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. Now in its ninth season, Alan is joined by an all-star cast of co-hosts as he explores more of Middle-earth! Alan and all his co-hosts are passionate Tolkien enthusiasts, inviting 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!
Episodes
June 29, 2025 • 128 mins
Maybe Celebrimbor just has poor penmanship; and maybe Alan still can’t pronounce things correctly. Join The Man of the West and The Sage of the South as we urge you to take the advice provided in the episode title when we dive into Appendix E to The Lord of the Rings on Writing and Spelling… but we know you’re here for the pronunciation humiliation! Fëanor stands on the shoulders of the giant Rumil, Tolkien retcons the Dwarvish ‘ou...
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June 22, 2025 • 128 mins
The Númenóreans altered the calendar of the Elves; Alan & James never could get the hang of Thursdays. Join The Man of the West and The Sage of the South as we practice only the best kind of pedantry in our exploration of Appendix D on the various intricate calendar systems in Middle-earth. The Elves are obsessed with sixes and twelves, the Númenóreans have to fix a millennial deficit — which has nothing to do with spending too muc...
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June 15, 2025 • 96 mins
Grab a drink at the bar and step into the Common Room — it’s time to join The Man of the West and The Sage of the South as we answer listener questions again in our 31st quarterly Questions After Nightfall. From questions about Saruman, Ring-maker to the Dagor Dagorath; from the Forsaken Inn to awkward conversations in the Halls of Mandos, our listeners bring their best questions — and their worst puns. Alan is a middle-aged softy,...
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June 8, 2025 • 104 mins
One of the greatest Elven loremasters finally gets his time in the spotlight; and in an ironic twist, James gets some time in the spotlight (or is that ‘under the bus’?). Join The Man of the West and The Sage of the South as Alan hands the reins of the show over to James, who brings us a special episode on Pengoloð the Wise of Gondolin. From the development of the Eldarin languages to an explanation of lembas, if you don’t know one...
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June 1, 2025 • 119 mins
Tolkien is forced to shrink the Tale of Years to satisfy his publisher; James is forced to co-host a few episodes of the PPP to satisfy Alan. Join The Man of the West and The Sage of the South as we get to the sooner or later, flying through the history of the Second and Third Ages of Middle-earth in our look at Appendix B to The Lord of the Rings, known as The Tale of Years. Bias creeps in as historians change the Second Age recor...
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May 25, 2025 • 117 mins
Christopher Tolkien explains that “the textual situation… is complex and hard to unravel.” Fortunately, the podcast situation is quite simple. Join The Man of the West and The Shieldmaiden of Rohan as we conclude our time with the Dwarves - and our time with Sara for this season - in an in-depth look at The Quest of Erebor, including bits of the story you’ve not likely read before. Dearly beloved, we are gathered here today to witn...
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May 18, 2025 • 129 mins
Gandalf worries that the dragon Sauron might use with terrible effect; Sara worries that the bad jokes Alan might use with terrible effect. Join The Man of the West and The Shieldmaiden of Rohan as we begin our longer-than-expected look into The Quest of Erebor from Unfinished Tales, as a sidebar to our walk through Appendix A III on Durin’s Folk. Gandalf is overtaken by Thorin on the road to Bree (“Thorin, you’re much too fast!”),...
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May 11, 2025 • 129 mins
A deep dive into Tolkien’s oldest stories about the Dwarves uncovers all sorts of interesting details, as Alan hands the reins of the PPP to Sara for her expertise on the Dwarves. Join The Man of the West and The Shieldmaiden of Rohan as we explore the origin, awakening, culture, and language of Tolkien’s Dwarves as we take a sidebar into several volumes of The History of Middle-earth. From their early nature as evil creatures, to ...
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May 4, 2025 • 132 mins
They say that Gandalf is wise and knows more than any other of what goes on in the world; they say Alan can sometimes do math. Join The Man of the West and The Shieldmaiden of Rohan as we continue our team in Appendix A III to The Lord of the Rings, on Durin’s Folk. Thorin is too proud to beg, Gandalf begins to worry about Smaug and Sauron becoming BFFs, and Gimli says he don’t care where we go, he don’t care what we do, just take ...
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April 27, 2025 • 107 mins
Thráin escapes the Balrog in Moria and establishes Erebor; Sara can’t escape Alan and the PPP quite yet, despite her best efforts. Join The Man of the West and The Shieldmaiden of Rohan as we begin a five-part look at the Dwarves, starting with two episodes on Appendix A III to The Lord of the Rings on Durin’s Folk. Durin the Deathless lived a very long time, but still managed to die - for now; the Balrog drives Durin’s Folk out of...
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April 20, 2025 • 127 mins
After a long reign as King, Aragorn finally takes his rest, and a great beauty was revealed in him; after a season of the PPP, Alan takes a week off, and… well, the comparison ends there. Join The Man of the West and The Shieldmaiden of Rohan for an unexpected episode as we conclude the now three-part discussion of The Tale of Aragorn and Arwen from Appendix A of The Lord of the Rings. Arwen tries to convince Aragorn to wait (if yo...
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April 13, 2025 • 119 mins
After years away doing errantry, Aragorn returns to Rivendell, looking like an Elf-lord. After a week away doing a few errands, Alan returns to the Common Room, looking much the same. Join The Man of the West and The Shieldmaiden of Rohan for the second of three episodes on The Tale of Aragorn and Arwen from Appendix A of The Lord Of the Rings. Aragorn just couldn’t stand to be kept away, Arwen renounces the Twilight, and Elrond se...
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April 6, 2025 • 119 mins
Gilraen’s mom and dad have differing opinions on whether she should marry Arathorn; Alan and Sara just have differing opinions. Join The Man of the West and The Shieldmaiden of Rohan as we begin a two-part series — which rapidly becomes three parts — on The Tale of Aragorn and Arwen as the PPP returns to Appendix A in The Lord Of the Rings. Aragorn strays into a dream and discovers she’s the meaning in his life, she’s the inspirati...
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March 30, 2025 • 99 mins
It’s time to come into the Common Room with The Man of the West and The Shieldmaiden of Rohan as we answer listener questions again in our 30th Questions After Nightfall! From the necessity of real-world physics to whose brooch did Bombadil find; from Fëanor’s favorite games to Thingol’s quite-appropriate guilt, our listeners always bring their A game… or would that be their Q game? Alan is confusticated and bebothered, and Sara re...
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March 23, 2025 • 142 mins
Join the Tolkien fandom and community — along with The Man of the West and The Lord of the Mark — for the PPP’s 10th annual Tolkien Reading Day, observed every March 25 in honor of the destruction of the Ring and the downfall of Barad-dûr. This year’s theme, as chosen by the Tolkien Society, is Fellowship and Community — and not only do we have some incredible readings that showcase this year’s them, the PPP is demonstrating its ow...
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March 16, 2025 • 152 mins
The Man of the West bids farewell to The Nerd of the Rings, as they welcome everyone’s favorite ancient and military historian back to the PPP: Dr. Bret Devereaux, author of A Collection of Unmitigated Pedantry returns to answer an absurd number of questions that Alan and Matt have come up with from their last ten episodes. We get our 40k references out of the way early, discover Bret doesn’t read Old Norse, get an expert explanati...
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March 9, 2025 • 115 mins
The Marshals of the Mark faithfully serve the King by leading their trained Riders in battle; Matt faithfully serves Alan by… well, we’re still figuring that one out. Join The Man of the West and The Nerd of the Rings as they dive into the inner workings of Rohan’s command structure in our final episode on The Battles of the Fords of Isen from Unfinished Tales. Turns out Théoden was pretty young as far as Kings of Rohan go, Éomer g...
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March 2, 2025 • 103 mins
Erkenbrand takes command of the West-mark after the death of Théodred; Matt makes it clear that, in the event of Alan’s death, he wants no such responsibility. Join us as there is a coincidence of calendars in our second episode on The Battles of the Fords of Isen from Unfinished Tales. Grimbold stands firm by the Fords, Elfhelm is the Admiral Ackbar of Rohan, and none of it really matters because quantity has a quality all its own...
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February 23, 2025 • 113 mins
The Rohirrim are loyal to Théoden, even in his dotage; Matt’s loyalty to Alan is in doubt. Join us as Saruman begins his assault on Rohan with a strategic faux pas in the first of three episodes covering The Battles of the Fords of Isen from Unfinished Tales. Wormtongue pits brother against brother, Théodred proves to be the Faramir of Rohan, and Grimbold and Elfhelm save what’s left of a very bad day. We ask when a brother is like...
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February 16, 2025 • 94 mins
Isildur counsels his successors to bring their heirs to the Hill of Awe to reveal the secrets of the realm; Alan and Matt wonder if there’s a Gondorian equivalent to Area 51. Join us as we step back in time to the establishment of the Tradition of Isildur in our final episode on Cirion & Eorl. Isildur gets out a map and points to the middle (like putting a memorial to George Washington in the middle of Kansas), the Stewards play ru...
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