Here it is. The book that started the whole series.

We grew up thinking The Lord of the Rings was about heroes, villains, and epic battles. Turns out, it’s actually about why every “efficient,” “necessary,” “just this once” solution eventually eats your soul.

In this final episode of the year, we walk with Tolkien through war, bureaucracy, technocrats in wizard robes, and the quiet danger of believing power can be handled cleanly by the right people. We talk about why domination doesn’t start with cruelty, why certainty is more seductive than evil, why Frodo had to fail, why Sam is the real blueprint, and why the story doesn’t end when the ring is destroyed.