Intertextual Cardboard Experience is excited to start the new year in atypical fashion, and it couldn’t be more exciting. Cole Wehrle, Creative Director at Leder Games and Co-Founder of Wehrlegig Games, joins the show, and I had the bright idea of having us not talk about board games… In all seriousness, we do talk directly about board games a handful-ish times, but, for the most part, those thoughts are scattered between some deep and personal insights that Cole shares about a couple of other things: reading (specifically Pynchon) and running. Through Cole’s reflections on these topics, approaching a text where it’s trying to meet you, and other ideas that Cole elaborates a lot more eloquently than I could put here, beautiful intersections in these hobbies are highlighted, demonstrating how those intersections translate into lifestyle choices and creative approaches.

Wehrlegig Games

Leder Games

Cole on Bluesky

Introduction (0:00)

A little bit of context behind the idea of the episode and a formative gaming memory.

“Beyond the Board Game” (10:00)

This section explores Cole’s experiences and thoughts reading Gravity’s Rainbow (amongst other related topics).

“What does running mean to you?” (58:26)

Short answer: a lot (for both of us). But Cole shares a powerful account of his running history here, and we just chat about running for a bit.

Wrap-up Questions (1:26:00)

A text on Cole’s mind and what work you should be on the lookout for.

Random note: Listening back to this episode, I noticed that I said some iteration/tense of "(insert person here) tried to do (insert something here)" a couple of times, and I say that with no negative connotation. It's meant to be something where I'm trying to acknowledge authorial intent, not saying that whoever tried to do something didn't (probably beyond unnoticeable and/or is being heard the way I intended it to be—just a phrase that gave me a slight pause).

The episode logo is me trying to sketch a version of the kid on the cover of Fort that's holding a book but with them running instead of standing and shouting. My apologies to Kyle Ferrin for butchering that.

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