of the Posthuman: Digital Realities, Gaming, and the Player Experience, published by Wayne State University Press. They discuss the concept of posthumanism and how games help us elaborate on it. Nathan proposes an alternate framing (“prehumanism”) and talks about why Boulter’s book feels so prescient in the context of the Metal Gear Solid series in particular. Find us on YouTube at youtube.com/@authorsdietwiceHave

01:10:22

You're My Player

Authors Die Twice ·

2025/10/06

Bryan and Nathan discuss Chill Games, "Smart Games," Dumb Games, and Dumb Smart Games, and Bryan shares his early impressions of Metal Gear Solid 2 (the topic of an upcoming episode). They also cover the second half of Kentucky Route Zero, including the brilliant Xanadu sequence and the risks of narrative complexity creep. Find us on YouTube at youtube.com/@authorsdietwiceHave questions or comments? Email us at authorsdietwice@gmail.com

00:52:17

An Empty Madness That Hurts

Authors Die Twice ·

2025/09/22

Bryan and Nathan get "enfrenzied" as they continue their discussion of Bloodborne. They discuss the role of madness, the empty form of knowledge, and why scholars need so much sedative. Find us on YouTube at youtube.com/@authorsdietwiceHave questions or comments? Email us at authorsdietwice@gmail.com

01:07:57

Cleric Beast Mode

Authors Die Twice ·

2025/09/08

After mentioning the game in almost every episode so far, Bryan and Nathan finally have a dedicated discussion about Bloodborne. They talk about Nathan's recently published book (Grant Us Eyes: The Art of Paradox in Bloodborne), Bryan's recent replay, Evil Santa, and the one area in the game that still makes no sense. Find us on YouTube at youtube.com/@authorsdietwiceHave questions or comments? Email us at authorsdietwice@gmail.com

01:16:55

Games Criticism (with Erick Verran)

Authors Die Twice ·

2025/08/25

Bryan and Nathan are joined by games scholar Erick Verran to talk about video game criticism and writing. They discuss the pitfalls of professional scholarship, the differences between European and American games writing, and the beauty of classic gaming magazines like Electronic Gaming Monthly. Find Erick Verran at https://linktr.ee/erickverranFind us on YouTube at youtube.com/@authorsdietwiceHave questions or comments? Email us at authorsdietwice@gmail.com

01:28:32

Getting Mise'd (with Justin Carpenter)

Authors Die Twice ·

2025/08/11

Bryan and Nathan are joined by literary and games scholar Justin Carpenter (University of Utah) to talk about Kentucky Route Zero. They discuss the game's amazing art style and sound design, its literariness, and the ways it challenges ideas of play, agency, and control.Find us on YouTube at youtube.com/@authorsdietwiceHave questions or comments? Email us at authorsdietwice@gmail.com

01:22:00

Sweihander/Zweihander (with Shane)

Authors Die Twice ·

2025/07/28

Bryan and Nathan are once again joined by Shane (cohost of the terrific Reel Rap, a podcast about adaptations) to talk about Dark Souls 1. They discuss sentences lost to time, the meaning of humanity (!?), and why the game's world of Lordran resembles a giant haunted house. Have questions or comments? Email us at authorsdietwice@gmail.com

01:17:10

You Would Expect Spiders

Authors Die Twice ·

2025/07/14

Bryan and Nathan finish up their conversation about Silent Hill 2 (2024), focusing especially on the game's final boss and discussing (again) the game's structures of repetition, the warehouse setting, and why spider enemies in games usually suck.Have questions or comments? Email us at authorsdietwice@gmail.com

01:21:18

This Guys Are Sick (with Christopher Jason Bell)

Authors Die Twice ·

2025/06/30

Bryan and Nathan are joined by filmmaker Christopher Jason Bell (Miss Me Yet, Failed State) to discuss Final Fantasy VII. They touch on the generative capacities of technological limitation for gameplay and narrative, what motivates the various graphical iterations of the game's characters, and the role of paratext in the experience of playing.Find Christopher Jason Bell at https://linktr.ee/christopherjasonbellHave questions or comments? Email us at authorsdietwice@gmail.com

01:25:58

Sen's Forest (with Debbie Urbanski)

Authors Die Twice ·

2025/06/16

Bryan and Nathan are joined by author Debbie Urbanski (Portalmania, After World: A Novel) to discuss her work and the 1963 novel The Wall by Marlen Haushofer. They touch on the gamelike qualities of narrative, environmental storytelling, and the metaphysics of invisible walls.Have questions or comments? Email us at authorsdietwice@gmail.com

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Authors Die Twice

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