Welcome to Episode Eleven in our Tolkien's Greatest Characters series. 

Today's conversation features Brenton Dickieson. Brenton is a returning guest and a great friend. In this episode, we discuss the beloved and heroic Samwise Gamgee.

Brenton is a father, husband, friend, university lecturer, and freelance writer from Prince Edward Island, Canada. You can follow him on X, @BrentonDana:

https://x.com/BrentonDana

As the author of more than 1,100 articles, blog posts, and reviews, Brenton has worked as a freelance author, columnist, and policy writer for Canadian magazines and the government of Prince Edward Island. As a theologian of literature, Brenton writes the popular website, A Pilgrim in Narnia, which explores the intersections of faith, fantasy, and fiction.

With more than 1.1 million website hits and a yearly readership now exceeding 200,000, more than 8,000 social media followers, and significant networks within the scholarly and readerly worlds of C.S. Lewis and the Inklings, Brenton has a powerful platform for considering the literary, spiritual, and theological interest of some of our most famous world-builders, including C.S. Lewis, J.R.R. Tolkien, L.M. Montgomery, and others.

https://apilgriminnarnia.com/about/

Welcome to Episode Ten in our Tolkien's Greatest Characters Series. 

Joining me today is Taylor Crandall. Taylor is a thoughtful and insightful Tolkien aficionado, and she brings a clearly illuminated perspective to the character Eärendil, the half-Elven mariner depicted in The Silmarillion.  We hope you enjoy this engaging discussion on the life and adventures, the meaning and the magnificence of the "Star of Middle-Earth."

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📲 Connect with Derek Holser:

🐦 Twitter / X: https://X.com/derekholser

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📚 New Book! Lightgliders ➡ Grab it on Amazon: https://tinyurl.com/6m58wjmy

Welcome to Episode Nine of Tolkien's Greatest Characters. 

Joining me for today's fabulous conversation on the shieldmaiden of Rohan, the ever-inspiring Éowyn, is Holly Ordway. Among the many riveting aspects of this discussion, Holly provides meaningful insight about Tolkien's deft nuance in character development and his accurate yet noble portrayal of the human condition. We also discuss Éowyn's heroic moments (seen and unseen) and Éowyn's love for Aragorn and ultimately, her love for Faramir. 

Holly Ordway is the Cardinal Francis George Professor of Faith and Culture at the Word on Fire Institute, and Visiting Professor of Apologetics at Houston Christian University. She holds a PhD in English from the University of Massachusetts Amherst and is a subject editor for the Journal of Inklings Studies. 

Holly is the author of the award-winning Tolkien's Modern Reading: Middle-earth Beyond the Middle Ages, and her book Tolkien's Faith: A Spiritual Biography was released in 2023, the year that marked the 50th anniversary of Tolkien's death.

Check out that book here: https://tinyurl.com/eh4d6wy3

To learn more about Holly: https://hollyordway.com/

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📲 Connect with Derek Holser:

🐦 Twitter / X: https://X.com/derekholser

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📚 New Book! Lightgliders ➡ Grab it on Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Tambika-Shield-Wisdom-Lightglider-Origins/dp/1645075486

Welcome to Episode Eight in our Tolkien's Greatest Characters Series. 

Today's episode features Eugene Terekhin. Eugene is a philologist, philosopher, translator, as well as the author of Elven Hidden Gems and the Works of the Inklings, The Music of Illuvatar in the Worlds of J.R.R. Tolkien, C.S. Lewis, and Owen Barfield.

Check out Eugene's Substack: https://substack.com/@eugeneterekhin

Eugene and I discuss Treebeard and the life of the Ents, fascinating creatures and symbols in the work of Tolkien's sub-creation of Middle-earth. As always, Eugene displays his winsome wit and well-earned wisdom. I know you're going to love this conversation; feel free to forward it to friends!

Welcome to our Halloween interlude, as we take a one-episode hiatus from our Tolkien's Greatest Characters series. I was recently in Nashville and took the opportunity to record with the incomparable Jordan Daniel Wood. 

In this episode, Jordan and I discuss George MacDonald's essay "The Imagination: Its Function and Culture," explore the meaning and magic of wearing masks, and the nature of identity and reality — and, as always, we add a dash of hope and a bit of Maximus. 

Jordan Daniel Wood is Assistant Professor of Theology at Belmont University. He holds an M.A. from St. Louis University and a Ph.D. from Boston College, both in Historical Theology. His interests range from Greek patristic theology to modern philosophy, especially Idealism. He is married to Alexis, a registered nurse, with whom he has four wonderful daughters. 

Jordan is the author of the much-acclaimed The Whole Mystery of Christ: Creation as Incarnation in Maximus Confessor, available here: https://tinyurl.com/3k8xshj5 

Jordan also posts regularly on his Substack, "Words in Flesh"

https://jordandanielwood.substack.com/

https://www.amazon.com/Tambika-Shield-Wisdom-Lightglider-Origins/dp/1645075486

Welcome to Episode Seven in our Tolkien's Greatest Characters series. Today's conversation is enlightening and uplifting, a discussion of the whimsical and winsome Tom Bombadil. 

Joining me today is Brian Zahnd. Brian is the founding pastor of Word of Life Church  in St. Joseph, Missouri. He is the author of twelve books; most recently the forthcoming "Unseen Existences: Of Heaven, Earth, and the Divine Mystery in All Things".

https://substack.com/@brianzahnd

Welcome to Episode Six in our Tolkien's Greatest Characters Series. Today's conversation is an inspired yearning for the true nobility within it us all. Today's conversation features the king-to-be, Aragorn.

Today's guest is Robert Hulett. Robert is a former student of mine and a long-time friend. He and his wife Jessica have three children and re in the throes of the typical myteries and meanderings of young parents. 

Robert is a writer, an astute judge of cultural dynamics, and is a passionate defender of the pursuit of a godly life. He seeks to emulate Aragorn and believes that the example held out for us all in the character of the king-to-be provides humanity with a glimpse of our potential. 

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📲 Connect with Derek Holser:

🐦 Twitter / X: https://X.com/derekholser

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📚 New Book! Lightgliders ➡ Grab it on Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Tambika-Shield-Wisdom-Lightglider-Origins/dp/1645075486/ref=sr_1_1?crid=1OIRH7724MLSI&dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.1LykaLPN_bJOY9iKTBBd4w.OQhIet5VaMC5HXCQlUnEDu0SVNhOnRyROyBhz6sKHqY&dib_tag=se&keywords=tambika+shield+wisdom&qid=1760676103&sprefix=tambika+%2Caps%2C241&sr=8-1

Welcome to Episode Five in our Tolkien's Greatest Characters Series. Today's conversation is a wide-ranging one, featuring the hobbit prince, Pippin. 

Today's guest is Bradley J. Birzer. Brad is the Russell Amos Kirk Chair in American Studies and Professor of History, Hillsdale College. He loves his family, his college, western civilization, American history, the American west, biography, photography, and progressive rock music. 

In addition to Pippin, Bradley and I discuss American history, western civilization, heroic deeds, and the marvel of Tolkien's universe. 

Brad publishes at Substack: https://substack.com/@bradleyjbirzer

He is the author of two Tolkien-related books: 

J.R.R. Tolkien's Sanctifying Myth: Understanding Middle Earth

https://tinyurl.com/4wu6crmy

Tolkien and the Inklings: Men of the West

https://tinyurl.com/dsatzyy4

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📲 Connect with Derek Holser:

🐦 Twitter / X: https://X.com/derekholser

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📸 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/theplungewithderekholser/

📘 Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/derekholser

📚 New Book! Lightgliders ➡ Grab it on Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Tambika-Shield-Wisdom-Lightglider-Origins/dp/1645075486

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Welcome to Episode Four of Tolkien's Greatest Characters.

This week's episode is an insightful presentation of The Sea Bell, or Frodo's Dreame, the poem by J.R.R. Tolkien. 

Today's guest is Bret van den Brink. Bret is a PhD student at the University of Toronto, where he also earned his MA. He earned his BA, with Honors, at Trinity Western, Vancouver. Bret is a poet & lover of poetry from Spenser to Stevens. 

To learn more and read some of Bret's writings: https://linktr.ee/bretv

Follow Bret on X: https://x.com/BretVDB

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📲 Connect with Derek Holser:

🐦 Twitter / X: https://X.com/derekholser

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📸 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/theplungewithderekholser/

📘 Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/derekholser

📚 New Book! Lightgliders ➡ Grab it on Amazon: https://a.co/d/bDvRc0Y

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Welcome to Episode Three of Tolkien's Greatest Characters. 

This week's episode is a lively conversation about Bilbo Baggins, the meaning and nature of place, and the opportunity for everyone to determine where their story ends. We touch on the Shire, the Ring, and Bilbo's journey There and Back Again!

Today's guest is Thalia Toha. Thalia is an architectural historian, geographer, and preservationist. She believes that everyone should be able to choose how their story ends, regardless of where they're placed in life. Her interest in studying hidden ways in which places impact people's story arcs led her from Princeton University to restoring 15,000 square foot town halls, to advising the development of food halls, to serving as a geography exhibit designer in Lafayette Museum. 

Thalia's insights have been featured on Architectural Digest, SELF magazine, and Homes & Gardens. When she's not busy with her interdisciplinary work, you can find her writing about the philosophy of places on:

https://storyarks.substack.com/about

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📲 Connect with Derek Holser:

🐦 Twitter / X: https://X.com/derekholser

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📸 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/theplungewithderekholser/

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📚 New Book! Lightgliders ➡ Grab it on Amazon: https://a.co/d/bDvRc0Y