logo
episode-header-image
Jun 2025
1 h

Throwback: Who Is Tom Bombadil?

The Theology Pugcast
About this episode

Unable to meet this week, the Pugcast decided to share an episode from the 2019 archives. Tune in for this blast from the past!


Perhaps the most controversial character in all of Tolkien's writing is Tom Bombadil. People seem to either love him or hate him.  But regardless how you feel about him, most people can't figure out why he's even in the Lord of the Rings. What's the point of the man in the blue jacket and the yellow boots? Certainly Peter Jackson thought he was expendable. He isn't even in the film version of the story. Was he inserted to make Tolkien's children happy? Was Tolkien providing a little filler to buy time because he was still working out the plot? Chris thinks that Tolkien was up to far more than people give him credit for when it comes to Bombadil. Chris actually thinks that you don't really understand Tolkien, or the Lord of the Rings, until you receive Bombadil into your heart. Listen in as Chris, Tom, and Glenn discuss the meaning of the mysterious Tom Bombadil!


Order In the House of Tom Bombadil by CR Wiley, released 2021: https://canonpress.com/products/in-the-house-of-tom-bombadil?srsltid=AfmBOooq7248sFOcSr4AN7DXIDcAH0efflvAA8EcY6WSJcm3K-Ulg-zG


Support the Pugcast on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/thetheologypugcast?fbclid=IwAR17UHhfzjphO52C_kkZfursA_C784t0ldFix0wyB4fd-YOJpmOQ3dyqGf8

Up next
Apr 27
The Problem of Human Rights Law
Tom and Glenn welcome J.P. Sanchez to the show today. J.P. is a Mexican lawyer currently studying international human rights law at the University of Notre Dame. In this conversation, they explore the practical challenges of human rights work, examine the often shaky philosophica ... Show More
1h 1m
Apr 20
Must Artists be Saints?
Today Chris reflects on artists whose art he admires, but he would never want to be like. When you think of Roald Dahl, Shel Silverstein, or even Mozart, must you boycott them when you discover things about them that you find distasteful? Today the Pugs wonder aloud, must artists ... Show More
1h 2m
Apr 13
An Interview with Illustrator Stephen Crotts
Stephen Crotts is an artist and graphic designer who is doing the illustrations for Malcolm Guite’s soon to be released Arthuriad. In this episode, the Pugs talk with him about his art, developing the illustrations for Guite’s epic poem, and the emergence of a Christian ecumenism ... Show More
1h 2m
Recommended Episodes
Sep 2025
What the right gets wrong about Tolkien
Many far-right conservatives think The Lord of the Rings is about them. They may love Tolkien, but it's very possible Tolkien would not have loved them back. This episode was produced by Peter Balonon-Rosen with help from Ariana Aspuru, edited by Jolie Myers, fact-checked by Laur ... Show More
25m 57s
Nov 2018
101 - Now I Need a Place to Hide Away
In the final pages of Book I, Chapter 2, “The Shadow of the Past”, Gandalf recounts how he found Gollum and filled in the gaps in the Ring’s history. Frodo begins to understand what he must do; and while he’s not exactly eager to do it, he won’t have to do it alone. We spend some ... Show More
1h 50m
Aug 2024
Tolkien: Middle Earth & the Middle Ages
<p>For millions of Tolkien lovers around the world, <em>The Hobbit</em> and <em>The Lord of the Rings</em> are more than just fantasy fiction. Their rich mix of sacred mythology and archetypal saga stories draw deeply into history and legend and profoundly resonate with universa ... Show More
36m 26s
Mar 2025
Frodo | Gentle Bedtime Reading for Sleep
Drift off with this calm bedtime reading about Frodo Baggins, created to ease insomnia and bring peaceful rest. In this soothing episode, Benjamin explores the beloved Lord of the Rings character, his journey from the Shire, and the courage that defines his role in Tolkien’s epic ... Show More
31m 52s
Jul 2019
133 - It's Only Rock (Not Trolls) But I Like It
Strider’s path to Rivendell leads the hobbits through rough terrain; all the while, the days get colder and Frodo gradually succumbs to the evil effects of the Witch-king’s blade. A bad situation starts to look even worse when Pippin and Merry catch a glimpse of three trolls ahea ... Show More
1h 20m
Mar 2023
Tolkien's Akallabêth and the Straight Road
Eden reads one page from Tolkien's Akallabêth (that's right, only one) and discusses themes of memory, myth, Platonism, religion, storytelling, Tolkien's Legendarium , politics, and more on this solo episode! Music played: vvilderness - Nemere, from the beautiful Path: https://vv ... Show More
45m 9s
Nov 2018
103 - Goodbye Everybody, I've Got to Go
We begin Book I, Chapter 3 of The Lord of the Rings, “Three is Company”. After months of preparation, Frodo sells Bag End. He leaves home with Sam and Pippin on a pretense of moving back to Buckland, but before they even get to the bottom of the Hill, there are already hints that ... Show More
1h 25m
Dec 2018
104 - I See a Little Silhouetto of a Man
We return to Book I, Chapter 3 of The Lord of the Rings to find Frodo, Sam, and Pippin still in high spirits as they stroll through the Shire. Before long, though, they realize that they’re being followed by a shadowy, sniffing black rider. We talk about the “unpremeditated turn” ... Show More
1h 51m