In 1954, J.R.R. Tolkien -- British writer, scholar, and Oxford professor -- released the most important and influential piece of fantasy in literary history: The Lord of the Rings. As a follow-up to The Hobbit, which Tolkien published nearly two decades earlier in 1937, the so-called Trilogy represents some of the most beloved fiction in the entire English language. A mere podcast cannot and will not do these seminal works justice, but for roughly two hours, we gush over a trio of works so essential that the entire fantasy genre, and everything that's spun off from it -- including video games, tabletop games, card games, and more -- would be far, far different (and possibly non-existent) today. But thankfully, we don't live in a Tolkien-less alternate reality. So let's celebrate, shall we?   
  
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