Exploring Tolkien

By TheOneRing.com

Exploring Tolkien is a weekly show that dives deep into JRR Tolkien and all the ages of Middle-earth. Jonathan Watson and Michael Grumbine are your hosts as they read through Tolkien’s works, intervi... more

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FAQs about Exploring Tolkien:

How many episodes does Exploring Tolkien have?

The podcast currently has 127 episodes available.

Exploring Tolkien episodes:

December 17, 2024126. Why Did Tolkien Change The Hobbit (and what did he change)? : The Hobbit #15
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 in chapter 5, “Riddles in the Dark”. But what exactly did he change? How necessary was it? Did it make The Hobbit Better?
If you haven’t read the original chapter, you can download a PDF here!
Be sure to check out our side-by-side comparison, to easily spot the differences between the original and rewritten chapter.
This week we look at:
Why Tolkien though the tone and style of The Hobbit was a mistake.
How Tolkien ret-conned The Lord of the Rings into The Hobbit – right in the prologue!
Tolkien’s original depiction of Gandalf explaining Bilbo’s lies to Frodo (found in Peoples of Middle-earth).
How Tolkien changed the Ring into a character.
How Tolkien changed Gollum into a villain.
How Tolkien even made the orcs more sinister.
In our extended episode (available for our members) we talk about:
How Tolkien should really ever be the only person to write more Middle-earth stories.
Screenwriter Phillipa Boyen’s comments on The War of the Rohirrim movie and how the untold story is the most “compelling” story.
How her story can’t “ruin Tolkien”.
A few thoughts on the upcoming Chronicles of Narnia Netflix series.
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!
🔗 Episode Links
The History of The Hobbit
The Annotated Hobbit
Join our Discord Community (for free)
Get the Extended Podcast
Become a Patreon Member
🎧 Subscribe to our Podcast
Get the Extended Podcast
Become a Patreon Member
Subscribe on Apple
Subscribe on Spotify
🔍 If You Like Tolkien
The History of The Hobbit
The Expanded Letters of JRR Tolkien (audiobook)
The Expanded Letters of JRR Tolkien (book)
The Silmarillion
The Children of Hurin
The Atlas of Middle-earth
Make Tolkien Great Again – Tengwar Hat
...more
47min
December 10, 2024125. Bilbo Trembled and Found Pity : The Hobbit #14
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. In this episode we look at:
Why is the riddle game so sacred? Where does it come from?
What might’ve inspired Tolkien to create Gollum.
How Tolkien shows us Gollum’s 2 minds.
How Tolkien’s expert prose reveals Bilbo’s pity.
How invisible gold rings have quite the literary history.
How Peter Jackson missed an opportunity in filming Bilbo’s escape from the Misty Mountains.
In our extended episode (available for our members) we talk about:
Whether it’s the objects that make the adventurer (like a ring or a sword), or does there have to be an adventurer there already?
We make some War of the Rohirrim predictions.
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!
🔗 Episode Links
The History of The Hobbit
The Annotated Hobbit
Join our Discord Community (for free)
Get the Extended Podcast
Become a Patreon Member
🎧 Subscribe to our Podcast
Get the Extended Podcast
Become a Patreon Member
Subscribe on Apple
Subscribe on Spotify
🔍 If You Like Tolkien
The History of The Hobbit
The Expanded Letters of JRR Tolkien (audiobook)
The Expanded Letters of JRR Tolkien (book)
The Silmarillion
The Children of Hurin
The Atlas of Middle-earth
Make Tolkien Great Again – Tengwar Hat
...more
1h 2min
November 26, 2024124. Miserable Riddles in the Dark : The Hobbit #13
“Riddles in the Dark” is not only the most memorable event from all of Middle-earth — it’s also the turning point that ultimately led to The Lord of the Rings. In this episode we look at:
Tolkien’s use of the words “miserableness” and “miserabler”.
The original character that inspired Gollum.
What *actually* brings Bilbo comfort.
Where Tolkien’s riddles originated.
How Gollum’s riddles and Bilbo’s riddles reflect the characters and mindsets.
In our extended episode (available for our members) we talk about:
Which is our least favorite riddle?
Would we have been able to actually answer any of the riddles?
Our members’ reactions to the differences between goblines and orcs
The genius of Tolkien to allow us to subcreate the goblins/orcs.
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!
🔗 Episode Links
The History of The Hobbit
The Annotated Hobbit
Join our Discord Community (for free)
Get the Extended Podcast
Become a Patreon Member
🎧 Subscribe to our Podcast
Get the Extended Podcast
Become a Patreon Member
Subscribe on Apple
Subscribe on Spotify
🔍 If You Like Tolkien
The History of The Hobbit
The Expanded Letters of JRR Tolkien (audiobook)
The Expanded Letters of JRR Tolkien (book)
The Silmarillion
The Children of Hurin
The Atlas of Middle-earth
Make Tolkien Great Again – Tengwar Hat
...more
52min
November 19, 2024123. Nightmare in Moria : The Hobbit #12
The goblins of Moria grab the dwarves (and Hobbit) who decided to camp out on their “front porch”, leading to some real terrifying moments!
Does Gandalf use gunpowder?
How Tolkien subcreates his world with a few simple phrases.
The importance of the Goblin song, and the elves, dwarves, and goblins are all introduced with song!
Where Tolkien’s prose is almost poetic in an Olde English kind of way.
How Tolkien loves those swords!
In our extended episode (available for our members) we talk about:
What we would change if Tolkien had continued with his rewrite.
Our members’ reactions to the differences between goblines and orcs
The genius of Tolkien to allow us to subcreate the goblins/orcs.
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!
🔗 Episode Links
The History of The Hobbit
The Annotated Hobbit
Join our Discord Community (for free)
Get the Extended Podcast
Become a Patreon Member
🎧 Subscribe to our Podcast
Get the Extended Podcast
Become a Patreon Member
Subscribe on Apple
Subscribe on Spotify
🔍 If You Like Tolkien
The History of The Hobbit
The Expanded Letters of JRR Tolkien (audiobook)
The Expanded Letters of JRR Tolkien (book)
The Silmarillion
The Children of Hurin
The Atlas of Middle-earth
Make Tolkien Great Again – Tengwar Hat
...more
47min
November 12, 2024122. The Real Misty Mountains : The Hobbit #11
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!
🔗 Episode Links
The History of The Hobbit
The Annotated Hobbit
Join our Discord Community (for free)
Get the Extended Podcast
Become a Patreon Member
🎧 Subscribe to our Podcast
Get the Extended Podcast
Become a Patreon Member
Subscribe on Apple
Subscribe on Spotify
🔍 If You Like Tolkien
The History of The Hobbit
The Expanded Letters of JRR Tolkien (audiobook)
The Expanded Letters of JRR Tolkien (book)
The Silmarillion
The Children of Hurin
The Atlas of Middle-earth
Make Tolkien Great Again – Tengwar Hat
...more
45min
November 05, 2024121. Tolkien Gave Up on Fixing The Hobbit : The Hobbit #10
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!
🔗 Episode Links
The History of The Hobbit
The Annotated Hobbit
Join our Discord Community (for free)
Get the Extended Podcast
Become a Patreon Member
🎧 Subscribe to our Podcast
Get the Extended Podcast
Become a Patreon Member
Subscribe on Apple
Subscribe on Spotify
🔍 If You Like Tolkien
The History of The Hobbit
The Expanded Letters of JRR Tolkien (audiobook)
The Expanded Letters of JRR Tolkien (book)
The Silmarillion
The Children of Hurin
The Atlas of Middle-earth
Make Tolkien Great Again – Tengwar Hat
...more
46min
October 29, 2024120. Where the Children’s Story Ends and the Epic Story Begins : The Hobbit #9
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. What prompted this change? We have our thoughts, including:
How Elrond’s name plays a big part.
Tolkien’s improved writing in The Lord of the Rings.
What inspired Tolkien’s description of RIvendell.
Why are these elves SO different?
How elves were portrayed BEFORE Tolkien changed the cultural understanding.
In our extended episode (available for our members) we talk about:
Coincidence, chance, or providence.
Why what Tolkien writes in his stories isn’t mere coincidence (unlike modern story telling)
Here are the pics to go along with today’s Hobbit Fact!
Immature Golden Eagle by Archibald Thorburn
Tolkien’s Drawing of The Eagle and Bilbo
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!
🔗 Episode Links
The History of The Hobbit
The Annotated Hobbit
Join our Discord Community (for free)
Get the Extended Podcast
Become a Patreon Member
🎧 Subscribe to our Podcast
Get the Extended Podcast
Become a Patreon Member
Subscribe on Apple
Subscribe on Spotify
🔍 If You Like Tolkien
The History of The Hobbit
The Expanded Letters of JRR Tolkien (audiobook)
The Expanded Letters of JRR Tolkien (book)
The Silmarillion
The Children of Hurin
The Atlas of Middle-earth
Make Tolkien Great Again – Tengwar Hat
...more
43min
October 08, 2024 119. The Rings of Power Leaves us with Dwarf Politics and Randomly Shouting Elves
We did it! And this time we wrangled Dan in to give us his BIG THOUGHT again! 🙂
In this final episode of Season 2, one dwarf delved too deep (and then we find out the real problem there–political intrigue!), the elves (despite help from the magically appearing dwarf army) retreat, Galadriel fights Sauron then just steps off a cliff, the Stranger’s (not so secret) name is revealed in a superbly hamfisted way, and Númenor decides that the Faithful deserve to be thrown in prison based on some letter from somebody that somehow explains everything about Halbrand in a 2 second glance.
BECOME A MEMBER!
Get access to the extended edition of this podcast, our private Discord chat, and live chats. You can also join for $5 a month on Patreon
🔗 Episode Links
The History of The Hobbit
The Annotated Hobbit
Join our Discord Community (for free)
Get the Extended Podcast
Become a Patreon Member
🎧 Subscribe to our Podcast
Get the Extended Podcast
Become a Patreon Member
Subscribe on Apple
Subscribe on Spotify
🔍 If You Like Tolkien
The History of The Hobbit
The Expanded Letters of JRR Tolkien (audiobook)
The Expanded Letters of JRR Tolkien (book)
The Silmarillion
The Children of Hurin
The Atlas of Middle-earth
Make Tolkien Great Again – Tengwar Hat
...more
2h 9min
October 01, 2024 118. Yes. Elrond kissed Galadriel.
Yeah. They kissed.
We also get the worst battle in the history of Middle-earth, the greatest smith of Eregion acceds to Sauron willingly, the dwarves turn back and entire army to face one person, and a troll that is quite truly full of sound and fury signifying nothing.
BECOME A MEMBER!
Get access to the extended edition of this podcast, our private Discord chat, and live chats. You can also join for $5 a month on Patreon
🔗 Episode Links
The History of The Hobbit
The Annotated Hobbit
Join our Discord Community (for free)
Get the Extended Podcast
Become a Patreon Member
🎧 Subscribe to our Podcast
Get the Extended Podcast
Become a Patreon Member
Subscribe on Apple
Subscribe on Spotify
🔍 If You Like Tolkien
The History of The Hobbit
The Expanded Letters of JRR Tolkien (audiobook)
The Expanded Letters of JRR Tolkien (book)
The Silmarillion
The Children of Hurin
The Atlas of Middle-earth
Make Tolkien Great Again – Tengwar Hat
...more
2h 16min
September 24, 2024 117. Clueless Elves, Big Beasts, and Bombadil Inverts Tolkien’s Words
Michael is back as we examine how wrong The Rings of Power treats the elves (as simple imbeciles), how the Númenoreans are now deciding rulers based on what big animals do, and how Tom Bombadil inverts one of Tolkien’s most important lines from Lord of the Rings into a disgustingly evil turn.
BECOME A MEMBER!
Get access to the extended edition of this podcast, our private Discord chat, and live chats. You can also join for $5 a month on Patreon
🔗 Episode Links
The History of The Hobbit
The Annotated Hobbit
Join our Discord Community (for free)
Get the Extended Podcast
Become a Patreon Member
🎧 Subscribe to our Podcast
Get the Extended Podcast
Become a Patreon Member
Subscribe on Apple
Subscribe on Spotify
🔍 If You Like Tolkien
The History of The Hobbit
The Expanded Letters of JRR Tolkien (audiobook)
The Expanded Letters of JRR Tolkien (book)
The Silmarillion
The Children of Hurin
The Atlas of Middle-earth
Make Tolkien Great Again – Tengwar Hat
...more
1h 50min

FAQs about Exploring Tolkien:

How many episodes does Exploring Tolkien have?

The podcast currently has 127 episodes available.

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