Episodes

Starting in 1920, JRR Tolkien wrote letters from Father Christmas to his children–and continued doing that for 24 more years! Through those letters, he created an entire mythology, including characters (like the North Polar Bear, Ilbereth his elf helper, bear cubs, goblins), stories, and even battles! Thankfully, all those letters were kept and can now be read by us in the “Letters from Father Christmas” book! This year, we put together a reading of Tolkien’s 1926 letter–by Father Christmas hi...

We’re going over 2 more changes to The Fellowship of the Ring this week! The theatrical edition of The Fellowship of the Ring started with Frodo and Gandalf’s relationship, even though the book didn’t establish any of that until AFTER Bilbo’s party. Was this good for the film? When Gandalf enters Bag End, it’s as though he’s never been there before–knocking his head on the chandelier and banging it into the doorjamb. Is this actually in Gandalf’s character? In our extended episode (available ...

In 1936, Tolkien wrote a poem published in an obscure school magazine–and it was only found again 10 years ago! Michael and Jonathan look at how the poem was found, what the poem means, and what makes it unique in the landscape of Tolkien’s creativity. Read the Poem Listen to the poem Noel again on YouTube! In our extended episode (available for our members) we debate whether the Lord of the Rings can be considered a Christmas movie (there’s a lot of leeway if Die Hard is a Christmas movie, rig...

Michael and Jonathan found out someone’s been copying our look at the changes PJ made to the books–and then applying that to The Rings of Power?! We happily point out their failure (or was it just an AI article?!)… This week we also take a look at Bilbo’s prologue in the extended edition–particularly in how it takes cues from Tolkien’s prologue to The Lord of the Rings. We might just surprise you with our discussion! In our extended episode (available for our members — https://theonering.com/m...

This week we’re looking at the prologue of Fellowship of the Ring with John Carswell from the Tolkien Road podcast. Listen in as we discuss: Men Want Power, not Immortality Elendil’s Battle and Elrond’s Pleading The Ring’s Got a Mind of its Own Check out The Tolkien Road podcast on Apple Podcasts or Spotify In our extended episode (available for our members for only $4/mo–free for the first month!) we talk about: Become a member at https://theonering.com/members to find out Could Sauron ha...

The Middle-earth Mixer joins us this week to look at why Peter Jackson made some pretty big changes to 3 central characters. Listen in as we look at: Sauron, the Formless Elrond, the Unbeliever Saruman, Sith Lord Check out The Middle-earth Mixer’s podcast on Apple Podcasts or Spotify In our extended episode (available for our members for only $4/mo–free for the first month!) we talk about: Become a member at https://theonering.com/members to find out How could Sauron have been better portr...

Peter Jackson brought most of the comic relief for The Lord of the Rings via Gimli–which, based on his character in the books, is definitely off character. This week we discuss: Gimli, the Comic Relief Gimli, the Hatchet Man Legolas’ Boots were Made for Walkin’ (on snow) They did Boromir Dirty… Blonde Are we right? Wrong? Did we miss something obvious? Let us know! In our extended episode (available for our members for only $4/mo–free for the first month!) we talk about: Become a member a...

Aragorn is, actually, a very different character in the films than the books. Was it a good decision to make the change? This week we discuss: The Hobbit Youth Movement Aragorn, the Dark and Brooding Aragorn, the Reluctant King Are we right? Wrong? Did we miss something obvious? Let us know! In our extended episode (available for our members for only $4/mo–free for the first month!) we talk about: Become a member at https://theonering.com/members to find out Is Frodo too young and too inc...

Michael and I continue to analyze the general changes Peter Jackson made to Lord of the Rings. This week, we look at: Gandalf, the Befuddled Sam, the Best Bud Merry and Pippen, the Pranksters Are we right? Wrong? Did we miss something obvious? Let us know! In our extended episode (available for our members for only $4/mo–free for the first month!) we talk about: Become a member at https://theonering.com/members to find out Could PJ have done more to distinguish Merry and Pippin? Why wasn...

We jump into the deep end of analyzing Peter Jackson’s Lord of the Rings as we look at every film change he made! This week, Michael and I look at the first three: It’s an Adaptation Intercut Storylines Many of the Songs and Poems were cut Are we right? Wrong? Did we miss something obvious? Let us know! In our extended episode (available for our members for only $4/mo–free for the first month!) we talk about: Become a member at https://theonering.com/members to find out What’s the one maj...

In this week’s episode in our series of interviews from the December 2, 2003 roundtable discussions (listen to our Peter Jackson and Ian McKellen episode), we spoke with Lord of the Rings screenwriter Philippa Boyens. She likely influenced the script as much as Peter Jackson did, and was known for trying to lift lines directly from the book instead of rewriting them for “modern audiences”. In this episode, Philippa discusses: What it’s like to work with Peter Jackson. How she feels about fan ...

Here’s the next episode in our series of interviews from the December 2, 2003 roundtable discussions (our Peter Jackson and Ian McKellen episode)! You can tell that Viggo is thoughtful and soft-spoken, but has a driven personality that allows him to inhabit roles like Aragorn in The Lord of the Rings. In this episode, Viggo Mortensen discusses: What he does (as a newly discovered sex symbol) with all those phone numbers in his pockets. What he did to train for the films. What it was like com...

If you haven’t listened to Jeff Johnson’s music yet, you’re missing out. I’ve been a fan of his music for over 20 years, having been first inroduced with his Songs of Albion trilogy — music based on reknowned author Stephen R. Lawheads trilogy of books of the same name. Jeff’s music stands out with music inspired by books, locations, and art. Listening to his music is an experience I haven’t had with any other musician. So what does this have to do with Tolkien? Like we learned in Tolkien’s es...

Here’s our 3rd recording from the December 2, 2003 roundtable interviews (our Peter Jackson episode is at https://youtu.be/JqhF91GJbGg)! In this episode, Liv Tyler and Orlando Bloom joined us to talk their thoughts about the films, their careers, and the crazy premiere in Wellington for Return of the King. Become a member to at https://theonering.com/members to hear our thoughts on: Whether Liv Tyler was actually a good actress or just a pretty face. If elves should’ve been portrayed differe...

Here’s another recording from the December 2, 2003 roundtable interviews I was invited to join with a few other journalists to speak to the actors and crew of The Lord of the Rings (our Peter Jackson episode is at https://youtu.be/JqhF91GJbGg). While the audio is terrible (we did what we could to make it listenable!), Peter Jackson’s Gandalf answered our questions earnestly and thoughtfully–particularly when discussing wisdom and fidelity to Tolkien’s books. I hope you enjoy this special inter...

We’re wrapping up Tolkien’s seminal essay this week looking at Consolation–and with that–Tolkien’s well-known term, Eucatastrophe. With so much depth, this essay isn’t easy to consume, and we really hope reading it with us helped you come to understand why Tolkien wrote it and why he believes Fairy Stories are so important! This week we look at: Why Consolation/Eucatastrophe is required What is Lord of the Ring’s chief eucatastrophe? Is eucatastrophe deus ex machina? Why Eucatastrophe is gl...

What are we supposed to recover from? And why do fairy stories provide it? And why do we need to escape? And how do fairy stories break us out? As we get closer to finishing out “On Fairy Stories,” Michael Dan and I discuss how recovery and escape are 2 of the 3 things (consolation will be next week!) that these fantasy tales offer us. We look at: Recovery from what? What is this “mooreeffoc” he wrote about? Has the world lost the ability to recover? Why modern stories don’t offer escape S...

When Tolkien talks about Fantasy, he doesn’t simply mean fiction stories set in sword-and-sorcery worlds. Fantasy is the highest form of sub-creation, the “most nearly pure form”–and the most potent. An art form that is “best left to words, to true literature.” Michael, Dan, and I discuss this idea of Fantasy as the one form of Art that comes closest to true Enchantment. We look at: The difference between imagination and fantasy. The ideal of “Faërian Drama”. The problem with “modern” sensib...

This week we discussed “Children” from the “On Fairy Stories” by Tolkien. He pushes back against the coupling of fairy-stories and children, making the point that, “If fairy-story as a kind is worth reading at all it is worthy to be written for and read by adults.” We talk about: Suspension of Disbelief vs Literary Belief How fairy-stories are not to be relegated to nurseries How children ruin everything (even fairy-stories) if we leave it alone with them The “covert sniggering” that happen...

This week Michael and I talked with Professor Nick Groom, author of Tolkien in the 21st Century: The Meaning of Middle-earth Today, releasing Sept. 5, 2023 (apologies for some some of the echo in the audio!). Professor Groom’s book is a detailed, in-depth, but very readable look into MIddle-earth, and how he perceives Tolkien as more relevant than ever before–particularly in a post-COVID culture. This was a refreshing discussion that dove deep into things including: Professor Groom’s thoughts o...

On December 2, 2003, I was invited to join a few other journalists to interview the actors and crew of The Lord of the Rings. For me (Jonathan), for a “kid” in his mid-20s who turned a website into one of the largest online destinations for Tolkien fans on the internet, it was the unexpected zenith of the previous 4 years running the TheOneRing.com. So, when listening, remember that no one had yet seen Return of the King, and PJ hadn’t yet done The Hobbit. We didn’t know that this film would ga...

Diving into what the origin of fairy stories is, we realize–once again–that Tolkien doesn’t give us an encyclopedic answer, but instead lays out some boundaries that help us better understand where fairy story comes from–and what it needs to have. It’s a thought-provoking episode this week as we continue to dissect this incredibly important essay Tolkien wrote! In our members-only episode (https://theonering.com/members) we: How the Rings of Power fails with incantational adjectives Why time...

Ted Nasmith has been creating visions of Middle-earth since the early 1970s when he decided to send JRR Tolkien one of his early pieces–and the professor responded with encouragement! In addition to being the sole featured artist in 12 Tolkien calendars (2022 most recently), he worked closely with Christopher Tolkien to create the incredible illustrated Silmarillion in 1998. Michael and I had the privilege of discussing not just his inspiration and visions of Tolkien, but also: What kinds of p...

This week, Michael, Dan, and I discuss the first part of Tolkien’s seminal essay “On Fairy Stories”, where Tolkien defines what a fairy (aka fantasy) story is. Why is this important? Well, the “fairy tale” in Tolkien’s era was relegated to simple children’s fiction, something adults grew out of along with their innocence and naiveté. But to Tolkien, these stories that take place in the land of Faërie contain more beauty and truths than any tale set in modern day environs. In this essay Tolkien...