Newsthe latest from The Tolkien Professor

Episode Four is now available! Prof. Corey Olsen and Dave Kale finally get to the heart of the matter and discuss Thorin Oakenshield.  They compare his different portrayals across The Hobbit, Appendix A of The Return of the King, and different versions of The Quest of Erebor and analyze how they may be combined and [...]

Prof. Corey Olsen and Dave Kale tackle one of their favorite events in all of Middle-earth history: The Battle of Azanulbizar.  Heroic deeds, cinematic taunts, slaughter and death, and, of course, the burned dwarves: they cover it all.  They share some of their favorite passages from Appendix A of The Return of the King, delve [...]

The Mythgard Institute, in conjunction with the Middle-earth Network, is proud to announce the long-awaited launch of the Riddles in the Dark prediction game attached to the RITD podcast by Corey Olsen and Dave Kale. The prediction game brings together guest analysts, hailing from some of the most popular Tolkien websites and podcasts on the Internet.  These experts [...]

In this session, Dave Kale and Corey Olsen discuss the extraordinary sequence of misfortunes that afflicted the House of Durin, especially Thror. They explore Thror’s story and gruesome death in Appendix A ofLOTR and The Quest for Erebor and connect it to the story of The Hobbit. Finally, they speculate on what role Thror may play in [...]

Faerie and Fantasy Class 23 (Princess and the Goblin, Chapters 1-10) is now available for download. See? I’m getting the production gears in motion again!

Silmarillion Seminar #19, “Fingolfin, We Hardly Knew Ye” (Of the Ruin of Beleriand and the Fall of Fingolfin), is now available for download. You can get it on the iTunes feed, as usual, or you can also find it on my The Silmarillion Seminar page!

A brand new chapter in the tolkienprofessor.com‘s history is opening in front of you, dear visitors! With the help of Mythgard Institute, my recently-launched school for the study of Tolkien and related works, I have just completed a complete redesign of the Tolkien Professor website.  I think you’ll love it, but let me give you the [...]

The Mythgard Institute, in conjunction with the Middle-earth Network, is excited to announce a new bi-weekly podcast from The Tolkien Professor, Corey Olsen, and Middle-earth Network Radio Programming Director Dave Kale. The 30-minute Riddles in the Dark podcasts began Tuesday, January 24, 2012 at 10:00 am UTC-5 and will be broadcast live on Middle-earth Network Radio.  The archived [...]

Announcing the completion of my The Hobbit lecture series, started all the way back in 2006!  The latest episode, Number 8, is online now for your listening enjoyment.

Want to study Tolkien for credit towards an MA (or just for fun) with world-class scholars and teachers? Listen to the recording of the live broadcast announcement of the Mythgard Institute, courtesy of Middle-Earth Network Radio: Part I: .mp3 | .m4a  Part II: .mp3 | .m4a (and the Mythgard Q&A Call-In Show, 11/27/11: .mp3) For years, students have had two basic options in higher education: take courses [...]