The Tolkien Lore Podcast

By Joshua ScottArts

The Tolkien Lore Podcast episodes

February 06, 2023 Beyond Subcreation: Tolkien’s Emphasis on Child-Bearing in Middle-Earth
One of Tolkien’s key themes throughout his work is subcreation, the idea that as beings created by a creator God, we (or his invented elves and other races) are also by nature creative. But there are many hints that the pinnacle of this impulse is actually the simple act of bringing new life into the world.
For my video on subcreation as developed in “On Fairy Stories,” click here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PnMG5HhKK50
For my video on subcreation as a theme in Tolkien’s stories, click here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HOpbrkRe3QY
Other Links:
Utreon: https://utreon.com/c/TolkienLorePodcast/
Rumble at https://rumble.com/c/c-355195
Odysee: https://odysee.com/@TolkienLore:f
Twitter: https://twitter.com/jrrtlore
Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/tolkiengeek
Discord server invite link: https://discord.gg/EVKynAj2m9 (If link is expired contact me at [email protected]and I’ll send a fresh invite link).
22 min
February 02, 2023 Thursday Tolkien Thoughts: The Continent of Aman as the Americas
As a young reader my brain quite naturally correlated Aman, west of Middle-earth (Europe) with America, though I was aware that was not really Tolkien’s intent. Imagine my surprise to find out he almost went there himself….
Other Links:
Utreon: https://utreon.com/c/TolkienLorePodcast/
Rumble at https://rumble.com/c/c-355195
Odysee: https://odysee.com/@TolkienLore:f
Twitter: https://twitter.com/jrrtlore
Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/tolkiengeek
Discord server invite link: https://discord.gg/EVKynAj2m9 (If link is expired contact me at [email protected]and I’ll send a fresh invite link).
7 min
January 30, 2023 Lord of the Rings Book vs. Movie: King Theoden of Rohan
The contrast between book Theoden and movie Theoden could hardly be more striking. Some of that is related to some plot changes introduced in the movie, but those don’t justify movie Theoden’s whiny attitude and complete lack of sense.
Other Links:
Utreon: https://utreon.com/c/TolkienLorePodcast/
Rumble at https://rumble.com/c/c-355195
Odysee: https://odysee.com/@TolkienLore:f
Twitter: https://twitter.com/jrrtlore
Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/tolkiengeek
Discord server invite link: https://discord.gg/EVKynAj2m9 (If link is expired contact me at [email protected]and I’ll send a fresh invite link).
37 min
January 26, 2023 Thursday Tolkien Thoughts: What Does the White Flag of the Stewards of Gondor Signify?
The Ruling Stewards of Gondor declined to use the standard of the kings and instead used a simple white flag. What’s the significance of this choice? Whatever it means, it definitely isn’t surrender.
Other Links:
Utreon: https://utreon.com/c/TolkienLorePodcast/
Rumble at https://rumble.com/c/c-355195
Odysee: https://odysee.com/@TolkienLore:f
Twitter: https://twitter.com/jrrtlore
Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/tolkiengeek
Discord server invite link: https://discord.gg/EVKynAj2m9 (If link is expired contact me at [email protected]and I’ll send a fresh invite link).
6 min
January 23, 2023 “One of the Seven”: The Worst Tolkien Fan Film Made to Date?
Someone alerted me to the existence of yet another fan film called “One of the Seven,” which naturally enough tells a story about one of the seven rings given to the Dwarves. But is that really what it’s about? Or is it just an excuse to drop Easter eggs?
If you want to watch the film yourself, it's here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ljrq687h2tg
Other Links:
Utreon: https://utreon.com/c/TolkienLorePodcast/
Rumble at https://rumble.com/c/c-355195
Odysee: https://odysee.com/@TolkienLore:f
Twitter: https://twitter.com/jrrtlore
Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/tolkiengeek
Discord server invite link: https://discord.gg/EVKynAj2m9 (If link is expired contact me at [email protected]and I’ll send a fresh invite link).
21 min
January 19, 2023 Thursday Tolkien Thoughts: Ents and Tolkien’s Recycling of Old Ideas
A viewer asked about how Tolkien came up with Ents, and it’s actually a great example of one of his most-used creative tools.
Other Links:
Utreon: https://utreon.com/c/TolkienLorePodcast/
Rumble at https://rumble.com/c/c-355195
Odysee: https://odysee.com/@TolkienLore:f
Twitter: https://twitter.com/jrrtlore
Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/tolkiengeek
Discord server invite link: https://discord.gg/EVKynAj2m9 (If link is expired contact me at [email protected]and I’ll send a fresh invite link).
10 min
January 16, 2023 The Drowning of Numenor and the Goodness of Eru Iluvatar: Theodicy in Middle-Earth
A viewer commented on the channel and asked a rather interesting question about how we can reconcile Eru Iluvatar’s essential goodness with the fact that he sank the entire island of Numenor and killed untold numbers of its inhabitants. While I don’t intend to make a huge argument for theodicy (the defense of God as good in spite of things which might seem to contradict that), I do think I can point to some things which would at least help answer the question while staying true the Tolkien focus of the channel.
My video on The Lost Road is here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dYQ2ft3r8iA
Other Links:
Utreon: https://utreon.com/c/TolkienLorePodcast/
Rumble at https://rumble.com/c/c-355195
Odysee: https://odysee.com/@TolkienLore:f
Twitter: https://twitter.com/jrrtlore
Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/tolkiengeek
Discord server invite link: https://discord.gg/EVKynAj2m9 (If link is expired contact me at [email protected]and I’ll send a fresh invite link).
37 min
January 12, 2023 Thursday Tolkien Thoughts: Bilbo and Frodo as JRR and Christopher Tolkien
Tolkien rather famously based Luthien off of his wife, but there’s a subtle way in which he also inserted himself and Christopher Tolkien into The Lord of the Rings as the collaborative authors, Bilbo and Frodo.
Other Links:
Utreon: https://utreon.com/c/TolkienLorePodcast/
Rumble at https://rumble.com/c/c-355195
Odysee: https://odysee.com/@TolkienLore:f
Twitter: https://twitter.com/jrrtlore
Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/tolkiengeek
Discord server invite link: https://discord.gg/EVKynAj2m9 (If link is expired contact me at [email protected]and I’ll send a fresh invite link).
9 min
January 09, 2023 The Speech of Gurthang to Turin: Magic Sword or Insane Hallucination?
Suggested by a Discord member (join my Discord using the link below!), I discuss whether Gurthang speaking to Turin is actually a case of a magic, talking sword, or merely the hallucinations of a man whose mind has been broken by the tragedies of his own life.
For other interesting ambiguities in Turin’s story, check out my video on the curse of Morgoth: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lROuU1RPDpU
GirlNextGondor also has a great video on the same topic: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ju6KqQvsM9k
Other Links:
Utreon: https://utreon.com/c/TolkienLorePodcast/
Rumble at https://rumble.com/c/c-355195
Odysee: https://odysee.com/@TolkienLore:f
Twitter: https://twitter.com/jrrtlore
Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/tolkiengeek
Discord server invite link: https://discord.gg/EVKynAj2m9 (If link is expired contact me at [email protected]and I’ll send a fresh invite link).
43 min
January 05, 2023 Thursday Tolkien Thoughts: Why Is There No “5 Rings” in the Ring Poem?
When first encountering the Ring Poem, which lists groups of 9, 7, 3, and 1 rings, we might be tempted to wonder why there isn’t a group of 5, and what race they might have been made for, but this is based on a simple misconception regarding the making of the Rings of Power.
Other Links:
Utreon: https://utreon.com/c/TolkienLorePodcast/
Rumble at https://rumble.com/c/c-355195
Odysee: https://odysee.com/@TolkienLore:f
Twitter: https://twitter.com/jrrtlore
Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/tolkiengeek
Discord server invite link: https://discord.gg/EVKynAj2m9 (If link is expired contact me at [email protected]and I’ll send a fresh invite link).
8 min