What's the deal with the far-right's obsession with Tolkien?

Tolkien's Lord of the Rings is, ostensibly, a story of different races coming together to defeat a shared enemy - one that intends to shroud the world in darkness and despair.

Or...is it?

If you ask billionaire fascist Peter Thiel - whose surveillance company Palantir is named for an evil crystal ball in Lord of the Rings - the answer isn't so simple. Nor is it for self-proclaimed "Tolkien guy" and Thiel protege JD Vance.

Is the fascism-leaning right-wing and the TradCath movement justified in declaring Tolkien one of their own? And even if they're not, can we reconcile the racism inherent in Lord of the Rings with its apparent message of fellowship and perseverance in the face of an existential threat? Those questions have kept Tolkien scholars busy for 80 years, but we talked through some of them with scholar Marika Rose.

You can find out more about Marika as well as links to some of the sources for this episode below:

Marika Rose

Marika on Bluesky

How Lord of the Rings Shaped JD Vance’s Politics

Revisiting Race in Tolkien’s Legendarium: Constructing Cultures and Ideologies in an Imaginary World

How The Lord of the Rings became a symbol for Italy's far-right

‘The Lord of the Rings’ Is Not the Far Right’s Playground

Tolkien and Race