Shire Reckoning

This week, we consider the dragons of Middle-earth: Glaurung, Ancalagon, Smaug and (to a much lesser extent) Scatha. Why are dragons so significant to Professor Tolkien and to his Legendarium? Why are the four named dragons so different from one another? Are there hidden dragons in The Lord of the Rings?

Thanks to Jules for the question!

Show Notes

• Groundbreakers: Icons of our Time (Christie's)
• Robert Plant's Led Zeppelin Bandmates Had No Idea He Was Referencing Tolkien In The Band's Lyrics (The Late Show with Stephen Colbert)
• The Uinendili and Political Branding in Tolkien (Jeff La Sala)
• Númenor: the Downfall is in the Details (Thomas Hillman)

Shire Reckoning is a Next Word production. For bonus episodes and to support the show, visit Patreon.com/NextWord.

Follow @ShireReckoningPod on YouTube, Bluesky and Instagram.

Music by Corvus from Pixabay.  

This week, Thorin and Company finally recover at least a small amount of their treasure in Chapter 13 of J.R.R. Tolkien's The Hobbit, "Not At Home". What is the Arkenstone? For whom was Bilbo's mithril shirt made? Who is not at home, and why?

The video version of this session is available by clicking here; the slides are available for download by clicking here.

Show Notes:

• Shire Reckoning Production Schedule
• The History of the Hobbit (John D. Rateliff)
• Exploring J.R.R. Tolkien's The Hobbit (Corey Olsen)

Shire Reckoning is a Next Word production. For bonus episodes and to support the show, visit Patreon.com/NextWord.

Follow Shire Reckoning on YouTube, Bluesky and Instagram.

Music by Corvus from Pixabay.

This week, a Q&A special in which we consider the nature of good and evil in a world made by a benevolent God, the tragedy (or not) of Fëanor, and the Ring of the Witch-King of Angmar.

Thanks to Steph, Fergus and Angela for the questions!

Show Notes

• The Prancing Pony Podcast Moot: Call For Papers
• The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship Of The Ring (2026 AMC Event)
• In The Forest Singing Sorrowless (Joy Shannon)

Shire Reckoning is a Next Word production. For bonus episodes and to support the show, visit Patreon.com/NextWord.

Follow @ShireReckoningPod on YouTube, Bluesky and Instagram.

Music by Corvus from Pixabay.  

This week, we reach the Lonely Mountain in Chapter Twelve of J.R.R. Tolkien's The Hobbit, "Inside Information". Is Bilbo a leader now? How do we understand the symbolic and symbiotic connection between the dragon and the horde? Is Bilbo's riddling introduction to Smaug his best moment in the book?

The video version of this session is available by clicking here; the slides are available for download by clicking here.

Show Notes:

• Shire Reckoning Production Schedule
• The History of the Hobbit (John D. Rateliff)
• Exploring J.R.R. Tolkien's The Hobbit (Corey Olsen)

Shire Reckoning is a Next Word production. For bonus episodes and to support the show, visit Patreon.com/NextWord.

Follow Shire Reckoning on YouTube, Bluesky and Instagram.

Music by Corvus from Pixabay.

This week, in an extra-length episode of Shire Reckoning, we dive into the riddle of Tom Bombadil. Who and what is Tom? How do we understand his unique qualities from the text? How does he fit with the cosmology that Tolkien presents to us?

Show Notes

• Peg Wooden Dolls
• And his feet are faster -- Old Tom's Trochees (FR 1.viii.142) (Tom Hillman)
• The Bodley Medal
• Is it a critical mineral or a Tolkien invention? (The Guardian)
• Tolkien Fanfiction Survey
• Imagining 'Britain': Decolonising Tolkien et al
• Lothlórien: Gendered Spaces, Cartographic Nominalism, and Galadriel’s Queerness (Kampmann Walther)
• The Bright Sword and its Sharpness: Swords, Symbolism, and Medievalism in The Lord of the Rings (Gavin S. Davis)
• Gavin the Medievalist (YouTube)
• Close Reading for the Twenty-First Century (Dan Sinykin and Johanna Winant)

Shire Reckoning is a Next Word production. For bonus episodes and to support the show, visit Patreon.com/NextWord.

Follow @ShireReckoningPod on YouTube, Bluesky and Instagram.

Music by Corvus from Pixabay.  

This week, we reach the Lonely Mountain in Chapter Eleven of J.R.R. Tolkien's The Hobbit, "On The Doorstep". How do we understand the Desolation of Smaug? Does Tolkien resolve the conflict between free will and prophecy? What is the function of the back door?

The slides are available for download by clicking here.

Show Notes:

• Shire Reckoning Production Schedule
• The History of the Hobbit (John D. Rateliff)
• Exploring J.R.R. Tolkien's The Hobbit (Corey Olsen)
• The Consolation of Philosophy (Ancius Boethius)

Shire Reckoning is a Next Word production. For bonus episodes and to support the show, visit Patreon.com/NextWord.

Follow Shire Reckoning on YouTube, Bluesky and Instagram.

Music by Corvus from Pixabay.

This week, we consider the textual history of Tolkien's Legendarium, from the stories told in the Cottage of Lost Play to the Red Book of Westmarch. How does Tolkien's framing of his work shift from myth to history? What are the benefits of this careful chain of texts? What are the other accounts that we wish we could read?

Thanks to Suzanne for the question!

Show Notes

• The Book Of Lost Tales, Part One and Part Two
• J.R.R. Tolkien and Dorothy L. Sayers (From The Heart Of Europe)
• Creating Imaginary Languages: An Enduring Form of Artistry (Dmitra Fimi)
• Ursula K Le Guin’s maps of imaginary worlds are charted in a new exhibition (Wallpaper)
• ‘Cosy and comforting’: why The Fellowship of the Ring is my feelgood movie (The Guardian)

Shire Reckoning is a Next Word production. For bonus episodes and to support the show, visit Patreon.com/NextWord.

Follow @ShireReckoningPod on YouTube, Bluesky and Instagram.

Music by Corvus from Pixabay.  

This week, we finally meet some Men in chapter ten of J.R.R. Tolkien's The Hobbit, "A Warm Welcome". How does the book suggest the history of Esgaroth? How is the Master of Lake-town contrasted with Good Tolkienian Kings? What is the effect of prophecy, and how does it interact with free will?

You can see the video version of this podcast here, and the slides are available for download by clicking here.

Show Notes:

• Shire Reckoning Production Schedule
• The History of the Hobbit (John D. Rateliff)
• Exploring J.R.R. Tolkien's The Hobbit (Corey Olsen)

Shire Reckoning is a Next Word production. For bonus episodes and to support the show, visit Patreon.com/NextWord.

Follow Shire Reckoning on YouTube, Bluesky and Instagram.

Music by Corvus from Pixabay.

This week, we break format a little bit to talk about the (actually pretty good) first season of The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power. What struggles does the show face on a conceptual level? How do the various plot threads and timelines work together, and with Tolkien's original stories? What is the difference between an intriguing mystery box, and lying to the audience?

Show Notes

• The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power
• Game of Thrones
• Lost
• Westworld
• Mr. Robot
• Watchmen

Shire Reckoning is a Next Word production. For bonus episodes and to support the show, visit Patreon.com/NextWord.

Follow @ShireReckoningPod on YouTube, Bluesky and Instagram.

Music by Corvus from Pixabay.  

This week, the halls of the Elven King in chapter nine of J.R.R. Tolkien's The Hobbit, "Barrels Out Of Bond". Is this the moment that The Hobbit becomes a fantasy novel? How does Bilbo's luck relate to eucatastrophe? Do these elves really seem like elves?

You can see the video version of this podcast here, and the slides are available for download by clicking here.

Show Notes:

• Shire Reckoning Production Schedule
• The History of the Hobbit (John D. Rateliff)
• A Map of Middle-earth (Pauline Baynes)
• Exploring J.R.R. Tolkien's The Hobbit (Corey Olsen)
• The Atlas of Middle-earth (Karen Wyn Fonstad)

Shire Reckoning is a Next Word production. For bonus episodes and to support the show, visit Patreon.com/NextWord.

Follow Shire Reckoning on YouTube, Bluesky and Instagram.

Music by Corvus from Pixabay.