Amon Sûl

Michael Haldas returns to the podcast to talk with Fr. Andrew about chapter 10 of The Hobbit, “A Warm Welcome,” in which Bilbo and the Dwarves arrive at Laketown. But what is the lost history of the city-state of Dale? What does it mean to be the Master? And what happens when your legends show up and walk through town? They discuss all this and more, but first they respond to a listener question about whether Sam might have actually been the better Ring-bearer.

Stan Shin joins Richard Rohlin to talk about gaming and Tolkien, Tolkien and gaming, and field some questions from listeners about violence in our entertainment. They also read and discuss Chapter 13 of The Silmarillion, “The Return of the Noldor.”

AFR station manager Bobby Maddex (finally!) joins Fr. Andrew Stephen Damick to geek out about the Peter Jackson film trilogy, and how it compares with the books, the good and bad unique to the films. And of course the hobbits get taken once more to Isengard, courtesy of fan-submitted quiz questions.

Christian Gonzalez, podcaster, thinker and therapist, joins Fr. Andrew Stephen Damick to pace the lonely, palantir-haunted halls of the White Tower of Ecthelion to figure out just what makes the penultimate Steward of Gondor tick.

Dcn. Nicholas Kotar returns to the podcast to discuss with Fr. Andrew Stephen Damick his forthcoming epic fantasy novel in the Raven Son series, world-building, sub-creation in Tolkienian terms, and how this contributes to Christian culture-creation.