Window on the West

As Thorin and company finally reach the Lonely Mountain, reality sets in—and it doesn't smell so pleasant.

Tolkien makes it pretty clear what he thinks about politicians in this chapter.

Bilbo and the barrel-sealed dwarves make it to Laketown--with most of them barely alive!

In this very special episode, we reveal the exact barrel music sung in Thranduil's halls as the dwarves were tossed into the river!

Bilbo fully embraces his role as hero and finds a way to save the dwarves.

Bilbo is the only one left to save the dwarves--and to his own surprise, he's up to the task!

Here is an approximation of Tolkien's voice reading Ainulindalë from The Silmarillion that we put together including some of his idiosyncratic pauses and speech patterns.

In this first half of chapter 8 of the hobbit--Flies and Spiders--Jonathan and Michael discuss the evil enchantment of Mirkwood, and if the elves might have a small part in it.

With talking animals, animals serving food and dancing bears, this may just be the oddest chapter in all of Middle-earth!

Bilbo, Gandalf, and the Dwarves are dropped off on the Carrock, and find themselves in the company of a man who rather doesn't like dwarves--but who loves a good story!

Stuck in trees with fire at their heels, the company find themselves surround by intelligent wolves and taunting orcs.

Life took an unexpected turn this week with the fires in Southern California this week.

Bilbo makes it out of the Misty Mountains with more courage than ever before, while the dwarves prove their disloyalty.

This poem, Noel, was written by J.R.R. Tolkien before The Hobbit was published, and only just discovered in 2013. Here's how that happened!

We all had high hopes when War of the Rohirrim was announced a few years ago. Are those hopes realized in this anime Lord of the Rings film?

Once Tolkien finished writing The Lord of the Rings, it became clear to him that The Hobbit needed to change--particularly Bilbo and Gollum's interaction.  But what exactly did he change?

The 2nd half of "Riddles in the Dark" is the most rewritten part of The Hobbit in the 1951 rewrite!  And it's where Bilbo takes a giant leap (so to speak) into the future of his adventure.

"Riddles in the Dark" is not only the most memorable event from all of Middle-earth -- it's also the turning point that ultimately let to The Lord of the Rings.

The goblins of moria grab the dwarves (and hobbit) who decided to camp out on their "front porch", leading to some real terrifying moments!

The first part of Chapter 4, Over Hill and Under Hill, is unique for it's direct correlation with Tolkien's own past.  We discuss: Tolkien's hiking experience and how it influenced this section of The Hobbit VERY obviously. Stone Giants... are they even necessary or part of Middle-earth? And what ARE they? What's the significance of Bilbo's dream? In our extended episode (available for our members) we talk about: What we would change if Tolkien had continued with his rewrite. What are the differences between goblins and orcs?  Is there a difference?  And when did Tolkien stop using the word "goblin" altogether? Here are the pics to go along with today's episode! Rivendell Roof in Switzerland Jungfrau Mountain from Tolkien's 1912 Switzerland Hiking Trip BECOME A MEMBER! Get access to the extended edition of this podcast, our private Discord chat, and live chats. You can also join for on Patreon!

When Tolkien attempted to rewrite the Hobbit in 1960, he just gave up halfway through Chapter 3. In this episode we look at: Changes in time and distance Changes in Prose and style Why he gave up His detailed notes on timeline and itinerary that outlined his changes to The Hobbit In our extended episode (available for our members) we talk about: What are the least Lord of the Rings/Middle-earth type events in The Hobbit that Tolkien would likely have changed. Here are the pics to go along with today's Hobbit Fact about the Hildebrandt brothers! An Unexpected Party The Fellowship of the Ring The Return of Gandalf Éowyn and the Nazgûl City of the Nazgûl The Healing of Éowyn Shannara Star Wars BECOME A MEMBER! Get access to the extended edition of this podcast, our private Discord chat, and live chats. You can also join for on Patreon!

In the second half of Chapter 3, A Short Rest, Tolkien seems to start a shift from a children's story to more of an epic quest.

The final episode of The Rings of Power (season 2) wraps up by revealing Dwarf politics, Númenorean politics,

The Rings of Power abandons all lore to satisfy their dumbest desires.

The Rings of Power's elves are simple imbeciles, the Númenoreans now decide rulers based on what big animals do, an Tom Bombadil inverts one of Tolkien's most important lines.

It was disappointing but not surprising to see how badly Hollywood writers treat the Númenorean's faith.  We take a deep look at episode 5 of season 2 of The Rings of Power

Not sure how this Tom Bombadil came into existence--but he's definitely incredibly different from Tolkien's Bombadil.

Season 2 of The Rings of Power is here! And with it comes new hackneyed phrases, ridiculous contrivances, and incredible coincidences.

We discuss the the latest visions of Middle-earth by Amazon and Warner Bros.

In Chapter 3, A Short Rest, for the first time we meet the elves of Rivendell... and they certainly seem different than the same characters in The Lord of the Rings.

We weren't huge fans of Tolkien's changes to chapter 1 of The Hobbit in his abandoned 1960 rewrite--but chapter 2 surprised us with its pitch perfect changes!

In this episode we get into how the trolls find a balance, of sorts, between, fear and goofiness--and maybe it all starts with their accents.

Bilibo finally makes his way out the door--but was it his decision or did Gandalf force him out?  And what is "the king" that's mentioned?

When Tolkien set out to rewrite The Hobbit in 1960, much was lost, but much was gained. In the end, do the gains outweigh the losses?

Bilbo loses the comfort of his home and finds that the Tookish side of his mind is starting to overcome the Baggins side

We examine if The Hobbit was originally set in Middle-earth, and how Bilbo's Tookishness is starting to take over.

Did you know Tolkien revised the Hobbit from his first edition in 1937 to a updaed edition that's more in line with The Lord of the Rings in 1951 to an abandoned rewrite in 1960.

You know that the film The War of the Rohirrim will be released later this year, right?  Well, here is Tolkien's story of Helm Hammerhand, as HE told it

We brought our original amigo, Dan Coats, back to talk about Tom Bombadil, The Rings of Power, The Hunt for Gollum, and more!

Listen as Billy Boyd and Dominic Monaghan discuss their relationship with Peter Jackson, what it took to get through years of filming, and how working on Lord of the Rings changed them!

The films brought us a dark and evil Bree -- but Tolkien calls it "friendly" and "familiar"!

Dropping the Barrow-downs removes one of the most important callbacks in the final Battle of the Pelennor Fields before Minas Tirith.

Tom Bombadil is a polarizing figure in Middle-earth. Some hate him, some love him. Peter Jackson decided to completely avoid that discussion and simply excise him from the film.

The first REAL dangers outside of the Shire were cut from the films... but did that decision improve them?

Peter Jackson cut the one Hobbit who had the backbone to stand up to a Nazgul, the one who struck fear in the hearts of other Hobbits!

Peter Jackson made some pretty significant changes to Orthanc... especially when it comes to that Wizard's Duel!

We spoke with Lord of the Rings composer Howard Shore. He really goes in depth on his thoughts and composing process!

As season 2 of the Rings of Power approaches, Michael and I decided to look back at our favorite scenes, favorite characters, and favorite quotes from our favorite television show!

In this final episode of looking at The Mariner's Wife, we fully finish Tolkien's tale--but staying true to Tolkien's characters and world.

This month we found out that renowned Tolkien scholars Christian Scull and Wayne Hammond will be publishing a NEW book with NEW content by Tolkien!

Aldarion and Erendis is perhaps Tolkien's most emotionally gut wrenching tale.... and it deserves to be finished!