Exploring Tolkien

By TheOneRing.com

What's Exploring Tolkien about?

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, interview other Tolkien enthusiasts and authors, and critically examine how Tolkien’s world is being treated by mega-corporations like Amazon.com and Warner Bros.

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Exploring Tolkien episodes:

05.14.2024
Should The Lord of the Rings Films have kept the Barrow-downs?
Dropping the Barrow-downs removes one of the most important callbacks in the final Battle of the Pelennor Fields before Minas Tirith.
05.07.2024
Tom Bombadil is NOT important? Tolkien said it!
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.
04.30.2024
Why Peter Jackson Cut the Old Forest and Old Man Willow
The first REAL dangers outside of the Shire were cut from the films... but did that decision improve them?
04.23.2024
Peter Jackson CUT the Godfather of the Shire : Film Changes #30 and #31
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!
04.16.2024
The Wizard Duel and Orthanc in Real Time : Film Changes #29 and #30
Peter Jackson made some pretty significant changes to Orthanc... especially when it comes to that Wizard's Duel!
04.09.2024
An Interview with Howard Shore, Lord of the Rings Composer – 2003 Roundtable Interviews
We spoke with Lord of the Rings composer Howard Shore. He really goes in depth on his thoughts and composing process!
04.01.2024
The Rings of Power is PEAK TV – Top Scenes, Top Characters and Top Quotes
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!
03.26.2024
Sauron’s FIRST Defeat – Finishing Tolkien’s Unfinished Tale – Aldarion and Erendis – Part 8
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.
03.19.2024
NEW Tolkien Book with UNPUBLISHED Content Announced!
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!
03.05.2024
Finishing Tolkien’s Unfinished Tale – Aldarion and Erendis – Part 7
Aldarion and Erendis is perhaps Tolkien's most emotionally gut wrenching tale.... and it deserves to be finished!
02.27.2024
A Spiteful Marriage, a New Enemy, and a Watery End – Aldarion and Erendis – Part 6
We don't know exactly how Tolkien intended to finish Aldarion and Erendis--but he gave us some pretty strong clues!
02.20.2024
The Sacrificial King and the Fallen Queen – Aldarion and Erendis – Part 5
As we close out the prose of this story, the king makes a great sacrifice for the greater good of Númenor, and the new queen becomes a pitiable creature with no hope for her own future.
02.13.2024
Middle-earth’s Worst Dad – Aldarion and Erendis – Part 4
Aldarion gets married and is able to stay on land for a few years... up until his daughter turns 4, and then he just leaves AGAIN!
02.06.2024
Mariner, King, or Husband? – Aldarion and Erendis – Part 3
Aldarion and Erendis finally get married! But Aldarion can't seem to make up his mind on who he really is.
01.30.2024
Men are from Mars, Women Hate the Ocean – Aldarion and Erendis – Part 2
These two aren't exactly star-crossed lovers--their complicated and long-gestating relationship runs for decades, and that's just BEFORE they get married.
01.23.2024
This Sea is NOT Always Right – Aldarion and Erendis – Part 1
Aldarion and Erendis: The Mariner's Wife is not exactly a happy story, but as you'd expect with anything Tolkien writes, it's full of meaning, beauty, depth and wisdom.
01.16.2024
Removing Radagast and Hobbit Thieves : Film Changes #27 and #28
Radagast was completely removed from the film... and Merry and Pippin are common Hobbit thieves!
01.09.2024
Meeting Gandalf in Bree and a Glimpse of Gildor : Film Changes #25 and #26
Peter Jackson cut 6 chapters from the Fellowship of the Ring when Gandalf told Frodo to meet him at the Prancing Pony!
12.28.2023
Bilbo’s Party Changes and 17 Years Lost : Film Changes #23 and #24
Is Bilbo's party true to how Tolkien wrote it? And what happened to those 17 years Tolkien talked about?
12.19.2023
Tolkien Created an Entire North Pole Mythology!
Starting in 1920, JRR Tolkien wrote letters from Father Christmas to his children--and continued doing that for 24 more years!
12.12.2023
Gandalf’s a Headbanger and Frodo’s Unexpected Introduction
Was Gandalf's head bump in character? And was it a good idea to start the film with Frodo's and Gandalf's relationship?
12.05.2023
Tolkien’s Christmas poem was lost for 80 years!
In 1936, Tolkien wrote a poem published in an obscure school magazine--and it was only found again 10 years ago!
11.28.2023
Bilbo’s Prologue and The Rings of Power is NOT fixing The Lord of the Rings Films
Michael and Jonathan found out someone's been copying our look at the changes PJ made to the books--and then applying that to The Rings of Power?! We happily point out their failure.
11.21.2023
Men Want Power, Isildur Didn’t Kill Sauron, and the Ring’s Mind – with The Tolkien Road!
Did you know that--according to Tolkien--Isildur didn't actually kill Sauron? Seems kinda clear from the text!
11.14.2023
Saruman the suck-up, Elrond hates Men, and Formless Sauron – with the Middle-earth Mixer!
The Middle-earth Mixer joins us this week to look at why Peter Jackson made some pretty big changes to 3 central characters: Sauron, Elrond, and Saruman.
11.07.2023
Gimli’s Comic Relief, Boromir’s Wrong Hair, and Legolas’s Big Elf Boots
Peter Jackson brought most of the comic relief for The Lord of the Rings via Gimli--which, based on his character in the books, is definitely off character.
10.31.2023
Aragorn’s Big Change and The Hobbit Youth Movement
Young Hobbits, dark Aragorn, and remaking a character to be a reluctant king.
10.24.2023
How Peter Jackson Changed the Wizard, the Pranksters, and Frodo’s Best Bud
Peter Jackson changed Gandalf, Sam, and Merry and Pippen for The Lord of the Rings films -- but how much did he change them, and was it worth it?
10.17.2023
Adapting Lord of the Rings, Cutting up the Story, and Dropping the Poetry
We jump into the deep end of analyzing Peter Jackson's Lord of the Rings as we look at every film change he made!
10.03.2023
An Interview with Lord of the Rings Screenwriter Philippa Boyens
Lord of the Rings screenwriter Philippa Boyens discusses her approach to writing the film.
09.26.2023
An Interview with Viggo Mortensen
Viggo is thoughtful and soft-spoken, but has a driven personality that allows him to inhabit roles like Aragorn in The Lord of the Rings.
09.19.2023
Music is Escape : An Interview with Jeff Johnson – Musician, Composer, Producer
If you haven't listened to Jeff Johnson's music yet, you're missing out.
09.12.2023
An Interview with Liv Tyler and Orlando Bloom
In this episode, Liv Tyler and Orlando Bloom joined us to talk their thoughts about the films, their careers, and the crazy premiere in Wellington for Return of the King.
09.05.2023
An Interview with Ian McKellen : He Read Tolkien EVERY NIGHT Before Filming
Peter Jackson's Gandalf answered our questions earnestly and thoughtfully--particularly when discussing wisdom and fidelity to Tolkien's books.
08.29.2023
Happily Ever After isn’t Enough – On Fairy Stories, Part 6
In this final part of Tolkien's essay, we look at Consolation and Eucatastrophe and how important they are to this literary art.
08.22.2023
Escape Isn’t Possible with “Modern” Storytelling – On Fairy Stories, Part 5
What are we supposed to recover from? And why do fairy stories provide it? And why do we need to escape? And how do fairy stories break us out?
08.15.2023
Movies are NOT Sub-Creation – On Fairy Stories, Part 4
When Tolkien talks about Fantasy, he doesn't simply mean fiction stories set in sword-and-sorcery worlds.
08.08.2023
Kids Ruin Everything – On Fairy Stories, Part 3
Tolkien pushes back against the coupling of fairy-stories and children! True fairy-story is where literary belief and subcreation are fully realized.
08.01.2023
Tolkien Still Matters : with Nick Groom, author of Tolkien in the 21st Century
This week Michael and I talked with Professor Nick Groom, author of Tolkien in the 21st Century and discuss why Tolkien still matters!
07.25.2023
An Interview with Peter Jackson : It’s for the fans!
On December 2, 2003 I was part of a roundtable interview with Peter Jackson. Here's the full recording!
07.18.2023
The Origins of Fantasy – A Soup with Distance and Time: On Fairy Stories, Part 2
The origins of fairy story are hard to define... and though it may feel like Tolkien doesn't give us an answer, he gives us some good starting points.
07.11.2023
Talking Tolkien with Renowned Artist Ted Nasmith
Ted Nasmith has been creating visions of Middle-earth since the early 1970s when he decided to send JRR Tolkien one of his early pieces--and the professor responded with encouragement! In addition to being the sole featured artist in 12 Tolkien...
07.04.2023
Is Star Wars a Fairy Story? – On Fairy Stories, Part 1
This week, Michael, Dan, and I discuss the first part of Tolkien's seminal essay "On Fairy Stories", where Tolkien defines what a fairy (aka fantasy) story is. Why is this important? Well, the "fairy tale" in Tolkien's era was relegated to...
06.27.2023
This is the (raw) Meat – The Silmarillion – A Final Look – The Silmarillion – 37
High beauty, strong women, and the meat of Middle-earth!
06.20.2023
Make Tolkien Great Again – Of the Rings of Power, Part 2 – The Silmarillion – 36
** Use the code "GREAT" at https://shop.theonering.com to get $2 off anything! ** It's hard to believe, but this week we finish "Of the Rings of Power and the Third Age"--the last chapter of The Silmarillion! We talk about the the truth...
06.13.2023
The Chuck E. Cheese of Middle-earth – Of the Rings of Power, Part 1 – The Silmarillion – 35
Many of us endured Amazon's Rings of Power show last year... and now we've finally reached that part of The Silmarillion. Of course, here we actually talk about the Rings more than they were featured in the show for those,...
06.06.2023
Gollum’s Apology, Why We Love Tolkien, and the Nerdiest Thing We’ve Ever Done
Join us as we look back on one year of Exploring Tolkien! This week we talk why we love Tolkien so much, the path that brought us to be a part of this show, all the stats for the show... and...
05.30.2023
The Path to Gollum’s Redemption | Tolkien Discusses What May Have Happened
With the release of the new Gollum game, we decided to take a deeper dive at this character--not his motivations or history, but what Tolkien specifically said about him in his letters. Tolkien indicates that the most moving scene in all...
05.23.2023
Fellowship Fridays Live | NEW Lord of the Rings MMO, Galadriel’s BIG Life Changes, Gollum Game | #3
Join us as we talk about Galadriel's "life-changing" event in Rings of Power season 2, the Gollum game releasing May 25, 2023, the newly announced MMO game from Amazon, if we accept the reason for Legolas walking on snow, and...
05.16.2023
Liars and Junkies of the 2nd Age – Akallabêth, Part 2 – The Silmarillion – 34
We finish up the Akallabêth this week talking about religion in Númenor, if the Valar gave up governing Arda (and for how long), and if men of Númenor are addicted to the light of Valinor.

What's Exploring Tolkien about?

Download our free app to listen on your phone

Exploring Tolkien episodes:

Should The Lord of the Rings Films have kept the Barrow-downs?

Tom Bombadil is NOT important? Tolkien said it!

Why Peter Jackson Cut the Old Forest and Old Man Willow

Peter Jackson CUT the Godfather of the Shire : Film Changes #30 and #31

The Wizard Duel and Orthanc in Real Time : Film Changes #29 and #30

An Interview with Howard Shore, Lord of the Rings Composer – 2003 Roundtable Interviews

The Rings of Power is PEAK TV – Top Scenes, Top Characters and Top Quotes

Sauron’s FIRST Defeat – Finishing Tolkien’s Unfinished Tale – Aldarion and Erendis – Part 8

NEW Tolkien Book with UNPUBLISHED Content Announced!

Finishing Tolkien’s Unfinished Tale – Aldarion and Erendis – Part 7

A Spiteful Marriage, a New Enemy, and a Watery End – Aldarion and Erendis – Part 6

The Sacrificial King and the Fallen Queen – Aldarion and Erendis – Part 5

Middle-earth’s Worst Dad – Aldarion and Erendis – Part 4

Mariner, King, or Husband? – Aldarion and Erendis – Part 3

Men are from Mars, Women Hate the Ocean – Aldarion and Erendis – Part 2

This Sea is NOT Always Right – Aldarion and Erendis – Part 1

Removing Radagast and Hobbit Thieves : Film Changes #27 and #28

Meeting Gandalf in Bree and a Glimpse of Gildor : Film Changes #25 and #26

Bilbo’s Party Changes and 17 Years Lost : Film Changes #23 and #24

Tolkien Created an Entire North Pole Mythology!

Gandalf’s a Headbanger and Frodo’s Unexpected Introduction

Tolkien’s Christmas poem was lost for 80 years!

Bilbo’s Prologue and The Rings of Power is NOT fixing The Lord of the Rings Films

Men Want Power, Isildur Didn’t Kill Sauron, and the Ring’s Mind – with The Tolkien Road!

Saruman the suck-up, Elrond hates Men, and Formless Sauron – with the Middle-earth Mixer!

Gimli’s Comic Relief, Boromir’s Wrong Hair, and Legolas’s Big Elf Boots

Aragorn’s Big Change and The Hobbit Youth Movement

How Peter Jackson Changed the Wizard, the Pranksters, and Frodo’s Best Bud

Adapting Lord of the Rings, Cutting up the Story, and Dropping the Poetry

An Interview with Lord of the Rings Screenwriter Philippa Boyens

An Interview with Viggo Mortensen

Music is Escape : An Interview with Jeff Johnson – Musician, Composer, Producer

An Interview with Liv Tyler and Orlando Bloom

An Interview with Ian McKellen : He Read Tolkien EVERY NIGHT Before Filming

Happily Ever After isn’t Enough – On Fairy Stories, Part 6

Escape Isn’t Possible with “Modern” Storytelling – On Fairy Stories, Part 5

Movies are NOT Sub-Creation – On Fairy Stories, Part 4

Kids Ruin Everything – On Fairy Stories, Part 3

Tolkien Still Matters : with Nick Groom, author of Tolkien in the 21st Century

An Interview with Peter Jackson : It’s for the fans!

The Origins of Fantasy – A Soup with Distance and Time: On Fairy Stories, Part 2

Talking Tolkien with Renowned Artist Ted Nasmith

Is Star Wars a Fairy Story? – On Fairy Stories, Part 1

This is the (raw) Meat – The Silmarillion – A Final Look – The Silmarillion – 37

Make Tolkien Great Again – Of the Rings of Power, Part 2 – The Silmarillion – 36

The Chuck E. Cheese of Middle-earth – Of the Rings of Power, Part 1 – The Silmarillion – 35

Gollum’s Apology, Why We Love Tolkien, and the Nerdiest Thing We’ve Ever Done

The Path to Gollum’s Redemption | Tolkien Discusses What May Have Happened

Fellowship Fridays Live | NEW Lord of the Rings MMO, Galadriel’s BIG Life Changes, Gollum Game | #3

Liars and Junkies of the 2nd Age – Akallabêth, Part 2 – The Silmarillion – 34