Today's Tolkien Times

Yes, that’s The Man of the West. But NPB means that to refer to Ilbereth, the secretary for Father Christmas, who writes the largest portion of this second half of the 1937 letter. What does roast Polar Bear taste like? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Father Christmas wishes Tolkien a speedy recovery, and explains that he’s already giving away ‘second editions’ of The Hobbit just three months after its publication, as we look at the first part of the 1937 letter. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Join The Man of the West for the 1936 letter as Father Christmas introduces us to a new member of Team North Pole, and Polar Bear takes a very long bath. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

It’s 1935, and Father Christmas grows concerned about the goblins, expecting trouble with them soon — but hey, elvish magic sparkler spears should do the trick, right? Right? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

While The Man of the West is sometimes guilty of such trouble, today’s title refers to guests at the North Pole in 1934: Polar Bear’s young cousins, Paksu and Valkotukka! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

It’s time for our holiday tradition of reading from Letters From Father Christmas, this time starting in 1933 as Polar Bear continues his goblin-smashing ways! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

No, today’s title… oh, you know the joke by now. Join The Man of the West as we conclude our time in Of the Ruin of Beleriand and the Fall of Fingolfin from The Silmarillion. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Just like yesterday, today’s title still isn’t a reference to The Man of the West — though it’s a bit more obvious this time. No, today’s the day we meet baby Eärendil, the half-elf who will save the world. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

No, I promise today’s title isn’t a reference to The Man of the West. Instead, it’s time to take a look at two more groups of the Men of Darkness: the Black Númenóreans and the Corsairs of Umbar. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

We step away from the First Age to do a very deep dive on a single word from our Middle-earth Map Monday discussion, and learn more about trees as a bonus. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Join The Man of the West as he begins a look at another letter from Tolkien to his Aunt Jane; turns out sorting through old poetry is better than the rest of the things Tolkien should be doing. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

I’d say about two days, if episodes of Today’s Tolkien Times are anything to go by. Join The Man of the West as he begins the last week of Series 13 by looking at the site of what Tolkien says is the eucatastrophe of the whole story. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Join The Man of the West as he spends a year in Gondolin with the brothers Húrin and Huor, only to get left at the airport in the middle of the night. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Tuor finally brings his message to Turgon; the King doesn’t take his advice, but does allow him to marry his daughter, as we shift chapters in our story of Tuor and Gondolin. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Join The Man of the West for the third episode on the Haradrim, as we look at the actions of the Southrons in The War of the Ring in another of our deep dives of the Men of Darkness in the Third Age. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

No, this isn’t The Man of the West saying his son needs a haircut; today’s Word-nerd Wednesday looks at the Sindarin names of some of the new arrivals in Beleriand. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The Man of the West says the same about TTT episodes, but one of today’s letters sees the Professor say this about some of his poems. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Welcome to the start of the next 100 weeks of Today’s Tolkien Times, with a Middle-earth Map Monday spent in the “window of some elven-tower, curtained with threaded jewels”. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Join The Man of the West as he celebrates his 600th episode of Today’s Tolkien Times, just in time to see Húrin and Huor rescued and taken to Gondolin! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Join The Man of the West as we finally get Tuor’s passport stamped for Gondolin — and we learn a few more things that never made it off the scrap of paper. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Part two of our look at the Haradrim in this series on Men of Darkness covers the long, conflict-filled history of the Third Age as the Men of the Harad find themselves allied with Black Númenóreans. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Join The Man of the West as he discovers there’s a lot less word-nerdery on Barahir’s companions than he’d expected. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

We move on from Tolkien’s beef with the Swedish translator (finally), with a look at another of Tolkien’s letters to Rhona Beare, with this one feeling a bit like an early Word-nerd Wednesday. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Join The Man of the West for a milestone week of Today’s Tolkien Times, as he starts with a visit to the region of North Ithilien on Middle-earth Map Monday. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Join The Man of the West as he continues this series’ read-through Of the Ruin of Beleriand and the Fall of Fingolfin, as Sauron captures a strategic location. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices