Caleb Woodbridge and Olivia Cottrell are joined by fellow Tolkien-geeks Gwen Williams and Alex Zens to get the literary lowdown on all things Middle-Earth related.

We chat about why we love Tolkien, plus those things about his writing that perhaps aren’t quite so great. We also discuss Tolkien’s impact on the fantasy genre, his relationship with Wales, and what it’s like to study Tolkien at university. And to round it off, we talk about the upcoming Hobbit movie and what we liked and didn’t like about The Lord of the Rings movie trilogy.

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 14:54 — 27.3MB)

Mentioned in this podcast:

• Tolkien scholar Dimitra Fimi and her book Tolkien, Race and Cultural History: From Fairies to Hobbits.
• Dr Carl Phelpstead and his book Tolkien and Wales – interview with the author coming soon!
• The academic journal Tolkien Studies.
• The Hobbit movie – get all the latest news from TheOneRing.net.
• The Tolkien Professor podcast by Professor Corey Olsen – lively lectures on Tolkien’s writing, plus bonus content on fantasy and medieval literature.