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 21, 2026 • 111 mins
Join The Man of the West as The Lord of the Mark submits his application to return to the PPP as guest host for a six-episode run to wrap up Season 10; Alan welcomes Shawn back by throwing him into the chaos of a live Q&A for our 35th Questions After Nightfall! We take a deep dive into some important words from On Fairy-Stories 10 years after the first time we tried, answer a hard question about hard times, and talk about the c...
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June 14, 2026 • 104 mins
Aghan brings a watch-stone to Barach’s house; Alan and Don wonder if that violates the HOA rules. Join The Man of the West and The Obscure Lord of the Rings Facts Guy as we conclude our two-episode look at The Drúedain from Unfinished Tales — and Don’s run of episodes on this season of the PPP. Barach needs home protection, Aghan learns a painful truth, and it’s no surprise the Drúedain are a secretive peopl...
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June 7, 2026 • 100 mins
The Folk of Haleth retained many practices that seemed strange to the Eldar and the other Atani; Alan retains a few strange practices and Don wants nothing to do with them. Join The Man of the West and The Obscure Lord of the Rings Facts Guy as we begin our two-episode look at the Unfinished Tales chapter on the enigmatic people known as the Drúedain. The Haladin are already unusual, so what’s one more quirk among Edain?; the...
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May 31, 2026 • 111 mins
Short cuts lead to long delays… or perhaps just slaughter and death. Join The Man of the West and The Obscure Lord of the Rings Facts Guy as we welcome back the always-insightful, often-hilarious Dr. Bret Devereaux to the Common Room! Our favorite ancient and military historian (the conjunction is important) joins us to answer questions ranging from Númenórean naval power to the practicality, or lack thereof, of steel bows. ...
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May 24, 2026 • 124 mins
The Elendilmir worn by the Kings of Arnor had not the ancientry nor potency of the original; there’s got to be a joke in there about Alan and Don, right? Join The Man of the West and The Obscure Lord of the Rings Facts Guy as we conclude our two-part look at The Disaster of the Gladden Fields from Unfinished Tales. Isildur realizes he can’t live with or without the Ring, Aragorn discovers a piece of ancient Númenórean h...
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May 17, 2026 • 115 mins
Isildur proclaims his sovereign lordship over all the Dúnedain; Alan knows better than to proclaim lordship over his own podcast. Join The Man of the West as he welcomes back Don Marshall to the Common Room to begin our two-part look at the chapter The Disaster of the Gladden Fields from Unfinished Tales. Isildur plans a long road trip, the orcs have the high ground, and Elendur tells his dad to walk til you run and don’t loo...
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May 10, 2026 • 115 mins
Saruman has no time for the simples of peasants; Alan and Matt wouldn’t mind if things were simpler. Join The Man of the West and The Nerd of the Rings as we get an in-depth look at Saruman’s continuing jealousy of Gandalf as we conclude our four-episode study of The Hunt for the Ring from Unfinished Tales. Saruman knows it’s a long day living in Isengard, Gandalf gives reasons why smoking is actually good, and Ra...
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May 3, 2026 • 114 mins
Gollum was peculiarly fitted to survive in Moria, though at cost of great misery; Matt is also able to survive his time on the PPP with the same cost. Join The Man of the West and The Nerd of the Rings as we get a closer look at Saruman’s unenviable position in our third episode of four on The Hunt for the Ring from Unfinished Tales. Gollum doesn’t know how to open a door, Saruman discovers there ain’t no easy way...
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April 26, 2026 • 112 mins
Christopher Tolkien tells us that the manuscripts for this story are “in great, though hardly exceptional, confusion” — so it seems this podcast is in good company. Join The Man of the West and The Nerd of the Rings as we begin to sort through the various versions of the story of The Hunt for the Ring as our four-part look at the chapter continues. The Nazgûl, it seems, have an unexpected weakness; Sauron decides ...
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April 19, 2026 • 122 mins
Saruon had never paid heed to the halflings, even if he had heard of them — and Matt still doesn’t pay heed to Alan, even if he works with him. Join The Man of the West and The Nerd of the Rings as we begin our four-part dive into the chapter The Hunt for the Ring from Unfinished Tales. Sauron hesitates to unleash his most powerful servants; the Witch-king is workin’ on a mystery, goin’ wherever it leads; an...
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April 12, 2026 • 98 mins
Join The Man of the West as he welcomes The Nerd of the Rings for his run of episodes this season by throwing him into the deep end of a Live Q&A in the PPP Common Room for our 34th Questions After Nightfall! Matt and Alan decide to crash several legendarium weddings, but we skip Túrin’s: we know too much. We answer an interesting question about what the Tolkien fandom will look like in 500 years, decide to film a documen...
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April 5, 2026 • 131 mins
Treebeard and the unnamed King of Lórien set bounds between them; Alan and James clearly know no bounds. Join The Man of the West and The Sage of the South as we conclude our six-episode look at The History of Galadriel and Celeborn in Unfinished Tales. Fangorn will walk where he wants to; of the Gwathló, we learn that the river is wide and it’s too hard to cross (especially in the middle of the night); Celeborn is (we guess)...
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March 29, 2026 • 108 mins
Of the Elessar two things are said, though which is true only those Wise could say who now are gone — to paraphrase Merry, “that leaves us out, James”. Join The Man of the West and The Sage of the South as we return from our short break from The History of Galadriel and Celeborn to study a green gem and learn more about the Silvan Elves. Enerdhil becomes Sir-Not-Appearing-In-This-Book, Gandalf plays the part of a ...
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March 22, 2026 • 138 mins
Join us all in the Common Room for the Prancing Pony Podcast’s 11th annual Tolkien Reading Day special. Tolkien Reading Day is 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 Unlikely Heroes — which describes each of the co-hosts who’ve joined with The Man of the West to present readings that showcase this ...
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March 15, 2026 • 115 mins
Lórien had long years of peace and obscurity under the rule of Amdír; the PPP has had 10 years of, well, obscurity under the rule of Alan. Join The Man of the West and the Sage of the South as we continue our deep dive into the story of Amroth and Nimrodel found in The History of Galadriel and Celeborn. Galadriel sees just how much those poor Silvan Elves need proper leadership; Amroth’s name, it turns out, might have come fr...
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March 8, 2026 • 132 mins
When Sauron learned of Celebrimbor’s revolt, his wrath was revealed; Alan doesn’t wait for James to revolt, but his wrath is reduced to nothing more than bad jokes. Join The Man of the West and The Sage of the South as Sauron has his way in Eregion in our third episode on The History of Galadriel and Celeborn. Celebrimbor runs with a dangerous crowd, the Númenóreans show up five years late, and Amroth tragically discove...
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March 1, 2026 • 121 mins
Christopher Tolkien says his father’s writing on Galadriel and Celeborn is “very roughly composed”; some way that our episodes are even more roughly composed. Join The Man of the West and The Sage of the South as we continue our futile quest for a consistent storyline in The History of Galadriel and Celeborn. Amroth is and is not their son, Galadriel rolls a natural 20 for ‘Detect Evil’, and Celeborn w...
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February 22, 2026 • 106 mins
Celeborn has dwelt in the West since the days of dawn; it only seems like Alan has as well. Join The Man of the West and The Sage of the South as we embark on a six-part journey through The History of Galadriel and Celeborn from Unfinished Tales. Christopher Tolkien concedes ‘severe inconsistencies’, while Galadriel’s got a way about her; I don’t know what it is. Celeborn meets his wife in Doriath… or...
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February 15, 2026 • 122 mins
Tal-Elmar hopes to turn the tables on Mogru, the town’s Master; James manages to turn the table on Alan by interviewing him about his decade in podcasting. Join The Man of the West and The Sage of the South for some hazy cosmic jive as we conclude our four-episode look at the story of Tal-Elmar. It turns out Mogru’s been plotting for a while now, Tal-Elmar could probably do with a few more clothes, and the Númenóreans a...
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February 8, 2026 • 114 mins
Tal-Elmar refuses to help the Master because his “father is the elder”; James refuses to help Alan even though Alan is the elder. Join The Man of the West and The Sage of the South as love dares you to care for the story of Tal-Elmar found in The Peoples of Middle-earth. Mogru gets some exercise — apparently for the first time in ages, Hazad knows martial law when he sees it, and Tal-Elmar braves the three dangers...
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