The Entmoot Podcast

In which co-hosts Kenny and Sam are joined by Clare Moore and Rory Queripel to discuss their recently released co-edited special issue of the Journal of Tolkien Research, Asexuality in Tolkien's Legendarium . Leave us a review! Email us at entmootpod@gmail.com! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In which co-hosts Kenny and Sam discuss chapter 23 of the Quenta Silmarillion, the tale of Tuor and the fall of Gondolin. Primary sources: The Silmarillion | The Lord of the Rings | The Letters of J.R.R. Tolkien Further reading: The Fall of Gondolin Garth - Tolkien and the Great War Leave us a review! Send us an email at entmootpod@gmail.com! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more informa...

In which co-hosts Kenny and Sam talk to psychoanalyst and Tolkien scholar John Rosegrant about his book Tolkien, Enchantment, and Loss . Leave us a review! Email us at entmootpod@gmail.com! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In which co-hosts Kenny and Sam talk to Tom Hillman about his book Pity, Power, and Tolkien's Ring , and specifically the motif of pity throughout Tolkien's work. Leave us a review! Email us at entmootpod@gmail.com! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In which co-hosts Kenny and Sam explore the state of online Tolkien fandoms, including the main three Tolkien subreddits and some (still kicking!) online forum sites. Leave us a review! Send us an email at entmootpod@gmail.com! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In which co-hosts Kenny and Sam talk about the US and Israel's war with Iran, and are later joined by Danny Bessner of the American Prestige podcast to discuss his (now quite relevant) 2022 piece The Rings of Power is a Saga for a War-Hungry Nation . Danny Bessner is an Associate Professor in the Henry M. Jackson School of International Studies at the University of Washington. He co-hosts the Amer...

In which co-hosts Kenny and Sam talk to Professor Stephen Yandell about CS Lewis and his complex relationship with JRR Tolkien. Steve Yandell is a medievalist and Tolkien/Lewis scholar who has been a Professor of English at Xavier University since 2003. More Steve: Queer Approaches To Tolkien: Essays on the Many Paths to Middle-earth [co-edited with Robin Anne Reid and Christopher Vaccaro) "A Patt...

In which co-hosts Kenny and Sam discuss chapter 22 of the Quenta Silmarillion, which includes the release of Hurin from captivity, the fall of the kingdom of Doriath, and (most importantly), the death of Entmoot Podcast All-Star Mîm the Petty-dwarf. Primary sources: The Silmarillion | The Lord of the Rings | The Letters of J.R.R. Tolkien Leave us a review! Send us an email at entmootpod@gmail.com!...

In which co-hosts Kenny and Sam look back at the year that was, look ahead to the year that's to come, and answer (excellent!) listener questions. Topics include the status of democracy in absolute monarchies like Gondor, connections between Tolkien and Lovecraft, the history of Galadriel, our favorite movies of 2025, Reddit comments about the podcast, and our predictions for 2026 elections in the...

In which co-hosts Kenny and Sam talk to William Fliss about Tolkien's manuscripts and life as an archivist. Bill Fliss is the Manuscripts Archivist at Marquette University, which places him among the foremost authorities in the world on Tolkien's manuscripts for The Hobbit and Lord of the Rings. He runs the Anduin Project at Marquette which is an invaluable tool for Tolkien researchers. Add your v...

In which co-hosts Kenny and Sam talk to Professor Jyrki Korpua about the Kalevala and the inspiration that Tolkien drew from it. This episode is a companion piece to our previous episode on chapter 21 of The Silmarillion, which you can find here . Jyrki Korpua is a researcher and lecturer of literature at the University of Oulu in Finland. He has published extensively on both the Kalevala and Tolk...

In which co-hosts Kenny and Sam discuss chapters 20 and 21 of the Quenta Silmarillion, which include an account of the Fifth Battle and the tragic tale of Turin Turambar. Primary sources: The Silmarillion | The Lord of the Rings | The Letters of J.R.R. Tolkien Books we've been reading: The Wages of Destruction Ride The Pink Horse The Long Goodbye Gilead The Sot-Weed Factor The Fort Bragg Cartel Th...

In which co-hosts Kenny and Sam joined friend of the show Ethan Colburn for an episode of the Cineflek Podcast about Ralph Bakshi's 1978 animated film adaptation of The Lord of the Rings. For a great documentary with more information on the making of the movie, check out " An Exhaustive History of Ralph Bakshi's Lord of the Rings " from Folding Ideas on YouTube. For more on adaptation rights to To...

In which co-hosts Kenny and Sam talk to Professor Cami Agan about the 2018 volume Beren and Luthien and about the textual history of the tale. This episode is a companion piece to our previous episode on chapter 19 of The Silmarillion, which you can find here . Cami Agan is the Distinguished Professor of Language and Literature at Oklahoma Christian University and a prominent scholar of Tolkien's...

In which co-hosts Kenny and Sam discuss chapter 19 of the Quenta Silmarillion, the incredible story of Beren and Luthien. Included is also a discussion of current events affecting Sam as a resident of Washington DC -- listeners with an allergy to that sort of thing can skip to 17:25 to get to "the good stuff." Primary sources: The Silmarillion | The Lord of the Rings | Beren and Luthien | The Lett...

In which co-hosts Kenny and Sam talk to Professor Bret Devereaux about the Siege of Gondor and the Battle of Helm's Deep, including discussions of pre-modern logistics, cavalry charges, flails, command structures, battle speeches, and much more. Bret Devereaux is an ancient and military historian who currently teaches as a Teaching Assistant Professor at North Carolina State University. You can fi...

In which co-hosts Kenny and Sam talk to Ali Mirzabayati about death and mourning in Tolkien's work. Ali published his thesis Death as a Gift: A Heroic Celebration of Life in The Lord of the Rings in December 2024. Ali Mirzabayati is a scholar of medieval literature and modern fantasy, including Tolkien's legendarium. More Ali: Mourning and Melancholia in The Lord of the Rings Sounds of Battle and...

In which co-hosts Kenny and Sam talk to Professor Lee Konstantinou about Tolkien's right-wing (or neo-reactionary) fans in Silicon Valley. Lee's essay Mythic Capital: How Tolkien is Whispering in the Ears of America's Most Powerful Men , is out now from Arc. Long-time listeners will know that this is our third time talking about this subject -- our first episode on the subject, from November 2022,...

In which co-hosts Kenny and Sam discuss chapters 17 and 18 of the Quenta Silmarillion, including the coming of men into Beleriand, the death of Fingolfin, and Hurin and Huor's visit to Gondolin. Primary sources: The Silmarillion | The Lord of the Rings | The Letters of J.R.R. Tolkien Leave us a review! Send us an email at entmootpod@gmail.com! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more inform...

In which co-hosts Kenny and Sam talk to Professor Robert Tally about his new book The Mismeasure of Orcs: A Critical Reassessment of Tolkien's Demonized Creatures , out now from McFarland Books. Robert Tally is a Professor of English at Texas State University. He's written extensively about Tolkien and Marxist literary criticism. More Rob: Representing Middle-earth: Tolkien, Form, and Ideology JRR...

In which co-hosts Kenny and Sam talk to Professor Stephen Yandell about Beowulf and the many ways it inspired Tolkien. Steve Yandell is a medievalist and Tolkien scholar who has been a Professor of English at Xavier University since 2003. He regularly teaches courses on both Tolkien and medieval literature, including Beowulf. More Steve: "A Pattern Which Our Nature Cries Out For": The Medieval Tra...

In which co-hosts Kenny and Sam discuss chapters 15 and 16 of the Quenta Silmarillion, including the founding of Gondolin, Thingol's abolition of Quenya, and the tragic tale of Eöl, Beleriand's palest and weirdest elf. Primary sources: The Silmarillion | The Lord of the Rings | The Letters of J.R.R. Tolkien Also mentioned: The Dispossessed - Ursula K. Le Guin The Summer Book - Tove Jansson Butcher...

In which co-hosts Kenny and Sam talk to Professor Robin Reid about feminist and queer Tolkien scholarship and fandom. Robin Reid is a Tolkien scholar who was a professor of English at Texas A&M University until her retirement in 2020. She is currently working on a book that will be a feminist reception study of women and non-binary readers of Tolkien, with updates posted on her Substack here ....

In which co-hosts Kenny and Sam discuss chapters 13 and 14 of the Quenta Silmarillion, including the death of Feanor, the reuniting of the Noldor, and a very long description of a map. To make "Of Beleriand and Its Realms" a bit easier to digest, here are a couple maps: this one by Tolkien himself, this "cleaner" one by Sirelle on DeviantArt, and this political map by u/tolkien_erklaert on Reddit....

In which co-hosts Kenny and Sam discuss chapters 10, 11, and 12 of the Quenta Silmarillion, including King Thingol of the Sindar, the creation of the sun and moon, and the coming of men (finally). Primary sources: The Silmarillion | The Lord of the Rings | The Letters of J.R.R. Tolkien Leave us a review! Send us an email at entmootpod@gmail.com! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more info...