Shows / Today's Tolkien Times
Today's Tolkien Times
Get your Tolkien every day by subscribing to Today’s Tolkien Times! Alan Sisto, host of the award-winning Prancing Pony Podcast and Rings of Power Wrap-up, hosts a new short-format daily podcast available on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube, and wherever else you get your podcasts! Listeners get answers on Mailbag Mondays; discover more about the Professor on Tolkien Tuesdays; indulge your inner philologist on Word-nerd Wednesdays; learn more about the familiar stories of Middle-earth on Third…
Episodes
- Today's Tolkien Times
Week 117 - Word-nerd Wednesday: His Children’s Joy
Join The Man of the West as this week’s linguistic deep dive includes a look at Estel, and a reminder of the Old English inspiration behind the beginning of…
- Today's Tolkien Times
Week 117 - Tolkien Tuesday: Petty Fencing
Join The Man of the West as he discovers Petty Fencing isn’t what you build when you just want to get even with your neighbor, and Tolkien gives a reader a…
- Today's Tolkien Times
Week 117 - Middle-earth Map Monday: Just a Few More Little Steps
Sure, Gollum, sure. Join The Man of the West as we continue our journey with Frodo and Sam, climbing the Stairs of Cirith Ungol. Are you sure there isn’t an…
- Today's Tolkien Times
Week 116 - Silmarillion Saturday: Glittering and Bright
Clearly not The Man of the West, today’s title describes the sight of Eärendil’s ship, Vingilot, as it sails into the heavens — freeing the Elves from despair…
- Today's Tolkien Times
Week 116 - Friendship Friday: Brush Up My Toes
Join The Man of the West as Merry acknowledges he has some work to do to catch up to Pippin as we continue our (now) four-episode look at their friendship…
- Today's Tolkien Times
Week 116 - Third Age Thursday: Long It Endured
Join The Man of the West as we begin a two-part look at the Elves of Rivendell: this time featuring the tra-la-lally Elves. Learn more about your ad choices…
- Today's Tolkien Times
Week 116 - Word-nerd Wednesday: Not One Star; All the Stars
Break out your Quenya and Sindarin dictionaries as The Man of the West does his usual mid-week deep dive into the names of some familiar places. Learn more…
- Today's Tolkien Times
Week 116 - Tolkien Tuesday: Never Mind the Critics
As though Tolkien ever took them too seriously to begin with. Join The Man of the West as he looks at two letters closing out 1962, including how a neighbor…
- Today's Tolkien Times
Week 116 - Middle-earth Map Monday: A Shapeless Fear
Join The Man of the West as he continues his anti-bucket list of places to visit in Middle-earth with a trip through history to view the city known both as…
- Today's Tolkien Times
Week 115 - Silmarillion Saturday: And His Prayer Was Granted
Join The Man of the West as Eärendil wanders the lonely streets of Tirion, and Eönwë has a sense of dramatic timing. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit…
- Today's Tolkien Times
Week 115 - Friendship Friday: Good Old Merry!
Join The Man of the West as we begin a look at another friendship in the legendarium: everyone’s favorite troublemakers, Meriadoc Brandybuck and Peregrin Took…
- Today's Tolkien Times
Week 115 - Third Age Thursday: That What Should Be Shall Be
Galadriel takes the high road when faced with a no-win scenario, as The Man of the West completes a three-episode look at the Elves of Lórien. Learn more about…
- Today's Tolkien Times
Week 115 - Word-nerd Wednesday: Any Excuse At All, Really
Join The Man of the West as he finds a reason to read a line from Galadriel’s Lament because… well, see above. Also: which of these words is not like the…
- Today's Tolkien Times
Week 115 - Tolkien Tuesday: Blow Me Up
Three short letters in the Revised and Expanded edition provide the usual combination of insight, wit, and kindness that characterize Tolkien’s letters. Learn…
- Today's Tolkien Times
Week 115 - Middle-earth Map Monday: Corpse Candles and Carne Asada?
Join The Man of the West as we continue our itinerary of Places No One Wants to Visit: this time, looking at the lovely and refreshing Morgul Vale. Learn more…
- Today's Tolkien Times
Week 114 - Silmarillion Saturday: Move Their Hearts to Pity
We’ve been building up to this for a few series now, and it’s finally time to begin Of the Voyage of Eärendil and the War of Wrath. Learn more about your ad…
- Today's Tolkien Times
Week 114 - Friendship Friday: Not Yet Anyway
Join The Man of the West as we wrap up our four-episode look at the friendship of Frodo and Sam, from certain death on the slopes of Mount Doom, to their…
- Today's Tolkien Times
Week 114 - Third Age Thursday: An Island Amid Many Perils
We continue our look at the Elves of Lórien as the Fellowship encounter Haldir and make their way towards Caras Galadhon itself. Learn more about your ad…
- Today's Tolkien Times
Week 114 - Word-nerd Wednesday: Steep Streets
Join The Man of the West as we look at a few words from our visit to the darkness on Middle-earth Map Monday… and visit a golden river for a palate cleanse…
- Today's Tolkien Times
Week 114 - Tolkien Tuesday: With Tears As I Wrote
We reach the second half of Letter 241 as Tolkien gives his Aunt Jane (and us) the story behind his work, Leaf by Niggle. Learn more about your ad choices…
- Today's Tolkien Times
Week 114 - Middle-earth Map Monday: Despair… Postponed
Join The Man of the West as we continue our travel journeys to only the worst places, this time to the Black Gate itself. Learn more about your ad choices…
- Today's Tolkien Times
Week 113 - Silmarillion Saturday: The Fairest of All the Children of the World
As if I need to tell you that today’s episode title has nothing whatsoever to do with The Man of the West. We conclude the tragic chapter Of the Ruin of…
- Today's Tolkien Times
Week 113 - Friendship Friday: As Our Strength Lessens
Join The Man of the West as the friendship of Frodo and Sam grows stronger even in the most challenging circumstances. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit…
- Today's Tolkien Times
Week 113 - Third Age Thursday: Valiant and Wise
Clearly not referring to The Man of the West, today’s episode title actually speaks of Amroth, the King of Lórien, as we move west from Mirkwood to look at yet…
- Today's Tolkien Times
Week 113 - Word-nerd Wednesday: On Top of Old Wet Head
Today’s Word-nerd Wednesday looks at several words from our Silmarillion Saturday readings, some of which are more noble sounding than others. Learn more about…
- Today's Tolkien Times
Week 113 - Tolkien Tuesday: Now I Want a Grilled Cheese
Join The Man of the West as we begin another of the Professor’s letters to his Aunt Jane Neave: today, it’s all about the Welsh! Learn more about your ad…
- Today's Tolkien Times
Week 113 - Middle-earth Map Monday: Diseased Beyond All Healing
No, really, it’s just a mild cold… oh, the text? That’s a different story. Join The Man of the West as we follow Frodo and Sam’s miserable itinerary through…
- Today's Tolkien Times
Week 112 - Silmarillion Saturday: With a Different Voice
Join The Man of the West as we continue in The Ruin of Doriath, standing beside Melian in her grief. Mablung meets his end fulfilling his duty, and Beren…
- Today's Tolkien Times
Week 112 - Friendship Friday: I Was Serious
Join The Man of the West as we turn our 2-part look at Frodo and Sam’s friendship into four episodes instead: today, from Parth Galen to Cirith Ungol. Learn…
- Today's Tolkien Times
Week 112 - Third Age Thursday: Good People… Mostly
Whether today’s title also applies to The Man of the West is up to you. Today, we take a look at the Elves of Mirkwood in (mostly) the Third Age, as we…
- Today's Tolkien Times
Week 112 - Word-nerd Wednesday: Frings — Not What you Thought
The Man of the West takes a deep dive into a few words from last week’s Silmarillion Saturday, including one that, it turns out, is long overdue. Learn more…
- Today's Tolkien Times
Week 112 - Tolkien Tuesday: Peacocks are Out
Well, yes — but I thought everyone knew that. Join The Man of the West as we look at another letter from the Professor to his illustrator on The Adventures of…
- Today's Tolkien Times
Week 112 - Middle-earth Map Monday: Always Creeping
Today’s stop on our journey is not on The Man of the West’s bucket list, nor is it likely on yours. Come visit the charming wetlands known as the Dead Marshes…
- Today's Tolkien Times
Week 111 - Silmarillion Saturday: Be Gone Unrequited
The Man of the West may be used to hearing those words, but today they’re meant for the Dwarves of Nogrod that are haughtily dismissed by Thingol, unaware of…
- Today's Tolkien Times
Week 111 - Friendship Friday: Jump Down a Dragon’s Throat
We begin an all-new thing for Fridays, as we study friendships in Middle-earth, starting with perhaps the best-known example with Frodo Baggins and Samwise…
- Today's Tolkien Times
Week 111 - Third Age Thursday: He Dwells There Still
Join The Man of the West as we begin a look at more people in the Third Age; having done a deep dive into all the different Men for two series, it’s time to…
- Today's Tolkien Times
Week 111 - Word-nerd Wednesday: Not Your Average Garden Gnome
Join The Man of the West for a Word-nerd Wednesday deep dive into Tolkien’s early name for the Elves we now know as the Noldor, and learn why he could use it…
- Today's Tolkien Times
Week 111 - Tolkien Tuesday: I Am Not Satisfied with ‘Hobbits’
It’s time for another out-of-context quote as episode title, as we begin another TTT series spending Tolkien Tuesdays in the Revised and Expanded edition of…
- Today's Tolkien Times
Week 111 - Middle-earth Map Monday: Twisted Knot of Hills
Join The Man of the West as he begins Series 15 of Today’s Tolkien Times with a Middle-earth Map Monday on the bleak hills of the Emyn Muil. Learn more about…
- Today's Tolkien Times
Week 110 - Silmarillion Saturday: All Things Crooked
Húrin’s anger leads him to Doriath, where he throws jewelry at the King and finds himself gently reminded of the truth by Melian. Learn more about your ad…
- Today's Tolkien Times
Week 110 - First Age Friday: She Was Not Conquered
Join The Man of the West as we begin our time in Of the Ruin of Doriath, watching as Húrin is all-too-briefly reunited with Morwen before his heart turns to…
- Today's Tolkien Times
Week 110 - Third Age Thursday: Riders Tall and Fair
We finish our look at Men of the Third Age as The Man of the West reviews the history of the Éothéod, their steadfast alliance with Gondor, and their move to…
- Today's Tolkien Times
Week 110 - Word-nerd Wednesday: Surf’s Up!
Join The Man of the West for another — this time more thorough — look at the name of Gondor’s hottest surf spot, Belfalas, along with other places we’ve…
- Today's Tolkien Times
Week 110 - Tolkien Tuesday: Insoluble Metrical Problems
Tolkien admits to a bit of poetic masochism in a letter to his aunt Jane, as The Man of the West continues his look through the Revised and Expanded edition of…
- Today's Tolkien Times
Week 110 - Middle-earth Map Monday: The End of Gondor
Join The Man of the West as we reach the far shores and conclude our 21-week journey through the regions of Gondor. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit…
- Today's Tolkien Times
Week 109 - Silmarillion Saturday: The First Evil
Join The Man of the West as we accompany a now-free Húrin from Angband to his homelands and then on as he looks for mercy from Turgon. Learn more about your ad…
- Today's Tolkien Times
Week 109 - First Age Friday: You Lie
Not you, sorry — Morgoth. At least that’s Húrin’s opinion as he continues his defiance of the Dark Lord in this week’s First Age Friday. Learn more about your…
- Today's Tolkien Times
Week 109 - Third Age Thursday: A Bulwark of Gondor
We continue our study of the Men of Middle-earth, this time looking at the ancestors of the Rohirrim, known early on as the Northmen. Learn more about your ad…
- Today's Tolkien Times
Week 109 - Word-nerd Wednesday: Ló and Behold
Join The Man of the West as he looks at the etymology of a few more of the rivers and towns in Gondor, continuing our journey west through the land. Learn more…
- Today's Tolkien Times
Week 109 - Tolkien Tuesday: The ‘Fan Mail’ Keeps On Coming In
And now you know the title isn’t a reference to The Man of the West! Join Alan as he begins a two-part look at another letter Tolkien wrote to his aunt, Jane…
- Today's Tolkien Times
Week 109 - Middle-earth Map Monday: Angbor the Fearless
Join The Man of the West as he continues his journey through Gondor, looking at Lamedon, the Morthond Vale, and the uniquely-named ridge that separates the…
- Today's Tolkien Times
Week 108 - Silmarillion Saturday: Hardly Better Than Orcs
Famously not what The Man of the West says about people who don’t listen to the PPP or TTT. Instead, it’s Húrin’s opinion of the Men new to his part of the…
- Today's Tolkien Times
Week 108 - First Age Friday: Time That Yet Lay Hidden
Join The Man of the West as we finish Nirnaeth Arnoediad, and begin to pull all the strings together to lead us to Eärendil and the War of Wrath. Learn more…
- Today's Tolkien Times
Week 108 - Third Age Thursday: Middle Man, Not Middle Management
Anyone can be a mid-level supervisor; it takes someone special to be a Middle Man — or does it? Join The Man of the West as he takes a closer look at Men of…
- Today's Tolkien Times
Week 108 - Word-nerd Wednesday: Let x Be the Number of Rivers in a Land
Join The Man of the West as we visit yet another land named solely after the number of rivers within it on this week’s Word-nerd Wednesday! Learn more about…
- Today's Tolkien Times
Week 108 - Tolkien Tuesday: At Least as Capacious as Mine
The size of your waste paper basket doesn’t really matter; after all, you know you’re not throwing away a letter from Tolkien, even if it is long and pedantic…
- Today's Tolkien Times
Week 108 - Middle-earth Map Monday: Independent ‘Traditions’
Join The Man of the West in his journeys…um, west… through the southern fiefs of Gondor, as he looks more closely at the home of Imrahil known as Dol Amroth…
- Today's Tolkien Times
Week 107 - Silmarillion Saturday: Bereft of Their Power and Glory
Some might say it’s a tragedy; others might say it’s about time. We look at the aftermath of the Nirnaeth Arnoediad and begin to tie this story together with…
- Today's Tolkien Times
Week 107 - First Age Friday: Aurë entuluva! Day Shall Come Again!
The Battle of Unnumbered Tears lives up to its name in spectacular fashion as Fingon meets his gruesome end and the Men of Dor-lómin lay down their lives to…
- Today's Tolkien Times
Week 107 - Third Age Thursday: Fierce Folk When Roused
The Man of the West finishes his long look at the Men of Darkness with the Dunlendings, a group of Men that might be better called Middle Men gone wrong. Learn…