The Last Homely House

Getting a little more serious on the topic of vocation, we try to actually answer the listener-submitted question: where did Bilbo (and his family) get their money from? What did he do for work (if anything)? This leads us into broader questions about the nature of the whole Shire economy and what sorts of jobs other Hobbits might be found doing.

In response to a listen question (submitted over a year ago...our bad), we begin a series of episodes exploring vocation in Middle-Earth. We start off with a (fairly unserious) look at how a few members of the Fellowship might fair in an interview. Who do you think would get the job? Let us know in the comments!

A few weeks ago (in an official document on AI and Human Dignity) Pope Leo XIV quoted Gandalf. Our hosts talk a little bit about this quote, about how Tolkien might have felt about AI, and then more broadly about how Tolkien's works continue to inform and influence our world (and our lives).

Sometimes the strongest and safest places in Middle Earth aren't its grand towers and fortresses, but instead are hidden places, secluded woods, and the like. What makes these places special? How are they distinct from the fortresses where evil lurks and the strongholds of men?

Continuing on last week's discussion, we pivot to talk about the Strongholds that are built to defy evil lords, to defend the free people, and as bastions of hope in Middle Earth.

Our hosts begin a three week series on fortresses, strongholds, and safe havens in Middle Earth. This week, the Dark Fortresses where evil hides and plots.

We kick off this episode with an exciting announcement (!!!) and then move into a chat about notable second-borns in Tolkien's world.

We take a break from our previously scheduled series to celebrate our 200th EPISODE! Thanks for listening along all these years! To celebrate, we put together a game where Ron and Jasmine try to identify several Notable Numbers in Middle Earth. Join in and play along!

If the Dwarves love anything it's the stuff that they make. How does this impact their understanding of inheritance or their practice of handing things down? Related to this question, we spend some time considering "Does greed shape how all dwarves hand things down, or is it just Thorin?"

How would a culture's take on "inheritance" change if that culture was made up of peoples who don't die? That's the basic question for today as we talk about what gets handed down by the Elves of Middle-Earth (and who they hand it down to).

So much going on in this episode! We compare chapters from Books 3 and 6. We realize our mistake regarding "The Houses of Healing" and "The Steward and the King." AND we pick our final winner. Which chapter gets dubbed "the Best of the Best"?

Our third regional competition pits chapters from Book 2 against those from Book 5. It is also our first post-lunch episode which means it comes with a disclaimer: we confused the contents of the chapter "The Houses of Healing" with the contents of "The Steward and the King"?! We realize our mistake next week... be gentle.

The second episode of our Middle-Earth Madness series compares chapters from Book 1 with chapters from the Hobbit. Which chapters did you have moving on? How does your bracket compare to ours so far? Are you still locked in or is your bracket thoroughly busted?

Our Middle-Earth Madness Tournament begins! We start out with the bottom left region of the bracket: Book 4 of the Lord of the Rings versus the Silmarillion. What do you think of our picks? Who did you have moving on?

We're continuing our look at what gets handed down in Middle-Earth, moving from the short-folk to the big-folk! What are some of the things that get handed down by Men? Join us as we discuss power, household heirlooms, and inherited friendship.

We're starting a new season and a new series, looking at all things "handed down." How do heirlooms, heritage, inheritance (and the like) play into Tolkien's world (and specifically into his stories)? We start out this week looking at the Hobbits and all of the things Bilbo hands down to Frodo (his home, his ring, his adventuring gear, and also his 'Tookish' adventuring spirit).

Because we can't leave well-enough alone, we dive a little deeper into the alleged connection between Sauron and Bombadil (suggested by their poetic style). We speculate together and offer explanations that range from plausible to ridiculous. How would you explain the similarities?

With all of our hosts back together, we take one (final?) swing at the collection of Tolkien's poetry. This time we look at their selections from the Lord of the Rings. Which were our favorites? Do we think they did a good job choosing a representative collection? Also...why do Sauron and Bombadil write poetry the same way!?

Since Jasmine was out of town for last week's episde, we return to Volume 3 of Tolkien's collected poetry and talk about a few more of our first favorites. Tragedy written in bouncy couplets. A slow and terrifying dragon. And a purposely unfinished work by...Arwen?

Jon and Ron dive in and share some of their "first favorites" from the third volume of Tolkien's Collected Poetry. We talk nostalgia, Germanic sagas, and limmericks. (Basically, we're all over the place when Jasmine isn't here!)

We cracked open the box a bit last week talking about portrayals of Aragorn and Arwen's romance in the upcoming Hunt for Gollum. This week, our hosts go back to the source material to discuss their relationship, how it is portrayed in Jackson's films, and how it might be brought into the new film well.

We're just over a year away from more Tolkien on the big screen, with The Hunt for Gollum expected to hit theaters in late 2027. And, while there's not a lot of official news yet, there have been rumors floating around concerning who will (and won't) be returning to reprise some beloved characters. Join our hosts as we engage in one of our favorite passtimes: SPECULATION!

25 years after its original release, Jon and Jasmine finally got the chance to see it in the theater (Jon also got to watch Two Towers and Return of the King). We chat about our experience seeing these masterpieces on the silver screen. Did any else get the chance to see the anniversary screenings?

Our hosts chat about a new book, Tom Racine's "Doomed to Die: An A-to-Z of Death in Tolkein" and then discuss Tolkien's own assertion that all human stories are about one thing...the inevitability of death.

One episode in volume 2 was not enough! We needed a few more minutes to talk about some of the great stuff we found in the second part of the new poetry collection.