The Prancing Pony Podcast

So much alike are Elladan and Elrohir that few could tell them apart; not so with Alan and his co-host, Don Marshall! Join us as Aragorn breaks hard news to Théoden, has a moment of foresight about Éomer, and bids farewell to Merry, who misses Pippin’s unquenchable cheerfulness. The Lord of the Mark returns to bring us a Philology Faire (which might also mean a random Pooh sighting), and we take a...

Here come the jesters, one, two… well, two. Alan is joined by Don Marshall, The Obscure Lord of the Rings Facts Guy from TikTok, as we join Aragorn and his friends in Rohan. An hour long prepared approaches, we meet 30 guys that look a lot like Aragorn, and definitely get the message that the days are short. We offer our intro segment to The Tolkien Professor to talk about a book, while Merry offe...

Alan and Shaun finish their time in Minas Tirith waiting for Bergil to decide whether to take Pippin’s lunch money. Hard, bold, and wicked, Pippin can’t choose between ‘Prince of the Halflings’ and ‘Devil of a Hobbit’; Minas Tirith orders its troops from a catalog, and we offer up a sidebar on the Thain of the Shire. We take some time to see what’s going on with the rest of the Fellowship, and spe...

Alan and Shaun continue their extended visit to Minas Tirith, spending most of their time with a fellow named Beregond. Pippin asks good questions, the man of Gondor gives good answers, and we give big sidebars on the history of Osgiliath and the origin story of the Corsairs of Umbar. A very special guest (to Alan, at any rate) brings back Questions Before Bedtime, and we debate Aragorn’s ability...

Shaun Gunner of The Tolkien Society begins his service to the PPP, just as Pippin begins his service to Denethor in what is clearly an unacceptable analogy. Gandalf reminds the Steward what it means to really be a steward, Pippin seeks a little validation for his choice, and we meet a valiant man of Gondor. The Lord of the Mark returns for a tasty, and hilariously inappropriate, Philology Faire, a...

Alan and Corey tread carefully as they walk with Pippin and Gandalf into the Hall of Kings to meet the Steward. We watch as Denethor plays a rhetorical game with Gandalf, weep as we remember Boromir, and smile as Pippin shocks both old men by offering his sword to the grumpier of the two. More time is spent on the palantíri, and we say farewell to The Tolkien Professor. Finally, we discuss how “or...

Alan and Corey continue their journey towards Minas Tirith, riding with Gandalf and Pippin on the wings of the storm. We study the architecture of the White City, do maths, and begin the inevitable comparisons between Denethor and Théoden - even before we meet the Steward of Gondor. The Lord of the Mark makes the first of his guest appearances - and there was much rejoicing, and questionable jokes...

Alan and Corey introduce Book Five, and with no time to wallow in the mire, journey with Gandalf and Pippin towards Minas Tirith, as the beacons try to set the night on fire. Pippin is scared of the moon, the beacon fires, and the dragons - especially the dragons. It turns out Strong Bad might just be a hobbit. Oh, and Alan manages to leave Corey speechless, so there’s a reason to come back. Learn...

Alan welcomes The Tolkien Professor himself, Corey Olsen, to the Prancing Pony - just in time for us both to join our listeners in the common-room for our latest Q&A episode! We discuss the choices made by Elrond and Elros, whether the Three Hunters would have made good ultramarathoners, how artwork and film impacts our reading imagination, and much more. Oh, and Túrin and Nienor because we can't...

The time has come for Shawn to drink the cup of parting, but not before we take a moment to celebrate his time in the Common Room! We look back on how this thing got started in the first place, talk about some of the amazing guests that have joined us, honor our community of listeners, and commemorate six years of friendship, hard work, learning, and laughter. Alan shares his exciting plans for th...

Real hobbits arrive at the Prancing Pony, as Alan and Shawn welcome Billy Boyd and Dominic Monaghan (better known as Pippin and Merry) for our season finale! We talk about their time working on Peter Jackson’s The Lord of the Rings movies, their new podcast The Friendship Onion, and everything in between. They digress along with us on friendship, favorite podcasts, tinned oysters, cowboy hats, and...

Sam desperately tries to get through the blocked passage while the Orc captains — oblivious that their eaves are being dropped — continue complaining about their bosses (side note: we’re seriously creeped out by the fact that the Nazgûl actually give Orc officers the creeps). But when one of the captains reveals some new information, Sam suddenly realizes that getting to Frodo is more urgent than...

Letting logic guide him rather than emotion, Sam has made up his mind to leave Frodo’s body where it is and take the Ring to Mount Doom all by himself… except that he hasn’t, and soon the arrival of Orcs in the passage spurs him to go back and protect his fallen master from the defilements of Sauron’s servants or die valiantly in the attempt. We see the Ring find a new bearer, offer word-nerdery o...

Samwise returns to where he left Frodo in the pass of Cirith Ungol, only to discover his master already defeated and being dragged away by Shelob. Acting on instinct, Sam leaps into action, armed with his guts, the elven-blade, and the Phial of Galadriel — which proves to be a valuable weapon for bringing actual starlight into the darkness of Shelob’s Lair. We see Sam go through his darkest moment...

Alan and Shawn welcome listeners once again to join us in the common-room for our latest Q&A episode! Dwarf-fans rejoice as we answer questions about the Book of Mazarbul, and the other kindreds of the Dwarves besides the Longbeards of Durin. We tackle a few what-if questions such as how Faramir would have fared in the Fellowship instead of his brother, and revisit the Witch-king, the giants of Th...

The appearance of the biggest cobwebs he’s ever seen gives Sam some hope that he’s at least dealing with something he understands, and fortunately cutting through them is easy enough with the right tools (such as an ancient Elvish sword from Gondolin). But soon Frodo is wild with (false) hope of his own, and rushes headlong into what Sam knows can only be more danger. We dig deeper into Shelob’s h...

Frodo and Sam follow Gollum into the tunnel, but they’re greeted by a stench and a palpable darkness that are far from welcoming. Soon they are lost in a maze in the dark, unsure how long they’ve been there or how to get out… and something seems to be watching them with more than the usual number of eyes (and following with more than the usual number of legs). All this, plus medieval ideas on the...

The hobbits take a quick rest stop before the last leg of the journey down into Mordor, and in a moment of contemplation, Sam imparts some newfound wisdom about the nature of adventures and the stories that inspire us. But while he recaps the first season of the Prancing Pony Podcast, Gollum slips away unnoticed for some reason that can’t be good. All this, plus we consider Frodo’s pity towards Go...

Overcome by despair at the sight of the Witch-king’s army, Frodo fears that his quest has already failed. But ever-practical Samwise snaps him out of it, and Frodo continues on with determination despite his lack of hope. Gollum leads them up two sets of stairs that are definitely not up to code, and finally to a passage that… uh, might not be watched. After cooling off from this cardio session wi...

When the lights go down near the city of the Ringwraiths, Gollum is anxious to continue east as quickly as possible. Frodo and Sam follow, heedless of the danger — which is all around in this place where even the flowers are twisted and foul, the watchtower inexplicably revolves, and an evil army is about to issue from the gates any minute now. All this, plus weather-nerdery about lightning, night...

A new day begins, but doesn’t quite “dawn”, and Gollum leads the hobbits down to the cross-roads. They clearly aren’t in decent places anymore, with loud noises and orc graffiti keeping them all on edge (not to mention no decent tea house for miles). But a ray of sunshine at the right time and place reminds them that not all hope is lost. We discuss Sam’s actual pipe dream and the Gaffer’s old bel...

Frodo, Sam, and Gollum leave Henneth Annûn and continue on their quest with Faramir’s blessing and two (not three) shiny new hobbit-sized walking sticks. Gollum is totally over that betrayal business at the pool and surely isn’t planning any kind of revenge, which is nice; and there’s nothing at all creepy about the fact that they have to stay off the road because, y’know, invisible things may be...

Be hasty to tune in as Alan and Shawn welcome Clifford Broadway to The Prancing Pony Podcast! Clifford (also known as Quickbeam) has been on staff at TheOneRing.net since 1999, nearly from the beginning. We catch up with him for a conversation about the history of TORn, his work co-writing and co-producing the documentary film Ringers: Lord of the Fans, and the enduring legacy of Peter Jackson’s a...

Frodo convinces Gollum to leave the Forbidden Pool, not without some feelings of regret at his betrayal of the wretched creature. After a brief interrogation, Faramir is satisfied that Gollum knows nothing and won’t come back to this secret place, and hands him into Frodo’s keeping along with a decree that Frodo himself may walk free in Gondor for a year and a day. But the news of where the party...

Frodo is awakened by Faramir in the middle of the night to be treated to a sight he did not expect: a familiar-looking creature fishing in the pool below the waterfall. After Faramir pokes more gentle fun at Anborn’s inability to distinguish an emaciated hobbit from a squirrel or kingfisher, Frodo asks for mercy for the creature, whom he reveals to be his guide on the way to Mordor. We also specul...