Episodes

  • 381 – The Bywater Village Committee — an interview with Wētā Workshop’s Darren Ormandy

    381 – The Bywater Village Committee — an interview with Wētā Workshop’s Darren Ormandy
    Jul 27 2025
    Alan and James sit down with fellow Tolkien-nerd and lead writer for Wētā Workshop's new game, Tales of the Shire. We discuss the depth of world-building by Tolkien and how to reflect that in a game set in the Shire, and celebrate the appearance of familiar names and places in the game. Darren tells us about an unbelievable meeting in Oxford, compares the Silmarillion to a dehydrated feast, and we all wonder about the lost company of Hobbit archers! Also, food is love, and we agree. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
    Show More Show Less
    2 hrs and 4 mins
  • 380 – So Mind-Bogglingly Useful

    380 – So Mind-Bogglingly Useful
    Jul 20 2025
    Tolkien believes that his method of translation-by-sense “perhaps needs some defence”; Alan and James know their method of podcasting requires a lot of defense. Join The Man of the West and The Sage of the South as we misplace our Babel fish in the second half of Appendix F from The Lord of the Rings, on translation. Tolkien speaks to the reader directly, gives us a fantastic analogy with Arthur and Camelot, and provides comic relief in the form of Hobbit names. We wonder how ‘amused’ Denethor really was, realize that someone just wasn’t Goodenough, and speculate about Dwarvish interpolation again. Also, Odo from DS9 gets a mention. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
    Show More Show Less
    2 hrs and 12 mins
  • 379 – A Big Wide Sounding Name

    379 – A Big Wide Sounding Name
    Jul 13 2025
    The Elves speak in a more gracious and antique style; James thinks there’s an old joke in there somewhere. Join The Man of the West and The Sage of the South as we begin our two-episode exploration of Appendix F to The Lord of the Rings, and the languages of Middle-earth take center stage. Pengoloð shows up again, someone is trying to gloss over Thingol’s linguistic genocide, and Galadriel has her scribes everywhere. We discuss Tolkien’s gripe with translations a week early, give another shout-out to Círdan and wonder (but not for long) about Entish pillow talk. Also, Weber bread makes an unexpected appearance. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
    Show More Show Less
    2 hrs and 7 mins
  • 378 – Don’t Panic

    378 – Don’t Panic
    Jun 29 2025
    Maybe Celebrimbor just has poor penmanship; and maybe Alan still can’t pronounce things correctly. Join The Man of the West and The Sage of the South as we urge you to take the advice provided in the episode title when we dive into Appendix E to The Lord of the Rings on Writing and Spelling… but we know you’re here for the pronunciation humiliation! Fëanor stands on the shoulders of the giant Rumil, Tolkien retcons the Dwarvish ‘outer names’, and everything’s absurd to the Elves. We try to rhyme ‘were’ with ‘hair’, get stressed about stress, and are just extending the fricative, man. Also, James sings a Sesame Street song. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
    Show More Show Less
    2 hrs and 9 mins
  • 377 – This Must Be Thursday

    377 – This Must Be Thursday
    Jun 22 2025
    The Númenóreans altered the calendar of the Elves; Alan & James never could get the hang of Thursdays. Join The Man of the West and The Sage of the South as we practice only the best kind of pedantry in our exploration of Appendix D on the various intricate calendar systems in Middle-earth. The Elves are obsessed with sixes and twelves, the Númenóreans have to fix a millennial deficit — which has nothing to do with spending too much on Starbucks — and the Hobbits always do their own thing. We wonder if days not belonging to a month feel lonely, agree that 30-day months are best, and discover that pigs fly on Friday the First of Summerfilth. Also, James’ new nickname is optimistic. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
    Show More Show Less
    2 hrs and 8 mins
  • 376 – Questions After Nightfall 31

    376 – Questions After Nightfall 31
    Jun 15 2025
    Grab a drink at the bar and step into the Common Room — it’s time to join The Man of the West and The Sage of the South as we answer listener questions again in our 31st quarterly Questions After Nightfall. From questions about Saruman, Ring-maker to the Dagor Dagorath; from the Forsaken Inn to awkward conversations in the Halls of Mandos, our listeners bring their best questions — and their worst puns. Alan is a middle-aged softy, James thinks Istarí arrive in meteors, and we’re glad Tolkien’s funny, ‘cause we’re not so sure about us. Also, Maiar as Project Managers. We're proud to partner with Oscha and their Middle-earth collection, and offer 10% off for new customers with code PONY! https://oschaslings.com/discount/PONY Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
    Show More Show Less
    1 hr and 36 mins
  • 375 – If You Don’t Know Me By Now

    375 – If You Don’t Know Me By Now
    Jun 8 2025
    One of the greatest Elven loremasters finally gets his time in the spotlight; and in an ironic twist, James gets some time in the spotlight (or is that ‘under the bus’?). Join The Man of the West and The Sage of the South as Alan hands the reins of the show over to James, who brings us a special episode on Pengoloð the Wise of Gondolin. From the development of the Eldarin languages to an explanation of lembas, if you don’t know one of the greatest loremasters by now, you might never, never, never know him and his contributions to the collective knowledge of Middle-earth. So how and why did he disappear from the published stories? We chat about the Digital Tolkien Project, observe the blurred lines between Tolkien fans and scholars, and agree some subtitles are more like summaries. Also, totally tubular, dude. We're proud to partner with Oscha and their Middle-earth collection, and offer 10% off for new customers with code PONY! https://oschaslings.com/discount/PONY Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
    Show More Show Less
    1 hr and 45 mins
  • 374 – Holding Back the Years

    374 – Holding Back the Years
    Jun 1 2025
    Tolkien is forced to shrink the Tale of Years to satisfy his publisher; James is forced to co-host a few episodes of the PPP to satisfy Alan. Join The Man of the West and The Sage of the South as we get to the sooner or later, flying through the history of the Second and Third Ages of Middle-earth in our look at Appendix B to The Lord of the Rings, known as The Tale of Years. Bias creeps in as historians change the Second Age record; Tolkien finds the limitations ‘profoundly uncongenial’; and Celebrimbor’s publicist would like a word. We speculate about hobbit libraries, give another shout out to The Lord of the Rings Online, and get a little choked up. Also, we don’t talk about Pharazôn-o. We're proud to partner with Oscha and their Middle-earth collection, and offer 10% off for new customers with code PONY! https://oschaslings.com/discount/PONY Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
    Show More Show Less
    2 hrs