Episode 313: The Tower and the Ruin with Dr. Michael Drout
The Literary Life Podcast
Angelina Stanford
4.7 • 1.2K Ratings
🗓️ 27 January 2026
⏱️ 108 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
On The Literary Life Podcast this week, Angelina and Thomas are pleased to have special guest Dr. Michael Drout joining them to discuss his book The Tower and the Ruin: J. R. R. Tolkien's Creation. Together they talk about the background for writing this book and who Drout intended his audience to be. They also share thoughts on the current academic trends and the state of the humanities and literary studies in higher education. Other topics they cover include high modernism, literary criticism, realism and fantasy, and critical reviews of Tolkien's work. Don't forget to share this episode with the hashtag #LitLifeTolkien on Facebook or Instagram to be entered to win a copy of The Tower and the Ruin!
There is still time to join a few more live sessions of this year's Literary Life Online Conference, happening January 23-30, 2026, "The Letter Killeth, but the Spirit Quickeneth: Reading Like a Human". Our speakers will be Dr. Jason Baxter, Jenn Rogers, Dr. Anne Phillips, and, of course, Angelina Stanford and Thomas Banks. As always, these sessions are also recorded, so you can purchase lifetime access and view the past videos anytime!
Finally, you can also still sign up for Dr. Michael Drout's "Viking and Old Norse Culture" and get the recordings for the opening classes you may have missed.
For the full show notes for this episode, please visit https://theliterary.life/313.
Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | This is not just another book chat podcast. |
| 0:21.6 | Lifelong reader Cindy Rollins joins teachers Angelina Stanford and Thomas Banks for an ongoing conversation about the skill and art of reading well. |
| 0:32.6 | Explore the lost intellectual tradition and discover how to fully enter end to the great works of literature. |
| 0:40.2 | Learn what books mean while delighting in the sheer joy of imagination. Each week, we will rescue |
| 0:47.1 | story from the ivory tower and bring it to your couch, your kitchen, and your commute. The literary life is for everyone because in the |
| 0:55.9 | words of Stratford Caldecott, to be enchanted by story is to be granted a deeper insight into |
| 1:02.2 | reality. Join us for an ever-unfolding discussion of how stories will save the world. |
| 1:09.7 | This is the Literary Life Podcast. |
| 1:30.4 | Hello and welcome to the literary life podcast. |
| 1:34.9 | I'm Angelina Stanford, and with me is the man I formally called. |
| 1:35.9 | The guy who carries your bag. |
| 1:37.6 | The mysterious Mr. Banks. |
| 1:39.2 | You're hardly mysterious anymore. |
| 1:40.9 | You're not, you're disappointing me. |
| 1:42.0 | You need to be more mysterious. |
| 1:43.9 | Maybe I'll get you a cloak. I don't think so. Well. And with us today... I think I have enough oddities as it is. I'm much more likely to wear a cloak than you. Let's be honest. With us today is someone I'm very excited to introduce you guys to. We are going to be talking to Dr. Michael Dr. |
| 2:01.4 | Dr. Dr. Dr. Dr. Dr. Dr. at Wheaton College in Massachusetts, where he teaches many things, |
| 2:07.3 | Anglo-Saxon, Chaucer, science fiction, Tolkien, etc., etc. And we're going to be talking to him |
| 2:13.7 | about his brand new book, The Tower and the Ruin, J.R.R. Tolkien's creation. |
| 2:19.6 | Mike, welcome to the show. |
| 2:21.3 | Thanks for having me on. |
| 2:23.2 | I am very excited. |
... |
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