Today's Tolkien Times
Today's Tolkien Times is a daily short-format podcast hosted by Alan Sisto, creator of the award-winning Prancing Pony Podcast. Each day of the week features a different theme, including Mailbag Mondays, Tolkien Tuesdays, Word-nerd Wednesdays, Third Age Thursdays, Fandom Fridays, and Silmarillion Saturdays. The podcast offers listeners a daily dose of Tolkien lore, language, and community engagement. It is available on major platforms like Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and YouTube.
Episodes
Week 132 - Word-nerd Wednesday: A Wolf’s Head
Join The Man of the West for what a life cost in Anglo-Saxon England, a man with no law on his side, and a Greek turtle with an extra F.
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Week 132 - Tolkien Tuesday: Sinister and Depressing
Join The Man of the West for a sea monster that’s really an island, and a word that looks like a cat walked across Tolkien’s keyboard.
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Week 132 - Might-Have-Been Monday: Let It Be So Then
Join The Man of the West as Elrond decides to go on the Quest himself, and someone may be sent home in a sack.
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Week 131 - Silmarillion Saturday: Let the Ships Burn
Join The Man of the West as twelve weeks in Valinor come to an end and Fëanor proves he’s exactly who I’ve said he was all along.
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Week 131 - Friendship Friday: The Loving Strokes of a Dwarf’s Axe
Join The Man of the West as we look at the friendship of Gimli and Éomer: from the opening threat to the playful parting.
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Week 131 - Third Age Thursday: Great Kings Take What Is Their Right
Ar-Pharazôn wins a war without a battle and foolishly carries the prize home — join The Man of the West for the Downfall of Númenor and the end of the Second Age.
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Week 131 - Word-nerd Wednesday: Laughed Like a Dead Man
Join The Man of the West for the last words of series 17, including dead man walking, and what a four-year-old in Númenor might call her father.
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Week 131 - Tolkien Tuesday: The Greatest of All Delights
Join The Man of the West as we read a letter Tolkien began in 1964, finished in 1968, and still never sent.
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Week 131 - Might-Have-Been Monday: A Man of His Word
Join The Man of the West to find out what happens to Númenor — and Middle-earth — if Aldarion just did what he said he’d do.
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Week 130 - Silmarillion Saturday: This Doom I Add
Mandos passes sentence on the Noldor, and Fëanor doubles down as The Man of the West nears the end of The Flight of the Noldor.
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Week 130 - Friendship Friday: Did I Not Say So at the Hornburg
Join The Man of the West as a promise made at Dunharrow is kept on the Pelennor, and Aragorn hands Éomer back his sister.
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Week 130 - Third Age Thursday: The Choice of Their Forefather
Númenor gets a mountain, a Ban, and a slowly-growing shadow as The Man of the West continues a look at Appendix A from The Lord of the Rings.
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Week 130 - Word-nerd Wednesday: Not the Day of the Wreckage
Join The Man of the West as we look at a courtroom in the Ring of Doom, a royal walking stick, a haven, and yet another fence.
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Week 130 - Tolkien Tuesday: Coming Back to Leaf
Join The Man of the West as he looks at a tree Tolkien can’t stop drawing, a car, the strangeness of punting, and a very boring textbook.
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Week 130 - Might-Have-Been Monday: Thanks to Saruman
Join The Man of the West for a what-if that Merry & Pippin genuinely don’t want to think about.
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Week 129 - Silmarillion Saturday: The Work of Our Hearts
Olwë tells Fëanor that the swan-ships are his people’s Silmarils, and Fëanor takes them anyway — join The Man of the West for the Kinslaying at Alqualondë.
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Week 129 - Friendship Friday: Aragorn My Friend
Two swords finally drawn together (pencils down!) at the Hornburg: join The Man of the West for part two of Aragorn and Éomer.
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Week 129 - Third Age Thursday: Westernmost of All Mortal Lands
Join The Man of the West as Appendix A opens with the only Silmarillion anybody had for 22 years.
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Week 129 - Word-nerd Wednesday: A Number in a Queue
Join The Man of the West for some people names, including one whose name just means they turned up a bit late to the party.
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Week 129 - Tolkien Tuesday: An Axe-Blow Near the Roots
Join The Man of the West for two letters on the death of C. S. Lewis: a list of mourners written for a daughter, and a grievance struck through for a son.
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Week 129 - Might-Have-Been Monday: Only for a Moment
Two cousins, one clearing and no words between them — join The Man of the West for the non-existent family reunion, plus a… slight correction from last week.
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Week 128 - Silmarillion Saturday: Thou Hast Sworn in Vain
Join The Man of the West as Fëanor’s facepalm moment arrives: we’re going to need boats!
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Week 128 - Friendship Friday: Wingfoot I Name You
A new pairing opens with 100 spears, one drawn sword, and a man betting his life on a stranger he’d just tried to arrest — join The Man of the West for Aragorn and Éomer.
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Week 128 - Third Age Thursday: Admitted as Friends
Isengard falls without a siege, and Gondor hands the keys to the first person who volunteers: join The Man of the West as the tower is empty no longer.
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Week 128 - Word-nerd Wednesday: The Place Where We Drink
Join The Man of the West for Hall Week: one Old English word that means both ‘fence’ and ‘king,’ and another that connects Théoden’s mead to your amethyst ring.
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Week 128 - Tolkien Tuesday: As Unbendable as an Ent
Partially describing The Man of the West, but Tolkien couldn’t have known that. Join Alan as letter 250 closes with a confession, a rugby injury, and a grandfather who cannot fathom why anyone finds Anglo-Saxon difficult.
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Week 128 - Might-Have-Been Monday: At the Moment of Its Failure
One of our patrons asks, “What if Gandalf had survived the bridge?” Join The Man of the West for the answer, plus his first — and last — attempt at fanfic.
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Week 127 - Silmarillion Saturday: None Shall Break, and None Should Take
Seven swords, one impossible promise, and a besotted people following Fëanor: join The Man of the West for the Oath.
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Week 127 - Friendship Friday: Dear Friend
Join The Man of the West as Aragorn and Gandalf finish their long friendship without ever saying farewell.
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Week 127 - Third Age Thursday: Though They Held the Keys
Join The Man of the West as Calenardhon is emptied by 400 years of peace before it changes hands.
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Week 127 - Word-nerd Wednesday: By Design or Chance
Join The Man of the West for Fortress Week, including a tower whose name means one thing in Elvish and something else entirely in Rohirric — but manages to be right both times.
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Week 127 - Tolkien Tuesday: Circumstances That Affront Your Taste
The Man of the West hands the microphone to the Professor for the heart of letter 250 — sagging faith, bad priests, and a father’s advice to go find the worst mass in town.
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Week 127 - Might-Have-Been Monday: Seeth All Things Crooked
Everyone in Doriath ignores the wisest person in the room — except The Man of the West, of course!
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Week 126 - Silmarillion Saturday: Say Farewell to the Weak
Fëanor at the gym? No, just an announcement of the obvious. Join The Man of the West as Fëanor reminds us of his status as Morgoth’s mini-me.
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Week 126 - Friendship Friday: What Did You Call Me?
Join The Man of the West for part two of Aragorn and Gandalf as the wizard bows to the ranger, and the ranger doesn’t blink.
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Week 126 - Third Age Thursday: Three Peoples, One Kin
Join The Man of the West for the second appendix to the Fords of Isen, as we imagine a family reunion of Bree-folk, Dunlendings, and the Dead Men of Dunharrow. Awkward.
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Week 126 - Word-nerd Wednesday: Battle-Friend
Join The Man of the West for Sword Week: the storied blades of Aragorn, Gandalf, Théoden, and Éomer.
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Week 126 - Tolkien Tuesday: The Inability to Write Briefly
True of The Man of the West; also true of Tolkien and his son, Michael. Join The Man of the West for the first of three weeks on Letter 250.
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Week 126 - Might-Have-Been Monday: Every Warning Was Accurate
The wisest voice in Doriath speaks and Thingol answers with a shrug. Join The Man of the West as we look at what happens when nobody listens to Melian.
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Week 125 - Silmarillion Saturday: A Deadly Weariness
Join The Man of the West as Morgoth and Ungoliant’s terrible, no-good, very-bad first date comes to a screaming end, and Balrogs come to save the day.
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Week 125 - Friendship Friday: I Am With You, Gandalf
Join The Man of the West as he continues Friendship Fridays with a new pairing: Aragorn and Gandalf. Today’s episode: when not to say ‘I told you so’.
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Week 125 - Third Age Thursday: Virtually First Marshal
Join The Man of the West for Erkenbrand’s inherited authority, Éomer’s promotion that isn’t one, and the invisible career of Grimbold.
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Week 125 - Word-nerd Wednesday: When is a French Word the Right Word?
Join The Man of the West for real Anglo-Saxon governance, a forest-word that forgot its own meaning, and a Philology Faire rerun on why Tolkien chose French over ‘Horse-thain.’
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Week 125 - Tolkien Tuesday: I Cannot Write Decently
True for The Man of the West most of the time; only true for the Professor when his hand is giving out. A look at three letters reveals an exhausting fortnight for Tolkien.
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Week 125 - Might-Have-Been Monday: I Shall Roast Him
Middle-earth Map Monday hangs up its cartography for a new series of speculations: Might-Have-Been Monday. First up: what if Barliman Butterbur had delivered Gandalf’s letter on time? Join The Man of the West down the peaceful road to Rivendell — bad news only for Éowyn.
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Week 124 — Silmarillion Saturday: Check, Please!
Possibly the worst first date in the history of Arda. Join The Man of the West as Fëanor names the Black Foe and Morgoth discovers what Ungoliant charges for dinner.
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Week 124 — Friendship Friday: More Cannot Be Said
The two who didn’t even speak until Moria end up sharing a ship across the Sea. Join The Man of the West for the last Friendship Friday of the series.
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Week 124 — Third Age Thursday: By the Mouth of Gríma
No battle today — just the paperwork behind one. Join The Man of the West for the Marshals of the Mark: who really ran Rohan while the King faded, and a bit of horse-lending that turns up again tomorrow.
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Week 124 — Word-nerd Wednesday: Old as Mountains
It only took seven hundred episodes to circle back to the Ents. Join The Man of the West for the Elvish side of their names that we never did.
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Week 124 — Tolkien Tuesday: The Shepherds of the Trees
Join The Man of the West for the back half of Letter 247, as we learn where the Ents came from: both on the page and from Tolkien’s own pen.
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Week 124 — Middle-earth Map Monday: Is There a Carpool Lane?
Turns out the express lane to Mount Doom was paved by the Enemy himself. Join The Man of the West for our last Map Monday in Mordor, as the road ends at the Sammath Naur — and the Dark Tower comes crashing down.
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Week 123 - Silmarillion Saturday: Not the First
Join The Man of the West as the Valar ask Fëanor to break the Silmarils and heal the Trees — and Fëanor does precisely what you’d imagine.
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Week 123 - Friendship Friday: An Elf Will Go Underground
…and a Dwarf dare not! Join The Man of the West on the Paths of the Dead, and Legolas has to tell Gimli’s story.
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Week 123 - Third Age Thursday: An Ambush, Not an Absence
Join The Man of the West as Grimbold breaks out of the trap at the Fords, and we finally learn what really kept his friend away.
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Week 123 - Word-nerd Wednesday: A Mushy Language
What do moose have in common with the Nazgûl? Join The Man of the West for six of Mordor’s darkest names — and the Gaelic word for ‘ring’ that Tolkien swore he never borrowed.
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Week 123 - Tolkien Tuesday: An Unvisited Island
Join The Man of the West for the first half of Letter 247, where Tolkien frets that some magic dies the moment you visit it.
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Week 123 - Middle-earth Map Monday: Chance Our Luck
Not a lottery ticket The Man of the West would buy. Join him as Frodo and Sam take the one road left to them, and end up conscripted into Sauron’s army.
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Week 122 - Silmarillion Saturday: All Song Ceased
Join The Man of the West as Melkor and Ungoliant reach the Trees — and Valinor, which was sung into being, discovers silence alongside darkness.
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Week 122 - Friendship Friday: You Move Me, Gimli
Join The Man of the West as Gimli describes the caverns of Helm’s Deep with great detail and glorious prose, like… well, like Tolkien.
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Week 122 - Third Age Thursday: The Shieldwall Held
Midnight, a river of fire, and no sign of Elfhelm. Join The Man of the West as Grimbold makes his stand at the Fords of Isen — and faces a choice between glory and purpose.
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Week 122 - Word-nerd Wednesday: Horse-Joy
Join The Man of the West for one Old English root, four Rohirric names, and a word that has been galloping through the language since the Eurasian steppe.
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Week 122 - Tolkien Tuesday: And Good Detestable
The Ringwraiths would have said “my lord”, but not to The Man of the West. We close out letter 246 today — including some hard truths about Gandalf.
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Week 122 - Middle-earth Map Monday: Pieces on a Board
Join The Man of the West as Frodo and Sam crest the Morgai — and discover the plain of Gorgoroth is crawling with orcs.
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Week 121 - Silmarillion Saturday: Reconciled, In Word
Join The Man of the West as Melkor and Ungoliant come down from Hyarmentir, and Valinor holds a party. Moral of the story: hire private security.
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Week 121 - Friendship Friday: You Comfort Me
Join The Man of the West as Legolas and Gimli become two-thirds of the Three Hunters — from the breaking of the Fellowship, across Rohan, and into Helm's Deep, where two friends find the same word for what the other gives them.
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Week 121 - Third Age Thursday: Let Isen Be Their Snare
Join The Man of the West as two loyal commanders disagree about how to fight a battle Tolkien has already told us was lost.
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Week 121 - Word-nerd Wednesday: Brightest of Stars
Join The Man of the West for six words drawn from the cry that broke the Watchers — and from an older cry, in the dark of Shelob's lair.
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Week 121 - Tolkien Tuesday: Nice Master
It’s certainly not what Alan’s team members call him. Join The Man of the West as we continue letter 246 and visit the moment that Tolkien calls perhaps the most tragic in the entire Tale.
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Week 121 - Middle-earth Map Monday: Down and Down
But not to goblin-town; not yet. Join The Man of the West as Sam finds the way up to Frodo, and the two escape the Tower of Cirith Ungol — into The Land of Shadow.
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Week 120 - Silmarillion Saturday: With Both Hands
Join The Man of the West as we go back to where the whole tragedy begins — Melkor slips south to the lightless land of Avathar, and strikes a bargain with a dark hunger.
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Week 120 - Friendship Friday: Above All the Jewels
What Fëanor didn’t get after begging three times, a Dwarf gets at first asking. Join The Man of the West as Gimli leaves Lothlórien with three golden hairs and an unexpected wound.
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Week 120 - Third Age Thursday: Till Éomer Comes
Two wolfriders, a two-mile charge, and a horn in the dark. Join The Man of the West as Elfhelm reaches the Fords of Isen, and the Prince of the Mark speaks his last words.
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Week 120 - Word-nerd Wednesday: Full Power
Join The Man of the West for a black fence, a shadow that argued with itself, a mountain that watched the wrong way — and the Latin word Tolkien used to describe Gandalf.
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Week 120 - Tolkien Tuesday: Where Shall I Find Rest?
Join The Man of the West as we continue letter 246, where Tolkien turns from Frodo’s blame to Frodo’s wounds — and the question Gandalf wouldn’t answer.
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Week 120 - Middle-earth Map Monday: Climbs Backwards-Like
Join The Man of the West (who climbs forward, if at all) as we follow Sam in, and up, the Tower of Cirith Ungol on his quest to find Frodo.
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Week 119 - Silmarillion Saturday: Dark Fruit
Join The Man of the West as the last two sons of Fëanor wish they’d ordered oven mitts, and the Quenta Silmarillion comes to its end.
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Week 119 - Friendship Friday: I Need You Both
Two peoples, three Ages of grievance, and one wizard who refuses to give judgment. Join The Man of the West as we begin our look at An Unexpected Friendship.
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Week 119 - Third Age Thursday: Too Late
Join The Man of the West as Saruman’s trap closes around Théodred at the Fords of Isen — and Grimbold proves his worth.
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Week 119 - Word-nerd Wednesday: Through the Cenedril, and What Gimli Found There
That would be a very different book, Mr. Carroll. Join The Man of the West for a look at a river and a lake, six names, and a 1971 BBC interview with Tolkien
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Week 119 - Tolkien Tuesday: He Did That
Join The Man of the West as we begin a four-episode read-through of letter 246 — in which Tolkien defends Frodo, demolishes simple-minded heroism, and gives us the entire argument in three words.
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