Today's Tolkien Times - podcast cover

Today's Tolkien Times

The Prancing Pony Podcasttolkientimes.com
Get your Tolkien every day by subscribing to Today’s Tolkien Times! Alan Sisto, host of the award-winning Prancing Pony Podcast and Rings of Power Wrap-up, hosts a new short-format daily podcast available on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube, and wherever else you get your podcasts! Listeners get answers on Mailbag Mondays; discover more about the Professor on Tolkien Tuesdays; indulge your inner philologist on Word-nerd Wednesdays; learn more about the familiar stories of Middle-earth on Third Age Thursdays; hear from Tolkien fans around the world on Fandom Fridays; and dive deep into Middle-earth history on Silmarillion Saturdays! And on Sundays? That’s what The Prancing Pony Podcast is for! So subscribe to Today’s Tolkien Times and follow us on all our social media channels!
Last refreshed:
Follow this podcast in the Metacast mobile app to refresh it and see new episodes.
Download Metacast podcast app
Podcasts are better in Metacast mobile app
Don't just listen to podcasts. Learn from them with transcripts, summaries, and chapters for every episode. Skim, search, and bookmark insights. Learn more

Episodes

Week 078 - Silmarillion Saturday: How Great Was Their Peril

We continue in Of the Rings of Power and the Third Age as the Dark Lord makes his return, the forest gets a new name, and the Valar send a little help. They could have screened them a bit better. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Apr 19, 20259 minSeason 10Ep. 468

Week 078 - Fandom Friday: A Song of Greater Power

Join The Man of the West as he sits down with Tolkien scholar (and Ph.D. student) Clare Moore to talk about things he only barely understands. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Apr 18, 202517 minSeason 10Ep. 467

Week 078 - Third Age Thursday: Unmarred, Unstained

Clearly not referring to The Man of the West or any of his clothing, today’s title references a line in a poem that Gandalf may have just made up on the spot. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Apr 17, 20259 minSeason 10Ep. 466

Week 078 - Word-nerd Wednesday: Or, “Deadly Forest of Deadly Death”

Join The Man of the West for a closer look at Taur-nu-Fuin than you ever thought you’d like. Also, it turns out we’ve been misspelling the name of the River Teiglin all this time. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Apr 16, 202510 minSeason 10Ep. 465

Week 078 - Túrin Turambar Tuesday: Such a Churl

Yet another line that could describe The Man of the West — but today, it’s Túrin’s own self-evaluation, as he reunites with an old friend. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Apr 15, 202512 minSeason 10Ep. 464

Week 078 - Middle-earth Map Monday: Between Down and Fen

Join The Man of the West as he follows the Three Hunters into Rohan for another Middle-earth Map Monday to start week 78 of the TTT. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Apr 14, 202510 minSeason 10Ep. 463

Week 077 - Silmarillion Saturday: There Mirth Also Dwelt

Join The Man of the West as he continues Of the Rings of Power and the Third Age, as we witness the power of the Three Rings — and the inevitability of their fading. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Apr 12, 202510 minSeason 10Ep. 462

Week 077 - Fandom Friday: Kaiakayy

The Man of the West welcomes Kaia to Today’s Tolkien Times to talk Tolkien, TikTok and trivia. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Apr 11, 202514 minSeason 10Ep. 461

Week 077 - Third Age Thursday: Hwær Cwom Mearg?

Join The Man of the West for an attempt at Old English as he looks at Aragorn’s Lament for the Rohirrim, the classic ubi sunt , and reads Tolkien’s own words about ‘the ineluctable ending’ of all good things. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Apr 10, 202511 minSeason 10Ep. 460

Week 077 - Word-nerd Wednesday: It Would Explain Much

We spend another Word-nerd Wednesday looking at names from the Tale of Túrin Turambar; today, including four Elves and three swords! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Apr 09, 202510 minSeason 10Ep. 459

Week 077 - Túrin Turambar Tuesday: Guard Him and Guide Him

We return to the story of Túrin Turambar as perpetually-underrated Beleg Cúthalion does everything within his power to help the troubled young man. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Apr 08, 202511 minSeason 10Ep. 458

Week 077 - Middle-earth Map Monday: Swelled Like a Green Sea

Join The Man of the West as he begins week 77 of Today’s Tolkien Times with another Middle-earth Map Monday, joining the Three Hunters as they pursue the Orcs into Rohan. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Apr 07, 202510 minSeason 10Ep. 457

Week 076 - Silmarillion Saturday: Stirred as by a Cold Wind

Join The Man of the West for the continuing story Of the Rings of Power and the Third Age, as we witness the fall of Arnor and the waning of Gondor. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Apr 05, 20259 minSeason 10Ep. 456

Week 076 - Fandom Friday: History, Real or Feigned

Join The Man of the West in welcoming Be1mont_lotr to Fandom Friday; he’s another in the growing chorus of the Voices of Arda, a history buff, and diplomatically reaches the right answer on Balrog wings. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Apr 04, 202514 minSeason 10Ep. 455

Week 076 - Third Age Thursday: Dark is the Path

Galadriel has messages for the Three Hunters, even if Gandalf nearly forgets to deliver one of them. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Apr 03, 20259 minSeason 10Ep. 454

Week 076 - Word-nerd Wednesday: Say That Again?

Join The Man of the West as he brings to light more of the words from our Tuesday readings in the story of Túrin: today, a look at the family of Húrin. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Apr 02, 20258 minSeason 10Ep. 453

Week 076 - Túrin Turambar Tuesday: Marked With Sorrow

The tragic tale of Túrin Turambar properly begins today, as we encounter the aftermath of the Nirnaeth Arnoediad through the eyes of Morwen Eledhwen. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Apr 01, 202511 minSeason 10Ep. 452

Week 076 - Middle-earth Map Monday: The Rush and Thunder

Join The Man of the West as he begins another week with a look at the last of the places the Company visited along the Great River. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Mar 31, 20259 minSeason 10Ep. 451

Week 075 - Silmarillion Saturday: Not Wholly Destroyed

Join The Man of the West for more reading from Of the Rings of Power and the Third Age as, today, he learns that sometimes, a victory is only temporary. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Mar 29, 20259 minSeason 10Ep. 450

Week 075 - Fandom Friday: Celebreabird

Today’s Tolkien Times returns to Fandom Fridays, as The Man of the West welcomes Celebreabird to talk about her Tolkien substack and her welcoming work on TikTok and Instagram! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Mar 28, 202516 minSeason 10Ep. 449

Week 075 - Third Age Thursday: With Doom We Come

No, not The Man of the West and any of his PPP co-hosts; it’s time for Treebeard and the Ents to sing and march their way to Isengard to deal with someone who should know better. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Mar 27, 20259 minSeason 10Ep. 448

Week 075 - Word-nerd Wednesday: A Vigorous Heart

Time to explore a few of the names we encountered in yesterday’s Túrin Tuesday, including the names of the brothers Húrin and Huor, and The Man of the West’s favorite phrase in all of the legendarium. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Mar 26, 202510 minSeason 10Ep. 447

Week 075 - Middle-earth Map Monday: No Foot of Man Or Beast

Join The Man of the West as he begins Series 10 of Today’s Tolkien Times with a visit to the lake of Nen Hithoel and the three peaks that helped shape it. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Mar 24, 202510 minSeason 10Ep. 445

Week 074 - Silmarillion Saturday: Brooded in the Dark

Join The Man of the West for some unexpected advice about ‘brooding’ as we conclude the Second Age in Of the Rings of Power and the Third Age in The Silmarillion . Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Mar 01, 202512 minSeason 9Ep. 444

Week 074 - First-Age Friday: Sudden Swift Surprise

After 32 First Age Fridays, we reach the end of Tolkien’s Lay of Leithian. Beren Erchamion, folks: give him a hand. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Feb 28, 20259 minSeason 9Ep. 443

Week 074 - Word-nerd Wednesday: Quenya for “Listen to Her”

Join The Man of the West for the last of his 8-week series on the names of the Valar and Maiar, as we discover the stories behind the names of Arien, Tirion, and many more. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Feb 26, 202511 minSeason 9Ep. 441

Week 074 - Tolkien Tuesday: Her Last and Fattest Years

Tolkien’s in-depth explanation of hobbit birthdays continues, and transitions into a discussion of family structure and one morbidly funny story involving Pippin’s sister. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Feb 25, 202512 minSeason 9Ep. 440

Week 074 - Middle-earth Map Monday: Silent Wardens

Join The Man of the West as he begins the last week of Series 9 with another Middle-earth Map Monday, traveling down the Anduin. Also, Aragorn admires the royal stones. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Feb 24, 202512 minSeason 9Ep. 439
For the best experience, listen in Metacast app for iOS or Android