On this week’s episode of The Current Thing I am joined by author Joseph Loconte to talk about his new book, The War for Middle-earth, which focuses on how J.R.R. Tolkien and C.S. Lewis were shaped by the two great wars of the 20th century.
We discuss:
-How Lewis and Tolkien preserved their belief in heroism and honour even after suffering through war
-How the West became disillusioned from the 1930s onwards
-What Lewis would have made of the current political predicament in Western nations
-Tolkien’s support of Franco in the Spanish Civil War
-How to reclaim our ‘civilisational confidence’
-Whether Lewis would have eventually converted to Catholicism, as some claim
-How Lewis’s work compares to Tolkien’s in significance and quality
-The lost art of male friendship
-Why Joseph converted from Catholic to Protestant
And lots more!
The full episode is only available here, so sign up now for a mere £5.
By subscribing you will also gain access to the full versions of all our back episodes with the likes of David Starkey, Carl Benjamin, Andrew Doyle, Ben Habib, Connor Tomlinson, Harrison Pitt and many more.
And you will gain access to full versions of my weekly topical podcast, all my videos on topics like C.S. Lewis, plus my regular deep dive podcasts with Jamie Franklin.
And of course you will be supporting us and allowing me to continue doing this work, all for just a fiver, or around £4 a month with the yearly option.
Many thanks,
Nick
