Moiya is joined by fellow nerds Connie Gibbs and Delia Gallegos to discuss the worldbuilding in Tolkien's Lord of the Rings! There is so much to unpack, from the creation of the world, origin of its magic, Tolkien's inspirations, and the little matter of having a FLAT WORLD! HOSTED by Dr. Moiya McTier (@GoAstroMo), astrophysicist and folklorist GUESTS Connie Gibbs is a nerd, writer, and social media manager for Scholastic. Find her on twitter at @Constar24.Delia Gallegos is a writer, speaker, and podcaster. Follow her work at deliaistyping.com and listen to her new podcast CULTURE BY CULTURE. MIDBREAK Listen to JOIN THE PARTY! New episodes every TuesdayThis episode is sponsored by Betterhelp. Visit betterhelp.com/worldbuilder for 10% off your first monthSign up for my worldbuilding class with Atlas Obscura! Class starts June 5th HOUSEKEEPING Order my book, THE MILKY WAY: https://www.grandcentralpublishing.com/titles/moiya-mctier/the-milky-way/9781538754153/BUY EXOLORE SWAG: store.dftba.com/collections/exolore FIND US ONLINE patreon: patreon.com/exolorepodtwitter: twitter.com/ExolorePodinstagram: instagram.com/exolorepodwebsite: exolorepod.comsubreddit: reddit.com/r/ExolorePod CREDITS Music: https://www.purple-planet.comCover art: Stephen J. Reisig, http://stephenjreisig.com/Editing: Mischa Stanton, https://www.mischastanton.com/  ABOUT US How would you like to swim in an ocean ruled by matriarchal squid, or fly over a planet as it rotates with a swarm of migrating wasps? No, it's not the latest VR craze (... yet); it's Exolore! Exolore helps you imagine other worlds with the help of facts and science. Every other week, host Dr. Moiya McTier invites experts to build a world from scratch or sits down with a fiction fan to dive deep into their favorite worlds. Every episode will make you laugh, go "huh?" and appreciate how special our world really is. Exolore is a member