As 2025 ended, I kept stumbling across this really wonderful reels on Instagram that kept going into the lore of The Lord of the Rings fandom. After being shown these several times and being captivated, I followed Kaia on Instagram. After a little bit more, I knew I wanted to have her as a guest and delve into Middle Earth lore.
Kaia and I talk about everything The Lord of the Rings that we can fit into one non-extended edition podcast episode! From how she got interested in this fandom to start with, to how she continued her journey and where it has taken her today.
We cover everything. From The Hobbit to The Lord of the Rings trilogy, to The Silmarillion. From the animated movies to the Peter Jackson trilogy, The Hobbit movies, Rings of Power TV series, and War of the Rohirrim.
And yes, we talk about Tom Bombadil, The Eagles (not the band), Viggo Mortensen breaking his toe, and sadly, the toxic side of the fandom.
This is a great time to learn about The Lord of the Rings, dive into some deeper lore like an audio version of Wikipedia, and learn about what challenge I’m taking in 2026 when it comes to this fandom.
You can find Kaia at:
https://www.instagram.com/kaiakayy/
https://www.tiktok.com/@kaiakays