Wander Middle-earth with Past Episodes

Bilbo Baggins and the dwarves finally reach Laketown! Today we explore how Peter Jackson’s second Hobbit film, The Desolation of Smaug, adapts the chapter “A Warm Welcome” from JRR Tolkien’s The Hobbit. Let's wander! Come explore JRR Tolkien's Middle-earth, from the Lord of the Rings, to the Hobbit, to the Silmarillion, to Unfinished Tales and beyond! We compare Tolkien’s tales with Peter Jackson's films and Amazon's Rings of Power series. Exclusive discounts for you: https://www.rin...

Bilbo, Thorin, and the dwarves finally arrive in Lake-town, where another unexpected party occurs, and where Bilbo encounters a new creature: the race of Men. Let's wander! Come explore JRR Tolkien's Middle-earth, from the Lord of the Rings, to the Hobbit, to the Silmarillion, to Unfinished Tales and beyond! We compare Tolkien’s tales with Peter Jackson's films and Amazon's Rings of Power series. Exclusive discounts for you: https://www.ringspodcast.com/p/discounts/ Find contact info...

Invented dialogue, new characters, made-up scenes: the adaption of JRR Tolkien’s The Hobbit is in full swing. Today we compare The Hobbit chapter 9, Barrels out of Bond, with its on screen adaptation in Peter Jackson’s film The Hobbit: the Desolation of Smaug. Extended edition of course. Let's wander! Come explore JRR Tolkien's Middle-earth, from the Lord of the Rings, to the Hobbit, to the Silmarillion, to Unfinished Tales and beyond! We compare Tolkien’s tales with Peter Jackson's films ...

Bilbo Baggins finally becomes the burglar that Gandalf promised he would be. I’m not sure that exactly great expectations on Gandalf’s part, but who am I to argue with a wizard? Let's wander! Come explore JRR Tolkien's Middle-earth, from the Lord of the Rings, to the Hobbit, to the Silmarillion, to Unfinished Tales and beyond! We compare Tolkien’s tales with Peter Jackson's films and Amazon's Rings of Power series. Exclusive discounts for you: https://www.ringspodcast.com/p/discounts...

Bilbo Baggins and the dwarves discover that some mushrooms in Middle-earth are dangerous to their health, as they attempt to pass through the forest of Mirkwood. Today we compare Peter Jackson’s on screen adaption of the chapter “Flies and Spiders” from JRR Tolkien’s The Hobbit. Let's wander! Come explore JRR Tolkien's Middle-earth, from the Lord of the Rings, to the Hobbit, to the Silmarillion, to Unfinished Tales and beyond! We compare Tolkien’s tales with Peter Jackson's films and Amazon's...

Bilbo Baggins almost gets eaten (again), has to save the dwarves (again), and meets elves (again). Today we explore JRR Tolkien’s The Hobbit, chapter 8, Flies and Spiders. Let's wander! Come explore JRR Tolkien's Middle-earth, from the Lord of the Rings, to the Hobbit, to the Silmarillion, to Unfinished Tales and beyond! We compare Tolkien’s tales with Peter Jackson's films and Amazon's Rings of Power series. Exclusive discounts for you: https://www.ringspodcast.com/p/discounts/ Find...

We dive into the history of evil as we compare chapter 7 of the Hobbit with it’s on-screen adaption in the form of Peter Jackson’s The Hobbit, the Desolation of Smaug. Let's wander! Come explore JRR Tolkien's Middle-earth, from the Lord of the Rings, to the Hobbit, to the Silmarillion, to Unfinished Tales and beyond! We compare Tolkien’s tales with Peter Jackson's films and Amazon's Rings of Power series. Exclusive discounts for you: https://www.ringspodcast.com/p/discounts/ Find con...

Bilbo meets the most perplexing creature yet, and another simple choice saves the fate of Middle-earth. Let's wander! Come explore JRR Tolkien's Middle-earth, from the Lord of the Rings, to the Hobbit, to the Silmarillion, to Unfinished Tales and beyond! We compare Tolkien’s tales with Peter Jackson's films and Amazon's Rings of Power series. Exclusive discounts for you: https://www.ringspodcast.com/p/discounts/ Find contact info, social media links, discounts and more on the Lore of...

We finally reach the end of Peter Jackson’s first Hobbit Movie! We’ll compare chapter 6 from the book to its on screen adaptation, and explore how the story’s subtle shift in narrative focus resolves. Let's wander! Come explore JRR Tolkien's Middle-earth, from the Lord of the Rings, to the Hobbit, to the Silmarillion, to Unfinished Tales and beyond! We compare Tolkien’s tales with Peter Jackson's films and Amazon's Rings of Power series. Exclusive discounts for you: https://www.rings...

Bilbo Baggins becomes bacon . . . or at least he fears that he has. Some new creatures want to eat him, another new creature seems to want to eat him; yet despite feeling like food, Bilbo is starting to change, but is it all for the best? Let's wander! Come explore JRR Tolkien's Middle-earth, from the Lord of the Rings, to the Hobbit, to the Silmarillion, to Unfinished Tales and beyond! We compare Tolkien’s tales with Peter Jackson's films and Amazon's Rings of Power series. Exclusiv...

Happy Tolkien Reading Day! March 25 marks the day when the One Ring was destroyed and the Dark Lord Sauron was overthrown. Every March 25 for the last 20 years, the Tolkien Society commemorates Tolkien Reading Day. This is a day to read and share your favorite Tolkien passages. Today’s episode is dedicated to Tolkien Reading Day. We will explore Tolkien’s thoughts on what makes a good story that he laid out in his essay “On Fairy Stories”. Let's wander! Come explore JRR Tolkien's Mid...

What is JRR Tolkien's influence on other fantasy authors? Fantasy author and Wheel of Time expert Jason Denzel joins me to discuss how Tolkien influenced Robert Jordan, Amazon's adaptations of both Wheel of Time and Rings of Power, and his experience in reading The Silmarillion for the first time. Come explore JRR Tolkien's Middle-earth, from the Lord of the Rings, to the Hobbit, to the Silmarillion, to Unfinished Tales and beyond! We compare Tolkien’s tales with Peter Jackson's films and Ama...

Bilbo becomes separated from the dwarves, and strikes an odd deal with a slimy creature in order to get unlost, but also changes the fate of Middle-earth in the process. Come explore JRR Tolkien's Middle-earth, from the Lord of the Rings, to the Hobbit, to the Silmarillion, to Unfinished Tales and beyond! We compare Tolkien’s tales with Peter Jackson's films and Amazon's Rings of Power series. Exclusive discounts for you: https://www.ringspodcast.com/p/discounts/ Find contact info, soci...

One of the most chilling elements of a fantasy story is the descent into darkness. Darkness is the realm of evil, where wicked power have a home-court advantage. But journeys into the dark have a way of bringing out the light, of forcing the actors of light to evolve and emerge stronger than when they entered the darkness. Today we wander in the dark as we explore Bilbo Baggins’s journey into darkness as told in chapter 5: Riddles in the Dark, of JRR Tolkien’s The Hobbit. Come explore JRR Tol...

Lost in the dark, and without hope, Bilbo makes an unlikely discovery that has enormous ramifications for the fate of Middle-earth, meets a slimy creature who may not be all that different from himself, and wins a riddle game—accidently. Come explore JRR Tolkien's Middle-earth, from the Lord of the Rings, to the Hobbit, to the Silmarillion, to Unfinished Tales and beyond! We compare Tolkien’s tales with Peter Jackson's films and Amazon's Rings of Power series. Support the show with a wafer...

Today we compare JRR Tolkien’s The Hobbit chapter 4 with Peter Jackson’s on-screen adaptation in the Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey. Extended edition, of course. Come explore JRR Tolkien's Middle-earth, from the Lord of the Rings, to the Hobbit, to the Silmarillion, to Unfinished Tales and beyond! We compare Tolkien’s tales with Peter Jackson's films and Amazon's Rings of Power series. Exclusive discounts for you: https://www.ringspodcast.com/p/discounts/ Find contact info, social media ...

The dangers of adventure, an encounter with goblins, and the power of Gandalf. We continue our exploration of JRR Tolkien’s the Hobbit, by wandering through chapter 4: Over Hill and Under Hill. Come explore JRR Tolkien's Middle-earth, from the Lord of the Rings, to the Hobbit, to the Silmarillion, to Unfinished Tales and beyond! We compare Tolkien’s tales with Peter Jackson's films and Amazon's Rings of Power series. Exclusive discounts for you: https://www.ringspodcast.com/p/discounts/...

A Short Rest, but a long embellishment. Today we look at how The Hobbit movie adapts chapter 3 of JRR Tolkien’s the Hobbit. We dive into the deeper evils brewing around the quest, what the film has to say about the nature of elves, and look at a completely movie-made-up scene and see if it fits in this adaption. Come explore JRR Tolkien's Middle-earth, from the Lord of the Rings, to the Hobbit, to the Silmarillion, to Unfinished Tales and beyond! We compare Tolkien’s tales with Peter Jackson'...

The nature of evil, the nature of elves, and a brief encounter with Elrond (curiously, not called Half-elven). We follow Bilbo and the dwarves on their adventure to the Lonely Mountain in chapter 3 of JRR Tolkien’s children’s classic, The Hobbit or There and Back Again Come explore JRR Tolkien's Middle-earth, from the Lord of the Rings, to the Hobbit, to the Silmarillion, to Unfinished Tales and beyond! We compare Tolkien’s tales with Peter Jackson's films and Amazon's Rings of Power series. ...

Warner Bros Studios has announced new Lord of the Ring movies are in the works. I provide some thoughts on the directions they could go, and provide a warning for future Middle-earth film makers. Come explore JRR Tolkien's Middle-earth, from the Lord of the Rings, to the Hobbit, to the Silmarillion, to Unfinished Tales and beyond! We compare Tolkien’s tales with Peter Jackson's films and Amazon's Rings of Power series. Exclusive discounts for you: https://www.ringspodcast.com/p/discount...

We compare chapter 2 of the Hobbit to its on-screen portrayal, and continue exploring how little yet significant changes push our hobbit to the side and highlight the dwarves. Oh, and I even have a Rings of Power dig as well. Yeah, you didn’t know we were going there, but we will, and back again! Exclusive discounts for you: https://www.ringspodcast.com/p/discounts/ Find contact info, social media links, discounts and more on the Lore of the Rings website: https://www.ringspodcast.com/ Sup...

Special guest Larry D. Curtis, a Tolkien journalist, joins me as we explore JRR Tolkien's influence culture, being on set for the Hobbit, and some criticisms on Rings of Power. Exclusive discounts for you: https://www.ringspodcast.com/p/discounts/ Find contact info, social media links, discounts and more on the Lore of the Rings website: https://www.ringspodcast.com/ Support the show with a wafer of lembas: https://www.buymeacoffee.com/lotrpodcast This podcast is not affiliated with the...

Food, fire, and foreshadowing: we wander the second chapter of JRR Tolkien’s The Hobbit, and explore how this simple chapter is a major clue to the rest of Bilbo’s adventure. Exclusive discounts for you: https://www.ringspodcast.com/p/discounts/ Find contact info, social media links, discounts and more on the Lore of the Rings website: https://www.ringspodcast.com/ Support the show with a wafer of lembas: https://www.buymeacoffee.com/lotrpodcast This podcast is not affiliated with the T...

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 entire story away from Tolkien’s tale. Exclusive discounts for you: https://www.ringspodcast.com/p/discounts/ Find contact info, social media links, discounts and more on the Lore of the Rings website: https://www.ringspodcast.com/ Support the show with a wafer of lembas...