Receive 25% your entire order from Manly Bands—including their officially licensed Lord of the Rings collection. Tap here to learn more.

Wander Middle-earth with Past Episodes

Feb. 2, 2023

082: Book vs Movie: The Hobbit Chapter 1

We explore the opening of the movie The Hobbit, an Unexpected Journey, and compare it to the chapter in JRR Tolkien’s classic children’s book, The Hobbit. We will see how a seemingly-small change in the prologue shifts the en...
Jan. 26, 2023

081: The Hobbit Chapter 1: An Unexpected Party

How an unsuspecting, comfortable hobbit became the host of a party of dwarves and a burglar of a dragon: Today we explore chapter 1 of JRR Tolkien’s classic story: The Hobbit or There and Back Again. Exclusive discounts for y...
Jan. 23, 2023

080: The Origins of The Hobbit

In a hole in the ground there lived a hobbit. Tolkien’s simple opening line to his book The Hobbit wasn’t merely the first sentence to a children’s story of adventure, bravery, and dragons: this sentence is the first step in ...
Jan. 19, 2023

079: Episode 1 Remastered: The Beginning of Middle-earth

Remastered episode 1: "The Beginning of Middle-earth"! We introduce Tolkien's "The Silmarillion" and examine the creation story for Tolkien's mythology. Exclusive discounts for you : https://www.ringspodcast.com/p/discounts/ ...
Jan. 12, 2023

078: ChatGPT vs Amazon: Who understands Tolkien better?

Who understands the Lord of the Rings better? Amazon’s Rings of Power, or the new artificial intelligence called ChatGPT. I asked the AI three questions about Lord of the Rings, and its answers left me speechless. Today, I wi...
Jan. 5, 2023

077: LOTR Movie Marathon | Part 2

I've seen Peter Jackson's LoTR movies nearly three dozen times, but I still notice new details and connections every time I watch them. Join me as I share new insights from the movies as I watch them in my annual Lord of the ...
Dec. 29, 2022

076: LoTR Movie Marathon | Part 1

I've seen Peter Jackson's LoTR movies nearly three dozen times, but I still notice new details and connections every time I watch them. Join me as I share new insights from the movies as I watch them in my annual Lord of the ...
Dec. 22, 2022

075: The End of the Third Age

The events of the Lord of the Rings book transpire in less than a year. But what a packed year it was; when the events of the First, Second, and nearly all the Third Age culminate in the overthrow of Sauron, the Return of the...
Dec. 19, 2022

074: One Year of Lore of the Rings

Today marks 1 year since the Lore of the Rings podcast launched. We dive into how I found Lord of the Rings many years ago, and how this podcast came to be. I share some numbers about our audience, and provide a sneak peak on...
Dec. 15, 2022

073: Tolkien's Timelines

Middle-earth has a detailed and ancient history, with Three Ages of the world each spanning thousands of years. Today we wander through this epic timeline, and I’ll rip into how Amazon’s Rings of Power totally trashed Tolkien...
Dec. 8, 2022

072: Small, Strange Chances: The Quest for Erebor

If you’ve seen or read Tolkien’s The Hobbit , then you know that Gandalf convinced Thorin and the dwarves to take Bilbo Baggins, a simple hobbit from the Shire. But you may not know why Gandalf chose Bilbo in the first place,...
Dec. 1, 2022

071: Durin's Folk

While Peter Jackson’s adaptations reduced dwarves to little more than comic relief, Rings of Power shows dwarves at the height of their power in Khazad-dum. Today we wander the tales of the dwarves, and you may be surprised a...
Nov. 29, 2022

070: Rings of Power Behind the Scenes

Three takeaways from the new behind-the-scenes footage for Rings of Power season 1. Exclusive discounts for you : https://www.ringspodcast.com/p/discounts/ Find contact info, social media links, discounts and more on the Lore...
Nov. 24, 2022

069: Perpetual Friendship

A holy hill, a solemn oath, a mysterious tomb; What do these things have in common? Perhaps one of Tolkien’s most beloved themes, in a word, Friendship. Today we dive deep on the oath sworn between Rohan and Gondor, and how i...
Nov. 22, 2022

068: The Ghosts of Rohan

The origins of the Kingdom of Rohan, long-time ally of Gondor, keepers of the white horses called the mearas, and befuddled enemies of Saruman. Today we explore their history, which surprisingly has less to do with horses, an...
Nov. 17, 2022

067: Aragorn and Arwen

Middle-earth’s greatest power couple: Aragorn and Arwen. If we stripped away all the battles, all the struggles, all the rings, dwarves, dragons, dark lords, wizards, Nazgul, hobbits, if we stripped all of that away, and we w...
Nov. 10, 2022

066: The Kings and Stewards of Gondor

We explore the rise and fall of Gondor, the southern kingdom, once ruled by Isildur and Anarion, sons of Elendil. We’ll track the line of kings from beginning to end, explore the Ruling Stewards' attempts to repel Mordor, and...
Nov. 3, 2022

065: Arnor and Aragorn's Unbroken Line

We all know that Aragorn is Isildur’s heir, but there’s 38 generations and nearly 3000 years between them. What happened during that time? Elrond said that Aragorn was “descended through many fathers from Isildur Elendil’s so...
Oct. 27, 2022

064: The Promise Tolkien Wished He Never Made

What was the promise that Tolkien made that he wished he could take back? What project was he working on that lead to the delay for the publishing of the final volume of The Lord of the Rings? What part of the book did Tolkie...
Oct. 20, 2022

063: Three Rings for the Elves | The Lore in Rings of Power Season Finale (Part 3 of 3)

Three Rings for the Elven Kings, The Stranger’s new adventure, and Halbrand is back in Mordor. We continue our spoiler-rich adventure—exploring the lore behind the finale of Rings of Power season 1! This our third and final l...
Oct. 18, 2022

062: Sauron’s Mind Games! The Lore in Rings of Power Season Finale (Part 2 of 3)

The Stranger banishes the cultists and Sauron twists Galadriel’s mind. We continue our spoiler-rich adventure—exploring the lore behind the finale of Rings of Power season 1! Exclusive discounts for you : https://www.ringspod...
Oct. 15, 2022

061: The Lore in Rings of Power Season Finale (Part 1 of 3)

Sauron revealed, Halbrand’s healing miracle, three gemstones, and a fool’s hope: today I’m giving a lore breakdown—scene by scene—of Rings of Power season 1 finale! Exclusive discounts for you : https://www.ringspodcast.com/p...
Oct. 13, 2022

060: The Lore in Rings of Power Episode 7: "The Eye"

Deadly Harfoots, a weeping Elendil, a jarringly humble Galadriel, kneeling Elves, and who is Celeborn—we’ll wander through all this in more in my breakdown of Rings of Power Season 1, Episode 7: The Eye. Exclusive discounts f...
Oct. 6, 2022

059: The Origin of Orcs

We explore the lore the origins of Orcs, and entertain some possible answers to the riddles of their creation and redemption. Exclusive discounts for you : https://www.ringspodcast.com/p/discounts/ Find contact info, social m...