No mention of Lovecraft, but readers of this blog will likely be interested in a new and excellent 90 minute interview with Tom Shippey, leading Tolkien scholar. Shippey is on top form. As well as various acutely perceptive Tolkien observations, other topics include the establishment attitudes to the study of genre literature, then the real historical Vikings and their recent TV adaptations, and heroism. It’s a dual presenter podcast, but the jokey ‘lots-a-laffs’ approach that such shows commonly exhibit is suppressed for such a heavyweight guest and only creeps back in toward the very end of the show.