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 155 episodes available.

Exploring Tolkien episodes:

January 16, 202484. Removing Radagast and Hobbit Thieves : Film Changes #27 and #28
Join our free Discord community!
These are our last 2 changes for awhile — listen to hear what we’ll be reading next!
Radagast is completely excised from the film… which might just have been a good decision
Merry and Pippin become common veggie thieves that just happen to run into Frodo and Sam in a cornfield. Lucky coincidence.
In our extended episode (available for our members — https://theonering.com/members) we talk more about these changes, and also:
Questions from our members about Farmer Maggot and Mushrooms.
Farmer Maggot — the John Wick of Middle-earth
Generating action hero maggot with AI art…. check out these images!
👉 https://www.theonering.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/Farmer-Maggot-and-Dogs-Poster.jpg
👉 https://www.theonering.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/Farmer-Maggot-Defends-his-Mushrooms.jpg
🎉 To get the extended episode, become a member at https://theonering.com/members ($4/mo and free for the 1st month)!
BECOME A MEMBER!
Get access to the extended edition of this podcast, our private Discord chat, and live chats. Click here!
🔗 Episode Links
Join our Free Discord Community
Submit a LOTR Film Change
Make Tolkien Great Again – Tengwar Hat
🎧 Subscribe to our Podcast
Get the Extended Podcast
Subscribe on Apple
Subscribe on Google
🔍 If You Like Tolkien
Make Tolkien Great Again – Tengwar Hat
The Silmarillion
The Letters of J.R.R. Tolkien
🗣 Special Thanks to Austin Robertson for the use of his voice!
...more
34min
January 09, 202483. Meeting Gandalf in Bree and a Glimpse of Gildor : Film Changes #25 and #26
We’re going over 2 more changes to The Fellowship of the Ring this week!
Gandalf tells Frodo to meet him at the Prancing Pony… which leads to a full 6 CHAPTERS cut from the films!
Frodo and Sam never get to spend any time with Gildor in the films–and only get a fleeting glimpse of “Wood Elves” 🤮
In our extended episode (available for our members — $4/mo and free for the first month) we talk more about these changes, in addition to:
Would the “spotted toad” threat have been a bad movie moment if Jackson added it?
If we could keep one–and ONLY one–of the myriad things Jackson left out between Hobbiton and Bree, what would it be?
🎉 To get the extended episode, become a member at https://theonering.com/members ($4/mo and free for the 1st month)!
BECOME A MEMBER!
Get access to the extended edition of this podcast, our private Discord chat, and live chats. Click here!
🔗 Episode Links
Submit a LOTR Film Change
Make Tolkien Great Again – Tengwar Hat
🎧 Subscribe to our Podcast
Get the Extended Podcast
Subscribe on Apple
Subscribe on Google
🔍 If You Like Tolkien
Letters of JRR Tolkien (Revised and Expanded)
Make Tolkien Great Again – Tengwar Hat
The Silmarillion
The Letters of J.R.R. Tolkien
🗣 Special Thanks to Austin Robertson for the use of his voice!
...more
45min
December 28, 202382. Bilbo’s Party Changes and 17 Years Lost : Film Changes #23 and #24
We’re going over 2 more changes to The Fellowship of the Ring this week!
Is Bilbo’s party true to how Tolkien wrote it? If it isn’t.. did Jackson change it for the better?
Peter Jackson dropped nearly all 17 years from the time of Bilbo’s party to the start of Frodo’s journey. Isn’t that a lot to change? Or maybe–just maybe–this is actually true to the book?
In our extended episode (available for our members — https://theonering.com/members) we talk more about these changes, and also:
If those 17 years would’ve been part of the film, what would have taken place, and how would it have been scripted?
🎉 To get the extended episode, become a member at https://theonering.com/members ($4/mo and free for the 1st month)!
BECOME A MEMBER!
Get access to the extended edition of this podcast, our private Discord chat, and live chats. Click here!
🔗 Episode Links
Submit a LOTR Film Change
Make Tolkien Great Again – Tengwar Hat
🎧 Subscribe to our Podcast
Get the Extended Podcast
Subscribe on Apple
Subscribe on Google
🔍 If You Like Tolkien
Letters of JRR Tolkien (Revised and Expanded)
Make Tolkien Great Again – Tengwar Hat
The Silmarillion
The Letters of J.R.R. Tolkien
🗣 Special Thanks to Austin Robertson for the use of his voice!
...more
45min
December 19, 2023 81. 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!
Through those letters, he created an entire mythology, including characters (like the North Polar Bear, Ilbereth his elf helper, bear cubs, goblins), stories, and even battles! Thankfully, all those letters were kept and can now be read by us in the “Letters from Father Christmas” book!
This year, we put together a reading of Tolkien’s 1926 letter–by Father Christmas himself!
More about Tolkien’s Letters from Father Christmas
Listen to the letter again on YouTube!
In our extended episode (available for our members) I talk a bit more about the letters he wrote, and read his final (and somewhat gut-wrenching) letter to his daughter Priscilla.
🎉 To get the extended episode, become a member at https://theonering.com/members ($4/mo and free for the 1st month)!
BECOME A MEMBER!
Get access to the extended edition of this podcast, our private Discord chat, and live chats. Click here!
🔗 Episode Links
Get Letters from Father Christmas
Make Tolkien Great Again – Tengwar Hat
More about Letters from Father Christmas
🎧 Subscribe to our Podcast
Get the Extended Podcast
Subscribe on Apple
Subscribe on Google
🔍 If You Like Tolkien
Letters of JRR Tolkien (Revised and Expanded)
Make Tolkien Great Again – Tengwar Hat
The Silmarillion
🗣 Special Thanks to Austin Robertson for the use of his voice!
...more
11min
December 12, 202380. Gandalf’s a Headbanger and Frodo’s Unexpected Introduction
We’re going over 2 more changes to The Fellowship of the Ring this week!
The theatrical edition of The Fellowship of the Ring started with Frodo and Gandalf’s relationship, even though the book didn’t establish any of that until AFTER Bilbo’s party. Was this good for the film?
When Gandalf enters Bag End, it’s as though he’s never been there before–knocking his head on the chandelier and banging it into the doorjamb. Is this actually in Gandalf’s character?
In our extended episode (available for our members — https://theonering.com/members) we talk more about the these changes, including:
Should Peter Jackson have added more Hobbiton characters earlier in the film?
Did we miss out by not having Dwarves with carts delivering party goods?
How missing out on making Bilbo’s party MASSIVE would have made for better comedy.
🎉 To get the extended episode, become a member at https://theonering.com/members ($4/mo and free for the 1st month)!
BECOME A MEMBER!
Get access to the extended edition of this podcast, our private Discord chat, and live chats. Click here!
🔗 Episode Links
Letters of JRR Tolkien (Revised and Expanded)
Submit a LOTR Film Change
Make Tolkien Great Again – Tengwar Hat
🎧 Subscribe to our Podcast
Get the Extended Podcast
Subscribe on Apple
Subscribe on Google
🔍 If You Like Tolkien
Letters of JRR Tolkien (Revised and Expanded)
Make Tolkien Great Again – Tengwar Hat
The Silmarillion
The Letters of J.R.R. Tolkien
🗣 Special Thanks to Austin Robertson for the use of his voice!
...more
26min
December 05, 2023 79. 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! Michael and Jonathan look at how the poem was found, what the poem means, and what makes it unique in the landscape of Tolkien’s creativity.
Read the Poem
Listen to the poem Noel again on YouTube!
In our extended episode (available for our members) we debate whether the Lord of the Rings can be considered a Christmas movie (there’s a lot of leeway if Die Hard is a Christmas movie, right?!).
🎉 To get the extended episode, become a member at https://theonering.com/members ($4/mo and free for the 1st month)!
BECOME A MEMBER!
Get access to the extended edition of this podcast, our private Discord chat, and live chats. Click here!
🔗 Episode Links
8 Things The Rings Of Power Does Better Than Peter Jackson’s Lord Of The Rings Movies
Letters of JRR Tolkien (Revised and Expanded)
Submit a LOTR Film Change
Make Tolkien Great Again – Tengwar Hat
🎧 Subscribe to our Podcast
Get the Extended Podcast
Subscribe on Apple
Subscribe on Google
🔍 If You Like Tolkien
Letters of JRR Tolkien (Revised and Expanded)
Make Tolkien Great Again – Tengwar Hat
The Silmarillion
The Letters of J.R.R. Tolkien
🗣 Special Thanks to Austin Robertson for the use of his voice!
...more
21min
November 28, 202378. 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 (or was it just an AI article?!)…
This week we also take a look at Bilbo’s prologue in the extended edition–particularly in how it takes cues from Tolkien’s prologue to The Lord of the Rings. We might just surprise you with our discussion!
In our extended episode (available for our members — https://theonering.com/members) we talk more about the article that copied our recent videos about the film changes, including:
How they get elven diversity all wrong
How seeing yourself as skin-color in Middle-earth never matters
How fitting more stories into The Rings of Power was, well, stupid
🎉 To get the extended episode, become a member at https://theonering.com/members ($4/mo and free for the 1st month)!
BECOME A MEMBER!
Get access to the extended edition of this podcast, our private Discord chat, and live chats. Click here!
🔗 Episode Links
8 Things The Rings Of Power Does Better Than Peter Jackson’s Lord Of The Rings Movies
Letters of JRR Tolkien (Revised and Expanded)
Submit a LOTR Film Change
Make Tolkien Great Again – Tengwar Hat
🎧 Subscribe to our Podcast
Get the Extended Podcast
Subscribe on Apple
Subscribe on Google
🔍 If You Like Tolkien
Letters of JRR Tolkien (Revised and Expanded)
Make Tolkien Great Again – Tengwar Hat
The Silmarillion
The Letters of J.R.R. Tolkien
🗣 Special Thanks to Austin Robertson for the use of his voice!
...more
37min
November 21, 202377. Men Want Power, Isildur Didn’t Kill Sauron, and the Ring’s Mind – with The Tolkien Road!
This week we’re looking at the prologue of Fellowship of the Ring with John Carswell from the Tolkien Road podcast. Listen in as we discuss:
Men Want Power, not Immortality
Elendil’s Battle and Elrond’s Pleading
The Ring’s Got a Mind of its Own
Check out The Tolkien Road podcast on Apple Podcasts or Spotify
In our extended episode (available for our members for only $4/mo–free for the first month!) we talk about:
Become a member at https://theonering.com/members to find out
Could Sauron have made the ring with one of his eyeballs?! 😜
Why didn’t Elrond take the ring from Isildur (in the movie) when he had the chance?
Did Elrond know he couldn’t take the Ring himself (when he was with Isildur)?
How would we have changed the final battle between Elendil/Gil-galad and Sauron?
🎉 To get the extended episode, become a member at https://theonering.com/members ($4/mo and free for the 1st month)!
BECOME A MEMBER!
Get access to the extended edition of this podcast, our private Discord chat, and live chats. Click here!
🔗 Episode Links
Letters of JRR Tolkien (Revised and Expanded)
Tolkien Road on X
Tolkien Road on Apple Podcasts
Tolkien Road on Spotify
Submit a LOTR Film Change
Make Tolkien Great Again – Tengwar Hat
🎧 Subscribe to our Podcast
Get the Extended Podcast
Subscribe on Apple
Subscribe on Google
🔍 If You Like Tolkien
Letters of JRR Tolkien (Revised and Expanded)
Make Tolkien Great Again – Tengwar Hat
The Silmarillion
The Letters of J.R.R. Tolkien
🗣 Special Thanks to Austin Robertson for the use of his voice!
...more
1h 18min
November 14, 202376. 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. Listen in as we look at:
Sauron, the Formless
Elrond, the Unbeliever
Saruman, Sith Lord
Check out The Middle-earth Mixer’s podcast on Apple Podcasts or Spotify
In our extended episode (available for our members for only $4/mo–free for the first month!) we talk about:
Become a member at https://theonering.com/members to find out
How could Sauron have been better portrayed in the films?
Did Christopher Lee regret playing the changed Saruman?
Did Peter Jackson kill off Saruman just to get rid of the Scouring of the Shire?
🎉 To get the extended episode, become a member at https://theonering.com/members ($4/mo and free for the 1st month)!
BECOME A MEMBER!
Get access to the extended edition of this podcast, our private Discord chat, and live chats. Click here!
🔗 Episode Links
Middle-earth Mixer on X
Middle-earth Mixer on Apple Podcasts
Middle-earth Mixer on Spotify
Submit a LOTR Film Change
Make Tolkien Great Again – Tengwar Hat
🎧 Subscribe to our Podcast
Get the Extended Podcast
Subscribe on Apple
Subscribe on Google
🔍 If You Like Tolkien
Make Tolkien Great Again – Tengwar Hat
The Silmarillion
The Letters of J.R.R. Tolkien
🗣 Special Thanks to Austin Robertson for the use of his voice!
...more
1h 1min
November 07, 202375. 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. This week we discuss:
Gimli, the Comic Relief
Gimli, the Hatchet Man
Legolas’ Boots were Made for Walkin’ (on snow)
They did Boromir Dirty… Blonde
Are we right? Wrong? Did we miss something obvious? Let us know!
In our extended episode (available for our members for only $4/mo–free for the first month!) we talk about:
Become a member at https://theonering.com/members to find out
Do books need comic relief like films? Why or why not?
Is Legolas the straight man to Gimli’s funny guy?
Is he considered comic relief too?
Was Peter Jackson’s portrayal of Legolas walking on snow effective?
🎉 To get the extended episode, become a member at https://theonering.com/members ($4/mo and free for the 1st month)!
BECOME A MEMBER!
Get access to the extended edition of this podcast, our private Discord chat, and live chats. Click here!
🔗 Episode Links
Submit a LOTR Film Change
Make Tolkien Great Again – Tengwar Hat
🎧 Subscribe to our Podcast
Get the Extended Podcast
Subscribe on Apple
Subscribe on Google
🔍 If You Like Tolkien
Make Tolkien Great Again – Tengwar Hat
The Silmarillion
The Letters of J.R.R. Tolkien
🗣 Special Thanks to Austin Robertson for the use of his voice!
...more
51min

FAQs about Exploring Tolkien:

How many episodes does Exploring Tolkien have?

The podcast currently has 155 episodes available.

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