The Council of Elrond begins, and to help us bring the meeting to order, we welcome Corey Olsen — the Tolkien Professor himself — to the Prancing Pony Podcast! We start with a conversation about the nature of Rivendell itself, then dive into the...
Now taking a straight and stronger course to recovery, Frodo feels it’s time for food, drink, and merrymaking. He has a brief reunion with Sam, then with Merry and Pippin before they’re all moved on to the hall for a feast. Plus Elves are singing...
We return to the text of The Lord of the Rings with the first chapter of Book II! Frodo awakens in Rivendell after the incident down by the river to find Gandalf beside him. Now that it’s all over and done, Frodo is relieved to find that he and his...
Alan and Shawn welcome a cozy group of listeners to the common-room for another round of live, unscripted questions about Tolkien, the podcast, and more! We return to the Ford of Bruinen to figure out exactly what happened, and even look back on the...
That’s what Vizzini told us to do, so we have. As we shake off the jet lag and learn to live again without full English breakfasts and a steady supply of fish and chips, we look back at Book I of The Lord of the Rings, revisiting the recurring...
Frodo and friends get comfortable in the first half of “In the House of Tom Bombadil,” and Alan and Shawn finally begin to unwrap the enigma that is Tom and his wife Goldberry. We also answer a listener question on why Tom has been cut out of every...
We begin Book I, Chapter 3 of The Lord of the Rings, “Three is Company”. After months of preparation, Frodo sells Bag End. He leaves home with Sam and Pippin on a pretense of moving back to Buckland, but before they even get to the bottom of the...
In the final pages of Book I, Chapter 2, “The Shadow of the Past”, Gandalf recounts how he found Gollum and filled in the gaps in the Ring’s history. Frodo begins to understand what he must do; and while he’s not exactly eager to do it, he won’t...
In the second of three episodes on Book I, Chapter 2, “The Shadow of the Past”, Gandalf gives Frodo a brief history of the Rings of Power and the tragic tale of how the One Ring came to Sméagol, better known as Gollum. We answer a question about...
Years have passed since the farewell party, and as the first part of Book I, Chapter 2, “The Shadow of the Past” unfolds, Frodo has come into his own as the new resident oddball at Bag End. But rumor begins to reach the Shire about a growing shadow...