Nick sits down with Mercury Natis (he/they, they/them) to talk about their Tolkien experiences, queer theory, and their work in Tolkien Studies - oh, and punk rock Orcs! \m/ Mercury s an interdisciplinary doctoral researcher in English Literature and History at the University of Glasgow, researching the queer historical contexts of Tolkien’s early life and how these influenced his works. They hold a previous MA in Museum Education and a BA in Art History, and draw on the methodologies of both disciplines for their literary-historical practice. Their primary focus is on queer ambiguity in the fantastic prior to the 1960s identity politics boom, with special interests in camp aesthetics and performativity, the crossing of gender and sexuality taboos in the fantastic, the cultural environment of the first world war, and interdisciplinary art-historical criticism. They would also really like to be Bilbo Baggins when they grow old.

Find them and their work at these places:

Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/mercuryreads.bsky.social

Substack: https://substack.com/@anditsfolkarequeerer

Academic Work:

Sauron’s Femme Fatale Sources and Their Role in the Númenor Narrative: https://youtu.be/dqkMj3PL3oA?si=OBGjfNUODEyMJ470

Baruk Khazâd! Antisemitism, Jewish Joy, and Dwarven Contexts: https://youtu.be/o7uJgil1vD8?si=B__c8NGBILHEmjSJ

GIFCon: https://fantasy.glasgow.ac.uk/index.php/2025/12/15/gifcon-2026-the-technologies-of-the-fantastic-call-for-papers/

Get full access to Tolkien Pop! at tolkienpop.substack.com/subscribe

Happy New Year, Tolkien Poppers!

I hope that you have been conquering your resolutions and easing back into a sense of normality.

To curb the adjustment, I give to you an interview with Kaitlyn Facista of Tea with Tolkien! We talk about her upcoming book Into the Heart of the Middle-earth: Exploring Faith and Fellowship in J. R. R. Tolkien’s The Lord of the Rings, which releases on February 20th!

Along with some insights into her book, Kaitlyn gives us the 411 into her own Tolkien journey, how she created Tea with Tolkien, and some of her spiritual Tolkien takes. If you are deeply connected to The Lord of the Rings, whether your spiritual, religious, or none of the above, then you will enjoy this book and this conversation.

Follow Kaitlyn at all these places:

Facebook: Tea with Tolkien

Instagram: @teawithtolkien

Discord: https://www.teawithtolkien.com/discord

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@teawithtolkien

He’s collaborated with (Re)thinking Faith and has an amazing line of art and original designs that have a pop culture and philosophy vibe that I freaking love. You can see how he really captured my love for punk and Tolkien with his style. So, if you want to supportTolkien Pop! or Tillich Today, go get yourself some merch!

My book Tolkien and Pop Culture: Volume I is now available! This book is a selection of my Substack posts from the past couple of years, cleaned up, and formatted for publication. For the first time, you can get all these essays in print or in your Kindle library. It’ll look great on your shelf and be available for your own Tolkien purposes! Use the QR code, the link, or direct message me to order your copy: https://a.co/d/eBE7jiH

Get full access to Tolkien Pop! at tolkienpop.substack.com/subscribe

Happy Holidays and Happy New Year, Tolkien Poppers!

Today’s episode is an audio version of an essay I wrote for The Tolkien Society’s journal Mallorn entitled “Middle-earth in South Park: ‘The Return of the Fellowship of the Ring to the Two Towers’ as Parody.”

Stay tuned for some exciting Tolkien guests in the New Year. I hope that your Yuletide is filled with plenty of Hobbit-sized meals and equal parts quality time with your friends and family.

Peace!

My friend Tillich Today designed some graphics and merch for Tolkien Pop! and you can get a shirt and/or a sticker from his website! https://byte-geist-shop.fourthwall.com/products/tolkien-pop

He’s collaborated with (Re)thinking Faith and has an amazing line of art and original designs that have a pop culture and philosophy vibe that I freaking love. You can see how he really captured my love for punk and Tolkien with his style. So, if you want to supportTolkien Pop! or Tillich Today, go get yourself some merch!

My book Tolkien and Pop Culture: Volume I is now available! This book is a selection of my Substack posts from the past couple of years, cleaned up, and formatted for publication. For the first time, you can get all these essays in print or in your Kindle library. It’ll look great on your shelf and be available for your own Tolkien purposes! Use the QR code, the link, or direct message me to order your copy: https://a.co/d/eBE7jiH

Get full access to Tolkien Pop! at tolkienpop.substack.com/subscribe

In this crosspost episode, Dr. Craig Boyd gave a live lecture and Q&A for the Process This Substack and Homebrewed Christianity. You can watch the full video conversation on Homebrewed’s YouTube channel:

Craig gives listeners resources to debunk and combat the alt-right’s claim of Tolkien utilizing…get ready for it…Tolkien. After Craig’s lecture on Tolkien’s dislike for power-hungry characters and comparing Trump to Saruman, Tripp Fuller curated questions from viewers and we shared in asking some questions pertaining to Tolkien’s views on power and evil and how he and his writings can help us today.

My friend Tillich Today designed some graphics and merch for Tolkien Pop! and you can get a shirt and/or a sticker from his website! https://byte-geist-shop.fourthwall.com/products/tolkien-pop

He’s collaborated with (Re)thinking Faith and has an amazing line of art and original designs that have a pop culture and philosophy vibe that I freaking love. You can see how he really captured my love for punk and Tolkien with his style. So, if you want to supportTolkien Pop! or Tillich Today, go get yourself some merch!

My book Tolkien and Pop Culture: Volume I is now available! This book is a selection of my Substack posts from the past couple of years, cleaned up, and formatted for publication. For the first time, you can get all these essays in print or in your Kindle library. It’ll look great on your shelf and be available for your own Tolkien purposes! Use the QR code, the link, or direct message me to order your copy: https://a.co/d/eBE7jiH

Get full access to Tolkien Pop! at tolkienpop.substack.com/subscribe

In this episode of the podcast, Nick sits down with Crystal, the founder and owner of Literary Flour, a business that brings together literature and baking.

Crystal has done some pop-ups in my local area with Tolkien-inspired treats and I knew I had to invite her to the pod.

With the holidays coming up, this conversation will likely induce the desire for sweets and purchasing more books for your already-packed bookshelves. We talk Tolkien and how her passion for literature became a catalyst for her starting her own business.

You can see what Crystal is up to online and where she’ll be making her literary baked available next:

Instagram: @literaryflour

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/literaryflour/

Website: https://www.literaryflour.com/

Get full access to Tolkien Pop! at tolkienpop.substack.com/subscribe

In this episode, Nick sits down with Hannah Polk (his sister!) to discuss the horror influence of Peter Jackson, his use of horror in The Lord of the Rings films, and how horror is essential for telling Tolkien’s epic.

Hannah is a horror super fan and hosts the podcast Beware the Moon, where she reviews horror movies and other media:

She also writes shorts stories and other creative writing on her Substack, also entitled Beware the Moon

You can also follow her on YouTube and Rumble: https://youtube.com/@bewarethemoonpodcast4377?si=M5YWt_YXYQeQchOc

https://rumble.com/c/BewaretheMoonPodcast

Follow Nick on:

Instagram: @njspolk

Threads: @njspolk

Facebook: Tolkien Pop!

Bluesky: @tolkienpop.substack.com

Pick up your copy of Nick’s book Tolkien and Pop Culture here: https://a.co/d/39E9dZs

Get full access to Tolkien Pop! at tolkienpop.substack.com/subscribe

In this episode, Nick talks with Beppe Pezzini about his newest book, Tolkien and the Mystery of Literary Creation, his own Tolkien experience, and what it means to study Tolkien now and the future.

Beppe Pezzini is Associate Professor in Latin at Corpus Christi College, Oxford which he joined in 2021, after five beautiful years of teaching in St Andrews (2016–2021), and research fellowships at Magdalen College Oxford (2013–2015) and the Institute for Advanced Study in Princeton (2016). He holds a BA and an MA in Classics from the Scuola Normale Superiore in Pisa and a D.Phil. from the University of Oxford. He is a member of the RSE Young Academy Scotland and the Young Academy of Europe, and an associate member of the ITIA Institute at the University of St Andrews.

He worked as an assistant editor for the Oxford Dictionary of Medieval Latin, and has published especially on Latin language and literature, philosophy of language, and the theory of fiction, ancient and modern, including above all Tolkien’s views on the ‘mystery of literary creation’. He is the Tolkien Editor for the Journal of Inklings Studies, and curated a major exhibition on JRR Tolkien in 2021 (http://thetreeoftales.it/).

Pick up a copy of Tolkien and the Mystery of Literary Creation here: https://www.cambridge.org/core/books/tolkien-and-the-mystery-of-literary-creation/8D349413EC68A7CB1D651BD1CC104060

Follow the Oxford Tolkien Network here: https://tolkien50.web.ox.ac.uk/

Follow Nick on:

Instagram: @njspolk

Threads: @njspolk

Facebook: Tolkien Pop!

Bluesky: @tolkienpop.substack.com

Pick up your copy of Tolkien and Pop Culture here: https://a.co/d/39E9dZs

Get full access to Tolkien Pop! at tolkienpop.substack.com/subscribe

In this episode, Nick talks with Clare Moore, who is a Ph.D. student at the University of Glasgow, researching disability in Tolkien’s legendarium. She holds an M.F.A. in Creative Writing and a B.A. in Politics, Philosophy, and Economics. Her research focuses on disability, gender, and race in the works of J.R.R. Tolkien, and her work has appeared in Mallorn, Journal of Tolkien Research, and Mythlore. Her essay ‘A Song of Greater Power: Tolkien’s Construction of Lúthien Tinúviel’ won the 2022 Tolkien Society Award for Best Article.

Clare gives insight into the realms of both feminist and disability thought and how she and others utilize these schools of thought to approach Tolkien Studies. Clare is one of the foremost prominent and current feminist and disability Tolkien scholars in the field, so prepare to get Library of Minas Tirith nerdy!

Get full access to Tolkien Pop! at tolkienpop.substack.com/subscribe

In this episode, Nick talks with Matthew J. Distefano from the Heretic Happy Hour podcast and Quoir to discuss his newly released book, Letters from the Shire. Released the day after Hobbit Day, being September 22nd and Frodo and Bilbo Baggins’ birthdays, this book is timely for cozying up for fall and bringing you some well-earned comforts in our crazy world.

Buy Letters from the Shire here: https://a.co/d/dyNMwCw

Check out Matt’s other Tolkien books The Wisdom of Hobbits and Mimetic Theory in Middle-earth along with all his other works at Quoir: https://quoir.com/

Listen and Subscribe to Heretic Happy Hour here:

My book Tolkien and Pop Culture: Volume I is now available! This book is a selection of my Substack posts from the past couple of years, cleaned up, and formatted for publication. For the first time, you can get all these essays in print or in your Kindle library. It’ll look great on your shelf and be available for your own Tolkien purposes! Use the QR code, the link, or direct message me to order your copy: https://a.co/d/eBE7jiH

Get full access to Tolkien Pop! at tolkienpop.substack.com/subscribe

Nick sits down with Joshua Noel, Christian Ashley, and Will Rose from the Systematic Geekology Podcast to talk about their Tolkien experiences and being a fan in a world with multi-fandom belonging, diverse fan communities, and how to be a good fan amidst it all.

You can follow Systematic Geekology along with other podcasts in its network by checking out the Anazao Podcasts and their YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@anazaopodcasts

Check out Christian’s writing here: https://www.starvingwritersguild.com/

My book Tolkien and Pop Culture: Volume I is now available! This book is a selection of my Substack posts from the past couple of years, cleaned up, and formatted for publication. For the first time, you can get all these essays in print or in your Kindle library. It’ll look great on your shelf and be available for your own Tolkien purposes! Use the QR code, the link, or direct message me to order your copy: https://a.co/d/eBE7jiH

Get full access to Tolkien Pop! at tolkienpop.substack.com/subscribe