Explore how memory operates in magical ways in Harry Potter that might be quite unlike the Muggle understanding of memory.

Regular contributor Louise Freeman is professor emerita of psychology at Mary Baldwin University and a licensed behavior analyst and service provider for special needs individuals. She considers the implications of being able to store and share memories in a Pensieve. While the basic premise seems somewhat similar to the psychological process of encoding, storing, and retrieving memories, there is almost an element of time travel, in which the user can access details that the initial viewer surely would not have been able to see or remember. But can such details be trusted, or are they part of the viewer's subjective reconstruction and reinterpretation of the memory? While it is obvious that Slughorn has tampered with his memory of Tom Riddle, it is less clear how accurate Snape's memories of the Marauders are.

Upon his death, Snape manages to show Harry a clear montage of memories explaining everything - had he been preparing all of the necessary information in order to hand it off so neatly? How difficult is it to show memories smoothly? Could Harry's memory of the Dementor attack in Little Whinging have been used as evidence in his hearing, or would Fudge not have allowed or trusted it, particularly if presented by Dumbledore?

What happens when memories are lost to a Memory Charm? Are they fully removed, or just hidden? Victims of such charms seem to have varying degrees of success in recovering their memories. While taking memories can be portrayed as a terrible crime, like what Lockhart intended to do to Harry and Ron, modifying them is often depicted as humorous or necessary, such as when the Ministry of Magic performs Memory Charms on Muggles who have witnessed magic.

Hermione alters her parents' memories without their consent, albeit for a noble purpose, but the full consequences are unknown. If they were to be captured and interrogated by Death Eaters, could their memories be forcibly extracted? There are ethical issues surrounding memory in both the wizarding and Muggle worlds. Stay tuned for Part 2 to hear more from Louise on the complicated nature of memory.

What makes a monster, and how do we relate to them, especially when they produce works of art we love?

There are plenty of monsters in the wizarding world, but the author has also been charged with being monstrous herself following her comments on transgender people. Katy and Emily talk to Lorrie Kim, author of Snape: The Definitive Analysis of Hogwarts's Mysterious Potions Master and host of the podcast Harry Potter After 2020, about Claire Dederer's book Monsters: A Fan's Dilemma, which focuses on how audiences respond to art made by controversial creators.

We debate the idea of "the death of the author" and how possible or desirable it is. Audiences often crave details about an artist's life, which can sometimes provide insight into their work. In the internet age, we have so much information at our fingertips and can develop parasocial relationships in which we feel like we really know an artist personally - and then feel particularly hurt when we learn something about them that contradicts our image of them. This kind of revelation can be all the more difficult with media we consumed as children.

What we know about an author can impact how we read their work, as it affects how Harry reads Tom Riddle's diary and the Half-Blood Prince's potions textbook. How do we engage with Harry Potter knowing what we know about the author, and what guidance does the series itself offer?

The next topic from our book up for discussion is old magic steeped in myth and tradition.

Katy talks with co-host and co-editor Emily Strand and contributor Lana Whited (Ferrum College) about their chapters "The Real Magic of Christmas in Harry Potter" and "Here Be Dragons and Phoenixes: A Thematic Direction for the Fantastic Beasts Series." Emily looks at the theological roots of magic and Christmas as a time for darkness turning to light - and thus an appropriate season for Harry to have significant experiences where he learns new information, often about the past. Lana discusses the origins of magical creatures in Asian mythology that hold deep significance in both The Crimes of Grindelwald and The Secrets of Dumbledore, which explore the past through prophecy and family history.

The wizarding world has a sense of being frozen in time, and journeys into magical worlds often feel like journeys into the past. Part of that is the lack of modern Muggle technology that comes not only from moving into the past but also into nature, which is especially prominent with a magizoologist as the protagonist of the Fantastic Beasts series. Christmas and creatures hold longstanding traditional connotations - ideas of rebirth and resurrection, enchantment and mystery - that come to the forefront when they are mentioned in these stories.

Professor Beatrice Groves discusses references to other literary works in Rowling's "Harry Potter" series.

Join Katy McDaniel and John Granger (Dean of Harry Potter Scholars) for the debut of a new MuggleNet podcast focused on the scholarship of J.K. Rowling’s literary works, featuring the most prominent researchers and the most inspirational ideas in the field of Potter Studies today.

We're starting off the companion episodes to our new book with the dark side of Harry Potter.

Dr. Beatrice Groves (Oxford University and Bathilda's Notebook) and Dr. Amy Strugis (Lenoir-Rhyne University and Signum University) join us to discuss their chapters "Good Men and Monsters: The Influence of Bram Stoker's Dracula on Harry Potter" and "Dark Arts and Secret Histories: Investigating Dark Academia." They talk about what drew them to the more disturbing and Gothic aspects of the series.

Amy explains the difference between the Dark Academia aesthetic and the literary genre. The latter generally involves a school or university setting, elements of mystery and death, concern with the past, and social critique, especially of power dynamics that exist in the wider world and are concentrated in an academic institution - all of which are present in Potter. It might seem like heavy material for young readers, but adolescents can experience bullying, injustice, and grief and can relate to and learn from fiction. The aesthetic that has been popularized online tends to focus purely on style, romanticizing some of what the genre criticizes.

Harry Potter engages with dark and Gothic traditions but also breaks from them. Bea sees Mina Harker in Dracula as a parallel for Harry, both marked by evil, but the works ultimately seem to have different attitudes toward the nature of evil - while Dracula's influence can turn innocent Mina into a monster, Harry maintains his inherent goodness and the power to resist Voldemort.

What problems does knowledge of the Dark Arts pose? Going back to Mary Shelley's Frankenstein, danger lies in how people use such knowledge more than the knowledge itself. Knowledge is power, so keeping secrets and controlling access to knowledge are issues in Dark Academia - a genre that has only become more popular since the success of Potter.

Venture to infinity and beyond for a look at astronomy in the wizarding world.

We're joined by Jane Bright, a PhD candidate in astronomy and astrophysics at the University of Arizona. Astronomy is the one subject wizards and Muggles seem to have in common. Why is it important enough to be a required subject at Hogwarts, and how is it different from the astrology that is part of Divination? Jane has some theories regarding the historical split between disciplines and the usefulness of astronomical knowledge in ritual magic. As a bonus, wizards may actually be learning some math!

Astronomy is present in the wizarding world outside of the classroom as well. Dumbledore's watch, for instance, shows the movements of stars and planets, and a room in the Department of Mysteries appears to be devoted to the study of space. Magical telescopes seem old-fashioned, but wizards must be keeping up with Muggle scientific advances if they know about planets and phenomena that were discovered after wizards went into hiding.

Jane gives us insight into the astronomical names common among Harry Potter characters and connects astronomy to alchemy, going all the way back to the Big Bang at the dawn of the universe to discover a celestial Sorcerer's Stone. This comparison could potentially be useful for wizards as a form of representational magic, helping them to understand natural processes that relate to the magic they want to perform and thus make it more powerful.

On this episode, we dish about this year’s Harry Potter Academic Conference and preview our new book, Potterversity: Essays Exploring the World of Harry Potter (McFarland).

Katy and Emily welcome Potterversity producer Laurie Beckoff and technical editor Emma Nicholson, as well as Louise Freeman, Mark-Anthony Lewis, and Lana Whited to talk about HPACs past and present. This year’s virtual conference allowed people from all over the world to come together, and we included the comments of other conference attendees in the webinar chat. We reminisce about our first experiences at the conference. Looking back helps us to see the evolution of Potter Studies through the last dozen years.

What keeps us coming to the conference? Wonderful discussions, inspiration for new ideas, deep dives into the Potter stories, like-minded people, constructive argument and critique, and a space in which Harry Potter is taken seriously. There is always something new to say and fresh perspectives on the series, as well as the movies and other related works. We all value the friendships we’ve developed with people from all different disciplines and walks of life. Reflecting on presentations we heard at this year’s conference that we found especially illuminating, we made suggestions for what we’d like to hear more about in the future.

Katy and Emily also reveal details about the new Potterversity book - currently available from McFarland Publishers - providing an overview and hearing from some of the authors about their chapters. Mark-Anthony talks about his chapter “Uncle Remus’s Shack,” about tokenism as portrayed in characters like Lupin, Dobby, and Madame Maxime. Emma shares how she reconstructed Sirius Black’s story in “Padfoot Revelio!” and in the process uncovered details that will surprise you and build empathy toward this complex character. Laurie explains her chapter “It’s All Fun and Games Until . . . ,” in which she compares the use of games in Harry Potter and Arthurian literature.

Louise’s “The Weasley Witches” analyzes how Ginny and Molly can be interpreted through the archetypes of the Amazon and the Mother, as well as the significance of Weasley sweaters. Lana explores the mythic significance of fantastic beasts in “Here Be Dragons and Phoenixes.” Emily’s chapter investigates the motifs and themes of the holiday season in “The Real Magic of Christmas in Harry Potter,” and Katy ponders transhumanism and cultural appropriation in “Arthur Weasley and the Misuse of Muggle Artefacts.” We also provide hints about other chapters in the volume to whet your appetite for the book chapters and accompanying podcast conversations.

In honor of Banned Books Week, this episode explores the causes and effects of book banning in the Muggle and wizarding worlds.

Harry Potter is one of the most challenged works of the 21st century, frequently appearing on the American Library Association's list documenting book bans around the country. It has long been accused of inspiring interest in the occult and encouraging children to literally perform magic but has also been criticized for featuring characters who break rules, as discussed on our episode about resistance.

In a time of social change and upheaval, there has been an increased movement to present a sanitized version of history and combat more progressive ideas in literature. Behind many book bans is the desire to control what children read and thus how they think and behave. But even books that present dangerous ideas are worth discussing rather than silencing, and readers can examine them critically.

How does the wizarding world approach access to knowledge? The Restricted Section keeps books available in the Hogwarts library but accessible only to those undertaking advanced study with permission from a professor. Dumbledore eventually removed the books with information on Horcruxes, but would it have been better if they weren't there for Tom Riddle to read in the first place?

In recent years, Harry Potter, previously challenged mostly by the right wing, has been challenged by the left wing due to the author's attitudes towards transgender people as well as the inequality and injustice in the universe she created. But the complex and imperfect nature of fictional worlds provides opportunities for critical thinking.

Whatever the motivation, attempts to ban books shows an acute awareness of the power of words and ideas to influence readers.

Harry Potter may not technically be considered a work of horror, but there are plenty of horrifying aspects to explore in this episode.

Katy and Emily speak with Dr. Jeff Ambrose about the scariest parts of the series and the lasting effects horrific events have on characters (and readers and viewers). The series has its fair share of monsters, torture, murder, and soul-sucking, with Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire bringing in such terrors as Death Eaters, Unforgivable Curses, and a gruesome graveyard resurrection. Horror as a genre traffics in trauma, which is bound to result from the characters' experiences.

Emotion is closely tied to magic in the Potter, so manifestations of trauma in the series come in the form of Thestrals, Dementors, and boggarts but also in Harry's role as a Horcrux, literally carrying past trauma within him, and in what Harry represents to Snape. While trauma can certainly be tied to personal identity, Jeff disagrees with the idea that it erodes characters' personalities, pointing to how Harry manages to function despite his traumatic past and how characters have different responses to their trauma.

Although the wizarding world and Hogwarts provide safe spaces for Harry, they are also full of dangerous and scary things: the shadow of a villain so frightening that people still fear to speak his name a decade later, a poltergeist, the ghost of a murdered student, a restricted section in the library, and the need to learn Defense Against the Dark Arts.

While Harry Potter does contain a great deal of darkness, it also shows us how to overcome it. Trauma can cause characters to make mistakes, like how Dumbledore keeps secrets and Snape harbors resentment, but Harry finds a community of support and Hagrid shows love to all kinds of creatures.

Join us for a special episode recorded live from LeakyCon Chicago!

Katy, Emily, and producer Laurie give LeakyCon attendees an overview of the current state of Potter studies, including areas of interest, such as social justice, responses to the author and how authorship does or does not affect our reading, and where we see the field going.

We also provide a preview of our upcoming companion book, available later this year from McFarland, and consider the symbiotic relationship between scholarship and fandom. We're particularly interested in how scholarship has benefited from fan expertise and how we can use scholarship to open up the text to analysis rather than close it off with a consensus, especially in an age of internet hot-take culture. Potter's portrayals of elves and goblins may be uncomfortable, but there are many possible interpretations, some of which have received quite thorough academic attention. J.R.R. Tolkien's thoughts on allegory versus applicability are helpful in thinking about intentional and interpreted symbolism.

Members of the audience, including Marjolaine Martin from French academic Potter podcast ASPIC and Harry Potter: Hogwarts Tournament of Champions Hufflepuff David Martin, weigh in with their own thoughts.

Return with us to the realm of refreshment in the wizarding world!

Following up on Episode 29, Katy and Emily continue our conversation about the food foundations of Harry’s magical universe, joined by guests Louise Freeman and Emma Nicholson. Australian Emma shares her different interpretation of wizarding foods based on her cultural heritage, including her expectations about butterbeer (why so sweet, America?). We ponder whether wizard butterbeer might have alcoholic content and consider the role of alcoholic beverages in the series, including firewhiskey and (perhaps) Felix Felicis. On the subject of beverages, we explore the cultural and symbolic significance of tea, tea shops, and tea leaf reading, as well as pumpkin juice.

Emma also shares with us her thoughts on foods associated with Norse mythology, like mead, and how this opens up associations between characters and specific Norse gods (Dumbledore and Odin, Hagrid and Thor). She points out connections between food abundance and Norse myths, and we wonder, where do house-elves shop for food? Sweets not only seem to provide an entrée into wizarding society (“Happee Birthdae Harry”), but also signal rebellion in the series (“Have a biscuit, Potter”).

Potter fans make a lot of wizard food, and Emily asks, “Why do we want to eat these books?” Louise points out that the theme of food is central to the Potterverse, and also the Cormoran Strike series and The Ickabog. We Muggles have attempted to replicate the drinks, sweets, and staple foods of the wizarding world, and you’ll hear about ones we’ve tried and how we rate them. Food has an immersive quality that engages all the senses and allows us to feel more a part of this magical realm, but the characters’ reactions, and the foods’ dangerous and edgy qualities, also make us want to join in the fun.

In our special segment we visit the Hogwarts kitchens to share Emma’s recipe for Cockroach Clusters (revolting and delicious!) and Louise’s experiment in competing butterbeers. Give these a try and let us know what you think!

Explore connections between the works of Jane Austen and Harry Potter.

Katy and Emily compare Austen's novels to the Potter series with Dr. Beatrice Groves (Trinity College, Oxford University), author of Literary Allusion in Harry Potter and columnist at Bathilda's Notebook. Bea first noticed a connection when she realized that Filch's cat shared a name with Mrs. Norris from Mansfield Park, and the similarities only continue from there.

The hero serves as a focalizing point for the narrative of Austen's books and the Potter books, using a third-person limited perspective that gives the reader a sense of having an omniscient view even though just one character's point of view is expressed. Emma seems to bear the strongest similarity to Potter in this sense. Austen and Potter also both explore riddles and the act of interpreting them, gossip and its pitfalls, and fame or notoriety.

Bea discusses her chapter in the recent anthology Open at the Close about communities of interpretation in Austen's works and Harry Potter. Reading creates communities among readers who have read the same work but also a dialogue between the reader and the writer when the reader recognizes allusions to texts they have also read. Writing generated by artificial intelligence would lack this particular human quality that allows us to feel connected to a writer when we know we have read the same books. Reading also allows us to use our imaginations in a way that a film adaptation does not, which provides an interpretation of the text.

Finally, Bea reveals an interesting parallel between Jane Austen's life and the backstory of a Potter character.

Unpack mental health in the wizarding world and how Harry Potter can serve as bibliotherapy for readers.

For insight into these topics, Katy and Emily talk to Nishi Ravi, a psychotherapist pursuing a PhD in Counseling Psychology at Marquette University. She recalls how reading Harry Potter as a preteen and teenager made her feel seen at a formative age - a common experience for many young readers.

Who deals well with trauma in the wizarding world, and who struggles? Although there is no singular definition of what constitutes trauma, Nishi generally thinks that people who can understand they're not responsible for their trauma but that they are responsible for their healing tend to be able to manage it better. Neville seems to be a good example as someone who can maintain social relationships, use his trauma as a moral foundation, and learn to stand up for himself. The antithesis is Snape, who has a sense of purpose from his trauma but hasn't found a way to cope and process, fails to forge interpersonal relationships, and projects his trauma onto others.

What about Harry? Although he shows resilience and strength, he is so constantly in danger, even at Hogwarts, that he rarely has opportunities to process his trauma, his conversation with Dumbledore at the end of Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix being an uncommon event. Still, he makes a choice when he arrives at Hogwarts to surround himself with people who are good for him instead of befriending Malfoy and joining Slytherin. His experience in detention with Umbridge could be a form of masochistic reparation for him as someone whose life is based on other people sacrificing themselves for him and who is so focused on the greater good that he does very little for his own self-interest.

Are adults in the wizarding world good models for positive mental health? McGonagall is the embodiment of consistency and stability amid chaos. Still, Hogwarts is not exactly conducive to students' well-being. A glimpse into the Spell Damage ward at St. Mungo's shows that treatment for severe psychological trauma is lacking, and exposure to it in the form of the Cruciatus Curse and Dementors is common. In both the Muggle and wizarding worlds, unequal social structures create mental health challenges. Half-giants, elves, and Squibs are marginalized, which can cause emotional turmoil.

What can readers learn from reading Harry Potter? The deficiencies in wizarding society reflect our own and give us a glimpse of how to understand the world and eventually engage in real action as adults. The series provides a safe way to explore more serious realities, and although no work of literature can capture everything, it serves as a good starting point. When Nishi's clients worry that their depression or anxiety is just in their heads, she thinks of Dumbledore's words: "Why on earth should that mean that it is not real?" That idea is one of many in the series that can help reduce existential loneliness.

Venture to the ancient past to explore Harry Potter and the Aeneid as foundational texts.

Dr. Mitchell Parks (Knox College) joins us to discuss intertextuality and Harry Potter’s dialogue with classical works like Virgil’s Aeneid. In his chapter in The Ivory Tower, Harry Potter, and Beyond, he examines what it means for a text to be “foundational” in various ways – as a work of literature, on a personal level, for identity groups, as a political foundation.

While the Aeneid can tell us about Roman society and later periods from readers’ reactions and literary responses, Harry Potter set the tone for young adult literature at the turn of the 21st century. The diversity of responses to Harry Potter compels us to consider how people besides the elite men whose commentary was preserved might have reacted to the Aeneid, which itself draws on Homer’s Odyssey and Iliad.

Mitchell sees the strongest echoes of the Aeneid in Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows because of the darker atmosphere, heroes facing a difficult mission, and a great deal of wandering followed by battle. 

While it can be interesting to think about what sources the author actually read and intentionally referenced, intertextuality can be more of a process by which readers make connections themselves and put the text in dialogue with other texts the author may not have even read. Intertextuality is as much about finding differences as it is finding similarities.

Putting his classics skills to further use, Mitchell also shares his mind-blowing revelation about a nearly illegible Latin epitaph on Ignotus Peverell’s tombstone in The Tales of Beedle the Bard.

Finally, we consider how long the Aeneid has endured and how Potter might fare in the future. How will it evolve in the next 20 years? Could it last 2,000 like the Aeneid? 

Fresh off of May the 4th, Emily and Katy talk about their love of and academic interest in Harry Potter alongside another fandom they hold dear: Star Wars.

Emily came to Star Wars relatively recently, after the birth of her son and a class at Signum University taught by Amy Sturgis, but Harry Potter was a gateway for her into speculative fiction and imaginative literature. Falling into fandom can be like learning a language - it becomes easier to understand others in the same group once you've mastered one.

Katy and Emily are not only fans but aca-fans with scholarly interests in the properties they enjoy. Fans have long noticed common threads shared by Harry Potter and Star Wars, and some of them hold academic appeal. Emily likes the clearly articulated sense of right and wrong in both series but also the fact that they don't shy away from exploring the complexities of morality. Soul triptychs, in which characters represent different aspects of humanity working together, are also present in both. Potter and Star Wars, although intended for children, have depth to them that makes them enjoyable for both kids and adults, allowing kids some insight into adult thinking and adults an opportunity to think like children - a phenomenon J.R.R. Tolkien discusses in his essay "On Fairy-Stories." Katy is interested in the intersection between pop culture and history and finds that both franchises use ideas about the past to understand the present and project into the future.

Katy and Emily are investigating some of these intersections in their current work, including a Star Wars conference and upcoming companion academic volumes on Star Wars and Star Trek. Katy compares the sequel trilogy to Potter, examining Rey and Harry's experiences with mirrors to explore reflected images of themselves, legacies from parents they didn't know, their destinies, and "time compasses" to orient them in their quests. Emily looks at the Star Wars television series Andor alongside the film 21-87. We also consider crossover actors from Potter who are appearing in Star Wars properties, like Fiona Show (Petunia Dursley) and Kathryn Hunter (Arabella Figg), creating the effect of a palimpsest for viewers who see the new characters painted over the characters they had previously portrayed.

All of these new Star Wars shows bring us to the announcement of a Harry Potter television series. Katy is looking forward to the opportunity to the revisit the stories in a way that brings out different elements. Emily is not surprised, considering the current flood of franchise content. How much will this series differentiate from the films, and how will it aim to be a "faithful adaptation"? Might Star Wars provide a map for how Potter television content will grow in the future?

Find out how breaking the rules leads to seeking justice in the wizarding world - and our own.

An early critique of the Harry Potter series complained that Harry, Hermione, and Ron often break the rules and don’t always get in trouble for it. In this episode, Katy and Emily talk with Dr. Beth Sutton-Ramspeck about how seeing the limitations of rules and having the courage to break them prepares the series’ characters for political resistance. Beth’s new book, Harry Potter and Resistance (Routledge 2023), fully explores these issues. Beth explains how she developed the idea behind her book, how it relates to her earlier work on “literary housekeeping,” and how Harry Potter helped her move beyond scholarly burnout.

We discuss concepts of “dirt” and “cleanliness” in the book series, and how they connect to the desire to clean up society and politics. The Potter books present a complex understanding of the value or dangers of that which is termed dirty or impure. Cultural rules determine what counts as dirty or clean, and so transgressing such rules can be an act of resistance. On the other hand, in some cases, the act of cleaning is a fundamental act of care for fellow human beings, which is a form of resistance in authoritarian regimes. The Potter series also embraces ambivalence in that characters are not always entirely good or entirely bad. Emily notes that a central aspect of early Christian ministry involved removing barriers to the supposedly “unclean” and that this was an act of social justice.

Beth notes that resistance is about principled opposition to rules that are unjust. It’s not just about Fred and George nicking food from the kitchens but defying rules that perpetuate inequality and oppression in the wizarding world. We talk about the rule-oriented, unjust forces in magical society and how characters like Cornelius Fudge, Dolores Umbridge, and Argus Filch use rules to entrap and suppress the marginalized. The wizarding world is built on unjust laws and systems that are open to authoritarian abuse. Beth explains that in such systems telling the truth is itself an act of political defiance, as we see with Harry when he reports Voldemort’s return. We talk particularly about house-elf rebellion and its difficulties. Dobby makes it clear that house-elves have the capacity for freedom, despite the various restrictions that keep them enslaved.

The Harry Potter books incorporate ideas related to nonviolent resistance that overlap with Martin Luther King, Jr.’s concept of creative maladjustment and Ibram X. Kendi’s antiracism writings. Characters like Dobby, Harry, and Hermione are maladjusted to the unjust rules of their society, and this provokes responses that challenge the corrupt dominant culture. Beth also explains to us how transformative it was for Ron, inheritor of pureblood wizard privilege, literally to walk in Reg Cattermole’s shoes at the Ministry of Magic. Being able to see fictional characters behaving in creatively rebellious ways helps us to see rule-bound injustice in our own society and have the courage and creativity to defy these rules to construct a better world.

We gotta get back to Hogwarts in this episode, where we chat about MuggletNet's Ultimate Unofficial Harry Potter Hogwarts Handbook.

Katy and Emily are joined by Potterversity producer Laurie Beckoff and Marissa Osman, two of the authors of the latest release in MuggleNet's Unofficial Reference Library. Following a spellbook, character compendium, and bestiary, this book branches out beyond lists to chronicle every known detail about the wizarding world's most famous school, from history to hallways to inhabitants.

Hear about the research, writing, and editorial process that went into such a massive undertaking. Laurie and Marissa talk about their approach and how their academic backgrounds came in handy. We discuss the difficulty of determining what counts as canon and how to reconcile information from the books, films, video games, interviews, tweets, and Pottermore. Even within the seven novels, Hogwarts is full of contradictions and mysteries - mistakes or magic?

Hogwarts feels like home to so many readers. We share our favorite spots in the castle, fun tidbits about the school, and what else we want to know. What secrets of Hogwarts are yet to be discovered?

Whether it’s love for Hogwarts or love at Hogwarts, this episode will satisfy your wizard school Valentine’s cravings.

What theme is more central to the Harry Potter series than love? On this special interactive episode, Emily and Katy open up their podcast to fans and listeners to talk all about love at Hogwarts. Fielding questions and comments from the webinar chat, Emily and Katy consider the various kinds of love relationships at Hogwarts, Harry Potter valentines gone wrong, and love for the famous British school of witchcraft and wizardry itself.

We discuss the romantic relationships in the series - where they seem transgressive and where they seem traditional (hello, epilogue!) - and ponder our favorite noncanonical pairings. School spirit is also an expression of love, so we talk about how we show school spirit and what’s unique about Hogwarts that attracts not only fascination but also loyalty.

Thanks to all the listeners who joined us and helped create this fantastic conversation! What are your favorite Harry Potter loves? How do you show your love for Hogwarts?

This episode grapples with two omnipresent themes in Harry Potter: death and immortality.

Although the series has sometimes been deemed too dark for children, death can happen to anyone at any time, making it not purely an adult theme but something kids should also learn to encounter. Katy and Emily are joined by Dr. John Anthony Dunne, Associate Professor of New Testament and Director of the Doctor of Ministry program at Bethel Seminary in St. Paul, Minnesota, and co-host of The Two Cities podcast, to explore the meaning of death and approaches to it in Harry Potter.

John disagrees with the popular fan theory, approved by the author, that Dumbledore plays the role of Death from “The Tale of the Three Brothers.” Voldemort seems much more closely tied to Death and Dumbledore to the Resurrection Stone. We discuss the connection between Death Eaters and ancient religious conceptions of death, in which death is something that consumes.

John argues that Harry Potter is an anti-transhumanist text. Transhumanism is the idea of an extreme extension of life, in which humans can advance and upgrade themselves with increased longevity and well-being. Potter pushes against that idea and rejects the desire for immortality, instead emphasizing the importance of living on by passing things onto the next generation, like the Invisibility Cloak. Creating Horcruxes through murder to extend life lacks the hopeful, humanist goal at the core of transhumanism, and someone who would go to such lengths for eternal life seems highly unlikely to have a child, despite the events of Harry Potter and the Cursed Child. We also talk about death in The Christmas Pig and the capitalist connection between hoarding life and hoarding money.

For the second part of our discussion about the 2022 Harry Potter Academic Conference, we discuss current themes in Potter scholarship, including the special section on the transgender community.

Katy and Emily continue their conversation with conference presenters and attendees Laurie Beckoff, Lauren Camacci, Louise Freeman, and Lana Whited. After talking about favorite presentations in the first half, we turn to overall themes we noticed throughout the conference. Lana sees difference and reaction to it as a major topic, reflected in the interdisciplinary nature of the conference, which included political, sociological, and psychological approaches. Social justice and critical reading have been at the forefront of Potter studies in recent years, featured in Christine Schott’s talk on house-elves and Julye Bidmead and Emma Brandel’s presentation on creating a critical engagement guide to reading the series.

Lana has observed a lack of attention paid to J.K. Rowling’s works for both adults (Cormoran Strike) and children (The Christmas Pig, The Ickabog) outside the wizarding world. We debate what might account for the relatively low scholarly interest, including Rowling’s controversial comments, genre, quality, generational appeal, and overall popularity.

Rowling’s remarks about transgender people have been a major point of discussion at the last few conferences, to the point that the organizers decided that the topic called for a special section. Our guests discuss Louise’s scientific approach to transgender identity, using the “transabled” characters who wish to amputate healthy limbs in the Strike books as a point of reference to view it as a neurological phenomenon. Other subjects included trans “spite fic,” or Harry Potter fanfiction focused on transgender characters to spite Rowling (Ben Cromwell); “half-blood fans,” or queer fans who face judgment from their fellows for remaining in the fandom (Brent Satterly); and how to read the scene in which the boggart that takes Snape’s form is forced into a woman’s clothing (Lorrie Kim).

This rich discourse is part of why we all keep returning to Chestnut Hill, and we look forward to more excellent conferences.

Join us as we reflect on one of our favorite annual events, the 2022 Harry Potter Academic Conference at Chestnut Hill College.

Katy and Emily talk with attendees and presenters from the 11th annual HPAC: Laurie Beckoff, Lauren Camacci, Louise Freeman, and Lana Whited. The conference was held entirely in person until 2020, when the Covid-19 pandemic necessitated moving the conference online. In 2021, the organizers decided to try a hybrid approach, which continued this year. We discuss the benefits and drawbacks of that style, which allows presenters and attendees to join from all over the world and enables active discussion during presentations but can bring technical difficulties and make it difficult to engage with people attending in a different manner.

As usual, this year’s conference offered a huge variety of subjects, spanning literature, psychology, religion, education, and more. The first part of our chat focuses on some of our favorite talks. Lana, who usually connects intellectually with papers, felt emotionally stimulated by some of the presentations. Plenary speaker Loretta Ross, a recent recipient of the MacArthur Genius Grant, spoke on “Calling In, Not Calling Out” as a revolutionary strategy to discuss human rights issues. In the wake of J.K. Rowling’s comments about transgender people, fans and scholars have struggled with how to broach this topic. We consider Loretta’s suggested approaches and social media as a platform for serious and sensitive discussions.

John Anthony Dunne and conference organizer Patrick McCauley both examined death, an ever-present topic in Potter scholarship, while David Martin considered secrets, lies, and deception. Such weighty topics were balanced out by more light-hearted papers. Caitlin Harper, a regular presenter on (and defender of) Quidditch, this year talked about how the sport makes exactly as much sense as it needs to, comparing it to real-world sports that have odd or complicated rules. Laurie shared literary antecedents for Peeves and analyzed his overlooked role as a prankster in the series.

Other character studies included Beth Sutton-Ramspeck’s examination of Ron’s transformation into Reg Cattermole, bringing a minor character to the forefront and analyzing his position in wizarding society and Ron’s experience of literally putting himself in someone else’s shoes. Mark-Anthony Lewis looked at Snape alongside Victor Frankenstein in their relationship to techne, which encompasses art, science, and ethics. Katy, inspired by our episode on Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore, looked at mirrors in the new film and how the various Dumbledores interact with them.

Stay tuned for part two, where we discuss current themes in Potter scholarship, the conference’s special section on J.K. Rowling and the transgender community, and why we keep coming back to Chestnut Hill year after year.

It’s the holiday season, so it’s time for the magic of food on this month’s episode.

Food has a special role at this time of year . . . and in the Harry Potter series. Katy, Emily, and Louise Freeman talk about the food of the wizarding world: pumpkin pasties, cockroach clusters, butterbeer, cauldron cakes, and all things wizard food. We look at how food operates as a metaphor and how it develops mood and setting in the series.

In the Harry Potter books, food serves important purposes in providing social opportunities for the magical community. Food is conspicuous in the Potter stories, even from the very first chapters. It’s used for humor, world-building, and character-building across the series. The quality of food available to Harry often mirrors the quality of his life at various moments, representing alternately deprivation or abundance.

Food fellowship also pervades the series, from Harry and Ron’s first meeting on the Hogwarts Express to Weasley family dinners and Hogwarts feasts. Ron particularly has a hard time with food scarcity in Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, one of the catalysts for his leaving Hermione and Harry. We also talk about where food is portrayed as morally “good” and “bad,” its use to signal nationalist or ethnic identity, food symbolism in myth and ritual, dangerous foods, and the tantalizing questions about magical creatures as both predators and edible prey.

For all its growth into a global media franchise, Harry Potter is first and foremost a work of literature.

Katy and Emily talk to Dr. Cecilia Konchar Farr, Professor of English and Dean of the College of Liberal and Creative Arts at West Liberty University and editor of the recent anthology Open at the Close: Literary Essays on Harry Potter. For all the scholarship the series has generated, many of the literary qualities of the books are frequently overlooked while attention is instead paid to the cultural phenomenon surrounding them.

The idea for Open at the Close germinated at the Harry Potter Academic Conference at Chestnut Hill College, where the series is examined from a wide variety of fields and perspectives. Cecilia discusses her chapter, co-written with Amy Mars, which uses digital humanities techniques to analyze the changing language throughout the series. Emily talks about her own chapter in the book, which also tackles the language of the series, albeit in a different way, asking what constitutes “good” writing and Potter’s style is often criticized. How have patriarchal standards influenced what is considered good literature?

J.K. Rowling has been a particularly hot button issue over the past few years, with some scholars reframing their approach and thinking more deeply about the idea of “death of the author.” Separating the art from the artist works better for some than others. Nonbinary contributor Tolonda Henderson decided to step away from Potter fandom and scholarship because of the author’s behavior. Cecilia, however, has long been more concerned with the relationship between books and readers than authorial intent. She believes that relatability and discussibility should be legitimate topics for discussion. Many influential writers throughout history have been deeply problematic, but their writing still holds significance and value. Whatever the author’s views, books in general, and the Potter books specifically, can - and have - made a difference.

Explore the whimsical, fantastical, compelling images in Jim Kay’s illustrated Harry Potter editions.

On this episode, Katy and Emily talk with artist and fantasy scholar Emily Austin (Signum University) and literary scholar Beatrice Groves (Trinity College, Oxford) about the rich, marvelous world depicted in Jim Kay’s gorgeous illustrations of the Potterverse. Looking at Books 1–4, we dissect Kay’s style and the range of his artistry and also decode some of the symbolic language in his visual storytelling. Emily Austin and Bea help us understand Kay’s artistic process and how we can see that coming through the books’ images. We talk about how art and design comingle in the “visual feast” provided by these editions and how much of his own sensibility Kay includes in his depictions. You’ll hear about our favorite images - the ones that amuse us and the ones that move us.

Bea and Emily share their thoughts on Kay’s artistic influences and visual references. He uses a lot of nature imagery and symbols from the natural world, which we analyze for their meaning. He brings in many elements from the history of magic that deepen the reader’s experience of the wizarding world. We also dish about where to find “Easter Eggs”: special references, intertextual allusions, and hidden jokes. From landscapes to portraits to depictions of particular scenes, we investigate and marvel at the wonderful imagery Kay brings to the Harry Potter series.

What are your favorite images from these books, and what are you excited to see in Kay’s illustrated edition of Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix?

Get a preview of the latest Harry Potter academic anthology, featuring a diverse array of essays on the series.

We're joined by Dr. Lana Whited (Ferrum College), editor of The Ivory Tower and Harry Potter (University of Missouri Press, 2002), one of the first anthologies focused on the series, and now the second volume, The Ivory Tower, Harry Potter, and Beyond (University of Missouri Press, 2024). Quite a bit of Potter scholarship is contained in anthologies devoted entirely to the series, possibly due in part to the historical difficulty of getting Potter studies articles accepted by academic journals, but these anthologies have helped to develop a community around the subject. Only the first three Potter books had been released when the first volume was compiled; by the time of the second, Lana was able to seek out chapters not only on the full series but also Fantastic Beasts and Harry Potter and the Cursed Child as well as The Casual Vacancy, the Cormoran Strike books, and even The Ickabog.

The new anthology, coming over 20 years after the first, offers something of a retrospective on how far Potter studies has come. From its early days, the field has extended beyond literary studies to include religious, psychological, political, and scientific perspectives. Podcasts have also contributed a great deal to discourse. Of course, the author's changing reputation has had a major impact.

Emily, Katy, and Lana discuss their respective chapters, "Parenting Models in the Potter Saga and Cursed Child: Human and Divine," "Secrecy and Segregation in the Wizarding World's Hidden Histories," and "The Ickabog, Monsters, and Monstrosity," offering a sample of the range of topics covered.

Discover how politics can be both Dark Arts and the defense against them in Harry Potter.

Katy and Emily talk to Dr. John S. Nelson, Professor of Political Theory and Communication at the University of Iowa and author of Defenses Against the Dark Arts: The Political Education of Harry Potter and His Friends, published by Lexington Books in 2021, about the politics of the series. John feels that the Harry Potter books “hit you over the head” with the interest in politics exhibited by Harry and his friends, even if it doesn’t seem quite as obvious until the later installments. He revels in the “glory” of political styles available in Potter, which perhaps offers even more options than the real world. Politics exist not only in the Ministry of Magic and other explicitly political environments but in how we interact with people on a daily basis.

The politics of Potter serves as a helpful teaching tool by providing examples that a large number of students will understand. The political applications of the series seem to extend beyond authorial intent, offering readers ways to approach current affairs. John explains how politics is a plural noun, encompassing many kinds that Harry and company learn to recognize. The Imperius Curse, for example, resembles nefarious propaganda, soothing the target and making them susceptible to suggestions rather than violently coercing them into following orders.

We discuss the role of “the fool” in the politics of the wizarding world and where folly borders on “chaotic anarchism” - where anarchic behavior, such as that of Peeves, can produce cascading events that turn small spaces for resistance into campaigns that can undo the accomplishments of a fascist regime, like the environment created by Umbridge at Hogwarts.

Touching on a frequently debated part of the series, we explore the political implications of the epilogue. Was all too well? Is there a sense of conformism rather than radical, and necessary, social reform? Does young Albus Potter’s fear of being Sorted into Slytherin indicate that the House has not undergone much-needed structural change?

Discover the transfiguring effects of reading the Harry Potter series on this month’s episode.

Emily and Katy talk with Dr. Anne Mamary (Monmouth College) about her anthology The Alchemical Harry Potter: Essays on Transfiguration in J.K. Rowling’s Novels (McFarland 2021). We talk about the power of the Potter books and films, and how they not only express alchemical themes but also work a kind of alchemical magic on readers and viewers.

Anne explains that alchemy is a way to transform not only metals but also the alchemist and our entire worldview. Although we could look at nature from a modernist perspective, requiring the neutrality of the experimenter and presuming a mechanical model of the universe, alchemy requires being open to the enchantment within nature and our deep connection to it. Not all historical alchemists were Christian, but often a notion of religious or metaphysical transformation emerges through alchemical explorations of nature. Anne explains that alchemy posits that the heavenly exists within the earthly, that the sacred can be found everywhere, and we live in an enchanted world that is not just a world of machines. She sees this approach pervading the Hogwarts curriculum and the Harry Potter novels as a whole.

Pointing out the overt alchemical references in the books, from Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone to Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Anne also explains how the themes of immortality and personal transfiguration connect alchemy with the book series. Harry’s journey through the seven books helps him to transform worldly aims into more meaningful ones. For example, desire for money and immortality transforms into a desire for a “golden life.” Alchemical experiences change how Harry views power as well as self and the community. Anne gives us a glimpse of some of the essays in her anthology that explore these themes in more detail, including her own about the alchemical importance of stargazing in both Plato and Harry Potter. To highlight the intergenerational power of the novels, The Alchemical Harry Potter features essays by authors from the ages of 8 to 80. We also talk about rereading Harry Potter and how reading it at different points in one’s life can effect different transformations in the reader.

Wrock out on this episode about musical fan creations in the Potterverse.
We are all about fan culture in this month’s episode. Emily and Katy talk with Paul Thomas (University of Kansas) about his book I Wanna Wrock!: The World of Harry Potter-Inspired “Wizard Rock” and Its Fandom (McFarland 2019). Paul is himself a wrock musician in the band the 8th Horcrux. He first got involved in wrock as a way to impress his crush, who is now his wife and fellow bandmember, Trina. As a result, he’s a participant observer in the wrock phenomenon, fully qualified to discuss how, why, and where musically-minded fans have expressed their ideas and feelings about Harry Potter. He talks to us about the challenges of taking both insider and outsider perspectives and also the joys of being a wrocker.

Paul helps us understand the history of wrock, the songs at the foundation of the movement, and its many musical and literary influences. You will want to check out some of this early wrock music, including songs by Switchblade Kittens (“Ode to Harry Potter”) and (of course) Harry and the Potters. He explains how their popularity took off, the typical themes and characteristics of wrock groups, and what unites and divides these musicians and their work. He emphasizes the centrality of wrock lyrical content and its connections to filk, punk, and fan fiction. Most of all, wizard wrock brings Potter enthusiasts together and builds community.

We discuss the role of performativity as a vital, identity-affirming but also identity-bending feature of the wrock community - and its link to cosplay. As these bands put forth a set of shared beliefs, they welcome the audience in, potentially changing reality during those performances to allow full immersion in an alternate world. Paul talks about meeting the kind and funny members of Draco and the Malfoys, a contrast to their Malfoy-esque stage identity. Paul also shares with us his own personal influences as a wrock musician (including Weird Al Yankovic, They Might Be Giants, Green Day, and Weezer). He also gives tips for would-be wrockers out there. Definitely check out the 8th Horcrux’s music!

Stick around for Owl Post where we read listeners’ thoughts on our Secrets of Dumbledore episodes!

Eavesdrop on the Potterversity faculty in the staff lounge as we dish about Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore!

NOTE: This episode contains spoilers!
On this special episode, hear uncensored opinions and on-the-spot analysis about The Secrets of Dumbledore from some of our Potterversity regulars, Beatrice Groves, Emma Nicholson, Louise Freeman, and Lana Whited. We’ve pulled together outtakes from our technically off-the-record conversations for your listening pleasure. Some topics include:

• Romance and relationships in the films
• Whether there will be another Fantastic Beasts movie
• How this one compares with the other films
• Albus’s disappointingly reserved fashion choices
• Mads Mikkelsen’s Grindelwald compared to Johnny Depp’s
• What happened with Tina
• Queenie’s motivations
• Cruel and unusual punishments in the wizarding world
• Where young Tom Riddle fits in the timeline
• Whether Gellert still loves Albus
• Funniest moments
• Critiques and lingering questions

Our new understanding of Dumbledore’s machinations also leads us to question whether Harry really saved the day in the Harry Potter series or whether it was all Dumbledore’s master plan. What do you think?

Join us for our deep dive into Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore and its literary allusions, beastly lore, and continuation of the plot points in Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows.

NOTE: This episode contains spoilers!
Dr. Beatrice Groves (Trinity College, Oxford) joins Katy and Emily to decode the symbolic elements of this story and help us understand where it fits within the Harry Potter series. Find out about Bea’s prediction-come-true and hear about how the central beasts in the film reference medieval mythological creatures featured in various bestiaries that Bea has kindly read for us so she can share her knowledge. From the Qilin to the Obscurus, Bea explains the importance of making beasts central to Grindelwald’s plan, which unites the Dumbledore plot with Newt Scamander’s. Grindelwald uses beasts for his own ends instead of appreciating them as they are, as Newt does, and this provides us key insights about his character – and echoes similar problematic aspects of Voldemort’s character. You can read about some of these theories in Bea’s column, Bathilda’s Notebook.

Bea connects the beasts to T.H. White’s The Once and Future King and The Book of Beasts – both strong influences on the Harry Potter and Fantastic Beasts series – as well as the work of Neil Gaiman and Lev Grossman. The Fantastic Beasts films also draw from P.G. Wodehouse and Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream. The prison (and its beasts) in Secrets of Dumbledore evokes mythology and other sources, layering stories upon stories to create rich intertextual meaning. We talk about Rappaport’s Law banning Wizard/No-Maj marriages, seemingly abandoned at the end of the film, and the Dumbledore-Grindelwald blood troth and its significance.

How does this story inform our understanding of Albus Dumbledore’s youth and the whole Dumbledore family? Bea points out clever inversions of the Aberforth-Albus-Ariana scene in the last Harry Potter book and the revelations about Albus and Gellert’s relationship in the film – and whether those feelings continue. You’ll also hear much of interest about the mirror dimension experienced by Albus, Gellert, and Credence and additional functions of the Deluminator that echo Deathly Hallows moments. Secrets abound in this story and among the Dumbledores themselves, and their revelation drives the plot of the film.  

David Martin, one of the winners of Harry Potter: Hogwarts Tournament of Houses, talks about his amazing experience on the show.
On this episode, Katy and Emily talk with our friend David Martin about being on the victorious Hufflepuff team on the Tournament of Houses quiz show, which aired on TBS November to December 2021. He tells us how the auditions went, what it was like to be on the show, which questions most stumped him, what it’s like to have become a social media star, and why he is a lifelong Hufflepuff. Be warned: There are spoilers!

David also shares with us some of his scholarly analysis on why the wizarding world seems stuck back in time, the cultural significance of Mr. Weasley's love of plugs, wizard dating tips, and the significance of particular trees in the Harry Potter series. Whether you're a Harry Potter trivia whiz or not, you will love the good humor, sharp insights, and behind-the-scenes dishing of this episode.

In our special segment, David sticks around to talk with us about books Potter readers might enjoy after finishing the series. You'll definitely want to try some of these fiction and nonfiction works. And you can add to your list David’s new book Twelve Fail-Safe Ways to Charm Witches and Other Thoughts about Harry Potter, which is out now and available for purchase.

Understand the ties that bind – blood and otherwise – in Arthurian legend and the wizarding world in this episode.

Emily and Katy discuss with Dr. Carol Jamison (Georgia Southern University) the links between Arthurian literature and Harry Potter through the concepts of blood lines, noble (or “pure”) blood, and blood feud. Author of Chivalry in Westeros(McFarland, 2018), Carol examines medievalism in popular culture, not only in the Potterverse but also Game of Thrones. She explains both medievalism and neo-medievalism in pop culture and how the Harry Potter stories play with Arthurian themes that fit these categories. We learn about how views of chivalry and heroism connect the characters and themes of the two literary sources, including the values of generosity, loyalty, and sacrifice, along with the notion of noble-bearing or birthright that distinguishes heroes in both. But the two series actually test the assumption that heroism comes automatically from bloodline, pointing out that virtue does not, in fact, come from blood or heritage.

We talk about Harry’s connection with Voldemort as a kind of blood tie that also has corollaries in Arthurian legend. This unwanted blood connection parallels the connection between Arthur and his son/nephew Mordred, leading to similar peril and self-sacrifice. Blood feud also drives the action in the two series, as desire for revenge and restitution motivates major events in each, creating alliances as well as rivalries. Analysis of the Malfoys and Gaunts, in addition to Snape, demonstrates the importance of medieval feuding to the Harry Potter story.

Carol shows how these links to Arthurian legend allow the Potter books to challenge contemporary ideas about racial purity that lead to profound injustice (Dolores Umbridge, we’re looking at you). This emphasis, too, presents a parallel particularly to Thomas Malory’s collection of Arthurian tales. Both the late 15th century and today evince the effects of social and political upheaval as old ideals about the link between virtue and blood are challenged. How much do we still esteem bloodline and elect “dynasties” to positions of power? These issues continue to resonate with us today. You can read more about Dr. Jamison’s analysis in “Blood Ties, Blood Sacrifice, and the Blood Feud in Malory’s Le Morte D’Arthur and J.K. Rowling’s Harry Potter Series” in Children’s Literature Quarterly (2021).

Take a closer look at the Harry Potter fandom in this month's episode!
What aspects of the fandom are your favorites: festivals, online communities, cosplay, fan fiction, or something else? On this episode, Emily and Katy talk with Dr. Marianne Martens (Kent State University), author of The Forever Fandom of Harry Potter (Cambridge University Press), about what makes Harry Potter fan communities unique and persistent.

The first Harry Potter book was published at about the same time that online communication and social media became more popular. Marianne explains how digital platforms have helped researchers understand what appeals to readers in addition to facilitating readers connecting with each other online, circulating theories and creative reflections on the series. The Potter fandom has a strong participatory aspect, especially among young people, and significantly higher engagement than many other fan communities built around young adult novels.

A lot of Harry Potter fan participation happens outside of official commercial channels, which fuels fan engagement but also creates challenges with copyright and trademark restrictions, as the many renamed wizard fests attest. Marianne explains what it means to be a "branded author" and "branded readers" and how that influences Harry Potter fan experiences by making room for the emotionally inspired, affective labor of fans but also raises questions about who "owns" the Harry Potter stories. Active participation leads fans to feel a sense of ownership that can be in conflict with the original author and the film production company. We also talk about the joys and struggles of the festival experience and where these events might be headed in the future. Marianne points out the significant power that Potter fans have had to protest the commercialized elements of the Potterverse, like the activism to protect independent fan sites and to end support of the exploitative labor systems used to produce Potter candy products.

Does Harry Potter have a "forever fandom"? Marianne tells us why she characterized the fandom that way for her book in 2018, and we discuss directly the impact of more recent developments that have created tension in the community and turned away previous fans of the series. We talk about how fans have responded and the possibility of separating the series from its creator.

We at Potterversity love house-elves! Join us for our valentine to Dobby, Winky, Kreacher, and Hokey and their persistent relevance for understanding injustice.
House-elf fans Emily and Katy talk with Dr. Christine Schott (Erskine College) about how the house-elves keep Harry Potter relevant to social issues today. Given the upheaval this new generation of readers sees in our world, Christine tells us, the Harry Potter stories give us a "training ground" for figuring out how to respond to those problems and complexities. The unsatisfying, unresolved issue of house-elf enslavement leads us to continue thinking about this wizarding world oppression in ways that help us consider persistent injustices in our world.

The house-elves can be related to all kinds of oppressed peoples, including those bound in chattel slavery, house-wives (as Katy has argued), immigrant communities, and even artificial intelligence (as Emily has explored). Yet the house-elves' ambivalent portrayal in the Harry Potter series as "happy slaves" makes us uneasy and requires us to examine them more closely. We talk about how the individual house-elves - Dobby, Winky, Kreacher, and Hokey - invite theoretical but also empathetic consideration from us. How do we understand Dobby's sacrifice in the war against Voldemort? How should we feel about Harry hoping Kreacher will bring him a sandwich at the end of the Battle of Hogwarts?

Structural attempts at house-elf liberation in the wizarding world seem ineffective. What lessons can we gain about anti-racism and other social justice movements from such attempts as SPEW? Christine helps us see that there are insights to be gained about allyship and social change from how the characters struggle with the abolition of house-elf slavery. This is the value of a story that does not provide easy answers, she explains. We also talk about "cancel culture" and how to keep the study of literature relevant to both students and society at large.

Read Katy's chapter on "The Real House-Elves of J.K. Rowling," Emily's essay analyzing "Dobby the Robot," Christine's essay on "The House Elf Problem," and more scholarly perspectives on house-elves in Muggle Studies. Which approach do you find the most compelling?

In this episode's special Owl Post segment, we discuss one listener's question about how to understand Harry and Professor McGonagall's troubling use of Unforgivable Curses. Should we...forgive them? What do you think?

Looking to recover lost love? Discover the connections between the Harry Potter stories and The Christmas Pig. 
Designed for younger readers, The Christmas Pig features a young boy going on a perilous quest to thwart a materialist villain, The Loser, and reclaim his lost, beloved best friend, Dur Pig (DP). In this first episode of the new year, Emily and Katy explore the similarities between The Christmas Pig and the Harry Potter novels. Common motifs include the value of courage and loyalty, the challenge in dealing with bullies and tyrants, anti-modernism and anti-materialism, the heroism of the small and marginalized, coping with death and our own mortality, and the transformative power of love. 
Emily highlights the Christian themes appearing in both, particularly the magic of the Christmas season, comparing Hogwarts Christmases with the miraculous possibilities of Christmas Eve in traditional lore. She also explains the religious significance of some of the names in the story. Katy points out how, in both stories, “Things” gain sentience and agency through their proximity to people and absorption of human emotion. The Alivening of objects in The Christmas Pig is perhaps akin to spell-casting in the wizarding world. 
We also explore the ways this novel, like the Potter series, fits Tolkien’s definition of a fairy story, especially the experience of a perilous realm, the way magic is taken seriously, and the tale’s eucatastrophic ending, with the finding of that which has been lost.

Get swept away by the cinematic sounds of the Wizarding World.

We're joined by musicologist Dr. Daniel White (University of Huddersfield), who has a new book about the music of two major fantasy franchises, Harry Potter and Lord of the Rings. He talks about the musical foundation laid by John Williams in Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone and how subsequent composers built off his work both within the Harry Potter series and continuing into the Fantastic Beasts films.

Dan applies music theory to unpack what makes "Hedwig's Theme" so iconic and how it contributes to worldbuilding and evokes nostalgia. We look at the tone shifts between films and the recurring musical motifs that change throughout the series. Dan tells us about his methodology for analyzing film music, including ethnographic research interviewing audiences about their reactions and conversations with composers and music supervisors for video games, Harry Potter and the Cursed Child, and the Wizarding World of Harry Potter theme parks.

The theme parks offer an interesting blend of diegetic (in-universe) music, like Celestina Warbeck and the Hogwarts frog choir, and non-diegetic background music from the soundtracks. Fans have of course made their own Potter-inspired music in the form of wizard rock. While the music of Lord of the Rings is more epic in scale, covering different regions, races, and communities, Harry Potter tends to focus more on individual characters, their relationships, and more specific locations. Both share a theme of home and have become homes for audiences, inspiring the subtitle of Dan's book, The Music of Harry Potter and The Lord of the Rings: Sounds of Home in the Fantasy Franchise.

Tune in for the latest Potter Studies insights from the tenth annual Harry Potter Academic Conference!
In this special episode, Emily and Katy have an in-person roundtable with Laurie Beckoff, Kat Miller (Alohomora!), and Kat Sas about some of the exciting ideas and controversial issues raised over the course of October's Harry Potter Academic Conference (HPAC) at Chestnut Hill College.

Fresh from the conference, we talk about media and social media "mirrors" in the wizarding world, Hogwarts as a setting of "dark academia," the Harry-Horcrux dilemma, Potter activism, and the eternal debate about Ron Weasley: hopeless or hero? Along the way, we contemplate the ever-relevant lessons of the Potterverse for us in the Muggle world, changes in the Potter fandom, public performance and reputation in the series, thing theory, and racism and oppression in the wizarding world. Who are the wizarding world media influencers? How does the Harry Potter series fit in with other macabre campus mysteries? Is Harry really a Horcrux? What about Nagini? How should we understand the flawed ideas about race and oppression expressed by characters in the books? And, finally, does Harry need Ron's friendship during his quest?

The conference stimulates us to ponder compelling ideas and quandaries at the forefront of Potter Studies. If you’re looking for more Potter academia, check out Muggle Studies on MuggleNet, where Laurie has collected a bibliography of and links to Potter Studies scholarship.

Join us for a lively, funny, thoroughly nerdy conversation about these topics and more!

Get a little "meta" in this episode about Harry Potter fandom and pop culture podcasting! 
Emily and Katy talk with film and fandom scholar - and fellow podcaster - Michael Boyce, Professor of English Literature and Film Studies at Booth University College and host of the Geek 4 podcast. We investigate how the Harry Potter films have affected our fandom and explore podcasting about popular culture from within the "ivory tower" of academia.

Were you first attracted to the Harry Potter world through the films or the books? Michael explains how he came to be a Potter fan and his early experiences of the fandom. We discuss how the actors' interpretations in the film (ahem, Michael Gambon) change the way we understand the characters and how directorial cuts affect our memories of the narrative. Have these interpretations become canon or do the films exist in a kind of alternate universe? Different directors have also created distinct interpretations and even tones for the various books, and we consider how that influences the movies' coherence as a series. Michael explains that the films have provided easier points of access to the wizarding world for fans and have created clearer images of the characters, which certainly has had consequences for fan reactions to casting decisions and fan creative productions.

Michael helps us analyze the unique (and not-so-unique) qualities of the Harry Potter fandom, and we consider the marketing of Wizarding World products to the multi-generational fan community. We talk about fandom as a target (and even creation) of late-stage capitalism and the way fans show our loyalty and love for pop culture through our wallets. Sometimes fan-based products like toys have even spoiled major plot points - LEGO, we’re looking at you! Michael tells us about fan gatekeepers and the joys of excluding others on the basis of fan purism. Is there a hierarchy in the Potter fandom based on the Hogwarts Houses? What do you think?

Michael talks about how his podcast, Geek 4, which interviews people about their fandoms and engages with the geeky academic side of a variety of fandoms, from sci-fi to sports. We discuss the benefits of podcasting for both creators and listeners, especially during the pandemic, and the high-quality podcasts that exist which contribute to public scholarship. Podcasts provide an easy-to-access conduit to expert knowledge and feed the soul of our fan communities.

Investigate bullying at Hogwarts on this month’s episode.

In this episode, Emily and Katy talk with Ithaca College’s Katharine Kittredge and Carolyn Rennie about the history of bullying and how it relates to the social and educational environment at Hogwarts. We talk about what makes a bully and how that conception has perhaps changed over time in the western world. Katharine explains how eighteenth-century writers tended to think of bullying as natural to children and inevitable in the school setting, especially where differences of privilege existed. The nineteenth century revised that view to consider bullying as a deviant behavior or the result of a problem in the bully’s psychology, which is more like our view today. Carolyn discusses the modern and feminine forms of bullying, especially facilitated by social media, and the volatile context in which kids can be both bullied and bullies depending on the situation at any given moment.

The Harry Potter stories’ relationship to Tom Brown’s School Days provokes a comparison of the way both portray boarding school bullying behavior. Katharine explains how bullying was regarded in the history of British boarding schools and how novels reflected real-world changes. Bullying was sometimes seen as a pedagogical strategy in institutions, as peer pressure was used to enforce social norms. We also talk about gender dynamics in the bullying in pre-Victorian school stories, and how boy-bullying and girl-bullying differed. Katharine and Carolyn point out where these echoes resound in the Harry Potter series and how they influence character development. We explore how bullying manifests in both generational and intergenerational relationships, including from teacher to student. Are Hogwarts bullies humanized over the course of the series?

From class differences to race, gender, and a variety of intersectional identities, bullying reveals intricate social dynamics in the wizarding world that have lessons for us Muggles. Join us for a thorough discussion that does not leave J.K. Rowling’s own words and actions unexamined.

Stay after class for our special segment “Food Fight,” where we throw down over the question: Who is the bigger bully, James Potter or Severus Snape?

Decode magical numbers on this month's episode!

Katy and Emily talk with Dr. Lana Whited (Ferrum College) about one of the more mysterious of the magical subjects at Hogwarts: Arithmancy. We discuss where this subject fits in the Hogwarts core curriculum, its historical and etymological roots, and its meaning within the Harry Potter series. And, for that matter, how do you even pronounce it? Arithmancy is a type of divination using numbers used to predict events in the ancient world. Lana walks us through how to do these calculations and how to understand the numbers that result.

Pointing out that we quite commonly assign significance to numbers (hello, lucky episode #13!), Lana explains the significance of important numbers in the Harry Potter books, like 3, 4, and 7. Much numerical significance comes from people’s observations of the heavenly bodies, and the number 7 specifically represented the divine across historical eras.

Why does Hermione loathe Divination but not Arithmancy? We also talk about math-whiz Oliver from Puffs and his frustration with the lack of math at Hogwarts - why wouldn't Arithmancy be enough for him? Lana helps us understand the nuances of these characters' responses to the subject, and considers that Arithmancy may be the best integration of art and science among the Hogwarts courses. This subject, like astrology and other kinds of divination, gives people a sense of order when times are uncertain or unsettled, and appeals because it finds meaning deeply embedded in the universe. Wizarding society certainly takes this subject seriously, and we discuss why that is. Lana tells us the arithmancical numbers for a variety of characters, which reveal their key characteristics.

Hogwarts students' favorite school subjects in general seem to reveal something important about their personality and growth arc across the series, and so we explore what Charms, Transfiguration, Defense Against the Dark Arts, Potions, and Herbology represent for character development. We also wonder why there's no literature class at Hogwarts, and whether there are other magical subjects that should be taught that are surprisingly missing. Should the students be learning Occlumency . . . or not? What do you think Hogwarts should be teaching that they don’t?

For our special segment, join Emily and Katy in the Potterversity common room as they do some Arithmancy homework. Feel free to do your homework, too, with Dr. Whited's Arithmancy worksheet!

Harry’s explorations of loss, grief, and the nature of death borrow heavily from classical visions of the underworld, especially Virgil's Aeneid.

In this episode, Katy and Emily talk to Dr. Vassiliki (Lily) Panoussi, Chancellor Professor of Classical Studies at William and Mary, about references in Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows to Virgil's Aeneid. Lily tells us about this ancient Roman origin story, which also references classical Greek texts like The Iliad and The Odyssey. It explores themes like heroism, sacrifice, community, friendship, and grief. Virgil's story about Aeneas's journey was immediately influential in the Roman Empire and remained so throughout western literary history. Lily explains that J.K. Rowling seems to consciously draw on the epic structure and themes of this classical story, particularly to serve a similar purpose as "a foundational epic that will have impact on the real world." Like Aeneas, Harry is supposed to usher in a new global era.

Lily teaches us about katabasis, or descent, used to describe underworld journeys. Travel to the world of the dead plays a crucial role in the hero’s development in ancient Greek and Roman literature. Harry, too, has underworld journeys that shape him in each book, including the Mirror of Erised, the Chamber of Secrets, the tunnel under the Whomping Willow, the graveyard, the Department of Mysteries, and the caves of Inferi. Deathly Hallows multiplies the number of underworld journeys for our hero. Harry's visit to Godric's Hollow evokes Aeneas's trip to Buthrotum, a town that represents his old life and also helps him move through his feelings of loss and grief and back to the world of the living. We also learn about ancient-world death rituals, including games, that helped people deal with loss without ceasing to live themselves. Lily provides a nuanced reading of Harry's burial of Dobby based on parallels with The Aeneid that will make you think of it in a new, profound way.

We also learn about connections to the story  of the King of the Wood and Aeneas's quest for the Golden Bough, which are evoked in not only magic wands but also another magical object that might surprise you. There are several symbolic cues to Harry being in the liminal space between life and death. King’s Cross Station is just such a liminal space at the end of Deathly Hallows, and we have a vibrant discussion of how it specifically references classical underworld experiences. This scene is the culmination of several lessons in leadership for Harry and provides a rebirth from which Harry can establish a new, more peaceful era for wizarding society.

Emily and Katy provide the Muggle News for our special segment, with information on upcoming conferences for Potter scholars. Check out the Harry Potter Academic Conference and the Southwest Popular and American Culture Conference. Let us know if there are conferences or festivals you love in the Potterverse!

On this episode, we're reading Harry Potter through trauma theory, Fat Studies, and semiotics - and from the perspective of a nonbinary trans scholar of young adult literature.
What does it meant to be a Potter scholar? Get a glimpse of one academic's research into a variety of topics in the Harry Potter books. In this episode, Emily and Katy talk with Tolonda Henderson, former librarian and current scholar of the intersections of disability, race, and adolescence in young adult literature, about their research into the seven-book series. Tolonda shares how they became interested in Potter scholarship, wondering "Why is Madame Pince so useless?" and then moving to a wide array of Potterian topics.

"What the text says matters," Tolonda explains, and so looking closely at the language and symbols used in the books has become an essential part of their study of Harry Potter and other young adult literature. Tolonda decodes for us the symbolic and textual memorialization of Harry's family in Godric's Hollow to understand why the monuments were built, their purpose for the wizarding community, and the role they play in Harry's own psychological journey. Tolonda also reveals to us how descriptions of fat characters (like Neville, Dudley, and Professor Slughorn) affect the ways we understand them, and how we are influenced by "thin thinking." Tolonda has studied the way the books convey trauma through descriptions of the physical and psychological descriptions of peritraumatic disassociation. Trauma distorts Harry’s sense of space, time, and his own embodiment, most clearly represented in the scene at King’s Cross Station, and the books have something important to say about how to navigate such crises.

As a nonbinary trans literary scholar, Tolonda also tells us how their scholarship has been affected by statements made by the author last summer. Is it possible or desirable to continue to study Potter, given those statements? Tune in to hear their thoughts on this difficult question as well as their ideas for other young adult fiction to read this summer.

Universes collide as we imagine the story of the founding of Hogwarts in the form of a Shakespeare play.
In this episode, we're joined by Ian Doescher, author of William Shakespeare's Star Wars as well as Shakespearean retellings other of modern tales. He tells us about how he first embarked on this project and what made Star Wars a natural fit for Shakespeare. Ian is particularly struck by how Shakespeare mines human emotion and provides insight into characters' motives and feelings with soliloquies - something we don't get during emotional but silent scenes on film, such as Luke Skywalker watching the binary sunset on Tatooine.

We love Star Wars and Shakespeare here at Potterversity, but what does this have to do with Harry Potter? It comes down to an intriguing line in the FAQ section of Ian's website, which explains that he had an idea for the story of the Hogwarts founders as told by Shakespeare, which unfortunately did not receive permission to go forward from the powers that be. We talk about why this was the Potter story Ian was drawn to, which Shakespearean themes and characters are echoed in this tale, the role of the supernatural in Shakespeare's work, how the Sorting Hat would fit in, and why Shakespeare was obviously a wizard.

As Katy mentions that she finds Voldemort to be relatively two-dimensional and thinks he could benefit from a soliloquy, Ian discusses why he enjoys writing villains and how exciting it was to hear Ian McDiarmid (Emperor Palpatine) read from The Jedi Doth Return. Emily brings up the genre of pastiche, which involves imitating another writer's style, and Ian explains how he both tries to shed insight on the form of Shakespearean drama and give new life to the story he is retelling. Translating contemporary language into early modern English and iambic pentameter poses its own challenges, and Ian doesn't stop there. He works to employ the various literary devices Shakespeare used and keep iconic scenes recognizable and humorous while transforming them. 

Ian is continuing his retellings with William Shakespeare's Avengers and his Star Wars pastiches with I Wish I Had a Wookiee, a book of Star Wars poetry in the style of Shel Silverstein. As for William Shakespeare's History of Hogwarts, the rights remain elusive, but if permission ever came through, Ian would gladly pick up his quill.

In our Owl Post segment, two listeners ask whether Darth Vader and Kylo Ren deserved their redemption and if Voldemort could have been redeemed. We get into the ethical and theological weeds of whether redemption can ever be truly deserved or must be earned.

Explore the many dark connections between Harry Potter and Dracula, two stories of love, death, and the conquest of evil.
In this episode, Katy and Emily talk with Dr. Beatrice Groves (Literary Allusions in Harry Potter, Bathilda’s Notebook) about the many parallels between Bram Stoker’s Dracula and the Harry Potter series. 
Hogwarts evokes Count Dracula’s castle, and J.K. Rowling and Stoker evoke similar impressions of eastern Europe as a place where dark magic dwells. Despite the scarcity of actual vampires in Harry Potter, Rowling evokes vampiric imagery with both Voldemort and Snape. Rowling even drew early images of Snape where he looks like the Count. Does Quirrell have a parallel in Dracula? Harry parallels Dracula’s heroine, Mina Harker, especially in having a traumatic experience with the villain that creates a continuing psychic connection. 
Ideas about blood and the transfer of blood exist in both works, creating similar questions about purity and power. Dracula also has objects that keep him alive - boxes of soil - much like Voldemort’s Horcruxes. Defeating Dracula and defeating Voldemort follow similar plot paths, including the way they die. Bea reveals a fascinating association between the Horcrux locket’s destruction and Dracula that you will not want to miss. Albus Dumbledore’s parallel in Stoker’s novel is the famous vampire hunter Van Helsing. Both, Bea explains, represent the author’s voice and perspective. Other fascinating links abound as well, so tune in! 
Feeling thirsty? In our special segment, return to the Three Broomsticks where Emily explains how to make Sanguini Martinis and the Sanguini Sangria Surprise! 

'Our Puffs-palooza continues as we talk with some of the talented people behind the play Puffs. 
We continue our conversation about the wonderful fan re-vision of the Harry Potter series, the off-Broadway play Puffs. Emily and Katy discuss with Matt Cox (Puffs creator) and Stephen Stout (Puffs actor and producer) the creative process behind the making of the play. Note: This episode contains spoilers of the play. 
Matt and Stephen explain how they became fans of Harry Potter, and then fan-creators. Matt tells us how he came up with the idea for the play, and Stephen how he became a “fandom anthropologist,” especially by visiting Universal Studios’ Wizarding World theme park in preparation for working on the play, convincing him they had to be “responsible in their fooling” because of how much the series means to fans. Interested in the nostalgic expression of pop culture, Matt embraced the tragic and comic aspects of the Harry Potter series, and the way the Puffs' perspective magnifies those elements. He played on the idea that kids reading the series as it came out imagined themselves getting a Hogwarts letter; that moment was rooted in the culture of the 1990s and those fans’ memories of their growing-up years. 
They also share how they made an alternate universe that echoes Harry’s world, and how social media helped the show take off in popularity. As the audience grew, Matt was able to tweak the show in response to audience reactions. The show started as more of a comedy, but the story developed more fully to develop its emotional heart. Stephen reveals some of the alternate endings of the play and how they adjusted it as time went on. Matt and Stephen explain the advantages of theater as a medium that takes the audience on a full journey, allows actors to play multiple parts (like Cedric and Voldemort), and creates the magic of the wizarding world with a only few small cues to the audience. They reveal how some of the funniest moments of the show were created. Puffs creates a shared experience between actors and audience that brings excitement and joy. As Puffs is performed in different US states and in Australia, the producers have encouraged making changes to adapt the references so that the audience is always in on the joke. The “rough magic,” improvisation, and adaptability of the show is central to its success. 
Despite the satire and playful critiques, Matt and Stephen emphasize the earnest parts of Puffs that make it a love letter for the Harry Potter series. How do we interact with Harry Potter as responsible fans? Stephen and Matt talk about navigating changes in the fandom by adding elements to Puffs and its additional, related stories that major movie franchises perhaps do not have the courage to do. Emily asks about how Puffs pushes the envelope on the Harry Potter underdog narrative in showing us other underdog perspectives we may not have considered.
Don’t miss this smart and hilarious conversation revealing the behind-the-scenes story of the off-Broadway play Puffs. Check out more fun from these talented folks at The Ultra Corporation on YouTube! 

Join us for the beginning of our Puffs-palooza! 
In this episode, we talk with Dr. Melissa Aaron and Dr. Lauren Camacci about the off-Broadway play Puffs - how you can see it at home, why should see it (if you haven’t already), and why we love it so much. Warning: Spoilers abound in this episode!  
Puffs imagines the seven-book Harry Potter series in a compressed timeline and from the perspective of students in Hufflepuff in those same years. This is a fan fiction approach that Henry Jenkins calls refocalization, which retells a story from the perspective of marginalized characters to provide new insights. Melissa, a theater historian who saw the play in New York, explains how the in-person play experience is different from seeing it on film, and we consider whether the play is satire, parody, or something else, and what makes it so funny. It creates an in-group experience for fans and millennials. Bringing Muggle pop culture, including fantasy geekdom, into Hogwarts corrects a gap in the original series. The character of Hufflepuff Oliver reminds us that a good student in the Muggle world would not necessarily be good in magic and that Hogwarts lacks basic education high schoolers of all kinds need, including math and sex ed (the latter hilariously taught by Professor Snape (Stephen Stout) in Puffs). 
Lauren points out that the play’s portrayal of Harry highlights his privilege and the favoritism he receives, especially from Dumbledore, making us question his character and examine the everyday heroism of his Puffs parallel, Wayne, who Melissa calls “The Unchosen One.” In celebrating more mundane moral qualities (friendship, kindness, bravery, sacrifice) - absent the greater save-the-world destiny - Puffs truly gets to the heart of the Harry Potter series. 
Are you a Puff? Are you such a Puff? We talk about the Hufflepuff house identity and how perceptions of it may have changed. Seeing Cedric’s death from the Hufflepuff perspective provides a point of view that makes us read the original Harry Potter books differently. We compare Cedric’s characterization in Puffs and in Harry Potter and the Cursed Child and discuss the two plays more generally, pondering which seems more true to the spirit of the original character and book series. Each play provides a different theater experience, and even the commercial aspects of the two productions differ. Dear Listener, which of these two plays do you prefer? Share your thoughts with us! 
In a fascinating listener follow-up, our Owl Post segment poses questions about wand violence based on Potterversity Episode 4: “Violence and Civilization.” 
Stay tuned for our next episode in which we talk with Puffs creator Matt Cox and actor Stephen Stout! You will not want to miss our conversation. 

In the last of our episodes featuring contributors to our book, Potterversity: Essays Exploring the World of Harry Potter, take a look at two very different teachers: Albus Dumbledore and Dolores Umbridge.

Our guests are Dr. M'Balia Thomas (University of Kansas) and Dr. Brent Satterly (Widener University), whose chapters focus on Hogwarts professors. Both found ways to connect with students through Harry Potter and saw examples of what to do and what not to do as a teacher by looking at the Hogwarts faculty. They consider what it means to see teachers through the student perspective in the series but also get an inside look at certain teachers, such as Lupin and Snape, that show us their humanity and give us a sense of compassion toward educators we may forget to have.

In her chapter, "Dumbledorisms: The Idiosyncratic Style of a Hogwarts Headmaster," M'Balia examines how Dumbledore's tendency to speak in aphorisms gives the impression of wisdom but doesn't necessarily connect with students. Brent shares his experience taking on Umbridge, who is the antithesis of him as a social worker, as a drag persona in "Hem Hem… I Take Umbridge with Bigotry: Using the ­Witch-in-Pink to Counter Oppression."

While we don't get the full story of all the interactions between students and teachers at Hogwarts, the wizarding world provides opportunities to think more deeply about the context of educational situations.

Are the Harry Potter novels fantasy, mystery, school story, bildungsroman, allegory, or something else?
Harry Potter’s blend of genres shapes reader expectations and creates fascinating intersections. In this episode, Dr. Tison Pugh (Pegasus Professor of English at the University of Central Florida) joins Katy and Emily to discuss the wide variety of genre conventions, patterns, and themes employed in the Harry Potter series. Tison talks about his recent book Harry Potter and Beyond (University of South Carolina Press, 2020), which explores how J.K. Rowling’s novels use and also manipulate a variety of genres. Tison assures us that genre fiction can be high-quality, innovative, and worthy of study. No one genre defines the Harry Potter books, and that allows Rowling to expand both plot and themes in surprising directions. 
For example, we talk about how the fairy tale and hero’s myth genres influence gender dynamics of the wizarding world in somewhat opposing ways. Reflecting on this intersection helps us to understand the balance of epic battles with personal, domestic moments in the books, including the much-maligned epilogue. Wizarding world politics also fit within certain genre conventions. When we read the series, are we hearing Rowling’s politics, or are we absorbing the politics of certain genres? Although the novels play with the conventions of mystery fiction, Harry is not exactly a good detective, which inspires us to think critically about his heroism and Hermione as a supportive detective protagonist. Rowling’s main allegorical subjects - the crucifixion and World War II - are violent and disturbing. Tison talks about whether the Harry Potter books sanitize those in troubling ways or make way for more sophisticated thinking about them, and how this relates to Rowling’s quite gruesome Cormoran Strike books. We also talk about what constitutes the “canon” and where the movies, author statements, and Harry Potter and the Cursed Child fit in our evaluation of the Harry Potter series. 
How much should we consider Rowling’s own intentions and political ideas when we think about these books? Tison teaches a Harry Potter class at UCF, and in this episode’s Owl Post from listener Elise, we all consider how we might responsibly continue to teach these books given Rowling’s statements about trans people. Please join us for this lively yet deep exploration of the literary structure and value of the Harry Potter books. 

A Valentine for...Uncle Vernon? 
In this episode of Potterversity, Katy and Emily talk with scholar Tim Jennings about Vernon Dursley in a way that, if it doesn’t redeem Harry’s uncle, does seek to humanize him. Why is Uncle Vernon the way that he is? What motivates him? Why is he so awful to Harry? We explore Vernon’s relationships with his wife Petunia and his sister Marge to determine what we know about how Vernon grew up, his social influences, and why he loathes the magical world. Enjoying contrarian readings of texts and using psychology to analyze literary characters, Tim provides a nuanced view of why Uncle Vernon acts as he does. 
Although the series almost exclusively follows Harry’s perspective, the first chapter of the very first book begins from Vernon’s perspective, indicating his importance as a foil for Harry and the wizarding world. The Dursleys’ desperate clinging to the “perfectly normal, thank you very much” has a profoundly significant effect on the reader’s experience of the series. Tim explains why this is a good place to begin our journey into the magical realm. Vernon’s character - his anger and alienation - develops over the seven books. How Vernon performs his roles as husband, father, and even boss reveals his understanding of success and what methods he sees as key to building a good life. We question whether Vernon’s ideas about the wizarding world are just an intense reflection of Petunia’s own or if they develop based on his own negative experiences with Dumbledore and other wizards. 
Looking at Aunt Marge provides clue for how Vernon might have turned out even worse - in general and towards Harry particularly. Tim suggests provocatively that Vernon may have experienced abuse in his own childhood. In our conversation, we find some reason to feel sympathy for Vernon. What do you think? 
In our special segment in the Potterversity Staff Room, Tim talks with Emily and Laurie Beckoff about how Vernon or, more likely Dudley, could break free of a family pattern of abuse.