The Tolkien Lore Podcast

Mar 24 2025 299 ep. 25 mins 33
The Tolkien Lore Podcast artwork

Discussing anything and everything related to J.R.R. Tolkien, from Middle-earth to real life.

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How the “Company” of the Ring Became the “Fellowship” | Tolkien Reading Day 2025

Mar 24 2025 22 mins  
Despite the first volume of The Lord of the Rings being named “The Fellowship of the Ring,” the word fellowship actually barely appears in that volume, and only in its final chapter. Why was the group called the “Company” for so long, and how and why did it become the “Fellowship?”For the full playlist of other TolkienTubers who contributed this year, check out this lin

How J.R.R. Tolkien Almost Ruined His Middle-Earth Mythology

Mar 16 2025 31 mins  
Tolkien changed a lot of material in his legendarium over the years, but late in life he almost scrapped the entire cosmology to fit with real world history. Why did he go down this road, and what are some ofthe implications?Other Links: Playeur (formerly Utreon): https://playeur.com/c/TolkienLorePodcast/Rumble: https://rumble.com/c/c-355195Odysee: https://odysee.com/@TolkienLore:f

How Providence Made the Most of Boromir Taking Faramir’s Place

Mar 09 2025 23 mins  
One thing that becomes clear with enough time spent in Middle-earth is that Eru can work with anything you throw at him. That includes Boromir taking Faramir’s spot in Rivendell.Other Links: Playeur (formerly Utreon):https://playeur.com/c/TolkienLorePodcast/Rumble: https://rumble.com/c/c-355195Odysee: https://odysee.com/@TolkienLore:fTwitter: https://twitter.com/jrrtlorePatreon:

Are Peter Jackson’s Deviations from Tolkien Really Justified by Adaptation?

Mar 02 2025 19 mins  
In response to my video on how Jackson’s Lord of the Rings trilogy managed to win the loyalty of many book fans despite its many changes from the source material, I received a number of comments explaining how his changes were necessitated by the adaptation of a book to a movie. But does that excuse really hold water? I don’t think so.For my video on how Jackson’s trilogy got

Details Peter Jackson Got Right in The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug and The Battle of Five Armies

Feb 23 2025 14 mins  
Finally completing this project in one fell swoop, because there's not much good to find here.... For the prior video on An Unexpected Journey, check here:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t8Em1AN16K0 Other Links: Playeur (formerly Utreon):https://playeur.com/c/TolkienLorePodcast/Rumble: https://rumble.com/c/c-355195Odysee: https://odysee.com/@TolkienLore:fTwitter: https://twitte

Did Gandalf Make a Huge Blunder Allowing Frodo to Wait to Leave the Shire?

Feb 16 2025 26 mins  
A while back I got an email from a viewer arguing that Gandalf was, to put it politely, a little slow when it comes to making sure Frodo got started on his quest. But just how big a mistake was that, really?Other Links:Playeur (formerly Utreon):https://playeur.com/c/TolkienLorePodcast/Rumble:https://rumble.com/c/c-355195Odysee:https://odysee.com/@TolkienLore:fTwitter:https://twitte

Was Gandalf a Machiavellian Schemer Who Used Others as Pawns?

Feb 09 2025 22 mins  
In response to my video about the character flaws of Tolkien’s heroes (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SAn8r-kqD4c),a few people commented that Gandalf’s real issue was the fact that he basically threw other people into dangerous situations to achieve his own ends. Turns out, that’s really not true.Other Links:Playeur (formerly Utreon):https://playeur.com/c/TolkienLorePodcast

How the Animated Tolkien Films Capture What Jackson Misses

Feb 02 2025 19 mins  
Last time (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WLdAKdYd7sY) I talked about why Jackson’s films were so impressive despite messing up a huge amount of the details of the story and characters. But despite being (pretty objectively, I think) the best Tolkien films by purely cinematic standards, there are other films that have their own merits, and here’s why you should watch them if y

How Peter Jackson's LOTR Trilogy Won the Loyalty of Die Hard Book Fans

Jan 26 2025 31 mins  
Peter Jackson’s Lord of the Rings trilogy are great cinema, there’s no denying that. But as adaptations they leave a lot to be desired. Why is it, then, that so many book fans still think of his movies as successful adaptations? Other Links: Playeur (formerly Utreon): https://playeur.com/c/TolkienLorePodcast/ Rumble: https://rumble.com/c/c-355195 Odysee: https://odysee.com/@T

Tolkien’s Heroes Are NOT Perfect—Let’s Look at Their Character Flaws

Jan 19 2025 31 mins  
A common critique of Tolkien is that there is no moral greyness, that every character is totally good or totally bad. If you pay even a little attention, though, it’s clear that this just isn’t true. All Tolkien’s heroes are imperfectly good at best, and have pretty significant character flaws. Other Links: Playeur (formerly Utreon): https://playeur.com/c/TolkienLorePodcas