How I Met My Father (OOTP Chapter 28, 'Snape's Worst Memory')

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 Eric takes us through the most recent year in anti-trans legislation, featuring two huge pseudoscientific reports, not peer reviewed and forcefully discredited by major medical organizations, which are nevertheless being used to strip transgender people from accessing healthcare through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

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 aspiring to become friends with Firenze! His cozy indoor forest classroom is really the bee’s knees, and the rest we obtain there helps us stay sharp when having to suddenly exit the Room of Requirement! Join Andrew, Eric, Laura and Micah for the next Book 5 chapter discussion. Chapter-by-Chapter continues with Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, Chapter 27: The Centaur and the Sneak. MuggleCast last discussed this chapter on Episode 464! What is the main force behind Hermione’s comments to Lavender and Parvati? Is Firenze gearing the children up to prepare for war? What are the benefits of a non-human-centric approach to Divination? Firenze also ups Harry’s cool factor considerably. Two members of the DA can now produce full Patronuses! We examine their meaning, including bringing back a revelation from Micah that’s nearly 20 years old (our minds are still blown.) What’s the deal with Dobby’s loyalties? Why can Umbridge command him not to speak? We examine Draco’s choice to apprehend Harry versus later choices he makes in the books. What is the timeline of events surrounding Umbrage, and “the sneak”’s confession? How does Fudge get to Hogwarts so quickly?! What makes Marietta cave? And why is it a million times better than in the movie? The Dumbledore Lie Count (tm) returns!!! Odds & Ends cover one of Harry’s forgotten schoolbooks. MVP: Dumbledore’s most Slytherin moments from the chapter Lynx Line: Our patrons re-name Dumbledore’s Army! Quizzitch: The fourth planet in our Solar System is Mars, named for the Roman god of war. What did the Ancient Greeks call their god of war? 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, get your copy of The Quibbler (and quickly transfigure it) before Umbridge bans it! Join Andrew, Eric, Laura and Micah as they enjoy a brief compliment from Snape and finally get through *that* door at the Department of Mysteries! Chapter-by-Chapter continues with Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, Chapter 26: Seen and Unforseen. MuggleCast last discussed this chapter on Episode 463! Could Hermione have been a little softer on Harry concerning Cho? Does she share any blame for double-booking him in Hogsmeade? Hermione criticizes her friends reactions to the outcome of the Quidditch match. Does she have any fun outlets? Harry is having FOMO watching Ravenclaw vs. Gryffindor. But let's face it, it's not easy watching from the sidelines! Shockingly, Snape comes the closest he ever has to actually caring about teaching Harry Occlumency, but... of course... has to have the last laugh! We draw comparisons between Lupin teaching Harry the Patronus Charm and Snape teaching Harry Occlumency. Should Harry be farther along given he's been at this for two months? How did Harry get through the Department of Mysteries door during his Occlumency lesson when he's never been there in his dreams? The hosts agree that Dumbledore had Firenze in his back pocket to take over for Trelawney. Who did Dumbledore have on tap as a replacement for Hagrid? Voldemort finally learns only he or Harry can retrieve the prophecy. How is this not more common knowledge in the Wizarding World? How would’ve things been different if Voldemort never wasted time with this plan? Harry has direct line of sight into Voldemort's plan with Lucius Malfoy, Sturgis Podmore, Broderick Bode and Avery. Why not leak this info to The Quibbler? Odds & Ends cover The Streisand Effect and The Astronomy Tower MVP: Best All-Time Trelawney Moments (before she was fired) Lynx Line: Our patrons write Harry a short piece of fan-mail OR hate-mail to be delivered via Owl Post to the Great Hall at breakfast! Quizzitch: In banning The Quibbler, Umbridge only raises more interest in it. The concept of banning something only making it more popular is colloquially known as The Streisand Effect, after actress Barbara Streisand sued a photographer for publishing a photo in 2003. What was the photo of?   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, listen during Chapter-by-Chapter as the MuggleCasters discuss Harry juggling TWO dates in Hogsmeade. One which may have been doomed from the start (with Cho), and another which likely changes the course of Wizarding history (with Rita). Andrew, Eric, Laura, Micah, and Slug Club guest Katie dig in, because it's time for Chapter 25 of Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix. Welcome Slug Club member, Katie! The hosts wish to reassert their disavowal of J.K. Rowling for her role in making women less safe in the U.K. Please visit GLAAD's amazing page for links including FAQs, resources, and tips for allies. Chapter-by-Chapter continues with Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, Chapter 25: The Beetle at Bay. MuggleCast last discussed this chapter on Episode 462! Harry's feelings toward his fellow students in light of the Azkaban breakout headlines have us once more feeling like we are living in the books today. The Ministry's control of information and issuance of propaganda, the extent which is confirmed in this chapter, is massive but not perfect. Some who look deeper are beginning to see the cracks in the facade. Umbridge's power grabs are becoming unenforceable. The hosts discuss how her main goal appears to be to frighten and dissuade dissenters, even among the staff. Harry and students are impressed by Neville's recent hard work in the D.A. This reminds us about when we made the "Neville Gets Swole" Spotify playlist, perfect for your summertime runs and workouts! Is Hermione single-handedly changing the course of the Wizarding world? We think so. Is there anything the students can/should be doing about Hagrid and his probation? Or is his behavior just too weird, and the students too buried in coursework? Ron has a fair idea, but Hermione shuts him down cold. We hold a memorial service for Ron's strategical aptitude subplot from Book 1. In what ways was "Madame Puddifoot's" NOT the perfect Valentine's spot, and whose fault is it that Harry and Cho's date is a disaster? Was it doomed from the start? Is Rita Skeeter looking for redemption, or just some hot goss? Odds & Ends asks why Ron, Fred or George do not seem to know about Antonin Dolohov's connection with their uncles, nor do they mention it. Most #RealTalk moment of the week? Hosts weigh in. Lynx Line: we asked our Patrons to submit a one-sentence headline sure to grab all of the attention. Quizzitch: What prison was the site of the largest jailbreak in British history - when 38 inmates, members of the Irish Republican Army, overpowered guards in 1983? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices