Episode 207 – Magic Mirror: On J.R.R. Tolkien's 'The Fellowship of the Ring'

This is the first of three episodes on J.R.R. Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings to be released in the course of the next several months. Focusing here on The Fellowship of the Ring, our hosts discuss the first leg of Frodo's journey into darkness, paying special attention to Tolkien's prose style, his modernism, his commitment to a truly magical realism, and his penchant for the weird and the tragic. Image: "Lothlorien" by Tessa Bronsky, via Wikimedia Commons. References J. R. R. Tolkien, The Fellowship of the Ring Algernon Blackwood, English writer Weird Studies, Episode 204 on “On Fairy Stories” Peter Jackson (dir.), The Lord of the Rings Ursula K. LeGuin, A Wizard of Earthsea Friedrich Nietzsche, History in the Service and Disservice of Life Milan Kundera, The Art of the Novel Kenneth Burke, A Grammar of Motives Carl Jung, The Red Book Lord Dunsaney, The King of Elfland’s Daughter Karl Marx, The Communist Manifesto David Foster Wallace, “E Unibus Pluram” Steven Chow (dir.), Kung Fu Hustle Donna Tartt, The Secret History Lost Lakes, YouTube Channel Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

You can listen to Episode 207 – Magic Mirror: On J.R.R. Tolkien's 'The Fellowship of the Ring' online on Radio and Podcast. Open the player on this page to stream the available audio.

Episode 207 – Magic Mirror: On J.R.R. Tolkien's 'The Fellowship of the Ring' is an episode from Weird Studies by Phil Ford and J. F. Martel.

This episode is 92:05 long.

This episode was published on Feb 25, 2026.

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