Words Do Things

Was Eowyn a tradwife?! This episode tackles a triad of topics: Tolkien and source criticism, Tolkien and AI, Tolkien and politics. Filled with some of the most beautiful poetry recitations of the series and packed with both technical details and inspiring insights, this talk between Jason Fisher and Sørina Higgins dips into the cauldron of stories, coming up with rich and delicious details—and als...

In which the host talks far too much (ahem!), but the guest—when allowed to get a word in edgewise—gives great insights into the teaching of classic literature. We need to read old books, he says, for their sheer beauty and for their themes, which we badly need today. The same goes for the works of Tolkien, and Larry and Sørina work through the complexities of how “the long defeat” and “eucatastro...

The award-winning author of Tolkien & The Great War and several other books on Tolkien joins Sørina to talk about John Ronald’s war experience, the relationship between trauma and silence, what’s wrong with generative AI, and more. John Garth’s website: https://johngarth.co.uk/ John’s fundraising page: https://steady.page/en/john-garth-on-tolkiens-life-and-works/about John’s blog: https://john...

That’s not the only topic we discuss! Sørina gets her clearest answer yet about the relationship among consciousness, language, and mythology, and Janet solves the mystery of animal sentience! They dive into the history of Tolkien’s fame and what he’s done for the fantasy genre, and they close with a look at how The Lord of the Rings applies to their situation living in Minneapolis at the height o...

Please welcome my friend & hero, “the world’s least likely influencer”; poet, priest, rock-n-roller; the #1 best-selling poet in the world: Malcolm Guite! In his inimitable, inspiring fashion, the Rev. Dr. tells tales to delight the mind and the ear, praising the beauties of rhyme and meter, eschewing irony. He rhapsodizes about Tolkien’s prophetic power and genuine magic to speak worlds into...

Shawn Marchese & Alan Sisto talk Tolkien! The Prancing Pony Guys get back together for this delightful conversation about phonetic fitness, word nerdery, linguistic beauty, and personal delight in the Legendarium. What’s your favorite moment in the show? Please share! * Be sure to subscribe to The Prancing Pony Podcast if you don't already! https://theprancingponypodcast.com/  * Follow Prancin...

Want to know a little more about what philology is, what Tolkien’s job was, and how languages work (both natural and constructed)? Then join these two professors for a long conversation asking things like: Which words are pretty? Why are they pretty? Does God think they’re pretty? Is English better than German? Is Welsh better than English? They get into the concept of “true names,” important disc...

Chad & Chad begin by reviewing several important language-related terms in Tolkien: “Elvish,” “Quenya,” “Sindarin,” “Westron,” “Tengwar,” and “Cirth.” They get into the question of why make up languages at all, then delve into the functions of words in Middle-earth, including the frame story and both primary- and secondary-world problems of translation. Tentatively, they touch on the nature of...

Continuing the "Elvish English" series, Tom Hillman & Joe Hoffman take Sørina Higgins through how myth and language are co-causational, what Tolkien believed about the Logos and creation (and subcreation), and what makes languages beautiful. They share insights into how magic and art work in Middle-earth and whether Elvish poetry auto-translates (for more on that topic, see Tom's award-winning...

In the second episode in the "Elvish English" series, Sørina Higgins has the distinct honor of talking with Verlyn Flieger, one of the greats of Tolkien studies. They speculate why Tolkien loved certain sounds, how Dr. Flieger made her career on his works, and why they're her favorite books. They compare their experiences of reading Lord of the Rings for the first time and wonder whether Shakespea...

Prof. Michael D. C. Drout explains that for J.R.R. Tolkien, words work on different levels: there is pleasure in sound patterns, but real power is in the way words act on people & how people act. Words are not magical. Drout talks about Saruman’s voice, lying, and how both left-wingers and right-wingers claim Tolkien is on their side: each revolts against domination. Fantasy cannot provide con...

Just some raw and random thoughts about how we don't have any plan for getting out of the mess we've gotten ourselves into.

Welcome to the final show—of this series. At last! Join me as I spend an hour (yeah, an hour; sorry!) looking back over what I’ve learned. Or maybe jump to 1:03 to hear what I think we should do about this mess we’ve gotten ourselves into, okay? If you watch the whole thing, you'll hear me sing. And at the end, I talk about the new, upcoming series, all about J. R. R. #Tolkien! Thanks for going on...

Sørina reviews Owen Barfield's view of controversy as two separate publics with different definitions of words, then she compares defintions of terms from guests throughout the "Bad Words" series. She concludes that arguments in America today do not result from conflicting defitions, but from disagreements about what examples fit into categories. Sadly, she doesn't have a solution to offer.  Suppo...

In this final interview of the "Bad Words" series, Sørina Higgins interviews Larry Rosen, host of "The Enemies Project," about how to help people see that our enemies are just ourselves on the other side. Larry explains what makes people into activists and how everyone is motivated by a need for belonging. He distinguishes "platforming" from "discussion." They talk about power differentials, moral...

Dr. Taylor Jones of the popular YouTube channel  ⁨@languagejones⁩  joins Dr. Higgins to nerd out over pronouns, Black American English, and politeness in Persian. They sing the praises of the scientific method and critical thinking, then lament thought-terminating clichés. They talk about the social stigma attached to some accents, get passionate about immigration, and warn against gossip--yet the...

I was honored to be on Theology in Pieces with two of my friends to talk about the Inklings, imagination, magic, and rhetoric. Visit https://www.theologyinpieces.com/2100783/episodes/18708410-72-magic-myths-and-imagination-as-tools-of-resistance-with-dr-sorina-higgins to get this section in context and follow the show!

Today Dr. Higgins enjoys a conversation with her first Orthodox guest, The Very Reverend Father Aaron Warwick. After defining and describing Orthodoxy, they share their love of awe-inspiring, embodied, sensory worship services. They unpack how honoring everyone's freedom of speech leads to greater understanding and why it's important to confront ideas with courage and grace. Fr. Aaron explains how...

This one's a bit fiery! In this solo episode, Dr. Higgins get a bit riled up as she reflects on the podcast as process, sharing emotional and conceptual difficulties with this series on Bad Words. She laments the decline in healthy pluralism, warns against "both sides" rhetoric, and goes on a rant against American pastors who are contributing to "us vs. them" attack language. She urges pastors to...