Throwback: Who Is Tom Bombadil?

Today’s show engages the recent encyclical of Pope Leo XIV, Magnifica Humanitas. The encyclical offers wise guidance from a Christian set of resources to help human beings protect their humanity and the common good in light of the radical changes coming from advanced technologies ...  Show more

“Knowledge is Power, Francis Bacon”—we’ve all heard it over and over. But what did he mean? And was he right, or did he intentionally leave important things to know out of his thinking? He’s credited with developing the scientific method, and we should be grateful for this part o ...  Show more

Many far-right conservatives think The Lord of the Rings is about them. They may love Tolkien, but it's very possible Tolkien would not have loved them back. This episode was produced by Peter Balonon-Rosen with help from Ariana Aspuru, edited by Jolie Myers, fact-checked by Laur ...  Show more

In the final pages of Book I, Chapter 2, “The Shadow of the Past”, Gandalf recounts how he found Gollum and filled in the gaps in the Ring’s history. Frodo begins to understand what he must do; and while he’s not exactly eager to do it, he won’t have to do it alone. We spend some ...  Show more

For millions of Tolkien lovers around the world, The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings are more than just fantasy fiction. Their rich mix of sacred mythology and archetypal saga stories draw deeply into history and legend and profoundly resonate with universa ...

Strider’s path to Rivendell leads the hobbits through rough terrain; all the while, the days get colder and Frodo gradually succumbs to the evil effects of the Witch-king’s blade. A bad situation starts to look even worse when Pippin and Merry catch a glimpse of three trolls ahea ...  Show more