Social Science Fiction

A discussion of Lord of the Rings as WWII allegory with my brother Adam.

Show Notes

I'm joined by my brother Adam and we revive a childhood discussion. If the War of the Ring was World War II, who would everyone be? Sidetracks include a discussion of Tolkien's theology and the overlooked virtues of Boromir.

Notes:

1:28 - Mage Knights (the miniatures game, not the board game) was an interesting game that began the brief "Clix System" craze. I                               remember it being a lot of fun. A nice combination of the collectible and random element from collectible card games like Magic: The                 Gathering and the miniature wargame element from stuff like Warhammer.

2:45 - A brief discussion of the classic LoTR cartoons.

3:46 - A great reference from Adam. Timothy Leary was a psychologist and psychedelics advocate. 

4:28 - S's and G's was not a term I was familiar with until now.

5:29 - Apologies to Fatty Bolger.

12:59 - I'm likely mispronouncing Eru Ilúvatar. I do think I have the basics of the cosmology down though.

14:23 - C.S. Lewis' The Problem with Pain captures Lewis' and, I suspect Tolkien's, views on this subject. 

28:30 - Looked it up. It was Aulë. 

Intro and outro music: "Swim below as Leviathans" by Fireproof_Babies (featuring Ben Shewmaker) is licensed under CC BY. 

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A weekly podcast that examines the politics of nerd fiction. What can political science teach us about our favorite sci-fi settings? Listen to find out. New episodes every Tuesday morning.