The Entmoot Podcast

In which co-hosts Kenny and Sam talk to Professor Stephen Yandell about Beowulf and the many ways it inspired Tolkien.Steve Yandell is a medievalist and Tolkien scholar who has been a Professor of English at Xavier University since 2003. He regularly teaches courses on both Tolkien and medieval literature, including Beowulf.More Steve:"A Pattern Which Our Nature Cries Out For": The Medieval Tradition of the Ordered Four in the Fiction of J.R.R. TolkienCruising Faery: Queer Desire in Giles, Niggle, and SmithSelection from Math Son of Mathonwy, from the MabinogiThe translations:Tolkien - Beowulf: A Translation and CommentaryHeaney - Beowulf: A New Verse TranslationHeadley - Beowulf: A New TranslationPrimary sources:Tolkien - Beowulf: The Monsters and The Critics (PDF)The Lord of the RingsThe SilmarillionAlso mentioned:Howarth - 1066: The Year of the ConquestLeyerle - The Interlace Structure of BeowulfLeave us a review! Email us at entmootpod@gmail.com! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In which co-hosts Kenny and Sam discuss chapters 15 and 16 of the Quenta Silmarillion, including the founding of Gondolin, Thingol's abolition of Quenya, and the tragic tale of Eöl, Beleriand's palest and weirdest elf.Primary sources: The Silmarillion | The Lord of the Rings | The Letters of J.R.R. TolkienAlso mentioned:The Dispossessed - Ursula K. Le GuinThe Summer Book - Tove JanssonButcher's Crossing - John WilliamsAlchemy is real Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In which co-hosts Kenny and Sam talk to Professor Robin Reid about feminist and queer Tolkien scholarship and fandom.Robin Reid is a Tolkien scholar who was a professor of English at Texas A&M University until her retirement in 2020. She is currently working on a book that will be a feminist reception study of women and non-binary readers of Tolkien, with updates posted on her Substack here.More Robin:Women & Tolkien: Amazons, Valkyries, Feminists, and SlashersJ.R.R. Tolkien, Culture WarriorThrusts in the Dark: Slashers' Queer PracticesSources/mentions:Brown - “Éowyn it was, and Dernhelm also”Carpenter - J.R.R. Tolkien: A BiographyCraig - Queer Lodgings: Gender and Sexuality in The Lord of the RingsCrowe - Power in Arda: Sources, Uses, and MisusesDonovan - The Valkyrie Reflex in J.R.R. Tolkien's The Lord of the RingsFimi - Tolkien, Folklore, and Foxes (YouTube)Kisor/Vaccaro (ed) - Tolkien and AlterityMerrick - The Secret Feminist Cabal: A Cultural History of Science Fiction FeminismsQueripel - The Mariner (and his wife): Rethinking Aldarion's (A)sexualityRateliff - The Missing Women: J. R. R. Tolkien's Lifelong Support for Women's Higher EducationSmith - At Home and Abroad: Éowyn's Two-fold Figuring as War Bride in The Lord of the RingsTimmons - Hobbit Sex and SensualityVaccaro - “Dyrne Langað”: Secret Longing and Homo-amory in Beowulf and J.R.R. Tolkien's The Lord of the RingsWalls-Thumma - The Inequality Prototype: Gender, Inequality, and the Valar in Tolkien's SilmarillionEmail us at entmootpod@gmail.com! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In which co-hosts Kenny and Sam discuss chapters 13 and 14 of the Quenta Silmarillion, including the death of Feanor, the reuniting of the Noldor, and a very long description of a map. To make "Of Beleriand and Its Realms" a bit easier to digest, here are a couple maps: this one by Tolkien himself, this "cleaner" one by Sirelle on DeviantArt, and this political map by u/tolkien_erklaert on Reddit.Primary sources: The Silmarillion | The Lord of the Rings | The Letters of J.R.R. TolkienAlso mentioned:Atlas of Middle-Earth - Karen Wynn FonstadThe Worlds of J.R.R. Tolkien - John GarthThe Verge - Patrick Wyman Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In which co-hosts Kenny and Sam discuss chapters 10, 11, and 12 of the Quenta Silmarillion, including King Thingol of the Sindar, the creation of the sun and moon, and the coming of men (finally).Primary sources: The Silmarillion | The Lord of the Rings | The Letters of J.R.R. Tolkien Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In which co-hosts Kenny and Sam discuss Tolkien's love of trees and the environment.Primary sources: The Lord of the Rings | The Silmarillion | The Letters of J.R.R. TolkienSecondary sources:Carpenter - J.R.R. Tolkien: A BiographyCurry - Defending Middle-EarthKocher - Master of Middle-EarthHull (Reactor Mag) - The Long Defeat: Reading Tolkien in the Time of Climate ChangeWikipedia - Environmentalism in The Lord of the RingsMore reading:Pope Francis - Laudato SiDemsas (The Atlantic) - The Culture War Tearing American Environmentalism ApartSolis (Nevada Current) - Solar power project threatens prime desert tortoise habitat, conservationists warnRuhl & Salzman - The Greens' Dilemma: Building Tomorrow's Climate Infrastructure TodayOur earlier episode on Aule and YavannaLeave us a review! Send us an email at entmootpod@gmail.com! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In which co-hosts Kenny and Sam talk to Professor Gerry Canavan in a far-reaching conversation about loving Tolkien as leftists. Topics include Tolkien's racial politics, the political valences of science fiction and fantasy, Tolkien's abandoned Lord of the Rings sequel, and of course, Huan the talking dog.Gerry Canavan is the Chair of the English Department at Marquette University where he also teaches a class on Tolkien. His essays on Tolkien include Tolkien Against The Grain in the Winter 2025 issue of Dissent Magazine and The Eowyn Mystique, a review of the new animated film "The Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrim" for the Los Angeles Review of Books.More Gerry:Octavia E. Butler (University of Illinois Press)Imagining Utopia (article for Verso on Fredric Jameson)The lesson of JRR Tolkien's abandoned Lord of the Rings sequel (article for Washington Post)Grad School Vonnegut/Achebe podcastTwitterPrimary sources:The Hobbit | The Lord of the Rings | The SilmarillionSecondary sources:Carpenter - J.R.R. Tolkien: A BiographyGarth - Tolkien and the Great War: The Threshold of Middle-EarthMills - The Wretched of Middle-Earth: An Orkish ManifestoLeave us a review! Send us an email at entmootpod@gmail.com! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In which co-hosts Kenny and Sam discuss the history of adaptation rights to Tolkien's work.Sources:The Tolkien Trust and their financesThe Times - Tolkien sold film rights to Lord of the rings to avoid taxmanJohn Boorman and Rospo Pallenberg - Screenplay for The Lord of the Rings (1970)The Guardian - The saddest story in rock (The Zaentz/Fogerty scandal)Dan Olson [VIDEO] - An Exhaustive History of Ralph Bakshi's Lord of the RingsOpen Culture - The 1985 Soviet TV Adaptation of The Hobbit: Cheap and Yet Strangely CharmingCharlie Rose (ew) [VIDEO] - 2002 Interview w/ Peter JacksonThe Guardian - Tolkien estate sues Hobbit producers over video and gambling gamesJonathan Stempel (Reuters) - Weinstein brothers sue Time Warner over Hobbit filmsThe Hollywood Reporter - Warner Bros prevails over Weinsteins in Hobbit profit fightArs Technica - Amazon will run a multi-season Lord of the Rings prequel TV series Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In which co-hosts Kenny and Sam discuss chapter nine of the Quenta Silmarillion, including Feanor's ascendancy to Noldoran leader, the death of Ungoliant, and the First Kinslaying. Primary sources: The Silmarillion | The Lord of the Rings | The Letters of J.R.R. Tolkien Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In which co-hosts Kenny and Sam take a break from actually discussing Tolkien and instead do a deep investigation into the life and times of a certain Tolkien fan.Harrington - Brief reflections on the politics of DuneThe legendary Wikipedia articleCarolyn Gallaher -- After The PeaceThe Third Way (the "wills and bequests" page is here)Solidarity UnionGreat UK Products You Can Buy Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this EMERGENCY EPISODE, co-hosts Kenny and Sam discuss Republican vice-presidential candidate JD Vance's love of Tolkien. When the Entmoot Podcast wished for a Tolkien fan in the White House, the monkey's paw curled. This episode is a sequel to our 2022 episode Hard Right Hobbits, which you can find here.Sources:Adam Wren (Politico) - How Lord of the Rings Shaped JD Vance's PoliticsSimon van Zuylen-Wood (Washington Post) - The Radicalization of JD VanceSalvador Rodriguez (CNBC) - Why Silicon Valley is obsessed with 'The Lord of the Rings'Jack Butler (National Review) - Does The Left Really Want To Argue That Enjoying Lord of the Rings is Far-Right?I won't include a link to Vance's book, but if you want to read it for some reason make sure to buy used. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In which co-hosts Kenny and Sam discuss Tolkien's 1967 novella Smith of Wootton Major.Primary sources: Smith of Wootton Major (PDF) | Tales From The Perilous Realm (includes SoWM as well as all of Tolkien's other "minor works") | The Letters of J.R.R. Tolkien | On Fairy Stories (PDF)Secondary sources:Kocher - Master of Middle-earth (out of print)Webb - The Lives of the Saints (contains KT's favorite version of the Voyage of St Brendan)Calvino - Invisible Cities Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In which co-hosts Kenny and Sam discuss Tolkien's 1949 comic short story Farmer Giles of Ham.Primary sources: Farmer Giles of Ham (PDF) | Tales From The Perilous Realm (includes FGoH as well as all of Tolkien's other "minor works") | The Letters of J.R.R. TolkienSecondary sources:Kocher - Master of Middle-earth (out of print)Link to the Alan Lee illustration of Farmer Giles and his blunderbuss Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In which co-hosts Kenny and Sam discuss Tolkien's 1939 essay "On Fairy Stories." Part 2 of 2.Primary sources: On Fairy Stories (PDF) | The Lord of the Rings | The Letters of J.R.R. TolkienSecondary sources:Carpenter - J.R.R. Tolkien: A BiographyLe Guin - The DispossessedFor discussion of "Man and the Machine" in Tolkien's work: Hren - Middle-earth and the Return of the Common Good Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In which co-hosts Kenny and Sam discuss Tolkien's 1939 essay "On Fairy Stories." Part 1 of 2.Primary sources: On Fairy Stories (PDF) | The Lord of the Rings | The Letters of J.R.R. TolkienSecondary sources:Carpenter - J.R.R. Tolkien: A BiographyFor discussion of Tolkien and race/culture: Mills - The Wretched of Middle-Earth: An Orkish ManifestoFor discussion of Tolkien's arguments with Christopher Wiseman: Garth - Tolkien and the Great War: The Threshold of Middle-EarthFor discussion of "Man and the Machine" in Tolkien's work: Hren - Middle-earth and the Return of the Common Good Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In which co-hosts Kenny and Sam discuss Tolkien's experience fighting in World War I and the ways it informed his worldview.Primary sources: The Lord of the Rings | The Silmarillion | The Letters of J.R.R. Tolkien | The Fall of GondolinSecondary sources:Garth - Tolkien and the Great War: The Threshold of Middle-EarthGarth - The Worlds of J.R.R. Tolkien: The Places That Inspired Middle-EarthCarpenter - J.R.R. Tolkien: A BiographyLoconte (for NYTimes) - How J.R.R. Tolkien Found Mordor on the Western FrontCollins (for The Collector) - Lewis, Hemingway, & Tolkien: Three Authors of the Great War Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In which co-hosts Kenny and Sam discuss chapters seven and eight of the Quenta Silmarillion, including Feanor's creation of the Silmarils, Melkor's first plot to steal the Silmarils, Feanor's exile from Valmar, and Melkor's destruction of the Trees.Primary sources: The Silmarillion | The Lord of the Rings | The Letters of J.R.R. TolkienSecondary sources:Carpenter - J.R.R. Tolkien: A Biography Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In which co-hosts Kenny and Sam continue their discussion of a posthumously published essay by Charles W. Mills on the subject of race and racism in Lord of the Rings. Part 2 of 2.Primary sources: The Lord of the Rings | The Silmarillion | The Letters of J.R.R. TolkienSecondary sources:Mills - The Wretched of Middle-Earth: An Orkish Manifesto | Carpenter - J.R.R. Tolkien: A BiographyFurther reading:Mills - The Racial ContractJamelle Bouie for NY Times - obituary for MillsJared Anthony Loggins for Dissent - obituary for Mills Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In which co-hosts Kenny and Sam discuss a posthumously published essay by Charles W. Mills on the subject of race and racism in Lord of the Rings. Part 1 of 2.Primary sources: The Lord of the Rings | The Silmarillion | The Letters of J.R.R. TolkienSecondary sources:Mills - The Wretched of Middle-Earth: An Orkish Manifesto | Carpenter - J.R.R. Tolkien: A BiographyFurther reading:Mills - The Racial ContractJamelle Bouie for NY Times - obituary for MillsJared Anthony Loggins for Dissent - obituary for MillsIan Frazier for The New Yorker - on the debate between Du Bois and Stoddard Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In which co-hosts Kenny and Sam discuss chapters three, four, and five of The Silmarillion, including the origin story of the Elves.Primary sources: The Silmarillion | The Lord of the Rings | The Letters of J.R.R. TolkienSecondary sources:Carpenter - J.R.R. Tolkien: A BiographyMentioned in this episode:A helpful diagram of the Elven "family tree" | Price - Children of Ash and Elm Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In which co-hosts Kenny and Sam discuss chapters one and two of the Quenta Silmarillion, including the creation of the Trees and the origins of the dwarves.Primary sources: The Silmarillion | The Lord of the Rings | The Letters of J.R.R. TolkienSecondary sources:Carpenter - J.R.R. Tolkien: A Biography Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In which co-hosts Kenny and Sam discuss leftist interpretations of Tolkien's work, and take some detours along the way.Primary sources: The Hobbit | The Lord of the Rings | The Silmarillion | Unfinished Tales of Numenor and Middle-earth | The Letters of J.R.R. TolkienSecondary sources:Landa - Slaves of the Ring: Tolkien's Political UnconsciousCurry - Defending Middle-Earth: Tolkien: Myth and ModernityJameson - The Political Unconscious: Narrative As A Socially Symbolic ActCarpenter - J.R.R. Tolkien: A Biography Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In which co-hosts Kenny and Sam discuss the Valaquenta, our formal introduction to the Valar and the Maiar.Primary sources: The Silmarillion | The Lord of the Rings | The Letters of J.R.R. TolkienSecondary sources:Carpenter - J.R.R. Tolkien: A Biography Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In which co-hosts Kenny and Sam discuss the Ainulindalë, the creation myth of Tolkien's universe.Primary sources: The Silmarillion | The Lord of the Rings | The Letters of J.R.R. TolkienSecondary sources:Carpenter - J.R.R. Tolkien: A Biography Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In which co-hosts Kenny and Sam discuss the hard right's obsession with Tolkien, particularly through the figures of Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni and tech financier Peter Thiel. Sources: Hobbits and the Hard Right: How Fantasy Inspires Italy's New Leader -- Jason Horowitz, New York TimesOf Hobbits and Tigers: The Unlikely Heroes of Italy's Radical Right -- Tobias Hof, Fair ObserverHow 'Hobbit Camps' Rebirthed Italian Fascism -- John Last, Atlas ObscuraIn Italy's Deserted Democracy, Far-Right Giorgia Meloni Has Emerged Victorious -- David Broder, JacobinWhy Silicon Valley is obsessed with 'The Lord of the Rings' -- Salvador Rodriguez, CNBCGiorgia Meloni's Neo-Fascism -- Know Your Enemy podcast (bonus episode, to listen subscribe to their Patreon here)Links to relevant news articles:Bannon calls Trump supporters hobbitsMusk thinks the Rings of Power Amazon series is too wokeBezos as a Tolkien nerdA primer on Berlusconi's sex parties Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In which co-hosts Kenny and Sam discuss The Hobbit Party by Jonathan Witt and Jay W. Richards, and slightly lose their minds in the process. Part 2 of 2.Primary sources: Witt/Richards - The Hobbit Party | The Hobbit | The Lord of the Rings | The SilmarillionSecondary sources: Carpenter - J.R.R. Tolkien: A Biography | Hren - Middle-earth and the Return of the Common Good | Konczal - Freedom From The Market | Graeber - The Dawn of Everything (for discussion of state-created markets) | Belloc - The Servile State | more on Malthusianism | Jay's Twitter | Jonathan's Twitter Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In which co-hosts Kenny and Sam discuss The Hobbit Party by Jonathan Witt and Jay W. Richards. Part 1 of 2.Primary sources: Witt/Richards - The Hobbit Party | The Hobbit | The Lord of the Rings | The SilmarillionSecondary sources: Carpenter - J.R.R. Tolkien: A Biography | Hren - Middle-earth and the Return of the Common Good | Dreher - Crunchy Cons | Jay's Twitter | Jonathan's Twitter Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In which co-hosts Kenny and Sam discuss sex and sexuality across Tolkien's legendarium, particularly in the story of Beren and Luthien. Please be advised that this episode contains non-graphic discussion of sexual assault.Primary sources: Beren and Luthien (contains all verse read on the show) | The Lays of Beleriand (contains the full text of The Lay of Leithian) | The Silmarillion | The Lord of the Rings | The Letters of J.R.R. TolkienSecondary sources:Carpenter - J.R.R. Tolkien: A Biography Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In which co-hosts Kenny and Sam discuss the influence of The Lord of the Rings on the 1960s counterculture. Later, Maurice Isserman, the Publius Virgilius Rogers Professor of American History at Hamilton College, talks with Kenny about his own experience discovering The Lord of the Rings and what it meant to the subculture that he belonged to.Maurice's latest book is The Winter Army: The World War II Odyssey of the 10th Mountain Division, America's Elite Alpine Warriors, out now in paperback from Mariner Books.Also by Maurice Isserman:Continental Divide: A History of American Mountaineering | The Other American: The Life of Michael Harrington | America Divided: The Civil War of the 1960s (w/ Michael Kazin) | Fallen Giants: A History of Himalayan Mountaineering from the Age of Empire to the Age of Extremes (w/ Stewart Weaver) | If I Had A Hammer: The Death of the Old Left and the Birth of the New Left (out of print)Primary sources: The Hobbit | The Lord of the Rings | The SilmarillionSecondary sources: Ciabattari - Hobbits and Hippies: Tolkien and the Counterculture | Carpenter - J.R.R. Tolkien: A Biography Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In which co-hosts Kenny and Sam discuss formal democratic institutions (or lack thereof) across Tolkien's legendarium.Primary sources: The Hobbit | The Lord of the Rings | The Silmarillion | Unfinished Tales of Numenor and Middle-earth | The Letters of J.R.R. Tolkien |Secondary sources: Nardi - Political Institutions in J.R.R. Tolkien's Middle-earth | Carpenter - J.R.R. Tolkien: A Biography | Hren - Middle-earth and the Return of the Common Good | Fonstad - The Atlas of Middle-Earth | Wills - Lincoln At Gettysburg Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In which co-hosts Kenny and Sam discuss the economic philosophy of distributism and how it influences Tolkien's depiction of life in The Shire.Primary sources: The Hobbit | The Lord of the Rings | The Silmarillion | The Letters of J.R.R. Tolkien | Rerum Novarum | Quadragesimo AnnoSecondary sources: Imbert - Tolkien's Shire | Nardi - Political Institutions in J.R.R. Tolkien's Middle-earth | Carpenter - J.R.R. Tolkien: A Biography | Hren - Middle-earth and the Return of the Common Good Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In which co-hosts Kenny and Sam discuss the life and work of J.R.R. Tolkien.Primary sources: The Hobbit | The Lord of the Rings | The Silmarillion | Unfinished Tales of Numenor and Middle-earth | The Children of Hurin | Beren and Luthien | The Fall of Gondolin | The Letters of J.R.R. Tolkien |Secondary sources: Carpenter - J.R.R. Tolkien: A Biography | Hren - Middle-earth and the Return of the Common Good Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.