In which co-hosts Kenny and Sam discuss Tolkien's 1939 essay "On Fairy Stories." Part 2 of 2.

Primary sources:

On Fairy Stories (PDF) | The Lord of the Rings | The Letters of J.R.R. Tolkien

Secondary sources:

Carpenter - J.R.R. Tolkien: A Biography

Le Guin - The Dispossessed

For discussion of "Man and the Machine" in Tolkien's work: Hren - Middle-earth and the Return of the Common Good

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In which co-hosts Kenny and Sam discuss Tolkien's 1939 essay "On Fairy Stories." Part 1 of 2.

Primary sources:

On Fairy Stories (PDF) | The Lord of the Rings | The Letters of J.R.R. Tolkien

Secondary sources:

Carpenter - J.R.R. Tolkien: A Biography

For discussion of Tolkien and race/culture: Mills - The Wretched of Middle-Earth: An Orkish Manifesto

For discussion of Tolkien's arguments with Christopher Wiseman: Garth - Tolkien and the Great War: The Threshold of Middle-Earth

For discussion of "Man and the Machine" in Tolkien's work: Hren - Middle-earth and the Return of the Common Good

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In which co-hosts Kenny and Sam discuss Tolkien's experience fighting in World War I and the ways it informed his worldview.

Primary sources:

The Lord of the Rings | The Silmarillion | The Letters of J.R.R. Tolkien | The Fall of Gondolin

Secondary sources:

Garth - Tolkien and the Great War: The Threshold of Middle-Earth

Garth - The Worlds of J.R.R. Tolkien: The Places That Inspired Middle-Earth

Carpenter - J.R.R. Tolkien: A Biography

Loconte (for NYTimes) - How J.R.R. Tolkien Found Mordor on the Western Front

Collins (for The Collector) - Lewis, Hemingway, & Tolkien: Three Authors of the Great War

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In which co-hosts Kenny and Sam discuss chapters seven and eight of the Quenta Silmarillion, including Feanor's creation of the Silmarils, Melkor's first plot to steal the Silmarils, Feanor's exile from Valmar, and Melkor's destruction of the Trees.

Primary sources:

The Silmarillion | The Lord of the Rings | The Letters of J.R.R. Tolkien

Secondary sources:

Carpenter - J.R.R. Tolkien: A Biography

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In which co-hosts Kenny and Sam continue their discussion of a posthumously published essay by Charles W. Mills on the subject of race and racism in Lord of the Rings. Part 2 of 2.

Primary sources:

The Lord of the Rings | The Silmarillion | The Letters of J.R.R. Tolkien

Secondary sources:

Mills - The Wretched of Middle-Earth: An Orkish Manifesto | Carpenter - J.R.R. Tolkien: A Biography

Further reading:

Mills - The Racial Contract

Jamelle Bouie for NY Times - obituary for Mills

Jared Anthony Loggins for Dissent - obituary for Mills

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In which co-hosts Kenny and Sam discuss a posthumously published essay by Charles W. Mills on the subject of race and racism in Lord of the Rings. Part 1 of 2.

Primary sources:

The Lord of the Rings | The Silmarillion | The Letters of J.R.R. Tolkien

Secondary sources:

Mills - The Wretched of Middle-Earth: An Orkish Manifesto | Carpenter - J.R.R. Tolkien: A Biography

Further reading:

Mills - The Racial Contract

Jamelle Bouie for NY Times - obituary for Mills

Jared Anthony Loggins for Dissent - obituary for Mills

Ian Frazier for The New Yorker - on the debate between Du Bois and Stoddard

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In which co-hosts Kenny and Sam discuss chapters three, four, and five of The Silmarillion, including the origin story of the Elves.

Primary sources:

The Silmarillion | The Lord of the Rings | The Letters of J.R.R. Tolkien

Secondary sources:

Carpenter - J.R.R. Tolkien: A Biography

Mentioned in this episode:

A helpful diagram of the Elven "family tree" | Price - Children of Ash and Elm

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In which co-hosts Kenny and Sam discuss chapters one and two of the Quenta Silmarillion, including the creation of the Trees and the origins of the dwarves.

Primary sources:

The Silmarillion | The Lord of the Rings | The Letters of J.R.R. Tolkien

Secondary sources:

Carpenter - J.R.R. Tolkien: A Biography

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In which co-hosts Kenny and Sam discuss leftist interpretations of Tolkien's work, and take some detours along the way.

Primary sources:

The Hobbit | The Lord of the Rings | The Silmarillion | Unfinished Tales of Numenor and Middle-earth | The Letters of J.R.R. Tolkien

Secondary sources:

Landa - Slaves of the Ring: Tolkien's Political Unconscious

Curry - Defending Middle-Earth: Tolkien: Myth and Modernity

Jameson - The Political Unconscious: Narrative As A Socially Symbolic Act

Carpenter - J.R.R. Tolkien: A Biography

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In which co-hosts Kenny and Sam discuss the Valaquenta, our formal introduction to the Valar and the Maiar.

Primary sources:

The Silmarillion | The Lord of the Rings | The Letters of J.R.R. Tolkien

Secondary sources:

Carpenter - J.R.R. Tolkien: A Biography

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.