607: Third Time's The Charm (POA Chapter 5, The Dementor)

Help MuggleCast grow! Become a MuggleCast Member and get great benefits like Bonus MuggleCast! Patreon.com/MuggleCast  Grab official merch! MuggleCastMerch.com Pick up overstock merch from years past, including our 19th Anniversary Shirt! MuggleMillennial.Etsy.com This week we find Hogwarts in a state of open rebellion with many students (and professors) practicing the subtle art of malicious compliance, a thing which Laura knows something about, as we will learn! Join Andrew, Eric, Laura and Micah as they discuss Hagrid's awful plan for the trio to put themselves at even greater risk for next to no obvious reward, because it's time to cover Chapter 30 of Order of the Phoenix, Grawp! Chapter-by-Chapter continues with Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, Chapter 30: Grawp. Our Time Turner segment takes us back to Episode 467 of MuggleCast, titled “Stranger Danger.” How Fred and George's departure sparked an uprising. Was it the 'permission' everyone needed to misbehave? Does Filch have buyers' remorse for backing Umbridge? Weren't things better for him (and his cat) under Dumbledore? Forgetting who really put the Niffler in Umrbidge's office, the hosts choose their favorite culprits (and then get the correct answer from Micah.) A connection between Bubble Head Charms that would make them useful to this day. Laura explains how to expertly hobble the willpower of a malicious HOA. McGonagall forms an unexpected alliance, and the hosts chat about Montague's situation. Why doesn't Harry care about pursuing Occlumency when everybody has told him how important it is? Is desperation the leading cause of Hagrid's unbelievable request? Could Hagrid simply retire somehwere with Grawp, instead of leaving him behind with the kids?I/li> Micah's name origins return! The hosts decide on their favorite resistance strategies for Umbridge. In our Lynx Line segment for the week, we ask our Patrons whether Hagrid is really in the right to bring Grawp back with him to the UK? Quizzitch: What wrestler, who stood at a giant height of 7 feet 4 inches, was also an actor, starring in a film that featured not a Forbidden Forest, but a Fire Swamp? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Help MuggleCast grow! Become a MuggleCast Member and get great benefits like Bonus MuggleCast! Patreon.com/MuggleCast  Grab official merch! MuggleCastMerch.com Pick up overstock merch from years past, including our 19th Anniversary Shirt! MuggleMillennial.Etsy.com This week’s episode dives into some serious daddy drama as Harry throws caution to the wind and breaks into Umbridge’s office to have a heart-to-heart with Sirius about his father. Join Andrew, Eric, Micah, and Laura for career advice, a few cough drops, and plenty of laughs. Plus, things get slightly unhinged as we're upping the sexy factor for every character in the new Harry Potter TV show! News: Hogwarts? More like HOTwarts! The new Harry Potter TV Show announces nine new actors, including Draco, Molly, and the Dursleys! And the internet has feelings about the Vernon and Petunia actors. Chapter-by-Chapter continues with Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, Chapter 29: Career Advice. Our Time Turner segment takes us back to Episode 466 of MuggleCast, titled “Weasleys Victorious.” Harry feels betrayed and disillusioned after witnessing James's behavior. Is it fair to let this one memory define James as a character? Should Harry have shared the contents of the memory with Ron and Hermione? Could McGonagall or Hagrid have helped to ground him a bit? Snape's Worst Memory explains quite a bit, but it doesn't validate his treatment of Harry! Should Harry feel bad for Snape? Despite the author's commentary, some of us are still befuddled as to how memories viewed in the Pensieve are unbiased. Mirror, Mirror: why didn't Harry remember Sirius' gift? And why didn't Sirius point this out to Harry during their Floo conversation? Super Petty Snape: the symbolism of him smashing Harry’s Invigoration Draught MAX THAT entire Career Advice scene between McGonagall and Umbridge! It’s nice to see McGonagall balance encouragement with realism when giving Harry advice. But is too much emphasis being put on O.W.L.s and N.E.W.T.s? Make the Real Life Connection: Did the hosts ever have career conversations like Harry  when we were in school? Should Umbridge even be present for Harry’s career consultation? We discuss the "sirius" risk(s) Harry took by breaking into Umbridge's office! Does the conversation with Sirius & Lupin actually do anything to reassure Harry? The Great Weasley Escape and... Hot Peeves?! The hosts share the best advice Harry actually receives in this chapter! In our Lynx Line segment for the week, we ask our Patrons what’s really going through McGonagall’s head as she is constantly interrupted by Umbridge? Quizzitch: Filch seeks approval for whipping from Umbridge. The sound of a bullwhip cracking is caused by what specific thing occurring with the whip?   Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Help MuggleCast grow! Become a MuggleCast Member and get great benefits like Bonus MuggleCast! Patreon.com/MuggleCast  Grab official merch! MuggleCastMerch.com Pick up overstock merch from years past, including our 19th Anniversary Shirt! MuggleMillennial.Etsy.com This week Chapter-by-Chapter returns, and so does our guest! Professor Julian Wamble, who we first had on our show back in 2023 on MuggleCast #619, once more graces us with his presence as we discuss Chapter 28 of Order of the Phoenix, "Snape's Worst Memory." Julian teaches Political Science at George Washington University, and his podcast Critical Magic Theory as well as Instagram and TikTok content are worth checking out! Welcome back to the show, Professor Julian Wamble! News: Tom Felton to reprise his role as Draco Malfoy, in New York's production of Cursed Child! Chapter-by-Chapter returns with Chapter 28 of Order of the Phoenix, "Snape's Worst Memory." Our Time Turner segment takes us back to Episode 465 of MuggleCast, titled "How I Met Your Mother." How are we going to top that title on *this* re-read? (Speaking of reading, here is that episode's transcript.) Umbridge's ascent to headmistress of Hogwarts has some classic authoritarian playbook strategies. The hosts dissect. Is the appointment of the Inquisitorial Squad merely a natural response to the thought that Dumbledore was raising an army? Andrew explains. We look at what Umbridge promised Filch, and consider whether she intends to keep those promises. Harry would've been poisoned, if it weren't for a singularly interesting cat... that reminds us of a scene from Deathly Hallows... Would Snape have actually given truth serum to Umbridge, and why not? The hosts discuss his loyalties. Fred and George have a perfect tonic for Umbridge's control, and it perfectly exploits her vulnerabilities. It's a good thing Harry's Occlumency lesson is interrupted... because he didn't do the homework! What makes Harry enter the pensieve despite how dangerous the threat of being caught is? What Marauders' personality traits did the hosts most enjoy on this readthrough? How will the Harry Potter TV show handle Snape's Worst Memory? Professor Wamble has thoughts. Are there more traits between Harry and his dad, or Harry and his mom, and what are they? The hosts pick a favorite moment of mayhem from this chapter. In our Lynx Line segment for the week, we ask our Patrons to build their own Inquisitorial Squad to serve a purpose at Hogwarts that is currently underserved, and ask what the team would do. Quizzitch: What band had a song at the top of the UK music charts for every week of May, 1976? A] ABBA, B] Billy Joel, C] Aerosmith, D] David Bowie   Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Help MuggleCast grow! Become a MuggleCast Member and get great benefits like Bonus MuggleCast! Patreon.com/MuggleCast  Grab official merch! MuggleCastMerch.com Pick up overstock merch from years past, including our 19th Anniversary Shirt! MuggleMillennial.Etsy.com On this week's episode, we’re starting Pride Month 2025 off by revisiting the topic of Potter series author J.K. Rowling, whose recent actions along with the continued assault on the rights of LGBTQ+ individuals worldwide, warrant further discussion. We are joined by a guest who is an ethicist, philosopher and college instructor, and all of our hosts dive head-first into sharing their feelings on what is happening. And to lead off our discussion, we cover the topic of the casting of the new trio for HBO’s upcoming TV series. This episode is sponsored by BetterHelp. Receive 10% off your first month of therapy at BetterHelp.com/mugglecast News: Harry, Ron and Hermione have now been cast in HBO’s Harry Potter TV series! The hosts react. Welcome to the podcast, Sunny Williams! Sunny’s roots in fandom and wizard rock, and her impressive academic career, make her a perfect fit for our episode today. We revisit the topic of J.K. Rowling, whose new ’Women’s Fund’ will help advance anti-trans legal cases. Our previous episodes that addressed the author were Episode 447b and Episode 469, both worth a re-listen. The hosts share their thoughts on the last 5 years of disappointment, from infinite double-downs to behavior that is antithetical to the works which we celebrate. Eric takes us through the most recent year in anti-trans legislation, featuring two huge pseudoscientific reports, not peer reviewed and forcefully discredited by major medical organizations, which are nevertheless being used to strip transgender people from accessing healthcare through legislation. The actual science is so in-favor of trans people receiving healthcare, that its opponents have suggested other ways of measuring its efficiency, like whether receivers currently have a job. Rowling’s astonishing cruelty is on display daily on X, and her initiatives and gender-policing have been shown to affect ALL women, as the rise on assaults of women in rest areas has grown around hostility towards anyone seen as gender non-conforming by strangers empowered to act. The hosts use scenarios from the Potter books to illustrate what’s presently happening. Sunny guides us through the ethics of financially supporting problematic creators, with thoughts from Socrates, Hannah Arendt, Henry David Thoreau, and others! To wrap, we discuss our continued strategy for keeping the fandom progressive and inclusive. Next week, a return to Chapter-by-Chapter will see us introduced to another bully, as it’s time to experience Chapter 28, “Snape’s Worst Memory.” Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

With the Harry Potter TV show beginning to film this summer, Andrew conjures an episode-by-episode (Marauder's) map of Harry Potter: Season 1! What will each episode of Season 1 depict from Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone, and what can they do to please longtime fans of the series? HBO has to prove that there's a reason to reboot Harry Potter, and we have some ideas for how they can do just that! This is a Bonus MuggleCast episode that was released in March for those who support us at Patreon.com/mugglecast. As an independent podcast, we could really use your support while we continue re-reading the books and covering the upcoming TV show! Pledge TODAY to receive access to over 100 more bonus episodes, ad-free episodes of our Chapter by Chapter discussions, and so much more! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices