This week, we reach the Lonely Mountain in Chapter Eleven of J.R.R. Tolkien's The Hobbit, "On The Doorstep". How do we understand the Desolation of Smaug? Does Tolkien resolve the conflict between free will and prophecy? What is the function of the back door?
The slides are available for download by clicking here.
Show Notes:
Shire Reckoning is a Next Word production. For bonus episodes and to support the show, visit Patreon.com/NextWord.
This week, we consider the textual history of Tolkien's Legendarium, from the stories told in the Cottage of Lost Play to the Red Book of Westmarch. How does Tolkien's framing of his work shift from myth to history? What are the benefits of this careful chain of texts? What are the other accounts that we wish we could read?
Thanks to Suzanne for the question!
Show Notes
Shire Reckoning is a Next Word production. For bonus episodes and to support the show, visit Patreon.com/NextWord.
Follow @ShireReckoningPod on YouTube, Bluesky and Instagram.
This week, we finally meet some Men in chapter ten of J.R.R. Tolkien's The Hobbit, "A Warm Welcome". How does the book suggest the history of Esgaroth? How is the Master of Lake-town contrasted with Good Tolkienian Kings? What is the effect of prophecy, and how does it interact with free will?
You can see the video version of this podcast here, and the slides are available for download by clicking here.
Show Notes:
Shire Reckoning is a Next Word production. For bonus episodes and to support the show, visit Patreon.com/NextWord.
This week, we break format a little bit to talk about the (actually pretty good) first season of The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power. What struggles does the show face on a conceptual level? How do the various plot threads and timelines work together, and with Tolkien's original stories? What is the difference between an intriguing mystery box, and lying to the audience?
Show Notes
Shire Reckoning is a Next Word production. For bonus episodes and to support the show, visit Patreon.com/NextWord.
Follow @ShireReckoningPod on YouTube, Bluesky and Instagram.
This week, the halls of the Elven King in chapter nine of J.R.R. Tolkien's The Hobbit, "Barrels Out Of Bond". Is this the moment that The Hobbit becomes a fantasy novel? How does Bilbo's luck relate to eucatastrophe? Do these elves really seem like elves?
You can see the video version of this podcast here, and the slides are available for download by clicking here.
Show Notes:
Shire Reckoning is a Next Word production. For bonus episodes and to support the show, visit Patreon.com/NextWord.
This week, we discuss estel, hope. Why is it so important to our sense of Tolkien's Legendarium? How it is lost, or turned to despair? How do we continue to fight in the face of adversity?
Thanks to Elizabeth and Nathan for the questions!
Show Notes
Shire Reckoning is a Next Word production. For bonus episodes and to support the show, visit Patreon.com/NextWord.
Follow @ShireReckoningPod on YouTube, Bluesky and Instagram.
This week, we celebrate Hobbit Day by pausing in our journey through J.R.R. Tolkien's The Hobbit and looking at the 1977 TV movie adaptation. Can you compress the whole story into 78 minutes? What happens when the goblins and elves become more monstrous? How do we understand the anti-war sentiment?
You can see the video version of this podcast here, and the slides are available for download by clicking here.
Show Notes:
Shire Reckoning is a Next Word production. For bonus episodes and to support the show, visit Patreon.com/NextWord.
This week, we discuss the most magical place in all of Middle-earth, Lothlórien. How did it get started? Why is it so magical? What's Galadriel's whole deal, anyway?
Thanks to Sarah for the question!
Show Notes
Shire Reckoning is a Next Word production. For bonus episodes and to support the show, visit Patreon.com/NextWord.
Follow @ShireReckoningPod on YouTube, Bluesky and Instagram.
This week, the enchantments of the Mirkwood in Chapter Eight of J.R.R. Tolkien's The Hobbit. How do we understand the conflict, physical and magical, between the elves and the spiders? Why does Bilbo feel more accomplished and confident in this chapter? Is this really a turning point in the adventure?
You can see the video version of this podcast here, and the slides are available for download by clicking here.
Show Notes:
Shire Reckoning is a Next Word production. For bonus episodes and to support the show, visit Patreon.com/NextWord.
This week, we discuss the Great Powers of Arda, the Valar. Who are they? How do they teach us how to understand the philosophical framework of Tolkien's world? Did they make mistakes, or do they just look like mistakes from where we're standing?
Thanks to Darius for the question!
Show Notes
Shire Reckoning is a Next Word production. For bonus episodes and to support the show, visit Patreon.com/NextWord.
Follow Shire Reckoning on YouTube, Bluesky and Instagram.
This week, we spend some time with Beorn and his Very Strange House in Chapter Seven of J.R.R. Tolkien's The Hobbit. Why are the rituals of courtesy so important? How does this encounter mirror the first chapter of the book? Who is Beorn, and where does he come from?
You can see the video version of this podcast here, and the slides are available for download by clicking here.
Show Notes:
Shire Reckoning is a Next Word production. For bonus episodes and to support the show, visit Patreon.com/NextWord.
This week, The Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrim. How does this film combine anime influences and the visual language of the Jackson movies? Is the entire Rohirric civil war the fault of Helm Hammerhand? How do we understand Hèra's final fate?
Thanks to Simon for the question!
Show Notes
Shire Reckoning is a Next Word production. For bonus episodes and to support the show, visit Patreon.com/NextWord.
This week, Bilbo escapes from the dark and climbs a tree in Chapter Six of J.R.R. Tolkien's The Hobbit. How is the Wild different from the West? How do we understand the focus and the orientation of Goblin Town? Why did Gandalf have to say giant?
You can see the video version of this podcast here, and the slides are available for download by clicking here.
Show Notes:
Shire Reckoning is a Next Word production. For bonus episodes and to support the show, visit Patreon.com/NextWord.
This week, adaptation. Tolkien originally envisioned his legendarium as a mythology to which other writers and artists could contribute. How, in the world of intellectual property and licensing agreements, are adaptations handled? What separates the good from the bad? Where do we go from here?
Thanks to William for the question!
Show Notes
Shire Reckoning is a Next Word production. For bonus episodes and to support the show, visit Patreon.com/NextWord.
This week, we reach the turning point in Bilbo's career in Riddles in the Dark, Chapter Five of J.R.R. Tolkien's The Hobbit. How is Gollum presented in the first and second editions? What can we learn from the riddles? How quickly does the Ring begin to influence Bilbo, and what are the limits of its power?
Unfortunately, the video from this week's live session was lost to a technical issue, but the slides are available for download by clicking here. You can see the images of Gollum, as rendered by artists from around the world, by clicking here.
Show Notes:
Shire Reckoning is a Next Word production. For bonus episodes and to support the show, visit Patreon.com/NextWord.
This week, the Aragorn, son of Arathorn. How was Aragorn first envisioned in the text? Why is he so influential as a character? Would he be even cooler with big wooden shoes?
Show Notes
Shire Reckoning is a Next Word production. For bonus episodes and to support the show, visit Patreon.com/NextWord.
This week, we face the greatest danger in the Misty Mountains in J.R.R. Tolkien's The Hobbit. What are the qualities of the border between the West and the Wild? Why do the goblins sing? Are the giants real, really real, or just metaphorically real?
Show Notes:
Shire Reckoning is a Next Word production. For bonus episodes and to support the show, visit Patreon.com/NextWord.
This week, the paradoxical comforts of the Shire. How did it come into being, and how did the hobbits settle there? How does if embody and reject the vision of a nostalgic, nationalist England? And how long is the High Hay anyway?
Show Notes
Shire Reckoning is a Next Word production. For bonus episodes and to support the show, visit Patreon.com/NextWord.
This week, we pause for prophecy at the Last Homely House in chapter three of J.R.R. Tolkien's The Hobbit. Is Elrond who he seems to be? What are the elves singing about? How much magic is evident in the moon-letters?
Show Notes:
Shire Reckoning is a Next Word production. For bonus episodes and to support the show, visit Patreon.com/NextWord.
This week, the many mysteries of dwarves in Tolkien's legendarium. How do the dwarfs of Old Norse myth become the Longbeards of Khazad-dûm? What does the film trilogy get wrong about Gimli? How did dwarves become Scottish, anyway?
Show Notes
The Book of Lost Tales, Part Two
Three Hearts and Three Lions (Poul Anderson)
Magician (Raymond E. Feist)
"Dwarves are Not Heroes": Antisemitism and the Dwarves in J.R.R. Tolkien's Writing (Rebecca Brackmann)
Professor Tolkien in the Botanic Garden, Oxford, 1973
Tales Of The Shire: A The Lord Of The Rings Game
It's been a rough decade for Lord of The Rings games (Polygon)
Tolkien’s Greek Horsemen (Thoughts on Tolkien)
Society calls for Tolkien to feature on a new bank note (Tolkien Society)
The Rings Of Power Season 3 Enters Production As Amazon Teases Sauron’s Return (Empire)
Shire Reckoning is a Next Word production. For bonus episodes and to support the show, visit Patreon.com/NextWord.