The Tolkien Lore Podcast

I’m back for Tolkien Reading Day, this time talking about Beregond and why this seemingly unimportant character is actually critical to his small part of the story and how he ties into one of the main themes of the book. Other Links: Rumble: https://rumble.com/c/c-355195 Odysee: https://odysee.com/@TolkienLore:f Twitter: https://twitter.com/jrrtlore Xero Shoes (affiliate link): https://xeroshoes.c...

Tolkien gives us several pointers on how to be a good man with his characters in Lord of the Rings, and also some pointers on how NOT to be a good man. Other Links: Playeur (formerly Utreon): https://playeur.com/c/TolkienLorePodcast/ Rumble: https://rumble.com/c/c-355195 Odysee: https://odysee.com/@TolkienLore:f Twitter: https://twitter.com/jrrtlore Xero Shoes (affiliate link): https://xeroshoes.c...

Tolkien’s attitude toward mechanization sometimes leads people to think of him as a Luddite, but that’s not really accurate. Nevertheless, he did have some negative opinions about “the Machine,” which he equated with “Magic,” and this final video in this series explores some of the ways he might have been onto something. For my previous two videos in this series: Fall: https://www.youtube.com/watc...

Thiswill be the final installment (at least for now) of my series onrating memes. And it’s a bit of a strange grab bag to be sure…. Priorvideos in the series: Part1: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jX2Sm0eraS8 Part2: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TVrk2hWMiFo Part3: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JUrgrL6bHCo&t=242s Part4: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8yNfhsg7BvU OtherLinks: Playeur(former...

Inthis second part of my series examining these three themes thatTolkien said were what his work was about, I examine mortality as aresult of the fall, and the various reactions to it, setting up thefinal video on Machine. Forthe first part of this series, click here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gJCXQqCE5no OtherLinks: Playeur(formerly Utreon): https:// playeur.com/c/TolkienLorePodcast/ Rumble...

Can you handle Jeff Goldblum as Legolas? How about Saruman? Get ready for some of the most...interesting memes I’ve covered so far. Part 1: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jX2Sm0eraS8 Part 2: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TVrk2hWMiFo Part 3: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JUrgrL6bHCo&t=242s&pp=0gcJCa0JAYcqIYzv Other Links: Playeur (formerly Utreon): https://playeur.com/c/TolkienLorePodc...

Tolkien once said that his stories contained the themes of Fall, Mortality, and Machine, and in this video I begin by exploring the first of these, with the other two to follow in subsequent videos. For more on the fall of Man and related topics, check out my videos on the Athrabeth Finrod ah Andreth( https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zwi7_nABWDI ) and the Tale of Adanel ( https://www.youtube.com/wa...

We’ve had some funny memes up to this point, but nothing quite a 10/10. Will we get there this time? Part 1: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jX2Sm0eraS8 Part 2: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TVrk2hWMiFo Other Links: Playeur (formerly Utreon): https:// playeur.com/c/TolkienLorePodcast/ Rumble: https://rumble.com/c/c-355195 Odysee: https://odysee.com/@TolkienLore:f Twitter: https://twitter.com/jrr...

Ready for more chuckles (and maybe even some orcish laughter)? For part 1, click here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jX2Sm0eraS8 Other Links: Playeur (formerly Utreon): https://playeur.com/c/TolkienLorePodcast/ Rumble: https://rumble.com/c/c-355195 Odysee: https://odysee.com/@TolkienLore:f Twitter: https://twitter.com/jrrtlore Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/tolkiengeek Xero Shoes (affiliate li...

A child in my household once said she didn’t like The Lord of the Rings because it’s “for boys.” Well I happen to know some girls who also like the story (and other things Tolkien to boot), and here I interview one whom you probably know but might not recognize at first about this question. Other Links: Playeur (formerly Utreon): https://playeur.com/c/TolkienLorePodcast/ Rumble: https://rumble.com...

The internet has seen a lot of Tolkien related memes, and we all need a good laugh now and then, so let’s see how funny these things really are. Other Links: Playeur (formerly Utreon): https:// playeur.com/c/TolkienLorePodcast/ Rumble: https://rumble.com/c/c-355195 Odysee: https://odysee.com/@TolkienLore:f Twitter: https://twitter.com/jrrtlore Patreon: https:// www.patreon.com/tolkiengeek Xero Sho...

A Lord of the Rings meme I saw recently made me realize that Turin, alone among Tolkien’s protagonists, seems incapable of forming close friendships with those around him. I think this might explain a lot about his story. Other Links: Playeur (formerly Utreon): https:// playeur.com/c/TolkienLorePodcast/ Rumble: https://rumble.com/c/c-355195 Odysee: https://odysee.com/@TolkienLore:f Twitter: https:...

This video goes through some actual gameplay and I also discuss how the game incorporates Tolkien’s themes into the mechanics. If you want my review of the game, check this video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HjBJ91OrgZ4 Other Links: Playeur (formerly Utreon): https:// playeur.com/c/TolkienLorePodcast/ Rumble: https://rumble.com/c/c-355195 Odysee: https://odysee.com/@TolkienLore:f Twitter: http...

After my video on how Tolkien almost “ruined” his own mythology ( https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z7YDFGc5j28&pp=0gcJCd4JAYcqIYzv ), a member of my discord shared his work showing how Tolkien actually stuck to the round world version pretty much for the remainder of hislife. We discuss here. If you want to read his paper, you can find it here: https://realelvish.net/2024/04/14/it-always-had-be...

I mentioned in a recent video about Earendil (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yM6enxxfj4c) that there seems to be a pattern of Tolkien writing impressive heroes but not actually giving us details on why they’re impressive. Let’s look at that in a bit more detail. Other Links: Playeur (formerly Utreon): https://playeur.com/c/TolkienLorePodcast/ Rumble: https://rumble.com/c/c-355195 Odysee: https://...

Aviewer recently asked whether Gollum is a “grey” character oractually two characters in light of his apparent split personality,and it made me think about an interesting parallel with the otherextended internal debate in the story: Sam’s debate over whether toleave Frodo in Cirith Ungol. It’s a fascinating comparison, as itturns out. OtherLinks: Playeur(formerly Utreon): https:// playeur.com/c/To...

My wife got me a book about Tolkien I didn’t know existed forChristmas (yay!). Unfortunately it’s not really worth the read(boo!). Other Links: Playeur (formerly Utreon): https:// playeur.com/c/TolkienLorePodcast/ Rumble: https://rumble.com/c/c-355195 Odysee: https://odysee.com/@TolkienLore:f Twitter: https://twitter.com/jrrtlore Patreon: https:// www.patreon.com/tolkiengeek Xero Shoes (affiliate...

Thereare many impressive heroes in Middle-earth, and Tolkien is oftenscant on the details of just how impressive they are, but this onecharacter takes the cake…. OtherLinks: Playeur(formerly Utreon): https:// playeur.com/c/TolkienLorePodcast/ Rumble: https://rumble.com/c/c-355195 Odysee: https://odysee.com/@TolkienLore:f Twitter: https://twitter.com/jrrtlore Patreon: https:// www.patreon.com/tolki...

In my previous video ( https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QMXe8EwXsf0 ) I addressed the question of whether Sam made the right decision to leave Frodo and take the Ring in an attempt to reach Mount Doom alone. That raises the follow-up question: what would have happened if he chose differently? It turns out this also creates a new angle on the original question…. Other Links: Playeur (formerly Utreon...

A viewer sent me an email asking this question, and it’s certainly one worth exploring. There are lots of issues that come up, such as the nature of Sam’s decision, the role of faith and providence, and the source of Sam’s conviction that he should never leave his master. Other Links: Playeur (formerly Utreon): https:// playeur.com/c/TolkienLorePodcast/ Rumble: https://rumble.com/c/c-355195 Odysee...

A viewer left a question in the comments section: What did Gandalf mean when he told Aragorn, Legolas, and Gimli that none of them had any weapon that could hurt him? Let’s explore that question and see what we can come up with. Other Links: Playeur (formerly Utreon): https://playeur.com/c/TolkienLorePodcast/ Rumble: https://rumble.com/c/c-355195 Odysee: https://odysee.com/@TolkienLore:f Twitter:...

I don’t think anyone would argue that Rockadoodle was a cinematic masterpiece, even by children’s movie standards, but oddly enough it does have some interesting intersections with Tolkien’s Middle-earth. My prior video on “Passengers” and providence is here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7UCmnGxJSl&pp=0gcJCX4JAYcqlYzv My recent video on how Tolkien considered radically altering his mytholog...

Sauron’s history is one of multiple defeats and even destructions of his physical body, and each time it’s harder for him to come back and assume his mantle as Dark Lord. Why is that? Let’s see what Tolkien has to say about it. Other Links: Playeur (formerly Utreon): https:// playeur.com/c/TolkienLorePodcast/ Rumble: https://rumble.com/c/c-355195 Odysee: https://odysee.com/@TolkienLore:f Twitter:...

Business Insider had a whole troop of warfare experts critique scenes from Peter Jackson’s Lord of the Rings films (and Rings of Power but who cares about that…), and some of it is useful fodder for a deeper look, so let’s critique the critics! For the full video from Business Insider, click here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lJMR3s2E4Bo&pp=ygUmd2FyZmFyZSBleHBlcnRzIHJhdGUgbG9yZCBvZiB0aGUgcm...

Following up my video from last week for Tolkien Reading Day, I thought I would take a closer look at another strange fact about eh Fellowship: Almost none of them are actually there to go to Mordor! Seems bizarre, but it’s not when you look at it through Tolkien’s lense. Last week’s video is here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kYmY25wunsc For Men of the West’s video that helped inspire this one...