The Prancing Pony Podcast

The Prancing Pony Podcast is a weekly show about the Middle-earth legendarium of J.R.R. Tolkien, hosted - for six seasons - by Alan Sisto and Shawn E. Marchese. As the show returns for its seventh season, Alan welcomes an all-star cast of co-hosts to join him as he explores the first part of The Return of the King! Alan and all his co-hosts are passionate Tolkien enthusiasts, and they invite listeners to enjoy their detailed exploration of Tolkien’s work, with smart but straightforward discussion and a healthy dose of self-effacing humor, pop-culture references, and bad puns. These are the folks you'd want to hang out with at a pub and talk Tolkien with.

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Top 10 The Prancing Pony Podcast Episodes

Goodpods has curated a list of the 10 best The Prancing Pony Podcast episodes, ranked by the number of listens and likes each episode have garnered from our listeners. If you are listening to The Prancing Pony Podcast for the first time, there's no better place to start than with one of these standout episodes. If you are a fan of the show, vote for your favorite The Prancing Pony Podcast episode by adding your comments to the episode page.

095 - They Say It's Your Birthday

The Prancing Pony Podcast

09/23/18 • 97 min

In the first pages of Book I, Chapter 1 of The Lord of the Rings, “A Long-Expected Party”, we see Bilbo Baggins through the eyes of the hobbits of the Shire, not all of whom view him kindly. Seeming eccentric to some and suspicious to others, Bilbo is nevertheless the chief topic of conversation as the occasion of his eleventy-first birthday approaches. While the Gaffer gabs in the Ivy Bush, we discuss the secret ambitions of the Sackville-Bagginses, admire Tolkien’s intractability towards proofreaders, and have fun with numbers in Old English.

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1 Comment

094 - This Shire is Your Shire

The Prancing Pony Podcast

09/16/18 • 126 min

Never ones to skip over the pages with Roman numerals, we begin reading The Lord of the Rings at the famous Foreword, where Tolkien offered his most well-known comments on his own work, including his thoughts about allegory. Next, the Prologue explains in rich detail the history of the Shire, pipe-weed, and the sticky story of how Bilbo found his ring. Along the way, we discuss the origins (and, uh, the 'final destination') of Hobbits, the Red Book of Westmarch, and lob more classic movie references than your best friend from high school on a Saturday night.

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2 Listeners

1 Comment

214 – Dirty Deeds Done Dirt Cheap

The Prancing Pony Podcast

06/20/21 • 112 min

The reunited members of the Fellowship of the Ring (minus Gandalf, who’s off hobnobbing with kings and trees) get some valuable bro time amid the flotsam and jetsam of Isengard. Merry and Pippin have a lot to account for — and an angry Dwarf to appease — so they ply their friends with salted pork and pipe-weed while catching them up on the story since Parth Galen... glossing over the dirty deeds done to them by the Uruk-hai. Before this episode goes up in smoke, though, we get into the etymology of Huorn: a word as mysterious as the creatures themselves.

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2 Listeners

259 – Scary Monsters (and Super Creeps)

The Prancing Pony Podcast

07/17/22 • 136 min

Sam desperately tries to get through the blocked passage while the Orc captains — oblivious that their eaves are being dropped — continue complaining about their bosses (side note: we’re seriously creeped out by the fact that the Nazgûl actually give Orc officers the creeps). But when one of the captains reveals some new information, Sam suddenly realizes that getting to Frodo is more urgent than he thought. All this, plus Orc dialogue delivered with increasingly sore throats, a long sidebar on the moral code of Orcs, and an excerpt from our recent interview on the Rings of Power Wrap-up podcast with dialect coach Leith McPherson.

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029 - Tolkien's 125th Birthday Special

The Prancing Pony Podcast

01/03/17 • 49 min

We celebrate the twelfty-fifth birthday of John Ronald Reuel Tolkien with tributes from our listeners and our own thoughts on what Tolkien has meant to us. We also give the traditional birthday toast to the Professor, and we announce the winners of our giveaway drawings for The Art of the Lord of the Rings and the Facsimile First Edition of The Hobbit.

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1 Listener

027 - Go West, Young Edain

The Prancing Pony Podcast

12/18/16 • 124 min

Men arrive in Beleriand in Chapter 17 of The Silmarillion, and Middle-earth will never be the same. The Elves' reaction to the newcomers varies, but Morgoth's goal is clear: to keep the two races from forming an alliance. We introduce the Three Houses of the Edain, discuss one of Tolkien's great mythological puns, and expose the terrible manners of string instruments.

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025 - Watch Your Language

The Prancing Pony Podcast

11/20/16 • 103 min

In Chapter 15 of The Silmarillion, Turgon heeds Ulmo's warning and begins the construction of the hidden city of Gondolin. The truth finally comes out about why the Noldor returned to Beleriand, and Thingol is not pleased. Plus a special announcement about our Tolkien's 125th Birthday Giveaway, and tips for goodlier speaking from a teenage Tolkien.

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1 Listener

028 - Father of the Century: a PPP Christmas Special

The Prancing Pony Podcast

12/23/16 • 106 min

Alan and Shawn call for a Christmas truce on the Beleriand battlefront to enjoy Tolkien’s letters from Father Christmas to his children John, Michael, Christopher, and Priscilla. Not content to write about just toys and reindeer, Tolkien filled his letters with the charming misadventures of a host of North Pole residents, including elves, goblins, and a trickster bear with poor spelling. You’ll never feel good about your parenting skills again.

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1 Listener

016 - Hit the Road, Jack...

The Prancing Pony Podcast

07/31/16 • 121 min

In the first half of Chapter 9 of The Silmarillion, “Of the Flight of the Noldor”, Melkor and Ungoliant leave the dead Trees behind them and continue their crime spree in Formenos. Fëanor goes full-emo and rallies the Noldor to pursue his Black Foe back to Middle-earth, swearing a terrible oath in the process. We revisit Míriel in Mandos, and also discuss how a Silmaril is like a bite of ribeye.

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1 Listener

036 - Fly By Night, Away From Here

The Prancing Pony Podcast

03/26/17 • 131 min

Alan and Shawn begin yet another trilogy of episodes — this time on The Silmarillion Chapter 21, “Of Túrin Turambar.” The son of Húrin of Dor-lómin is fostered by the King of Doriath, but an awkward dinner party drives him to a life among outlaws. Fleeing from his own fate, he manages to bring disaster wherever he goes, and he’s headed to Nargothrond next. We give an overview of the history of the story Tolkien called the “germ” of his mythology and — surprise! — we quote Monty Python.

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FAQ

How many episodes does The Prancing Pony Podcast have?

The Prancing Pony Podcast currently has 355 episodes available.

What topics does The Prancing Pony Podcast cover?

The podcast is about Podcasts, Books, Arts, Tv & Film and Film Reviews.

What is the most popular episode on The Prancing Pony Podcast?

The episode title '095 - They Say It's Your Birthday' is the most popular.

What is the average episode length on The Prancing Pony Podcast?

The average episode length on The Prancing Pony Podcast is 104 minutes.

How often are episodes of The Prancing Pony Podcast released?

Episodes of The Prancing Pony Podcast are typically released every 7 days.

When was the first episode of The Prancing Pony Podcast?

The first episode of The Prancing Pony Podcast was released on Feb 22, 2016.

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Comments

Una Vez en una Luna Azul

@The Bookish Hedgehog

Apr 4

The amount of research and time that is spent on the material really shows the love and respect they have for this world. I always come away with a greater understanding of and appreciation for Tolkien's work. The humor and pop/nerd references are hilarious and greatly appreciated as they help to enliven the episodes and makes them entertaining.