In February 2026 The Future Foundation staged a two-day event at WU Vienna on “Magic
Objects, Tolkien, Palantir & the Question of Evil”. It was accompanied by three invited
presentations, by Prof. Alison Milbank on “Magical Objects in The Lord of the Rings”, Prof.
Dr. Johannes Hoff on “The Palantir as magic object and the mystery of evil“ and a talk by
Prof. Dr. Sarah Spiekermann on “What does the Palantir in the film have in common with the
Palantir software or comparable surveillance systems?“