The Man of the West wraps up the first 8-week series of Today’s Tolkien Times by finishing the story of Aulë and Yavanna. Now that the Dwarves are a done deal, what does Aulë’s wife think? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Jul 08, 2023•11 min•Season 1Ep. 48
The Man of the West is joined by Fornad, the project lead for ArdaCraft, a truly massive project creating the whole of Middle-earth in Minecraft! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Jul 07, 2023•16 min•Season 1Ep. 47
We rejoin Bilbo as he wraps up his chat with Smaug: something he should have done with four fewer words. But it’s not all bad: he’s caught Smaug monologuing! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Jul 06, 2023•10 min•Season 1Ep. 46
A quick study of lingustic dilution: or how Modern English has taken a word meaning “a worker of death” and turned it into a word meaning “that’s annoying”. The Man of the West likely butchers multiple languages in today’s episode, but he’s trying. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Jul 05, 2023•8 min•Season 1Ep. 45
Alan wraps up this first series’ Tolkien Tuesdays with a last look at the pre-publication challenges Tolkien faced with The Lord of the Rings. Titles, maps, spoilers, and hobbit hospitality. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Jul 04, 2023•11 min•Season 1Ep. 44
The Man of the West begins the week with a question about how Smaug might transport treasure. Claws like spears, sure… but what about opposable thumbs? Also, Monty Python. Because. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Jul 03, 2023•9 min•Season 1Ep. 43
The Man of the West wraps up this week of Today’s Tolkien Times by beginning a two-part look at one of his favorite tales in The Silmarillion: Of Aulë and Yavanna. Can’t keep a secret from Ilúvatar. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Jul 01, 2023•10 min•Season 1Ep. 42
The Man of the West welcome Varking Runesong to Today’s Tolkien Times to chat about Rings of Power, Reddit, and building community everywhere we go, in another installment of Fandom Friday. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Jun 30, 2023•14 min•Season 1Ep. 41
The Man of the West embraces his inner villain with a fun reading of his second-favorite dragon in Middle-earth, as he begins a two-part passage in The Hobbit. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Jun 29, 2023•10 min•Season 1Ep. 40
In today’s Word-nerd Wednesday, The Man of the West looks at the RPG industry’s favorite legal word for hobbit: “halfling”. Also, I’m still looking for tickets to Once Upon a Time in Proto-Germanic. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Jun 28, 2023•8 min•Season 1Ep. 39
A closer look at the conversation between Tolkien and Unwin regarding a problem Tolkien hadn’t had before: titles for all three volumes. Also, the Book of Mazarbul and maps. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Jun 27, 2023•9 min•Season 1Ep. 38
The Man of the West starts out the week by answering some questions about Today’s Tolkien Times, including whether he’ll ever take time off or run out of stuff. Alliteration answers all. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Jun 26, 2023•8 min•Season 1Ep. 37
The Man of the West wraps up this week’s Today’s Tolkien Times by reading from the Ainulindalë in The Silmarillion and explaining that weird acronym he keeps on using. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Jun 24, 2023•9 min•Season 1Ep. 36
The Obscure Lord of the Rings Facts Guy takes a few minutes away from TikTok to visit with The Man of the West on today’s Fandom Friday. And, with Magic: The Gathering’s LotR set dropping TODAY, who better to talk about it and show off some cards? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Jun 23, 2023•17 min•Season 1Ep. 35
The Man of the West concludes his time in Lórien by waving farewell to the Lord and Lady, and trying desperately to read Quenya like a boss. Diving into Tolkien’s notes helps us understand Galadriel’s Lament more deeply. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Jun 22, 2023•9 min•Season 1Ep. 34
Trolls, ogres, and Ents, oh my. The Man of the West dives into Old English and Old Norse to pull together a couple of ENT-eresting words in this week’s Word-nerd Wednesday. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Jun 21, 2023•8 min•Season 1Ep. 33
The Man of the West continues to tell the story of how The Lord of the Rings finally got published: today, the issue of cost, and a decision by Rayner that I suspect he eventually regretted. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Jun 20, 2023•8 min•Season 1Ep. 32
Today’s Tolkien Times begins its sixth week with a close look at all of Gollum’s options for escaping Moria and following the Company: windows, following the Orcs, public transport, rideshare? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Jun 19, 2023•10 min•Season 1Ep. 31
The Man of the West returns to Unfinished Tales to complete the tale of Tour’s arrival to the Hidden Kingdom, as he meets Ecthelion, Lord of the Fountains. Tuor, that is — the Man of the West has never met Ecthelion. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Jun 17, 2023•11 min•Season 1Ep. 30
The Man of the West welcome TikTok’s Silmarilleanne to Today’s Tolkien Times to chat about her lore videos, the Tolkien fandom, and cosplay — Star Trek might be mentioned. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Jun 16, 2023•16 min•Season 1Ep. 29
The Man of the West reads about Galadriel’s gift to Gimli, bringing to light a bit about Fëanor to help explain its significance. He also looks at her gift to Frodo, including the fastest version of the Eärendil story ever. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Jun 15, 2023•11 min•Season 1Ep. 28
Join The Man of the West as he dives into Old English and Old Norse to explore this week’s word: fellowship. Quick question: how many times does the text refer to the Company as “the Fellowship of the Ring”? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Jun 14, 2023•7 min•Season 1Ep. 27
Tolkien is free to take The Lord of the Rings and The Silmarillion to another publisher: so what happened? How Collins dropped the ball for two years, as The Man of the West reads Carpenter’s biography to get more on the story. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Jun 13, 2023•9 min•Season 1Ep. 26
Today’s Tolkien Times starts the week off with The Man of the West answering a question about the best order in which to read Tolkien: chronological, published, or only as I advise? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Jun 12, 2023•8 min•Season 1Ep. 25
The Man of the West opens up Unfinished Tales for today’s Silmarillion Saturday, as we journey with Tuor through the first few gates of the Orfalch Echor! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Jun 10, 2023•12 min•Season 1Ep. 24
Today’s Tolkien Times welcomes the composer, musician, and engineer behind the incredible project, A Long-Expected Soundscape: Jordan Rannells! For 25% off the entire 3-volume collection, use code PPP25 at checkout at https://jordanrannells.com/soundscapes or use PPP10 for 10% off one title. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Jun 09, 2023•19 min•Season 1Ep. 23
Today’s Third Age Thursday finds the Company on the banks of the Great River, drinking the cup of farewell with the Lord and Lady! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Jun 08, 2023•10 min•Season 1Ep. 22
Track down another word in the wilderness by using all your tracking and hunting skills — because this Word-nerd Wednesday is all about the ‘ranger’! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Jun 07, 2023•8 min•Season 1Ep. 21
It is 1950, and Tolkien is growing ever more frustrated with Rayner Unwin, thinking that he has another publisher ready to publish The Silmarillion on this week’s Tolkien Tuesday. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Jun 06, 2023•9 min•Season 1Ep. 20
The Man of the West starts the week with Mailbag Monday and a question about the wall surrounding the Pelennor Fields: when was it built, and who was the steward who built it? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Jun 05, 2023•9 min•Season 1Ep. 19