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Finding the Glitter in the Gold

Finding the Glitter in the Gold

By Hannah and Zoe

Friends talk about Tolkien, Middle Earth, and Lord of the Rings theories.
Updates every Sunday!

Suggestions? Theories? Ideas? Email us at glitterinthegold@gmail.com.
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Ep. 22 - Tolkien's Poetry

Finding the Glitter in the GoldAug 23, 2020

00:00
47:19
Ep. 22 - Tolkien's Poetry

Ep. 22 - Tolkien's Poetry

Hannah comes to this episode with a lot of other people's opinions about Tolkien's poetry in Lord of the Rings, and Zoe comes to the episode with a lot of love in her heart for the poetry in Lord of the Rings. We attempt an analysis and also get side-tracked by things like the names for metrical feet and more Tolkien poetry recitations.

Music Credits (via Free Music Archive):

Intro/Outro - ‘Bagopolier Freylekhs’ by Alicia Svigals/Lauren Brody Klezmer Mash

Aug 23, 202047:19
Ep. 21 - Translating Lord of the Rings

Ep. 21 - Translating Lord of the Rings

In this second part of our series on translating Tolkien, Hannah and Zoe talk about some of the stories around translating the Lord of the Rings trilogy into different real-world languages. We also discuss copyright law around translations, fanfiction, derivative works, and the performance arts (specifically, circus).

Music Credits (via Free Music Archive):

Intro/Outro - ‘Bagopolier Freylekhs’ by Alicia Svigals/Lauren Brody Klezmer Mash

Aug 17, 202048:52
Ep. 20 - Translating the Hobbit

Ep. 20 - Translating the Hobbit

Zoe and Hannah talk about some of the stories around translating The Hobbit into different real-world languages, including Swedish, Russian/Belarusian, Hebrew, Latin, and more! And Zoe sings a spontaneous song! Also, we did have to take a quick mid-episode research break to check the history between Armenia and the USSR, so look forward to hearing us attempt to self-educate in real time.

Music Credits (via Free Music Archive):

Intro/Outro - ‘Bagopolier Freylekhs’ by Alicia Svigals/Lauren Brody Klezmer Mash

Aug 09, 202040:53
Ep. 19 - How Cool Are Middle Earth Dragons?

Ep. 19 - How Cool Are Middle Earth Dragons?

Zoe discusses famous dragons of Middle Earth and Hannah has middle-grade dragon book recommendations if you want to email her for suggestions! A time well-spent discussing all the cool flying fire lizards of Middle Earth.

Music Credits (via Free Music Archive):

Intro/Outro - 'Bagopolier Freylekhs' by Alicia Svigals/Lauren Brody Klezmer Mash

Background Music - ‘Downfall’ and ‘Sentinel’ by Kai Engel

Aug 02, 202041:21
Ep. 18 - Tolkien and Pratchett

Ep. 18 - Tolkien and Pratchett

Hannah talks with Zoe about the ways Tolkien inspired Sir Terry Pratchett's Discworld books! Hannah talks about how satire can lead to some deep worldbuilding, too, and the ways Pratchett explored a lot of human issues with fantasy characters.

Music Credits (via Free Music Archive):

Intro/Outro - "Bagopolier Freylekhs" by Alicia Svigals/Lauren Brody Klezmer Mash

Background Music - ‘Sentinel’ and ‘Homeroad’ by Kai Engel

Water/stream sound effect from Free Sounds Library

Jul 26, 202001:06:29
Ep. 17 - Middle Earth Architecture Part 2

Ep. 17 - Middle Earth Architecture Part 2

Continuing from last week, Zoe and Hannah discuss the architecture and set design of the Peter Jackson movies and compare it to Tolkien's own ideas about the architectural influences on Middle Earth. We talk about elvish and dwarfish architecture in this one, including the artistic/architectural movements in the real world that inspired these aesthetics. 

Music Credits (via Free Music Archive):

Intro/Outro - "Bagopolier Freylekhs" by Alicia Svigals/Lauren Brody Klezmer Mash

Background Music - ‘You Get The Blues’ by Lobo Loco, ’Downfall’ by Kai Engel

Jul 19, 202041:55
Ep. 16 - Middle Earth Architecture Part 1

Ep. 16 - Middle Earth Architecture Part 1

Zoe and Hannah discuss the architecture and set design of the Peter Jackson movies and compare it to Tolkien's own ideas about the architectural influences on Middle Earth. We mostly talk about the halls of men and hobbits in this, but tune in for Part 2 next week, which goes more in-depth with elves!

Music Credits (via Free Music Archive):

Intro/Outro - "Bagopolier Freylekhs" by Alicia Svigals/Lauren Brody Klezmer Mash

Jul 12, 202049:22
Ep. 15 - Soundscaping Middle Earth
Jul 05, 202035:58
Ep. 14 - Hobbits and Inheritance Law

Ep. 14 - Hobbits and Inheritance Law

Zoe delves into hobbit inheritance law! We also diverge for Hannah to talk about some Shire genetics, and we discover the TRUE owner of the One Ring based on spoils of war, murder, and lost property legality.

Music Credits (via Free Music Archive):

Intro/Outro - "Bagopolier Freylekhs" by Alicia Svigals/Lauren Brody Klezmer Mash

Jun 29, 202040:49
Ep. 13 - Racism in Fantasy and How to Change the Narrative
Jun 21, 202052:46
Ep. 12 - How Did the Rings Get Made?

Ep. 12 - How Did the Rings Get Made?

Zoe explains the forging of the rings to Hannah. We take a few detours along the way, of course, but that's our starting point.

Music Credits (via Free Music Archive):

Intro/Outro - "Bagopolier Freylekhs" by Alicia Svigals/Lauren Brody Klezmer Mash

Jun 14, 202035:53
Ep. 11 - Middle Earth Languages

Ep. 11 - Middle Earth Languages

Zoe brings her knowledge of the languages of Middle Earth and Hannah brings some silly Fellowship linguistic theories from the depths of Tumblr. We talk about the spoken Elvish, Human/Westron, and Dwarf languages (and how the origins of Dwarvish, particularly Dwarvish sign language, are pretty problematic).

Music Credits (via Free Music Archive):

Intro/Outro - "Bagopolier Freylekhs" by Alicia Svigals/Lauren Brody Klezmer Mash

Jun 07, 202040:09
Ep. 10 - Tolkien and Lewis

Ep. 10 - Tolkien and Lewis

Hannah brings her biography game to discuss the interweaving lives of J.R.R. Tolkien and C.S. Lewis, and she and Zoe talk about how these famous fantasy authors influenced, supported, and critiqued each other.

Music Credits (via Free Music Archive):

Intro/Outro - "Bagopolier Freylekhs" by Alicia Svigals/Lauren Brody Klezmer Mash

Background Music - ‘Remember Love’ by Kai Engel

May 31, 202001:03:50
Ep. 9 - Missing Women and Ents

Ep. 9 - Missing Women and Ents

Hannah wants to know about the missing women in Middle Earth, and comes to Zoe bearing some hilarious Ent suggestions.

Music Credits (via Free Music Archive):

Intro/Outro - "Bagopolier Freylekhs" by Alicia Svigals/Lauren Brody Klezmer Mash

Background Music - ‘Brain’ by Lobo Loco

May 24, 202029:36
Ep. 8 - Epic Translations

Ep. 8 - Epic Translations

Hannah and Zoe talk about the epic poems that influenced Middle Earth, as well as a scenario where Éowyn and Faramir translate Rohirrim songs.

Music Credits (via Free Music Archive):

Intro/Outro - "Bagopolier Freylekhs" by Alicia Svigals/Lauren Brody Klezmer Mash

May 17, 202035:53
Ep. 7 - Bagginses and Heroism

Ep. 7 - Bagginses and Heroism

Hannah comes to Zoe with a pile of philosophical questions about the heroism of the two hobbit protagonists of Tolkien's key Middle Earth stories, and the two discuss if Bilbo and Frodo Baggins fail as heroes.

Music Credits (via Free Music Archive):

Intro/Outro - "Bagopolier Freylekhs" by Alicia Svigals/Lauren Brody Klezmer Mash

May 10, 202036:39
Ep. 6 - Who's Got Beef in the Fellowship?

Ep. 6 - Who's Got Beef in the Fellowship?

Hannah shares some theories about inter-Fellowship squabbles, and Zoe provides textual evidence of Borimir's complexity, Gandalf's homewrecking (in a manner of speaking), Sam's inspiration, and the Legolas/Gimli relationship development theories we know you all want.

The chart we reference has been found by a wonderful listener! Here it is: lesbiansforboromir.tumblr.com/post/187373136223

Music Credits (via Free Music Archive):

Intro/Outro - "Bagopolier Freylekhs" by Alicia Svigals/Lauren Brody Klezmer Mash

Background Music - 'Valiesse' by sawsquarenoise, ‘Augmentations’ by Kai Engel


May 03, 202037:60
Ep. 5 - How Do Elves and Dwarves Measure Hotness?

Ep. 5 - How Do Elves and Dwarves Measure Hotness?

Zoe explains Elvish and Dwarven history to Hannah, and Hannah shares some Tumblr theories about different Middle Earth races' concepts of hotness.

Music Credits (via Free Music Archive):

Intro/Outro - 'Bagopolier Freylekhs' by Alicia Svigals/Lauren Brody Klezmer Mash

Background Music - ‘Fantasa de Bello Alcazar’ by sawsquarenoise and ‘Augmentations’ by Kai Engel

Apr 26, 202040:57
Ep. 4 - Middle Earth History and Wizards

Ep. 4 - Middle Earth History and Wizards

Zoe goes into the history of Middle Earth and explains wizards to Hannah, who has been baffled about Gandalf for years now.

Music Credits (via Free Music Archive):

Intro/Outro - "Bagopolier Freylekhs" by Alicia Svigals/Lauren Brody Klezmer Mash

Background Music - 'Valiesse' by sawsquarenoise

Apr 22, 202033:23
Ep. 3 - What's There to Eat in Middle Earth?

Ep. 3 - What's There to Eat in Middle Earth?

We talk about the different diets of elves, dwarves, hobbits, humans, ents, orcs, and trolls in Middle Earth.

Music Credits (via Free Music Archive):

Intro/Outro - "Bagopolier Freylekhs" by Alicia Svigals/Lauren Brody Klezmer Mash

Apr 19, 202034:55
Ep. 2 - Linguistics and Tolkien the Philologist

Ep. 2 - Linguistics and Tolkien the Philologist

Zoe and Hannah talk about Tolkien's lifelong love of language, and how he built Middle Earth to support the languages he created.

Music Credits (via Free Music Archive):

Intro/Outro - "Bagopolier Freylekhs" by Alicia Svigals/Lauren Brody Klezmer Mash

Apr 15, 202034:26
Ep. 1 - Would It Suck to Grow Up with Elves as a Human?

Ep. 1 - Would It Suck to Grow Up with Elves as a Human?

Hannah and Zoe discuss how much it would suck to grow up human and surrounded by the ethereal, distant, ever-beautiful elves of Middle Earth.

Music Credits (via Free Music Archive):

Intro/Outro - "Bagopolier Freylekhs" by Alicia Svigals/Lauren Brody Klezmer Mash

Apr 12, 202027:58