Hosts & Guests
Alicia
(she/they) A queer Tolkien scholar and Zelda nerd interested in adaptation, audience reception, and biography.
Grace
(she/her) An acquirer of books, a queer-rights activist, serves as as the Subscriptions Steward of the Mythopoeic Society, and is a Professional Nerd (okay, technically it’s an unpaid internship).
Leah
(she/her) Just another weird Tolkien geek living in the Grey Havens (also known as Seattle WA) with two rabbits and far too few books.
Tim
(he/him) An experienced podcaster, Online Events Steward for the Mythopoeic Society, all-around nerd, and firmly believes that if more of us valued food and cheer and song above hoarded gold, it would be a merrier world.
About This Episode
Leah, Grace, and Alicia are joined by Tim to discuss the Tolkien event of the year – the first season of ‘The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power’. We start by giving each of our wide-ranging reviews of the series, then get into the divisive fan response and resulting challenges with talking about the series in public spaces. And we analyze how the series depicts race, gender, disability, and their intersection, as well as representations of ‘the other’. This episode is ‘part 1’ of our discussion – stay tuned for part 2!
Related Episodes
Episode 28 – Writing a Book Chapter! (or “Why We Didn’t Record Much in 2025”)
Learn more about the process of academic publishing as Leah and Grace recount their first times writing for academic publishing, guided by Alicia’s experience. Thank you for sticking with us! We have so much more in store for you.
Episode 27 – The Redemption of Lobelia Sackville-Baggins: Petty Thief to Folk Hero
Is Lobelia Sackville-Baggins actually the villain she’s made out to be in “The Hobbit” and “Fellowship”, or simply a victim of narrative bias? Plus JIRT’s “mommy issues” and a contrast of Lobelia as an ‘Aunt’ archetype with biographical information about Tolkien’s own family.
Episode 26 – Tolkien Adaptations Part 3: “The War of the Rohirrim” with Janet Brennan Croft
A discussion about “The Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrim” with the film’s credited “Tolkien Expert”, Janet Brennan Croft! We discuss her approach to encourage lore accuracy and consistency in the film’s script, explore queer readings of the film, and even the history of Japanese tentacle “art.”