Exploring Tolkien
TheOneRing.com
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Exploring Tolkien is a weekly show that dives deep into JRR Tolkien and all the ages of Middle-earth.
Jonathan Watson, Michael Grumbine, and Dan Coats–from TheOneRing.com–are your hosts as they read through Tolkien’s works, interview other Tolkien enthusiasts and authors, and critically examine how Tolkien’s world is being treated by mega-corporations like Amazon.com and Warner Bros.
Available episodes
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6 days ago
Fellowship Fridays Live | NEW Lord of the Rings MMO, Galadriel’s BIG Life Changes, Gollum Game | #3
Join us as we talk about Galadriel's "life-changing" event in Rings of Power season 2, the Gollum game releasing May 25, 2023, the newly announced MMO game from Amazon, if we accept the reason for Legolas walking on snow, and more!
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May 16, 2023
Liars and Junkies of the 2nd Age | Akallabêth, Part 2 | #36
We finish up the Akallabêth this week talking about religion in Númenor, if the Valar gave up governing Arda (and for how long), and if men of Númenor are addicted to the light of Valinor.
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May 9, 2023
Rings of Power Got it ALL WRONG | Akallabêth, Part 1 | #35
We reach the 2nd age of Middle-earth, and with it are compelled to bring up The Rings of Power -- and how they got even the basics wrong!
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May 2, 2023
Elven genetics! Race-baiting! Half-elf lies! | Of the Voyage of Eärendil | #34
Michael, Dan, and Jonathan finish the first age of Middle-earth! We see the final destruction that Fēanor's Silmarils wrought, how Ēarendil's desperate hope drove him to Valinor, and determine that--no--Elrond and Elros are not ACTUALLY half-elven!
Join us in our extended episode where we discuss why Elwing chose to be immortal "because of Luthien", if Tolkien made parallels between the story of Earendil/Elwing and the tale of Aldarion and Erendis (from Unfinished Tales), and what's up with Maedhros yeeting himself into a chasm of fire?! To get the extended episode, become a member at https://theonering.com/members ($4/mo and free for the 1st month)!
And for our members, make sure you join our Book Club where we're be reading through Taliesin by Stephen R. Lawhead.
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Get access to the extended edition of this podcast, our private Discord chat, and live chats. Click here!
Episode 34
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🔎 If You Like Tolkien
The Silmarillion
The Fall of Númenor
The Fall of Gondolin
The Atlas of Middle-earth
The Letters of J.R.R. Tolkien
The Children of Hurin
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Apr 29, 2023
Fellowship Fridays Live | NEW Lord of the Rings Movies, Rings of Power DIED, Gollum Game| #1
Listen in as Michael Grumbine (from our Exploring Tolkien), John Trent from Bounding into Comics, John Carswell From The Tolkien Road podcast, The MIddle-earth Mixer, and Steve Babb from Glass Hammer talk Tolkien, movies, games, Steven Spielberg and more!
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Apr 25, 2023
The Sea is Always Right! | Of Tuor and the Fall of Gondolin | # 33
Join Jonathan, Michael, and Dan as they discuss Ulmo's influence, Turgon's pride, Maeglin's treachery, and the Tolkien's rule on fighting Balrogs!
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Apr 18, 2023
What’s Good in the Rings of Power?! – with The Middle-earth Mixer
Podcaster, Tweeter, and Tolkien fan, we chat with The MIddle-earth Mixer about Tolkien, The Rings of Power, and where these upcoming new films from Warner Bros might be going.
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Apr 11, 2023
Real Middle-earth Bling | Of The Ruin of Doriath | # 32
Morgoth's curse over Hurin and the Curse of Mandos over the Noldor come join forces and end up destroying the the oldest elven kingdom from the inside out.
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Apr 4, 2023
Captain Foolhardy! | Of Túrin Turambar | # 31
The footsteps of doom overtake Túrin. But is his doom his own fault, or do we find Morgoth to blame?
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Mar 28, 2023
The Worst Hero | Of Túrin Turumbar, Part 1 | #30
The tale of Túrin Turambar is one of the great stories of Middle-earth. But Túrin isn't really a hero--he makes bad decisions and runs from them. He refuses forgiveness. He ignores wise advice.
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Mar 21, 2023
Sub-creation is Art, Not Power – with Austin Freeman, author of Tolkien Dogmatics
Join us for a deep discussion with Austin Freeman, author of "Tolkien Dogmatics", where we talk about Tolkien's theology, Tolkien's approach to criticism, what sub-creation IS, and more!
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Mar 14, 2023
Why Tolkien is Great – with John Carswell from The Tolkien Road
John Carswell has been podcasting Tolkien for 8 years (and written 2 books!), but he's still on a Tolkien Road to discover more depth and meaning in his works.
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Mar 7, 2023
They Don’t Understand Tolkien – with John Trent from Bounding into Comics
Bounding into Comics reports on culture and geek news, but doesn't ever hesitate to call out the hypocrisy, double-standards, and cronyism seen in those coastal, gilded, navel-gazing circles. Jonathan and Michael talk with John about Tolkien - past, present, and future!
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Feb 28, 2023
Middle-earth’s Rambo | Of the Fifth Battle | #29
Tolkien holds nothing back when the races of Middle-earth decide to take on Morgoth. There's treachery, gore, rage, victory, defeat--pretty much what Game of Thrones tried to be.
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Feb 21, 2023
Morgoth’s Kaiju-Wolf | Of Beren and Luthien Part 3 | #28
eren and Luthien's tale isn't just a love story, it's the apex of events that sets the rest of the history of Middle-earth into motion.
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Feb 14, 2023
10 Ways The Lord of the Rings has aged POORLY?!
We TEAR APART this article that claims Tolkien's Lord of the Rings has problems that need to be corrected for "modern audiences".
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Feb 7, 2023
Middle-earth’s Real Power Couple| Of Beren and Luthien Part 2 | #27
The story of Beren and Luthien takes a dark turn with death and cruelty, but also reveals a more fairy tale side with all the shape-shifting, magic, and a talking dog!
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Jan 31, 2023
Tolkien’s Real Alpha Male| Of Beren and Luthien Part 1 | #26
The story of Beren and Luthien is the beating heart of Tolkien's entire Middle-earth. It's one of the first two stories he wrote (while serving in World War 1), and was directly inspired by moments he spent with his not-yet-wife, Edith.
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Jan 24, 2023
Tolkien’s Greatest Joy | Of Beren and Luthien Intro | Episode 25
Among the tales of sorrow and of ruin that come down to us from the darkness of those days there are yet some in which amid weeping there is joy and under the shadow of death light that endures...
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Jan 17, 2023
Sauron’s Great Entrance | The Ruin of Beleriand | Episode 24
Sauron makes his big entrance into Middle-earth in this chapter, and does some serious damage to the elves and men. But Morgoth still seems to underestimate his foes.
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Jan 10, 2023
There is a Tempest in Him | The Fall of Fingolfin | Episode 23
We delve into the first half of Chapter 18, "Of the Ruin of Beleriand and Fall of Fingolfin", taking a long look at this valiant elf's hopeless assault on Morgoth... an elf who ACTUALLY HAS A TEMPEST IN HIM, and not the dust devil in The Rings of Power's Galadriel.
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Jan 3, 2023
Middle-earth’s Actual Strong Woman | Of the Coming of Men, Part 2 | Episode 22
Who is the REAL "strong" woman in Tolkien's Middle-earth? Why do men fear elves? Death really weirds-out the elves... and why we measure our lives in milestones, and elves do not!
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Dec 27, 2022
Noel, a Christmas Poem, by J.R.R. Tolkien
This poem, titled "Noel", was written by J.R.R. Tolkien before The Hobbit was published, and only just discovered in 2013 in a 1936 copy of The Annual of Our Lady's School (a school magazine).
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Dec 20, 2022
Unfriends, When Elves met Men | Of the Coming of Men, Part 1 | Episode 21
Do elves regard men as enemies? Foes? Invaders? How did the elves treat men the first time they met them? Join Jonathan, Michael, and Dan as they look at how the Noldor (surprisingly) treated men VERY differently than the Sindar!
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Dec 13, 2022
Tolkien’s Disney Princess!? | Of Maeglin | Episode 20
Is Aredhel really a Disney princess!? What about this Dark Elf, Eöl -- even though, as we find out, his name is not the first time Tolkien uses the capital "D" Dark Elf title!
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Dec 6, 2022
He’s an Angry Elf | Of the Noldor | Episode 19
As Turgon builds the city of Gondolin in secret, the bitter seeds of distrust between the Noldor and the Sindar find fertile ground. Join Jonathan, Michael, and Dan in this discussion of Chapter 15!
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Nov 29, 2022
This Map is HELL | Of Beleriand | Episode 18
Location and placement were incredibly important to Tolkien--so important that an entire chapter of The Silmarillion is dedicated to who is where! Let's decipher it together...
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Nov 22, 2022
Doomsday and Dragons| Return of the Noldor, Part 2 | Episode 17
Tolkien sets out the pieces of Middle-earth's chess board, putting the characters in their proper places before the doomsday of Fëanor's unspoken realization bears down on all the players... and we get our first glimpse of a Middle-earth dragon!
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Nov 15, 2022
Middle-earth’s Game of Thrones | Return of the Noldor | Episode 16
With Chapter 13 of The Silmarillion, Tolkien tells us Of The Return of the Noldor, revealing that the houses of Feanor, Fingolfin, and Thingol are the ORIGINAL Game of Thrones!
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Nov 8, 2022
Toxic Masculinity or Inscrutable Men | Of Men | Episode 15
In Chapter 12 of The Silmarillion, "Of Men", Tolkien gives us the first glimpse into Man-Elf relations--and it wasn't all toxic at first (just incsrutable!).
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Nov 1, 2022
Inspired by Tolkien | The Rings of Power, Glass Hammer, and Music in Middle-earth
I had the pleasure of sitting with Steve Babb from the band Glass Hammer to talk The Lord of the Rings, The Rings of Power, and what it's like to be a creator inspired by Tolkien.
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Oct 25, 2022
The First Sunrise | Of the Sun and Moon | Episode 14
In "Of the Sun and Moon and the Hiding of Valinor", Tolkien taps into a grander myth of Middle-earth and returns to the two trees of Valinor to explain how the sun and moon were made.
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Oct 18, 2022
The Rings of Power IN-DEPTH Review : Episode 8 : Full of Sound and Fury, Signifying Nothing
In our darkest dreams, we never imagined Amazon would change Tolkien's work as dramatically as they did in The Rings of Power. In our final in-depth review, we discuss the stupidity of Celebrimbor, the Nazgirl (?) moments, and our prayer for a rapture before 2024!
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Oct 11, 2022
The Rings of Power IN-DEPTH Review : Episode 7 : Shadow and Flame. And a Leaf.
We stand amazed at the volcano survivability rate in Middle-earth, stare bemused at Galadriels' all new personality, sit frustrated at how the Harfoots apparently forgot their traditions, and collapse with frustration at the Mithril storyline being foisted on us.
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Oct 4, 2022
The Rings of Power IN-DEPTH Review : Episode 6 : Insta-Mordor!
Jonathan, Michael, and Dan go in-depth on The Rings of Power Episode 6, "Udun", and dive into questions like: Is Galadriel allowed to lecture us on humility? Do the Orcs OR the villagers actually have a strategy? Should they have recruited The Three Amigos? Would Arondir give you good psychological advice?
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Sep 20, 2022
The Wisest Elves | Of the Sindar | Episode 13
In this episode, we look at the OTHER elves--the ones who never left Middle-earth for Valinor. These elves created the fairest dwelling that has ever been east of the sea, worked with the Dwarves, and shielded themselves from Morgoth.
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Sep 8, 2022
The Rings of Power : Episode 2 : In-Depth Discussion (where no detail matters)
Jonathan, Michael, and Dan discuss Episode 2 of The Rings of Power and Galadriel's "I'm fine" face, Encino Man and the Harfoots, the made up Morgoth story, and how Elrond ghosted Durin.
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Sep 6, 2022
The Rings of Power : Episode 1 : In-Depth Discussion (and a Michael Scott moment)
Jonathan and Michael dive into a deeper discussion of Episode 1 of The Rings of Power, "A Shadow of the Past". They look at how much of Tolkien's work is in the show, if the show is standing up to the excellence Tolkien's work demands, and where the show channels its inner Michael Scott :).
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Aug 30, 2022
Tolkien is Worth Defending : Why The Rings of Power MUST be excellent!
Jonathan, Michael, and Dan discuss why Tolkien is worth defending--and defending ardently. If Tolkien's work is truly excellent, how much excellence should we demand from those sub-creating in his world?
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Aug 23, 2022
Burn the Ships | Of the Flight of the Noldor | Episode 12
In "Of the Flight of the Noldor", the ill choices of Fëanor are finally brought to bear as we watch the grievous opening to a long and tearful tale.
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Aug 16, 2022
Morgoth’s Arachnophobia | Of the Darkening of Valinor | Episode 11
This week we dive right in and get deep into Ungoliant, what she does, who she might be, and how even Morgoth fears her.
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Aug 9, 2022
The Road to Hell | Of the Silmarils | Episode 10
As we dive further into Fēanor's story and the Silmarils, Dan realizes that the road to hell is paved with good intentions.
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Aug 2, 2022
Fire and Greed | Of Fëanor and the Unchaining of Melkor | Episode 9
This week, Jonathan quizzes Dan and Michael on some important numbers, Dan sees similarities between the two big characters, Jonathan realizes Melkor was a nice guy, and Michael takes a deeper look at Fëanor's fire.
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Jul 19, 2022
Love Makes You do Stupid Things | Of Thingol & Melian / Of Eldamar | Episode 8
Reading Of Thingol and Melian, Dan realizes that love can make you do stupid things, then wonders what in the world is going on in Of Eldamar and the Coming of the Eladië.
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Jul 14, 2022
An Analysis of The Rings of Power Trailer
Michael and Jonathan review the new Rings of Power teaser trailer, looking through the entire 2+ minutes, and discussing what is Tolkien (a little), what isn't Tolkien (a lot), and why the Hobbits are waddling.
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Jul 12, 2022
Of the Coming of the Elves | Episode 7
Jonathan poses some trivia questions to Michael and Dan, Michael puts together a great diagram to explain ALL the different types of elves, and we confirm the existence of female orcs!
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Jul 5, 2022
Independence Day Break
Dan, Jonathan, and Michael are taking the week off. But if you're looking for a little more Tolkien on this off week, check out our YouTube videos at theonering.com/youtube!
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Jun 28, 2022
Of Aulë and Yavanna | Episode 6
Jonathan is gobsmacked that the dwarves are ACTUALLY the firstborn! The guys also discuss the ins and outs of Aulē's relationship with Yavanna, and how Yavanna's hopes for eagles in her trees is dashed by Manwë.
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Jun 21, 2022
Of the Beginning of Days | Episode 5
With the stage set for enormous battles between Melkor and the Valar, Jonathan, Michael, and Dan dive into "Of the Beginning of Days".
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Jun 14, 2022
Valaquenta | Episode 4
In the second chapter of The Silmarillion, Valaquenta, Michael, Dan, and Jonathan test their knowledge with "All that is Gold, Does Not Glitter", decide that Varda should've dated Melkor, and explain that Tolkien was a true flat-earther!
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Jun 7, 2022
Ainulindalë | Episode 3
Why is music so important? Are the Valar really transgender? Join Michael, Dan, and Jonathan as they begin the long journey through The Silmarillion with the first chapter, Ainulindalē.
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May 31, 2022
Thoughts on Amazon’s Rings of Power | Episode 2
Michael, Dan, and Jonathan offer their thoughts on what we know and what we’ve seen about Amazon’s Rings of Power series.
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May 24, 2022
An Introduction to Window on the West | Episode 1
Who are these guys? Why are they doing a podcast? When did they read the Lord of the Rings? How do they know each other?
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