Why We Love Middle-earth

Shawn E. Marchese went down the hobbit hole in his teens after finding a reference to Tolkien in a book about Pink Floyd and has been in love with Middle-earth (and progressive rock) ever since. He's especially drawn to the linguistic aspects of Tolkien's work and shares his obsession for languages with listeners every week as the Prancing Pony Podcast's resident word-nerd. Shawn met Alan Sisto seven years ago in a Facebook group for Tolkien fans, and still remembers the day he casually agreed to do a podcast with him "like, maybe once a month." When not working on the podcast, Shawn can be found at his day job as a compliance officer, writing, brewing ales, or working on his geeky dad credentials with his wife and two children in Austin, Texas. The Prancing Pony Podcast was the winner of the Tolkien Society 2020 Award for Best Online Content.

Alan Sisto has been reading Tolkien since the Rankin & Bass animated Hobbit came out before he was born. Or right after. An all-around Tolkien nerd, Alan can be found enjoying Tolkien's lesser-known works-"Leaf by Niggle" is his favorite-just as often as he gets lost in First Age histories and Third Age adventures. Alan has worked with Shawn E. Marchese for nearly six years to grow the Prancing Pony Podcast each season and spends much of his working time producing the show. He also provides narration and commercial voiceovers and has also been an architectural photographer for fifteen years. He lives in Southern California with his wife and two children, who give him the freedom to indulge his inner nerd.