Exploring Tolkien1 Elo 2023

62. Tolkien Still Matters : with Nick Groom, author of Tolkien in the 21st Century

This week Michael and I talked with Professor Nick Groom, author of Tolkien in the 21st Century: The Meaning of Middle-earth Today, releasing Sept. 5, 2023 (apologies for some some of the echo in the audio!). Professor Groom’s book is a detailed, in-depth, but very readable look into MIddle-earth, and how he perceives Tolkien as more relevant than ever before–particularly in a post-COVID culture. This was a refreshing discussion that dove deep into things including:

Professor Groom’s thoughts on the ambiguity of evil in Middle-earth
How Tolkien’s themes are vital in a post-lockdown era
Why he believes The Rings of Power is a great story in the tradition of Middle-earth adaptations–but definitely isn’t Tolkien’s story.

Then, join us in our extended episode (https://theonering.com/members) where we:

Does The Rings of Power deserve the amount of criticism we give it?
Who is his favorite character in all of Middle-earth?
What should be done to encourage young artists to write great new stories again?

🎉 To get the extended episode, become a member at https://theonering.com/members ($4/mo and free for the 1st month)! Nick Groom is the Professor of Literature in English at the University of Macau, held positions at universities of Chicago, Stanford and Exeter where he holds an Honorary Professorship, and for many years taught the only UK undergraduate course in Tolkien. BECOME A MEMBER! Get access to the extended edition of this podcast, our private Discord chat, and live chats. Click here! 🔗 Episode Links Tolkien in the 21st Century (US version) Twenty-First-Century Tolkien (UK version) The Last Ringbearer 🎧 Subscribe to our Podcast Get the Extended Podcast Subscribe on Apple Subscribe on Google 🔍 If You Like Tolkien The Silmarillion The Fall of Númenor The Fall of Gondolin The Children of Hurin The Atlas of Middle-earth The Letters of J.R.R. Tolkien 🗣 Special Thanks to Austin Robertson for the use of his voice! 🖼 Special Thanks to Anna Grumbine for the artwork!

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Jaksot(166)

162. Morgoth’s Curse and the Pride of Men : The Children of Húrin #1

We finally return to Tolkien’s First Age for a new deep-dive series on The Children of Húrin, starting with Christopher Tolkien’s introduction. We discuss why Tolkien considered Turin’s tale one of hi...

12 Touko 46min

161. Tolkien’s First Tragic Tale : The Story of Kullervo

The Kalevala is perhaps Tolkien’s earliest inspiration… In this episode, we dig into The Story of Kullervo the tragic Finnish myth (from the Kalevala) that captured Tolkien’s imagination as a young m...

28 Huhti 1h 7min

160. Did Peter Jackson make Saruman too Powerful? : Film Changes #49 and #50

This episode tackles two more changes from Peter Jackson’s Fellowship of the Ring—Saruman orchestrating the storm on Caradhras, and the missing warg attack in Hollin. We break down how these adaptatio...

14 Huhti 51min

159. Boromir’s Slippery Slope : Film Change #48 (and Stephen Colbert’s Lord of the Rings movie!?)

In this episode, we examine the insertion of Boromir’s ring-handling scene on the slopes of the Misty Mountains–though it was completely invented, how close was it REALLY to the books? … and THEN we d...

31 Maalis 54min

159. One DOES Simply Walk Into Mordor : Film Changes #46 and #47

In this episode, we dig into two crucial scenes: the iconic formation of the Fellowship and the bridge-side tryst between Aragorn and Arwen. Drawing from both book and film, we examine what’s gained (...

18 Maalis 0s

158. An Interview with Sean Astin (Sam Gamgee)

Here’s another episode in our series of interviews from the December 2, 2003 roundtable discussions! In this interview–just before The Return of the King was released–Sean Astin reflects on wrapping u...

4 Maalis 23min

157. Is this the BEST Change in The Lord of the Rings Films? : Film Changes #44 and #45

Orc pods and Uruk-hai origins: lore-breaking or the best possible changes? In this episode, we dig into Peter Jackson’s “orc pod” scenes and the cinematic invention of Lurtz, the alpha Uruk-hai, We al...

18 Helmi 0s

156. The Cringiest Line in Lord of the Rings : Film Changes #42 and #43

In this episode, we look at two of the most unloved film changes from Peter Jackson’s Lord of the Rings: Arwen replacing Glorfindel and making Arwen the only one with power and agency in The Flight to...

3 Helmi 44min