Fool of a Took Podcast

About Fool of a Took Podcast

One does not simply walk into serious discussion…  Fool of a Took Podcast  is a show where deep lore meets even deeper nonsense! Enter the Shire-adjacent mind of Chris, your host, guide, and certified Fool of a Took as he sets out to read The Lord of the Rings for the very first time, joined by his book-loving wife RJ, fellow first-time reader and baker Laura, and Laura’s husband Patrick, a devoted Tolkien super-fan. Fool of a Took is your book-club companion through Middle-earth—whether you’re discovering LOTR for the first time, revisiting it again, or geeking out as a lifelong Tolkien fan.

Publisher

Fool of a Took Podcast

Category

comedy

Language

en

Explicit

Yes

First episode

26 Sept 2024

Latest episode

14 Oct 2026

Latest episodes

63 episodes in the feed.

1. 

   14 Oct 2026

   061 - The Fellowship Say Goodbye in "Many Partings"

   The War of the Ring is over, Aragorn is King of Gondor, and the Fellowship is finally heading home. But in Chapter 6 of Book 6 of J.R.R. Tolkien’s The Return of the King, “Many Partings,” saying goodbye proves to be an adventure of its own. This week on Fool of a Took, Chris, Pat, Robbie Jean, and Laura follow the Fellowship’s emotional journey from Minas Tirith to Rivendell. Along the way, Théoden is laid to rest in Rohan, Éowyn and Faramir celebrate their engagement, Legolas and Gimli embark on one final adventure, and Treebeard makes the spectacularly terrible decision to release Saruman. Meanwhile, Arwen makes an extraordinary sacrifice for Frodo, Elrond faces the heartbreaking consequences of his daughter’s mortality, and the hobbits reunite with a rapidly aging Bilbo Baggins. We discuss Tolkien’s bittersweet farewell to Middle-earth, the fading of the Elves, the beginning of the Fourth Age, and the surprisingly ominous foreshadowing hiding beneath this otherwise joyful chapter. Plus, we celebrate Bilbo’s 129th birthday with a golden, ring-shaped lemon Bundt cake! Conversation Topics Tolkien’s bittersweet conclusion to the Fellowship’s journey Arwen’s sacrifice and Frodo’s passage to the Undying Lands Gimli and Éomer debate Galadriel versus Arwen Théoden’s funeral and the beginning of a new age in Rohan Eowyn and Faramir’s engagement and Merry’s extraordinary gift Legolas and Gimli’s final adventure together Treebeard’s disastrous decision to release Saruman Saruman and Wormtongue’s humiliating return The fading of the Elves and the changing of Middle-earth Elrond and Arwen’s heartbreaking farewell The hobbits reunite with an aging Bilbo Baggins Tolkien’s unusual vocabulary, telepathic Elves, and unanswered mysteries Timestamps 00:04:45 Tolkien’s bittersweet farewell to the Fellowship 00:07:12 Arwen’s extraordinary gift to Frodo 00:10:16 Éomer and Gimli debate Galadriel versus Arwen 00:13:33 Théoden’s funeral and a new King of Rohan 00:20:05 Arwen and Elrond’s heartbreaking farewell 00:21:07 Merry receives a legendary horn from Éowyn 00:23:29 Treebeard releases Saruman from Orthanc 00:27:28 Legolas and Gimli say goodbye to the Fellowship 00:32:32 Aragorn’s final farewell and the fading of the Elves 00:38:55 Saruman and Wormtongue return with a warning 00:45:21 The Wise communicate through telepathy 00:49:44 The hobbits reunite with Bilbo in Rivendell 00:56:16 Bilbo’s aging and the lingering effects of the One Ring 01:11:26 Arwen’s mortality and the tragedy of Elrond 01:20:22 The mystery of the Entwives and Treebeard’s famous quote 01:25:27 Food for Thought: Bilbo’s 129th birthday Bundt cake Today's "Food For Thought": Bilbo's Birthday Bundt Cake In this chapter, we are one day away from Bilbo's 129th birthday. What better way to celebrate than to make him a cake? The cake must be ring-shaped (obviously), so I chose a nice lemon-flavored Bundt cake. Recipe here: https://www.alattefood.com/easy-lemon-bundt-cake-recipe I usually use the baking spray in a can, and it worked very well to prevent sticking. ---------------------------------------------------- Thanks for watching! If you enjoyed todays episode, give us a like and subscribe and share this video with someone who likes The Lord of the Rings. Content Warning: Explicit Support the pod on Youtube!  @FoolofaTookPodcast Instagram: (https://www.instagram.com/foolofatookpodcast/) TikTok: (https://www.tiktok.com/@foolofatookpodcast) Original music for the show composed by Chris Newhard Got a question? Email us Foolofatookpodcast@gmail.com Follow the fools on IG: Chris (https://www.instagram.com/chrisnewhard) Robbie Jean (https://www.instagram.com/robbiejean815) Pat (https://www.instagram.com/rolling.seas2023) Laura (https://www.instagram.com/kennylaura525) Listen on Apple Podcasts (https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/fool-of-a-took-podcast/id1770780731) Listen on Spotify Link (https://open.spotify.com/show/0e3myYq2eUbKMMtiV7qAl7)

2. 

   30 Sept 2026

   060 - Hail to the King (and the Steward), Baby

   In this episode of Fool of a Took, we discuss "The Steward and the King", Book 6, Chapter 5 of The Return of the King. The War of the Ring is over, but Middle-earth still has some major business to settle: Faramir falls hard for Éowyn, Aragorn finally claims the throne of Gondor, a new White Tree is discovered, the Third Age comes to an end, and Arwen arrives in Minas Tirith. Fool of a Took is a Lord of the Rings book club podcast following four friends through J.R.R. Tolkien’s Middle-earth, chapter by chapter, with drinks, food, lore, arguments, and an irresponsible amount of Tolkien-related nonsense. CONTENT WARNING: Explicit Conversation Topics Éowyn and Faramir’s romance in the Houses of Healing The fall of Sauron and the passing of the Shadow Aragorn’s return to Minas Tirith and coronation as King Faramir’s future as Steward of Gondor and Prince of Ithilien Aragorn’s first decisions as King of Gondor The new White Tree and the restoration of Gondor The end of the Third Age and beginning of the Fourth Age Aragorn and Arwen’s wedding Timestamps 00:00:00 Welcome to Fool of a Took 00:01:43 The Steward and the King begins 00:05:22 Éowyn and Faramir in the Houses of Healing 00:08:43 The Shadow passes and Sauron falls 00:17:42 The Return of the King 00:24:29 Aragorn claims the throne of Gondor 00:29:13 Gandalf crowns Aragorn King 00:38:54 Aragorn discovers the new White Tree 00:40:13 The Third Age ends and the Fourth Age begins 00:43:53 Arwen arrives and marries Aragorn 00:51:04 Éowyn and Faramir’s complicated romance 01:05:57 Ioreth will not stop talking01:17:55 Understanding the First, Second, Third, and Fourth Ages01:27:36 Food for Thought: Aragorn’s Crown Pavlova Today's "Food for Thought": King Elessar's Crown Pavlova I knew I needed to create the crown for this chapter, and I have been wanting to try my hand at a pavlova. Done! It was a bit tricky to decipher what exactly it looked like, so I made my own interpretation based on the limitations of egg white meringue. It was indeed white, had wings on either side, and contained seven gems around the circlet. This is the recipe I used for the pavlova: https://www.kingarthurbaking.com/recipes/pavlova-recipe I piped a 9" meringue circle on parchment paper using a large circle tip and filled in the middle, then piped some points on the front to hold the jewels. They... did not stand up so great. I built up the edges of the circlet to create a dish shape. Then I sketched a wing onto some parchment, flipped it over and traced it in reverse, and piped meringue to look like feathers. These baked on a separate tray. While it was baking and cooling, I made caramel gem stones by cooking water and sugar in a pan until it caramelized, then dripping it onto parchment with a spoon until I had 7 that were roughly the same size and shape. Assembly required some toothpicks and whipped cream to act as glue. One wing pretty much fell apart- in the back it goes. Add whipped cream and chopped fruit to the center of the pavlova, and you are set! ---------------------------------------------------- Thanks for watching! If you enjoyed todays episode, give us a like and subscribe and share this video with someone who likes The Lord of the Rings. Support the pod on Youtube! @FoolofaTookPodcast Instagram: (https://www.instagram.com/foolofatookpodcast/) TikTok: (https://www.tiktok.com/@foolofatookpodcast) Original music for the show composed by Chris Newhard Got a question? Email us Foolofatookpodcast@gmail.com Follow the fools on IG:Chris (https://www.instagram.com/chrisnewhard) Robbie Jean (https://www.instagram.com/robbiejean815) Pat (https://www.instagram.com/rolling.seas2023) Laura (https://www.instagram.com/kennylaura525) Listen on Apple Podcasts (https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/fool-of-a-took-podcast/id1770780731) Listen on Spotify Link (https://open.spotify.com/show/0e3myYq2eUbKMMtiV7qAl7)

3. 

   23 Sept 2026

   059 - The Fellowship Reunites After Mount Doom in "The Field of Cormallen"

   This week on Fool of a Took, we’re reading "The Field of Cormallen", Chapter 4 of Book Six of The Return of the King, and after everything Tolkien has put us through, we finally get to be happy for a minute. We jump back to the Black Gate just as Sauron realizes what’s happening at Mount Doom, the Eagles show up, and his entire army starts falling apart. Meanwhile, Frodo and Sam are sitting on the side of an erupting volcano waiting to die until Gandalf and the Eagles swoop in and save them. Sam wakes up two weeks later, discovers Gandalf is somehow alive, and learns that he and Frodo are now basically the most famous people in Middle-earth. We also finally reunite with Aragorn, Gimli, Legolas, Merry, and Pippin, debate why Gandalf makes Frodo and Sam put their disgusting Mordor clothes back on, talk about the surprisingly cold Hobbit reunion, and dig into why “Frodo of the Nine Fingers and the Ring of Doom” might actually mean a lot more than we initially thought. CONVERSATION TOPICS Sauron’s defeat and the collapse of his armies Gandalf and the Eagles rescuing Frodo and Sam Sam waking up and discovering Gandalf is alive Aragorn honoring Frodo and Sam as heroes The Fellowship finally coming back together Frodo of the Nine Fingers and the Ring of Doom What happens after the war is “won” TIMESTAMPS 02:35 Recapping Mount Doom06:39 Back to the battle at the Black Gate08:15 The Eagles are coming!11:40 Sauron falls and his armies collapse14:50 Frodo and Sam prepare to die17:26 Gandalf and the Eagles rescue the Hobbits20:45 Sam wakes up two weeks later 28:37 Frodo and Sam are honored as heroes 32:21 Strider returns as the King 38:23 The Fellowship finally reunites 43:05 What happens to Sauron’s remaining armies? 54:28 Sauron’s final shadow over Middle-earth 1:06:15 Frodo of the Nine Fingers and the Ring of Doom 1:13:30 The Hobbits reunite… kind of 1:18:47 Food for Thought: Gwaihir’s strawberry raspberry pie Today's "Food for Thought": Rescued by Gwaihir Pie I loved the image of Gwaihir swooping out of the red Mordor sky to rescue the hobbits, so I put it on a pie. Use your favorite double-crust pie recipe or buy one pre-made (I won’t judge). Prepare the bottom crust, roll out the top, and freeze it on a tray. For the filling, I used strawberries and raspberries for that Mordor red. This recipe worked perfectly, though I needed extra for my deep-dish plate: https://www.driscolls.com/Recipes/Strawberry-Raspberry-Pie-Recipe For Gwaihir, I found a screen cap of his rescue swoop, converted it to line art, and printed it. Place it over plastic wrap on the semi-frozen crust and trace the eagle into the dough. Cut out the outline and add details. I added separate pieces for his head and feet for depth. Cut strips of dough into a starburst, place Gwaihir on top, brush with beaten egg, and bake. The strips look a little like French fries, but they add drama! Full disclosure: this took freaking forever. ---------------------------------------------------- Thanks for watching! If you enjoyed todays episode, give us a like and subscribe and share this video with someone who likes The Lord of the Rings. Content Warning: ExplicitSupport the pod on Youtube! @FoolofaTookPodcast Instagram: (https://www.instagram.com/foolofatookpodcast/)TikTok: (https://www.tiktok.com/@foolofatookpodcast) Original music for the show composed by Chris NewhardGot a question? Email us Foolofatookpodcast@gmail.comFollow the fools on IG:Chris (https://www.instagram.com/chrisnewhard)Robbie Jean (https://www.instagram.com/robbiejean815)Pat (https://www.instagram.com/rolling.seas2023)Laura (https://www.instagram.com/kennylaura525)Listen on Apple Podcasts (https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/fool-of-a-took-podcast/id1770780731)Listen on Spotify Link (https://open.spotify.com/show/0e3myYq2eUbKMMtiV7qAl7)

Reach and audience

Public platform figures. Ratings count people who left a rating, not total listeners.

YouTube views

239,581

Score snapshot 15 Sept 2025

Apple Podcasts (US)

5.0 / 5

10 ratings

Spotify

4.9 / 5

48 ratings

Podcast Authority Score: 68 / 100

A composite of feed quality, social presence, YouTube performance and engagement. Read the methodology.

Quality

73

Social presence

91

YouTube

82

Engagement

32

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