Hey there, fellow travellers! Right now, I have one major goal for The Tolkien Road: to finish my next book! While I'm doing that, I want to invite you to read through The Silmarillion with The Tolkien Road this year! Over the next several months, we'll be revisiting the 30-episode series that Greta and I recorded back in 2022. And while you're listening, check out SilmGuide.com for guides to individual chapters. You can find that link in the show notes! The first episode is an overview of The S...
Jan 22, 2025•1 hr 8 min
Hey there fellow travellers! This week we'll be revisiting episode 197, which focused on 6 amazing spiritual insights from Tolkien. Visit TolkienRoad.com/spirit to download these 6 points as a PDF! Also, visit TrueMythsPress.com to for Tolkien Road gear like Two Trees coffee mugs, Tolkien Road t-shirts, and signed copies of my books (which are almost gone!). Finally, if you'd like to support our work, visit Patron.com/TolkienRoad ! Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/pod...
Jan 15, 2025•38 min
Listen to the whole episode: https://www.ringspodcast.com/190-why-and-how-the-lord-of-the-rings-is-a-religious-and-catholic-work/ Hey there, fellow travellers! Merry Christmas! I was recently a guest on the Lore of the Rings podcast - that's L-O-R-E - where I joined host Aaron to discuss the ways in which Lord of the Rings is a "fundamentally religous work". We uncovered: - The grace Faramir says before sharing a meal with Frodo and Sam. - The liturgical significance of March 25 — the day the On...
Dec 21, 2024•21 min
In The Tolkien Road Episode 396, we review The War of the Rohirrim, the newly released animated Middle-earth film from Executive Producer Peter Jackson! I have to be honest: the first 2 seasons of The Rings of Power were so painfully bad that I was not feeling enthusiastic about The War of the Rohirrim going into seeing it last night. The one spark of hope that I felt was the knowledge that it had Peter Jackson as an Executive Producer, and that it had nothing to do with Amazon Studios. We staye...
Dec 16, 2024•53 min
Hey there fellow travellers! This week we'll be revisiting episode 261, which focused on Tolkien's EPIC Christmas poem NOEL. Visit TolkienRoad.com/noel for plenty of resources related to it! Also, visit TrueMythsPress.com to for Tolkien Road gear like Two Trees coffee mugs, Tolkien Road t-shirts, and signed copies of my books (which are almost gone!). Use promo code NOEL20 to take 20% off your purchase until December 14th. Show Notes » https://tolkienroad.com/noel Buy Christmas Gifts » https://t...
Dec 04, 2024•40 min
I'm done with Season 2 of Amazon's The Rings of Power, but I didn't watch all 8 episodes. I just can't watch anymore... EXECUTIVE PRODUCERS: - Kaitlyn of Tea with Tolkien - John R - KG - Eärendil Hope WATCH THE VIDEO » https://youtu.be/4g1ugQfbHFE FOLLOW & SUPPORT THE TOLKIEN ROAD : PATREON » SUPERFANS! TWITTER FACEBOOK INSTAGRAM LINKS & MATHOMS: - take 10% OFF Tolkien Road merch at True Myths Press » https://truemythspress.com/discount/TENOFF (enter code TENOFF at checkout) - listen to ...
Nov 25, 2024•15 min
Welcome to The Tolkien Road Episode 394! In this bonus MAILBAG episode of DO NOT BE HASTY, we’ll be considering your thoughts on the Foreword and Prologue to The Lord of the Rings! EXECUTIVE PRODUCERS: - Kaitlyn of Tea with Tolkien - John R - KG - Eärendil Hope WATCH THE VIDEO » https://youtu.be/Lr_mqGgHwCw WATCH / LISTEN AD-FREE » https://www.patreon.com/tolkienroad FOLLOW & SUPPORT THE TOLKIEN ROAD : PATREON » SUPERFANS! TWITTER FACEBOOK INSTAGRAM LINKS & MATHOMS: - take 10% OFF Tolkie...
Oct 14, 2024•22 min
Welcome to The Tolkien Road Episode 393! In this bonus MATHOMS episode of DO NOT BE HASTY, we’ll take a look at some fascinating footnotes to the Foreword and Prologue of The Lord of Rings! TOPICS COVERED: - Lord of the Rings' attraction - The Silmarillion adapted - Negative reviews of Lord of the Rings - Tolkien vs allegory - Sarehole Mill as Hobbiton - The word "Hobbit" - "Dwarrow", Dwarfs, Dwarves - Tolkien's description of hobbits - The location of Middle-earth - Arnor / Gondor meanings - Ma...
Oct 07, 2024•45 min
Hey there, fellow travellers! Let's revisit our discussion of Sauron's sack of Eregion and defeat of Celebrimbor from 2023, as Tolkien told it! Episode notes: https://www.tolkienroad.com/e0349/ Video: https://youtu.be/DnI07pSeqXQ Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/the-tolkien-road--5222755/support ....
Oct 04, 2024•31 min
Hey there, fellow travellers! Let's revisit our 2023 episode on Sauron's seduction of the Elves, which led to the creation of the Rings of Power! Episode notes: https://www.tolkienroad.com/e0345/ Video: https://youtu.be/cY5EmQrBD2k Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/the-tolkien-road--5222755/support ....
Oct 02, 2024•23 min
Welcome to Episode 22 of DO NOT BE HASTY - I'm calling this one "Sam's Grand Entrance". (This is episode 392 of The Tolkien Road podcast). ‘Well, sir,’ said Sam dithering a little. ‘I heard a deal that I didn’t rightly understand, about an enemy, and rings, and Mr. Bilbo, sir, and dragons, and a fiery mountain, and – and Elves, sir. I listened because I couldn’t help myself, if you know what I mean. Lor bless me, sir, but I do love tales of that sort. And I believe them too, whatever Ted may say...
Sep 30, 2024•36 min
Hey there, fellow travellers! In this REVISITED episode, we're looking at episode 315 from 2022, which was our latest discussion concerning Of the Rings of Power and the Third Age, Tolkien's history of the events from the beginning of the Second Age until the end of the Lord of the Rings. Enjoy! Video: https://youtu.be/oajJtpC8_HA Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/the-tolkien-road--5222755/support ....
Sep 27, 2024•1 hr 11 min
Hey there, fellow travellers! Let's revisit our discussion of "Akallabêth" from 2022, so we can get some solid perspective on what Tolkien intended for the story of Númenor. Join us! https://www.tolkienroad.com/0314-akallabeth-2022/ Video: https://youtu.be/JRqaGOaRkz0 Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/the-tolkien-road--5222755/support ....
Sep 25, 2024•1 hr 14 min
Welcome to Episode 21 of DO NOT BE HASTY - I'm calling this one "Frodo, The Chosen One". (This is episode 391 of The Tolkien Road podcast). ""It has been said that dragon-fire could melt and consume the Rings of Power, but there is not now any dragon left on earth in which the old fire is hot enough; nor was there ever any dragon, not even Ancalagon the Black, who could have harmed the One Ring, the Ruling Ring, for that was made by Sauron himself." - Gandalf, to Frodo In this episode of DO NOT ...
Sep 23, 2024•33 min
Who is Tom Bombadil? This is a topic we’ve covered several times on the Tolkien Road, but it’s an undying enigma for Lord of the Rings fans, and we’re always hungry for new insights into the mysterious nature of The Old Forest’s Master. With the inclusion of Tom Bombadil in Season 2 of The Rings of Power, we're in a Tommy kind of mood, and will be revisiting a few episodes we've done on the engimatic fellow over the next week or so. Today, it's an interview from back in 2022 with CR Wiley, autho...
Sep 20, 2024•1 hr 2 min
Hey dol! merry dol! ring a dong dillo! With the inclusion of Tom Bombadil in Season 2 of The Rings of Power, we're in a Tommy kind of mood, and will be revisiting a few episodes we've done on the engimatic fellow over the next week or so. Today, it's an interview from back in 2020 with Keith Mathison on an article he wrote called The Bombadil Engima. Enjoy! You can find Ketih's original article here... https://www.keithmathison.org/post/the-bombadil-enigma Become a supporter of this podcast: htt...
Sep 18, 2024•1 hr 16 min
Welcome to Episode 20 of DO NOT BE HASTY - I'm calling this one "The Power of Pity". (This is episode 390 of The Tolkien Road podcast). "Many that live deserve death. And some that die deserve life. Can you give it to them? Then do not be too eager to deal out death in judgement. For even the very wise cannot see all ends." - Gandalf, concerning Gollum, to Frodo In this episode of DO NOT BE HASTY, we continue through The Shadow of the Past, as Gandalf explains how Bilbo’s pity for Gollum may in ...
Sep 16, 2024•34 min
Hey there, Fellowship! We interrupt your week to revisit this bonus episode from a few years back called "The Rings of Power » Why the Details of Middle-earth Matter". It came out a few months before The Rings of Power Season 1 debuted. In it, I offered my thoughts on the controversies surround the show, and, well, I think they probably still apply today, with the arrival of Season 2. So sit back and enjoy this episode of The Tolkien Road Revisited! Video and original notes can be found here: ht...
Sep 12, 2024•11 min
Welcome to Episode 19 of DO NOT BE HASTY - I'm calling this one "Gandalf's Worst Mistake". 'The murder of Déagol haunted Gollum, and he had made up a defence, repeating it to his “Precious” over and over again, as he gnawed bones in the dark, until he almost believed it.' In this episode of DO NOT BE HASTY, we continue through The Shadow of the Past, as Gandalf explains how he began to track Gollum but made a critical mistake. SECTION START: “You have seen Gollum?” exclaimed Frodo in amazement. ...
Sep 09, 2024•35 min
The second season of The Rings of Power is upon us, and in the Tolkien Road Episode 388, Greta and I give you our reaction to the first three episodes! EXECUTIVE PRODUCERS: - Kaitlyn of Tea with Tolkien - John R - KG - Eärendil Hope WATCH THE VIDEO » https://youtu.be/1ArruYh2WEw WATCH / LISTEN AD-FREE » https://www.patreon.com/posts/afv-reaction-of-111227794 FOLLOW & SUPPORT THE TOLKIEN ROAD : PATREON » SUPERFANS! TWITTER FACEBOOK INSTAGRAM LINKS & MATHOMS: - take 10% OFF Tolkien Road me...
Sep 04, 2024•38 min
Welcome to Episode 18 of DO NOT BE HASTY - I'm calling this one "The Sad Story of Gollum". "'You ought to begin to understand, Frodo, after all you have heard," said Gandalf. 'He hated it and loved it, as he hated and loved himself. He could not get rid of it. He had no will left in the matter.'" In this episode of DO NOT BE HASTY, we continue through The Shadow of the Past, as Gandalf explains to Frodo the sad story of Gollum: how the Ring used him and then threw him away. SECTION START : “Goll...
Aug 26, 2024•39 min
Hey there, Fellowship! Greta and I plan to be back with more episodes in our epic DO NOT BE HASTY series soon. This week, with season 2 of The Rings of Power nearly upon us, I thought we'd revisit episode 254, which focused on The Purpose of Númenor, from back in 2021. By the way, this episode relates very closely to my next book project which I am currently writing. I am excited to share more about that with you all in the next few months, so stay tuned! Watch the original YouTube post here » h...
Aug 19, 2024•30 min
Hey there, fellow travelers! Welcome to The Tolkien Road, episode 386! In this bonus episode of DO NOT BE HASTY, we’ll conclude our jaunt through the Prologue to The Lord of the Rings by exploring the sections “Of the Finding of the Ring” and “Note on Shire Records”! The final two sections of the Lord of the Rings’ Prologue essentially serve to connect the story’s beginning with the events of The Hobbit, or There and Back Again, as it’s known “in-universe”. In so doing, we’re given a glimpse int...
Aug 12, 2024•22 min
Hey there, fellow travelers! Welcome to The Tolkien Road, episode 385! In this bonus episode of DO NOT BE HASTY , we’ll continue through the Prologue to The Lord of the Rings by exploring the sections “Concerning Pipe-weed” and “Of the Ordering of the Shire”! As we discovered in the last episode, the Prologue to The Lord of the Rings contains matters which don’t, at first, seem to matter much to the overall narrative arc of the story itself. However, for Tolkien, the background and details matte...
Aug 05, 2024•25 min
Hey there, fellow travelers! Welcome to The Tolkien Road, episode 384! In this bonus episode of DO NOT BE HASTY , we’ll be talking about HOBBITS, and specifically, the history and culture of hobbits. We’ll do so by exploring the first part of the Prologue to The Lord of the Rings, “Concerning Hobbits!” Join us! EXECUTIVE PRODUCERS: - Kaitlyn of Tea with Tolkien - John R - Melkor27 - KG - SaberSystems - Jeremy D WATCH THE VIDEO » https://youtu.be/AYriUAPeeXA WATCH AD-FREE » https://www.patreon.co...
Jul 29, 2024•36 min
Welcome to Episode 17 of DO NOT BE HASTY - I'm calling this one "Sméagol and Déagol". "The Ring went into the shadows with [Gollum], and even [Sauron], when his power had begun to grow again, could learn nothing of it." In this episode of DO NOT BE HASTY, we continue through The Fellowship of the Ring's chapter The Shadow of the Past, as Gandalf recounts the tragic story of Sméagol and Déagol, and the role it played in bringing the Ring to Frodo. SECTION START : "Long after, but still very long ...
Jul 22, 2024•42 min
Welcome to Episode 16 of DO NOT BE HASTY - I'm calling this one "The Powers of the Ring". In this episode of DO NOT BE HASTY, we continue through The Shadow of the Past, as Gandalf leads us on a deep dive into the history and lore of the Rings of Power! SECTION START : “Ah!” said Gandalf. “That is a very long story.” SECTION END: “But at last I can carry on the story, I think.” EXECUTIVE PRODUCERS: - Kaitlyn of Tea with Tolkien - John R - Melkor27 - KG - SaberSystems - Jeremy D WATCH THE VIDEO »...
Jul 15, 2024•37 min
Hey there, fellow travelers! Welcome to The Tolkien Road, episode 381! In this bonus episode of DO NOT BE HASTY, we’ll be considering this highly important and controversial question: WHAT DID TOLKIEN SAY LORD OF THE RINGS WAS ABOUT? We’ll do so by exploring Tolkien’s Foreword to the Lord of the Rings. Or should I say…Fore-WORDS! Indeed, the first and second editions contain entirely different Forewords by Tolkien, and each has its own peculiarities that will be of interest to all of us Tolkien ...
Jul 08, 2024•34 min
Welcome to Episode 15 of DO NOT BE HASTY - I'm calling this one "The Fiery Letters". 'Hold it up!' said Gandalf. 'And look closely!' As Frodo did so, he now saw fine lines, finer than the finest pen-strokes, running along the ring, outside and inside: lines of fire that seemed to form the letters of a flowing script. They shone piercingly bright, and yet remote, as if out of a great depth. In this episode of DO NOT BE HASTY, we continue through The Shadow of the Past, as the true nature of Frodo...
Jul 01, 2024•36 min•Season 11Ep. 4
Welcome to Episode 14 of DO NOT BE HASTY - I'm calling this one "About That Ring, Frodo..." "'It would be a grievous blow to the world, if the Dark Power overcame the Shire; if all your kind, jolly, stupid Bolgers, Hornblowers, Boffins, Bracegirdles, and the rest, not to mention the ridiculous Bagginses, became enslaved.'" In this episode of DO NOT BE HASTY, we continue through The Shadow of the Past, as Gandalf reveals to Frodo all that he has learned of his Ring in the past 17 years. SECTION S...
Jun 24, 2024•44 min•Season 11Ep. 3
