Join the Tolkien fandom and community — along with The Man of the West and The Lord of the Mark — for the PPP’s 10th annual Tolkien Reading Day, observed every March 25 in honor of the destruction of the Ring and the downfall of Barad-dûr. This year’s theme, as chosen by the Tolkien Society, is Fellowship and Community — and not only do we have some incredible readings that showcase this year’s them, the PPP is demonstrating its own fellowship by bringing in each of the co-hosts from the last two seasons! Matt stops the story of Beleg where it ought to have ended, Don sings a bath song, James prepares to say goodbye to Rivendell, Sara leaves the Quenya for Alan, and Shawn makes Alan feel at home.

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The Man of the West bids farewell to The Nerd of the Rings, as they welcome everyone’s favorite ancient and military historian back to the PPP: Dr. Bret Devereaux, author of A Collection of Unmitigated Pedantry returns to answer an absurd number of questions that Alan and Matt have come up with from their last ten episodes. We get our 40k references out of the way early, discover Bret doesn’t read Old Norse, get an expert explanation of weregild, and have our eyes opened to Helm Hammerhand’s missteps. We also discuss peace through Black Death, wonder what the Quenya would be for “It’s all yours, buddy”, and lament the fact that the tales, they are so unfinished. Also, the emperor’s name is spelled Pupienus, just to be clear.

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The Marshals of the Mark faithfully serve the King by leading their trained Riders in battle; Matt faithfully serves Alan by… well, we’re still figuring that one out. Join The Man of the West and The Nerd of the Rings as they dive into the inner workings of Rohan’s command structure in our final episode on The Battles of the Fords of Isen from Unfinished Tales. Turns out Théoden was pretty young as far as Kings of Rohan go, Éomer gets all the duties of a job without its title, and it turns out keeping the key to a fortress hundreds of miles away doesn’t work out so well. We spend more time with French than we’re comfortable with, issue extra pedantry points, and speculate about all the terrible things that would have happened had Gandalf stayed dead. Also, Alan alarmingly (and annoyingly) alliterates again.

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Erkenbrand takes command of the West-mark after the death of Théodred; Matt makes it clear that, in the event of Alan’s death, he wants no such responsibility. Join us as there is a coincidence of calendars in our second episode on The Battles of the Fords of Isen from Unfinished Tales. Grimbold stands firm by the Fords, Elfhelm is the Admiral Ackbar of Rohan, and none of it really matters because quantity has a quality all its own. Matt breaks out his best Ent voice, we lament the adaptation fates of Erkenbrand, Tom Bombadil, and Glorfindel, and agree it would be a nice day for a white wizard. Also, in Bilbo’s next book, he interviews Fingolfin on challenging Morgoth: “I’ve had better days.” Finally, here’s the link we promised for Tom Shippey’s talk: https://www.swarthmore.edu/news-events/tolkien-book-to-jackson-script-medium-and-message

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The Rohirrim are loyal to Théoden, even in his dotage; Matt’s loyalty to Alan is in doubt. Join us as Saruman begins his assault on Rohan with a strategic faux pas in the first of three episodes covering The Battles of the Fords of Isen from Unfinished Tales. Wormtongue pits brother against brother, Théodred proves to be the Faramir of Rohan, and Grimbold and Elfhelm save what’s left of a very bad day. We ask when a brother is like a father, wonder where Éomer was when the Fords fell, and explain unfortunate sports analogies. Also, Alan changes his mind: will wonders never cease?

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Isildur counsels his successors to bring their heirs to the Hill of Awe to reveal the secrets of the realm; Alan and Matt wonder if there’s a Gondorian equivalent to Area 51. Join us as we step back in time to the establishment of the Tradition of Isildur in our final episode on Cirion & Eorl. Isildur gets out a map and points to the middle (like putting a memorial to George Washington in the middle of Kansas), the Stewards play rules-lawyer to justify their going to the hallow and then hardly ever go, and Cirion makes a tough decision about exhumation. We discover that Tolkien thinks he’d squandered his best “motifs and characters” in The Hobbit, discover that an absence of dead people means an absence of alfirin, and suggest that you talk to your doctor to see if Meneldil is right for you. Also, a Barrow-wight that sounds a little like Tom Bombadil.

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The Steward of Gondor and the Lord of the Éothéod swear oaths to one another; Alan and Matt simply try not to swear at one another. Join us as Eorl knows it’s time to ‘show the way and leave today’ in the fifth of our six episodes covering Cirion & Eorl. The Prince of Dol Amroth discovers the reason for the awe on the Hill of Awe, Eorl swears such an oath that we can only ever know the translation, and Cirion returns the favor by invoking the name of Eru for the first time in 2500 years. We wonder if Eorl’s oath was in alliterative verse, speculate about when to celebrate Rohan Day, and agree that Cirion is highly underrated. Also, let’s make Christmas carols in Quenya a thing.

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Come on, you had to know it was coming. Everyone wonders how Cirion will reward Eorl; nobody wonders how Alan will reward Matt. Join us as Cirion and Eorl rise above the noise and confusion atop the Halifirien in our fourth of six episode covering Cirion & Eorl. Tolkien keeps hyping up the secret on top of the mountain, Cirion gives an amazing gift (but, like most men, leaves it unwrapped), and Eorl offers to seal their friendship with an unforgettable oath. We compare the Hill of Awe to the Hill of Awwwww, decide that the Éothéod deserve at least a pizza party, and visit with Trotter from Tolkien Collector’s Guide about a fancy book. Also, Matt’s search for Bigfoot.

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Cirion uses his Phone-a-Friend lifeline and, fortunately, Eorl picks up; Alan uses his Phone-a-friend lifeline and… Matt picks up. Join us as Cirion sees that the end of Gondor is “closer than you think and you’re standing on the brink” in our third of six episodes on Cirion & Eorl. The Northmen contribute blood to Gondor, Borondir becomes a legend, and Galadriel runs interference for the good guys. We long to hear the unwritten songs, admire how Tolkien’s heroes do the right thing because it’s the right thing, and think that Ruckus in Rhovanion would be a great name for a fight. Also, hobbit strike zones and the new paladin ability: smell evil.

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Ondoher learns that battlefield intelligence is crucial to survival; Alan and Matt learn that bad dad jokes are crucial to this podcast. Join us as King Ondoher closes his eyes, only for a moment, and the moment’s gone, in our second of six episodes on Cirion & Eorl. The Gondorian army remains in column formation too long, the vanguard of the Wainriders does their job almost too well, and an unexpected guest shows up to the battle. We do more word-nerdery, hope nothing happens to Faramir (oops), and offer to beta test Total War: Middle-earth. Also, we mock Eärnur again.

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