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The Theology Pugcast

The Theology Pugcast

Brad Birzer Among the Inklings!

Jun 29, 2026 · 1 hr 4 min · 9 segments

Today the Pugs welcome Hillsdale Professor and historian, Brad Birzer to the Pugcast to discuss his forthcoming book on the Inklings 'Tolkien and the Inklings: Men of the West'. As long time listeners…

Today the Pugs welcome Hillsdale Professor and historian, Brad Birzer to the Pugcast to discuss his forthcoming book on the Inklings 'Tolkien and the Inklings: Men of the West'. As long time listeners know, we’re fanboys of the Inklings and we think Brad is pretty great too. Brad is a prolific author and an old friend of Chris (he wrote the introduction to Chris’s book on Tom Bombadil). We think you’ll like him as well, and if you’re like the Pugs, you’ll learn something new about the Inklings! Order Tolkien and the Inklings: Men of the West by Bradley J. Birzer at https://a.co/d/03q0MxZ4 Support the Theology Pugcast on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/thetheologypugcast?fbclid=IwAR17UHhfzjphO52C\kkZfursA\C784t0ldFix0wyB4fd-YOJpmOQ3dyqGf8 Learn more about First Pres. Battle Ground: https://www.solochristo.org/ Connect with WileyCraft Productions: https://wileycraftproductions.com/

Today the Pugs welcome Hillsdale Professor and historian, Brad Birzer to the Pugcast to discuss his forthcoming book on the Inklings 'Tolkien and the Inklings: Men of the West'. As long time listeners…

Speakers: Brad BirzerGuestC. R. WileyHostGlenn SunshineHostTom PriceHost

Top entities: John Ronald Reuel Tolkien×75 Lord David Cecil×27 Warren Lewis×55 Christopher Dawson×19 Inklings×40

Opening and Host Introductions0:02 – 1:00

C. R. WileyHost

0:02

Hello, welcome to the Theology Podcast.

C. R. WileyHost

0:04

It's great to have you here for this episode.

C. R. WileyHost

0:05

We're really excited about the subject of the day and our guest.

C. R. WileyHost

0:12

But let me introduce myself first and we'll go around the horn.

C. R. WileyHost

0:15

So I'm C.R. Wiley.

C. R. WileyHost

0:16

I'm a pastor and I serve a church in the Pacific Northwest.

C. R. WileyHost

0:19

I've written a few books.

C. R. WileyHost

0:20

One of those books is in the house of Tom Bombadil.

C. R. WileyHost

0:23

And our guest wrote the introduction to that book, for which I'm very grateful.

C. R. WileyHost

0:27

And then I'm also a senior editor at Touchstone Magazine.

0:31

Okay, Tom, how about you? I'm Tom Price.

0:33

I'm a theologian and Christian ethicist, and I teach both at Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary.

Glenn SunshineHost

0:40

All right, Glenn.

Glenn SunshineHost

0:41

I'm Glenn Sunshine.

Glenn SunshineHost

0:42

I am a professor emeritus of early modern European history at Central Connecticut State University, senior fellow at the Colson Center for Christian Worldview, and I write a lot and speak freelance stuff, mostly on Substack these days.

Glenn SunshineHost

0:58

All right.

C. R. WileyHost

0:58

Brad, it's great to have you on the show.

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John Ronald Reuel TolkienPersonWriter and academic
100%75 mentions
Lord David CecilPersonBritish biographer and historian
99%27 mentions
Warren LewisPersonHistorian ‧ C. S. Lewis' brother
98%55 mentions
Christopher DawsonPersonHistorian
97%19 mentions
InklingsOrganization
96%40 mentions
Ray BradburyPersonAmerican author and screenwriter
95%6 mentions
The Lord of the RingsBookNovel by John Ronald Reuel Tolkien
94%5 mentions
Owen BarfieldPersonPhilosopher and author
93%11 mentions
Glenn S. SunshineEntityHistorian
92%11 mentions
Hugh Cecil, 1st Baron QuickswoodPersonFormer Member of Parliament of the United Kingdom
91%3 mentions
Life TogetherBookBook by Dietrich Bonhoeffer
90%3 mentions
Michael WardPersonLiterary critic and theologian
89%6 mentions
Gleaves WhitneyPersonAuthor
88%3 mentions
Bradley J. BirzerPersonHistorian
87%8 mentions
RenaissanceEventArt period
86%6 mentions
The TimesPeriodicalBritish newspaper
85%2 mentions
GoldberryEntityLord Of The Rings character
84%4 mentions
GodEntitySupreme being
83%5 mentions
Dietrich BonhoefferPersonPastor
82%3 mentions
Christian humanismEntity
81%31 mentions
BaptistsEntityChurch
80%1 mention
Holly OrdwayPersonAmerican author
79%2 mentions
Planet Narnia: The Seven Heavens in the Imagination of C.S. LewisBookBook by Michael Ward
78%11 mentions
Andrew JacksonPerson7th U.S. President
77%3 mentions
BiographyEntityLiterary genre
76%1 mention
HillsdaleCityCity in Michigan
75%4 mentions
Laura Ingalls WilderPersonAmerican writer and teacher
74%2 mentions
MichiganAdministrative AreaUS state
73%1 mention
Hillsdale CollegeCollege or UniversityLiberal arts college in Hillsdale, Michigan
72%2 mentions
South Dakota State Historical Society PressCompanyPublishing company
71%1 mention
PatreonCompanyCompany
70%5 mentions
Holy SpiritEntityDivinity
69%1 mention
American studiesEntityField of study
68%1 mention
Tom BombadilEntityLord Of The Rings character
67%3 mentions
GandalfEntityLord Of The Rings character
66%4 mentions
ChristianityEntityReligion
65%8 mentions
The Imaginative ConservativePeriodicalJournal
64%2 mentions
AnglicanismEntityChurch
63%3 mentions
Touchstone MagazinePeriodicalMagazine
62%1 mention
Gordon–Conwell Theological SeminaryEntitySeminary in Hamilton, Massachusetts
61%1 mention
Central Connecticut State UniversityCollege or UniversityPublic university in New Britain, Connecticut
59%1 mention
SubstackSoftware ApplicationWebsite
59%1 mention
Rose Wilder LanePersonAmerican writer
58%1 mention
Peter JacksonPersonNew Zealand filmmaker and entrepreneur
57%3 mentions
EnglishEntitySpoken language
56%7 mentions
MarsEntityPlanet
55%2 mentions
Clyde S. KilbyPersonWriter
54%3 mentions
JesusPersonReligious leader
53%2 mentions
PresbyterianismEntityChurch
52%1 mention
Leaf by NiggleBookShort story by John Ronald Reuel Tolkien
51%2 mentions

AuthorsLiterature
Literary MovementsHistory > 20th Century
LiteratureArts & Entertainment
BiographiesArts & Entertainment > Literature
LiteratureCulture
Christian HumanismReligion > Christianity
History
Religion
ChristianityReligion
Culture
Literature
Christian HumanismLiterature > Authors
The InklingsLiterature > Authors > Christian Humanism
TolkienLiterature > Authors > Christian Humanism > The Inklings
Historical ContextReligion > Christianity > Christian Humanism
Influence on LiteratureReligion > Christianity > Christian Humanism > Historical Context
Christian HumanismHistory > 20th Century > Literary Movements
The InklingsHistory > 20th Century > Literary Movements > Christian Humanism
Christian HumanismCulture > Literature
Influence on SocietyCulture > Literature > Christian Humanism
Tolkien and LewisCulture > Literature > Christian Humanism > Influence on Society
TolkienArts & Entertainment > Literature > Biographies
The InklingsArts & Entertainment > Literature > Biographies > Tolkien
20th CenturyHistory
Arts & Entertainment

Opening and Host Introductions0:02 – 1:00

C. R. WileyHost

0:02

Hello, welcome to the Theology Podcast.

C. R. WileyHost

0:04

It's great to have you here for this episode.

C. R. WileyHost

0:05

We're really excited about the subject of the day and our guest.

C. R. WileyHost

0:12

But let me introduce myself first and we'll go around the horn.

C. R. WileyHost

0:15

So I'm C.R. Wiley.

C. R. WileyHost

0:16

I'm a pastor and I serve a church in the Pacific Northwest.

C. R. WileyHost

0:19

I've written a few books.

C. R. WileyHost

0:20

One of those books is in the house of Tom Bombadil.

C. R. WileyHost

0:23

And our guest wrote the introduction to that book, for which I'm very grateful.

C. R. WileyHost

0:27

And then I'm also a senior editor at Touchstone Magazine.

0:31

Okay, Tom, how about you? I'm Tom Price.

0:33

I'm a theologian and Christian ethicist, and I teach both at Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary.

Glenn SunshineHost

0:40

All right, Glenn.

Glenn SunshineHost

0:41

I'm Glenn Sunshine.

Glenn SunshineHost

0:42

I am a professor emeritus of early modern European history at Central Connecticut State University, senior fellow at the Colson Center for Christian Worldview, and I write a lot and speak freelance stuff, mostly on Substack these days.

Glenn SunshineHost

0:58

All right.

C. R. WileyHost

0:58

Brad, it's great to have you on the show.