# 422 – Who Are You?

An episode of [The Prancing Pony Podcast](https://invisiblenetwork.ai/podcast/1082170831), 19 Jul 2026, 1 h 59 min.

Audio: https://www.podtrac.com/pts/redirect.mp3/pdst.fm/e/tracking.swap.fm/track/6bpBPtHL977KJxLX2zPs/pscrb.fm/rss/p/traffic.megaphone.fm/GLSS7418830651.mp3

After the Kings, Gondor declined into a Middle Age of fading knowledge and simpler skills. Alan and Shawn find that surprisingly familiar. Join The Man of the West and The Lord of the Mark as we begin our two-episode look at the final chapter of Unfinished Tales on The Palantíri. The Stewards know better than to use the Stones — for awhile, Saruman takes the concept of free agency a bit too far, and Tolkien lets us think through the problem with Gandalf. We lament the absence of Jack Black, agree that Calenardhon’s name change is nobody’s business but the Rohirrim, and come up with a most-disturbing Lionel Richie adaptation. Also, Carnac the Magnificent. For more on the Middle-earth Online Art Exhibition that Katie spoke about in the intro, please visit: https://sites.google.com/breecrossroadsartexhibitionevent.com/home/home Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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