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Potterversity: A Potter Studies PodcastPotterversity Episode 67: The Best Hope We Have
We're back with another episode recorded live at the 14th annual Harry Potter Academic Conference, which took place online in October 2025.Katy and Emily are joined by several conference regulars—producer Laurie Beckoff, John Anthony Dunne, Louise Freeman-Davis, Lorrie Kim, Mark-Anthony Lewis, and Mitchell Parks—to discuss the gradual encroachment of fascism in the Potter series in light of recent sociopolitical developments in the Muggle world, looking to the books to find messages of hope, solidarity, and resolve in our own dark times.First, we define "fascism," a word that is thrown around a lot thes...
2026-01-1258 minPotterversity: A Potter Studies PodcastPotterversity Episode 66: Back to Wizarding BusinessWhy is there a lack of service businesses in the wizarding world?Following up on our earlier episode about magical businesses, our technical director, Emma Nicholson, joins us to continue the conversation. Perhaps there aren't many businesses that provide services, as opposed to goods, to wizards because people with magical skills should be able to easily do household tasks for themselves. Not being able to do so is seen as shameful. Consider the characters who perform manual labor or do maintenance work - house-elves, Squibs like Filch, low-level Ministry employee Reg Cattermole.What about entertainers, such...
2025-07-1441 minPotterversity: A Potter Studies PodcastPotterversity Episode 65: Potter & Trek Part 2 - The Reality Inside Your HeadWe're voyaging out to the farthest reaches of space and into the deepest recesses of the mind for another look at Harry Potter and Star Trek.Potterversity regular Louise Freeman, a retired psychology professor and licensed behavioral analyst who previously joined us for two episodes on memory in Harry Potter, contacted us after our Star Trek episode to share another connection that occurred to her. She asks us to consider the famous Dumbledore quotation "Of course it is happening inside your head, Harry, but why on earth should that mean that it is not real?" (DH 723) in the c...
2025-06-0956 minPotterversity: A Potter Studies PodcastPotterversity Episode 64: Where No Potter Podcast Has Gone BeforeSpace: the final frontier. Our Prime Directive: to boldly examine what Harry Potter has in common with Star Trek.Hosts Katy and Emily and producer Laurie have found themselves making Star Trek references on past episodes and realized that while Harry Potter is often compared to Star Wars, the future United Federation of Planets is less commonly put in dialogue with the wizarding world. We explore why that is and what looking at Potter and Trek side by side can uncover.Star Wars may be the more obvious point of comparison because it is a mythic...
2025-05-121h 13Potterversity: A Potter Studies PodcastPotterversity Episode 63: The Business of Witchcraft and WizardryLet's get down to business - in both the wizarding world and the fandom.Abigail Kohler, adjunct lecturer at Brown University's Nelson Center for Entrepreneurship, is relatively new to Harry Potter but was quickly introduced to scholarship on the series through the Harry Potter Academic Conference at Chestnut Hill College. In her own presentation at the 2024 conference, "From Wizard Wheezes to Etsy Empires: An Exploration of Fandom and Entrepreneurship," Abbie explored the types of businesses depicted in the books - including shops, restaurants, and publications - as well as Potter-inspired businesses created by fans.The wizarding...
2025-04-141h 06Potterversity: A Potter Studies PodcastPotterversity Episode 62: Harry Potter and RevengeVengeance is sweet - sometimes. Explore revenge in Harry Potter and the ancient Greek Oresteia by Aeschylus.We welcome back to the show classicist Dr. Mitchell Parks (Knox College), who presented on "Dumbledore, Agamemnon, and the Imperfect Legacy" at the 2024 Harry Potter Academic Conference. He was struck by the epigraph from The Libation Bearers, one of the plays that makes up the Oresteia, at the beginning of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows.We discuss the parallels between the play trilogy and the book series, particularly the intertwined themes of justice and revenge. Although there are...
2025-03-101h 17Potterversity: A Potter Studies PodcastPotterversity Episode 61: Owl PostOur listeners carry on the conversation about memory and more in Harry Potter in this special episode straight from the owlery.
We were excited to hear from several listeners after our two-part episode on memory, so producer Laurie Beckoff joined hosts Katy and Emily to discuss what they had to say. We talk about when fan mail is also intellectual discourse before considering the thoughts we received.
Matthew wrote in wondering about the objectivity or lack thereof in Dumbledore's memories of Tom Riddle and Snape's memories in "The Prince's Tale." Abigail proposed the Pensieve as a...
2025-02-101h 05Potterversity: A Potter Studies PodcastPotterversity Episode 60: Silly Resistance in Harry PotterOn this episode, we examine the relationship between humor and resistance to authoritarianism.
Harry Potter scholar and stand-up comedian Mark-Anthony Lewis joins Katy and Emily to talk about what makes something funny. Benign violation theory says that humor is found in something safe - for example, you can laugh at someone falling if they aren't seriously hurt, and you can tickle someone you know, but not a stranger. It's all about context. It can be especially funny when an authority figure looks ridiculous. Comedians are often viewed as truth-tellers, and a jester - seen as non-threatening - may...
2025-01-131h 14
Potterversity: A Potter Studies PodcastPotterversity Episode 59: Holding Space for HarryWe're always holding space for Harry Potter, but no one does it quite like the Harry Potter Academic Conference.Our favorite event of the year was back in person at Chestnut Hill College in Philadelphia in October and full of interesting insights as usual. Katy and Emily talk with Potterversity producer and conference communications coordinator Laurie Beckoff and conference vice chair Lauren Camacci about the range of presentations and the wonderful community of scholar-fans.Emily, Laurie, and Katy discuss their respective papers: "Harry, Gawain, Green Knights, and Goblets," about the connections between Harry Potter and the...
2024-12-091h 06Potterversity: A Potter Studies PodcastPotterversity Episode 58: More than Meets the EyeDon't judge a book by its cover - this episode is about how looks can be deceiving in Harry Potter and Fantastic Beasts.We're joined by Eizabeth Baird Hardy (Mayland Community College) to discuss her chapter in The Ivory Tower, Harry Potter, and Beyond, "Muggle Worthy: Deceptive Exteriors and Outsized Interiors in the Wizarding World." There is an implicit lesson in the wizarding world - one understood by magical children but that needs to be learned by newcomers like Harry - not to trust architecture. Staircases move, paintings hide passageways, unassuming pubs contain entrances to bustling magical streets...
2024-11-111h 01Potterversity: A Potter Studies PodcastPotterversity Episode 57: The Ghosts of Our PastIn the spirit of the spooky season, this episode is all about spirits and specters in the wizarding world.Emily and Katy, who recently published a new article titled "Harry Potter and Historical Witness: The Pensieve and the Time-Turner," are joined by Louise Freeman, fresh off our two-part episode on memory, and David Martin, member of the winning Hufflepuff team on Harry Potter: Hogwarts Tournament of Houses and author of Twelve Fail-Safe Ways to Charm Witches and Other Thoughts About Harry Potter.Why does Hogwarts have ghosts? David thinks that ghosts are representations of the past...
2024-10-141h 10Potterversity: A Potter Studies PodcastPotterversity Episode 56: The Murky Marshes of Memory - Part 2The journey to the past continues as we delve deeper into the magic of memory in Harry Potter.In the second part of our conversation with Louise Freeman, we continue discussing the ethics of Memory Charms and move on to the memories stored in wizarding portraits and Horcruxes. Magical portraits can carry some of the memories of their subjects, allowing viewers to converse with them after their deaths. New developments in artificial intelligence purport to offer something similar. How healthy is it to dwell on memories, for wizards or Muggles? Portraits, the Mirror of Erised, and the Resurrection...
2024-09-2351 minPotterversity: A Potter Studies PodcastPotterversity Episode 55: The Murky Marshes of Memory - Part 1Explore 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...
2024-09-0954 minPotterversity: A Potter Studies PodcastPotterversity Episode 54: Monsters and the MonstrousWhat 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...
2024-08-121h 08Potterversity: A Potter Studies PodcastPotterversity Episode 53: Harry, Aeneas, and the Foundational TextVenture 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...
2024-07-081h 18Potterversity: A Potter Studies PodcastPotterversity Episode 52: The Ivory Tower, Harry Potter, and BeyondGet 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...
2024-06-101h 08Potterversity: A Potter Studies PodcastPotterversity Episode 51: Music and Fantasy in the Harry Potter FranchiseGet 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...
2024-05-131h 10
Potterversity: A Potter Studies PodcastPotterversity Episode 50: Teaching, the Hogwarts WayIn 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...
2024-04-0857 minPotterversity: A Potter Studies PodcastPotterversity: A Harry Potter History HolidayHop on a tour of the UK this summer to see Harry Potter and more beloved works of fantasy come to life.On this episode, sponsored by History Bites Tours, Katy and Emily speak with History Bites founder Solomon Schmidt about the literary-inspired tour of England and Scotland he'll be leading in July. Solomon is the author of eight books in his History Bites series and host of the History Bites YouTube channel. In addition to his interest in history, he incorporates his love of fantasy literature, including Harry Potter, Lord of the Rings, and The Chronicles of...
2024-03-2550 minPotterversity: A Potter Studies PodcastPotterversity Episode 49: Playing PotterWe're in for a bit of fun as we look at games in the wizarding world and using games to bring the wizarding world to the classroom.Katy and Emily are joined by two more contributors to our book, Potterversity: Essays Exploring the World of Harry Potter. Laurie Beckoff, our producer, and Tison Pugh, Pegasus Professor of English at the University of Central Florida and author of Harry Potter and Beyond, both wrote chapters about games, with Laurie looking inside the series and back at medieval literature, while Tison looked outside the series at how to apply games...
2024-03-1142 minPotterversity: A Potter Studies PodcastPotterversity Episode 48: Self and OthersOn this episode, two more contributors to our book talk about their chapters on equality, inclusion, and compassion.Travis Prinzi and Mark-Anthony Lewis join Katy and Emily to discuss how the wizarding world serves as a lens through which to understand the social ethics of our own world, particularly amid racial tensions and diversity. Travis's chapter, "The Problem with Loving Enemies: Kindness and Oppression in 'The Wizard and the Hopping Pot,'" and Mark-Anthony's chapter, "Uncle Remus's Shack: Tokenism in the Wizarding World," both examine how we respond to people who are different from us.For...
2024-02-2640 minPotterversity: A Potter Studies PodcastPotterversity Episode 47: A Question of CharacterFeaturing more of our book contributors, this episode is about various members of Harry's found family.
Katy, technical director Emma Nicholson, and Louise Freeman (Mary Baldwin University) discuss their chapters focused on character analysis: "Arthur Weasley and the Misuse of Muggle Artefacts," "Padfoot Revelio! The Life and Love of Sirius Black," and "The Weasley Witches: From Snitches to Stitches to 'Not-My-Daughter-You-Bitches'" (possibly the best title in the volume).
Emma was drawn to Sirius for his authenticity and passion but also because of his flaws that she feels enrich his character. Katy saw something of a dark...
2024-02-121h 09
Skywalk Before You RunEmpire Strikes Back: Part 1 with Potterversity - I Can't Unlearn This InformationIn Episode Four of this podcast, Luke is too dumb to survive, we are living for the banter, and MC learns her first spoiler.
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2024-02-061h 23
TV And Movie Trivia Podcast175 Monty Python And The Holy Grail Trivia w/ Potterversity: A Potter Studies Podcast-Happy 2024! We’re ringing in the New Year with some comedy classics, so get ready for some Monty Python And The Holy Grail trivia coming your way!-Subscribe/support/follow on Patreon/BuyMeACoffee/FB/IG/TW: https://linktr.ee/tvtriviapod -Submit YOUR own trivia questions for the show! Just click the option in the linktree! -If you have questions of your own or answers to any of mine, feel free to email me at tvtriviapod@gmail.com -Support monthly on Patreon or do a one time thing on BuyMeACoffee (see linktree) and ge...
2024-01-2335 minPotterversity: A Potter Studies PodcastPotterversity Episode 46: Ancient MagicThe 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...
2024-01-2255 min
Dice in MindEpisode 112: Welcome to Potterversity!Emily Strand is an author, podcaster, teacher, speaker, award-winning singer-songwriter and musician. She holds an MA in theology from the University of Dayton and has taught religion on the college level for nearly 20 years. She has published two books on Catholic sacraments and several peer-reviewed chapters and essays on the religious, symbolic and spiritual themes in popular fiction such as Harry Potter and Star Wars. With Dr. Kathryn N. McDaniel of Marietta College, she co-hosts Potterversity: A Potter Studies Podcast, a show in the MuggleNet family of podcasts.
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2024-01-1559 minDice in MindEpisode 112: Welcome to Potterversity!Emily Strand is an author, podcaster, teacher, speaker, award-winning singer-songwriter and musician. She holds an MA in theology from the University of Dayton and has taught religion on the college level for nearly 20 years. She has published two books on Catholic sacraments and several peer-reviewed chapters and essays on the religious, symbolic and spiritual themes in popular fiction such as Harry Potter and Star Wars. With Dr. Kathryn N. McDaniel of Marietta College, she co-hosts Potterversity: A Potter Studies Podcast, a show in the MuggleNet family of podcasts.
Please check out these relevant links:
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2024-01-1559 minPotterversity: A Potter Studies PodcastPotterversity Episode 45: Occult KnowledgeWe'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...
2024-01-0859 minPotterversity: A Potter Studies PodcastPotterversity Episode 44: The Stars Are BrightVenture 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!
2023-12-111h 03Potterversity: A Potter Studies PodcastPotterversity Episode 43: Live! From the Chestnut Hill Harry Potter Academic Conference 2023On 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 s...
2023-11-1359 minPotterversity: A Potter Studies PodcastPotterversity Episode 42: Thoughts on Book Banning for Wizards and Muggles AlikeIn 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...
2023-10-0950 minPotterversity: A Potter Studies PodcastPotterversity Episode 41: Terror and Trauma
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...
2023-09-181h 06Potterversity: A Potter Studies PodcastPotterversity Episode 40: Live from LeakyConJoin 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...
2023-08-2857 minPotterversity: A Potter Studies PodcastPotterversity Episode 39: Considering Cockroach Clusters: Food in the Wizarding World - Part TwoReturn 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 si...
2023-08-141h 09
The Restricted SectionWill and Won’t feat. PotterversityIn which Dumbledore comes to fetch Harry from the Dursleys and finally gives them a piece of his mind.
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2023-08-021h 53
Teaching With MagicTeaching in the Potterverse: with Potterversity Hosts Dr. Katy McDaniel and Emily StrandIn this episode, the hosts of the Potterversity podcast, Dr. Katy McDaniel and Emily Strand, join the Teaching With Magic podcast to talk about their own teaching, their favorite fantasy and science fiction texts, and their experiences while exploring the Harry Potter series as aca-fans.
Potterversity is a Potter Studies Podcast that explores the Harry Potter series and the wider wizarding world from a critical academic perspective with scholars from a variety of fields, including but not limited to psychology, gender studies, queer studies, comparative literature, and medieval studies.
You can listen to Potterversity on your favorite podcast feed...
2023-07-101h 24Potterversity: A Potter Studies PodcastPotterversity Episode 38: Jane Austen in the Wizarding WorldExplore 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...
2023-07-101h 12Potterversity: A Potter Studies PodcastPotterversity Episode 37: Magical Mental HealthUnpack 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...
2023-06-1255 minPotterversity: A Potter Studies PodcastPotterversity Episode 36: Galactic Harry and the Intersecting FandomsFresh 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...
2023-05-0844 minPotterversity: A Potter Studies PodcastPotterversity Episode 35: Rule Breaking as ResistanceFind 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 bo...
2023-04-101h 16Potterversity: A Potter Studies PodcastPotterversity Episode 34: Hogwarts ForeverWe 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...
2023-03-1344 minPotterversity: A Potter Studies PodcastPotterversity Episode 33: Love and WonderWhether 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 rela...
2023-02-2748 minPotterversity: A Potter Studies PodcastPotterversity Episode 32: Death EatersThis 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.
2023-02-131h 04Potterversity: A Potter Studies PodcastPotterversity Episode 31: Calling In from the Harry Potter Academic Conference - Part 2For 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...
2023-01-2355 minPotterversity: A Potter Studies PodcastPotterversity Episode 30: Calling In from the Harry Potter Academic ConferenceJoin 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...
2023-01-0945 minPotterversity: A Potter Studies PodcastPotterversity Episode 29: Pondering Pumpkin Pasties: Food in the Wizarding WorldIt’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 i...
2022-12-121h 13
Potterversity: A Potter Studies PodcastPotterversity Episode 28: Literary Takes on Harry PotterFor 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...
2022-11-141h 03Potterversity: A Potter Studies PodcastPotterversity Episode 27: Jim Kay's Illustrated Harry Potter EditionsExplore 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’...
2022-10-101h 12Potterversity: A Potter Studies PodcastPotterversity Episode 26: Learning Defense Against the Dark ArtsDiscover 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...
2022-09-121h 02Potterversity: A Potter Studies PodcastPotterversity Episode 25: The Alchemy of Harry PotterDiscover 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...
2022-08-081h 10Potterversity: A Potter Studies PodcastPotterversity Episode 24: Wrock On!
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...
2022-07-111h 22Potterversity: A Potter Studies PodcastPotterversity Episode 23: Secrets of Dumbledore: Outtakes and ConversationsEavesdrop 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 disa...
2022-06-1354 minPotterversity: A Potter Studies PodcastPotterversity Episode 22: Secrets of Dumbledore and the Deathly HallowsJoin 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...
2022-05-231h 03Potterversity: A Potter Studies PodcastPotterversity Episode 21: David Martin FTW!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!
2022-05-091h 09Potterversity: A Potter Studies PodcastPotterversity Episode 20: Noble Blood in Harry Potter and Arthurian LiteratureUnderstand 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 view...
2022-04-1153 minPotterversity: A Potter Studies PodcastPotterversity Episode 19: Harry's Fantastic FandomTake 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...
2022-03-141h 08Potterversity: A Potter Studies PodcastPotterversity Episode 18: The Problem with House-ElvesWe 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...
2022-02-141h 03
TV And Movie Trivia Podcast69 Harry Potter Trivia: The Prisoner Of Azkaban w/ Potterversity-Harry Potter Trivia from The Prisoner Of Azkaban. -Subscribe/support/follow on Patreon/BuyMeACoffee/FB/IG/TW: https://linktr.ee/tvtriviapod -Submit YOUR own trivia questions for the show! Just click the option in the linktree! -I want to do a mailbag episode! Send me an email at tvtriviapod@gmail.com -Support monthly on Patreon or do a one time thing on BuyMeACoffee (see linktree) and get EXCLUSIVE CONTENT, like at least 4 bonus episodes a month containing 40+ bonus questions, movie trivia, and MORE! -Thank you, Emily, Laurie, and Katy!
2022-01-1129 minPotterversity: A Potter Studies PodcastPotterversity Episode 17: Potter and the PigLooking 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 m...
2022-01-1059 minPotterversity: A Potter Studies PodcastPotterversity Episode 16: You Can't Over-Nerd HereTune 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...
2021-12-131h 04Potterversity: A Potter Studies PodcastPotterversity Episode 15: Film, Fandom, and Podcasting in AcademiaGet 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 a...
2021-11-0856 minPotterversity: A Potter Studies PodcastPotterversity Episode 14: Hogwarts BulliesInvestigate 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 de...
2021-10-111h 18
Potterversity: A Potter Studies PodcastPotterversity Episode 13: Don't Know Much About . . . ArithmancyDecode 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.
2021-09-131h 12Potterversity: A Potter Studies PodcastPotterversity Episode 12: Harry and Aeneas in the UnderworldHarry’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 an...
2021-08-091h 10Potterversity: A Potter Studies PodcastPotterversity Episode 11: Reading the SignsOn 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...
2021-07-121h 09Potterversity: A Potter Studies PodcastPotterversity Episode 10: William Shakespeare's History of Hogwarts?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...
2021-06-1449 minPotterversity: A Potter Studies PodcastPotterversity Episode 9: Harry Meets DraculaExplore 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 ea...
2021-05-101h 04Potterversity: A Potter Studies PodcastPotterversity Episode 8: The Puffs' Perspective - Part 2'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 be...
2021-04-261h 38Potterversity: A Potter Studies PodcastPotterversity Episode 7: The Puffs' PerspectiveJoin 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 marg...
2021-04-121h 00Potterversity: A Potter Studies PodcastPotterversity Episode 6: The Hero with a Thousand GenresAre 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 genr...
2021-03-081h 04Potterversity: A Potter Studies PodcastPotterversity Episode 5: Uncle VernonA 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...
2021-02-0859 minPotterversity: A Potter Studies PodcastPotterversity Episode 4: Violence and CivilizationWhat does the prevalence of violence in the Harry Potter series tell us about magical civilization - and our own?
Despite its theme of nonviolence, there’s a fair amount of violence in the Harry Potter series. On this episode, Katy and Emily talk with Dr. Aurélie Lacassagne, Associate Professor of Political Science at Laurentian University - Sudbury, in Ontario, Canada. Aurélie explains how the Harry Potter novels, which have struck a resonant chord with readers worldwide, reveal important tensions in what scholar Norbert Elias called the “civilizing process.”
As Aurélie notes, Elias connects “civilization” to self-restrai...
2021-01-111h 12Potterversity: A Potter Studies PodcastPotterversity Episode 3: A Very Harry ChristmasUncover the meaning of Christmas in the Harry Potter novels.
On this episode, Katy and Emily talk with Dr. Beatrice Groves (author of Literary Allusion in Harry Potter and blogger at Bathilda’s Notebook) about the Christmases at Hogwarts and how they culminate in the final book’s graveyard scene at Godric’s Hollow. Emily points out that J.K. Rowling uses Christmas as a way to highlight the magic of the world she created, the particular magic of the season special even in a magical realm. Bea explains the significance of Harry choosing to stay at Hogwarts for most of...
2020-12-1456 minPotterversity: A Potter Studies PodcastPotterversity Episode 2: Good TroubleRule-breaking for the right reasons on this episode of Potterversity.Katy and Emily talk with Dr. Beth Sutton-Ramspeck about her analysis of rule-breaking and creativity in the Harry Potter series. In the early 2000s, some parents wanted the Harry Potter books banned because the students at Hogwarts often broke the rules without consequences. We talk about why this misbehavior may actually point to important moral choices for the students, as they understand there are multiple sets of “rules” or principles in place at any given time. Sometimes the trouble they make is what John Lewis called “good trouble,” or evidence...
2020-11-3051 minPotterversity: A Potter Studies PodcastPotterversity Episode 1: OrientationCatch a glimpse of the latest in Harry Potter scholarship and get oriented to our new podcast! In our first episode, Emily and Katy introduce the virtual Potter Studies education you can expect from Potterversity. We discuss the Harry Potter Academic Conference (HPAC) at Chestnut Hill College, which this year was held virtually. Kudos to Karen Wendling and Patrick McCauley for pulling off this gathering successfully in a way that allowed Potter scholars from all over the world to interact with each other. Hear about some of our favorite presentations, including Brent Satterly’s talk on LGBTQ responses to J.K...
2020-10-3152 min
Potterversity: A Potter Studies PodcastEpisode 46: A Bridge to Something MagicalIn imaginative fiction, bridges provide access to magical and dangerous worlds. During this month’s episode, Katy and Emily talk about bridges in the Harry Potter books and movies. We’ve scoured the books and films for bridge images and references to see where they’re used and how. There are not many bridges in the books - though the Brockdale Bridge’s destruction at the beginning of Book 6 and the bridge in “The Tale of the Three Brothers” have important metaphorical significance. The villainous Dolores Umbridge also acts as a conduit for evil into Hogwarts and the Ministry of Magic. The...
2020-09-2842 minPotterversity: A Potter Studies PodcastEpisode 45: Alchemical Weddings in Harry Potter and BeyondLiterary alchemy provides clues to the romantic pairings in Harry Potter. Why did Ron and Hermione, Remus and Tonks, and Bill and Fleur end up paired together? Literary alchemy holds the symbolic answers. Katy and John talk this month with Elizabeth Baird Hardy (Mayland Community College) and Beatrice Groves (Oxford University) about the alchemical pairings of elements that reveal themselves in the Harry Potter series and beyond. John provides a short explanation of literary alchemy and why certain pairings - mercury and sulfur, for example, represented in Hermione and Ron - are seen as critically important. Humoral combinations (ph...
2020-08-1041 minPotterversity: A Potter Studies PodcastEpisode 44: The Ickabog: Thoughts in ProgressFar from an offhand or casually constructed story, The Ickabog intentionally continues many of the themes and structures of the Harry Potter books in a fairy tale genre. In this month’s episode, Katy and John talk with Harry Potter scholars John Pazdziora (University of Tokyo-Komaba) and Lana Whited (Ferrum College) about our first analyses of The Ickabog, which was released in installments from June to July 2020. The slow release has allowed fans of Harry Potter once again the delights of speculating about what will happen next, and we have captured that spirit in our conversation recorded after Chapter 51 was...
2020-07-201h 04
Potterversity: A Potter Studies PodcastEpisode 43: The Wizard and the Hopping PlotExplore the surprising relevance of Beedle the Bard’s first tale - “The Wizard and the Hopping Pot” - in this week’s episode. “The Wizard and the Hopping Pot” seems like a simple story on the surface, but Katy and Emily with their guest Travis Prinzi (Harry Potter and Imagination) uncover the challenging complexities of this tale. We look at the fairy tale motifs Rowling uses, and also ways this streamlined narrative acts almost as a parable. The young wizard learns his lesson in the end, but does he learn it in the right way and for the right reas...
2020-06-0841 minPotterversity: A Potter Studies PodcastEpisode 42: Spinning Ginny WeasleyTake a closer look at the fierce and fine Ginny Weasley in this bonus episode. Katy and Emily talk with Louise Freeman (Mary Baldwin University) about Ginny Weasley, examining why some fans dislike her as well as what is admirable about her. We compare book-Ginny with movie-Ginny and consider the effect of scenes left out of the films on our impression of the character. Romantic love is at the heart of our discussion, but is that all Ginny has to offer? Does she transcend her role as Harry Potter’s girlfriend? We talk about her influence on other characters and...
2020-06-0141 minPotterversity: A Potter Studies PodcastEpisode 41: Breaking BabbittyDeconstruct Beedle the Bard’s tale “Babbitty Rabbitty and Her Cackling Stump” with us in our latest bonus episode!
Katy and Emily talk with Katherine Sas (University of Pennsylvania) about the wizard fairy tale featuring the wily and witchy Babbitty Rabbitty. We discuss how J.K. Rowling developed the concept and how it connects with the themes of the Harry Potter series. Is this a story about death, as Albus Dumbledore suggests? The story demonstrates ways people manage their deepest fears. Considering that this story plays on common fairy tale tropes and undermines them, we talk about the fusion of the...
2020-05-2533 minPotterversity: A Potter Studies PodcastEpisode 40: Unpacking PetuniaTake a surprising closer look at Petunia Dursley in this week’s episode. Harry’s Aunt Petunia is one of the lesser villains of Rowling’s fantasy series, but in this bonus episode, Katy and Emily hear Emma Nicholson’s rereading of Petunia in light of what we find out at the end of the last book. Considering how Petunia was rejected from the wizarding world in her childhood, and other hints of her humanity and vulnerability, we find some sympathy for Lily’s sister. Petunia is at the center of the Muggle-wizard divide and reveals that the wizards - including...
2020-05-1839 minPotterversity: A Potter Studies PodcastEpisode 39: When in Doubt, Go to the Library: The Books Within the BooksWhich of the wizarding world books mentioned in the Harry Potter series would you most like to have on your bookshelf?
Join us in considering the funniest, most important, and most intriguing books within the Harry Potter books in this bonus episode. Emily and Katy talk with Professor Lana Whited (Ferrum College) about the many books J.K. Rowling invented for the wizarding world. Which ones are most central to the plot? Which are the most dangerous? Which would be the most entertaining? We also discuss the effect of having all of these wizard-specific books and what the series i...
2020-05-1130 minPotterversity: A Potter Studies PodcastEpisode 38: Harry Potter and the Deathly VirusGraduating seniors connect their experiences this spring to the final Harry Potter book.
In this special episode, Emily, Katy, and Lana Whited (Ferrum College) talk with high school and college seniors who are separated from their friends and schools this spring because of the COVID-19 crisis. Neil Fredericksen (Franklin County High School), Jamie Gilbert (Ferrum College), and Miranda Veal (UNC-Chapel Hill) share their feelings about missing the last part of their senior year. Responding to the viral post about similarities between this experience and what Harry, Ron, and Hermione went through in their lost seventh year, our guests connect t...
2020-05-041h 21Potterversity: A Potter Studies PodcastEpisode 37: Troubled Blood and The Faerie Queene: Strike 5Prognostications about the next Cormoran Strike novel, based on the clues so far. In this bonus episode, John and Katy predict what will happen in the next novel in the Rowling/Galbraith Cormoran Strike series with the help of Elizabeth Baird Hardy (Milton, Spencer, and the Chronicles of Narnia) and Beatrice Groves (Literary Allusion in Harry Potter). Given the Strike 5 title Troubled Blood, John explains Rowling’s reliance on the blood motif in Harry Potter and ponders its recurrence in Cormoran Strike. We speculate about the possibility of Marilyn Manson epigraphs through the book, how Manson lyrics could connect wit...
2020-04-2742 minPotterversity: A Potter Studies PodcastEpisode 36: How We Learned to Stop Worrying and Love Harry PotterEnjoy a special bonus mini episode of our show about how we’re “holding on to Harry Potter.”
Katy and Emily talk with MuggleNet’s Laurie Beckoff about how to navigate our love of Harry Potter with new revelations from J.K. Rowling that challenge what we thought we knew. Laurie explains her theory that the wizarding world extends beyond the books and has become a common language for our culture, an idea she expressed in her article “Holding on to Harry Potter.” Laurie connects us with the “death of the author” literary idea, and Emily makes comparisons to H.P. Lovecraft, J...
2020-04-2025 minPotterversity: A Potter Studies PodcastEpisode 35: Lessons in Magical ManipulationExplore the more-than-magical power of words and rhetoric in the wizarding world. This month’s episode explores Albus Dumbledore’s wisdom that “Words are our most inexhaustible source of magic.” Mark-Anthony Lewis (Bristol Community College and School on Wheels of Massachusetts) helps Emily and Katy understand how speech and rhetoric operate in the wizarding world. He explains why “Harry Potter Has a Consent Problem,” and the importance of not only choice but lack of choice for certain characters and beings (like Muggles) in the Harry Potter series. Spells, of course, gain their power from words, but Mark-Anthony also points to pivotal mo...
2020-04-131h 28Potterversity: A Potter Studies PodcastEpisode 34: Werewolves of Wizard London (And Other Animal Transformations)Get to the heart of werewolves in the Harry Potter series in this month’s special double episode!In this supersized episode, John and Katy talk with literary scholars and werewolf specialists Dr. Melissa Aaron (California Polytechnic State University) and Dr. Renée Ward (University of Lincoln, UK) to reveal the true nature of beastly transformations in the Harry Potter series. “Everything you know about werewolves is wrong,” Melissa tells us, explaining the literary origins of werewolf lore and its key elements. Renée explains the diversity of classical and medieval lyncanthrope references, which were not necessarily judgmental but ofte...
2020-03-091h 56
Potterversity: A Potter Studies PodcastEpisode 33: Revela Draconem: Draco Malfoy Revealed
**This episode is dedicated to our friends in Australia, including our fabulous editor Emma Nicholson, who are still dealing with the aftermath of the recent fires. Our hearts are with you.**
Whether you love or hate - or love to hate - Draco Malfoy, you will thoroughly enjoy our deep dive into this controversial bad boy of the Harry Potter series.
In this month’s episode, John and Katy talk with “Hogwarts Professor” Louise Freeman (Mary Baldwin University) and “Bathilda’s Notebook” author Beatrice Groves (Oxford University) about the many facets of Draco Malfoy. We consider his literary and...
2020-02-101h 29Potterversity: A Potter Studies PodcastEpisode 32: Re-Enchanted: Medievalism, Children's Literature, and FantasyDiscover the origins, influence, and magic of medievalist children’s fantasy literature in our conversation with Dr. Maria Sachiko Cecire about her new book Re-Enchanted: The Rise of Children’s Fantasy Literature in the Twentieth Century (University of Minnesota Press).In this episode, Katy and Emily talk with Dr. Maria Cecire (Director of the Center for Experimental Humanities at Bard College) about the importance of “minor” literary genres: medieval literature, children’s literature, and fantasy literature. Childhood and the European Middle Ages alike are often scorned as undeveloped periods of irrationalism and immaturity, but they are also important origin tim...
2019-12-091h 33Potterversity: A Potter Studies PodcastEpisode 31: Books! And Cleverness! The Harry Potter Academic Conference at Chestnut Hill CollegeEavesdrop on our conference conversation recorded at Chestnut Hill College!This episode showcases both the new and enduring trends in Harry Potter scholarship, as seen at the Harry Potter Academic Conference at Chestnut Hill College in October 2019. Katy and Emily talk with a panel of scholars who organized, attended, and/or presented at the conference: Laurie Beckoff, Lauren Camacci, Elise Trudel Cedeño, Louise Freeman, Patrick McCauley, Kat Sas, Karen Wendling, and Lana Whited.We talk about the ways presenters found new insights in character studies (of Professor McGonagall, Luna Lovegood, Dolores Umbridge) and thematic studies (models o...
2019-11-111h 05Potterversity: A Potter Studies PodcastEpisode 30: Harry Potter Voices Across Borders
Harry Potter empowers us to speak across borders of difference and find our authentic voices.
In this month’s episode, Katy and Emily talk with Dr. M’Balia Thomas (University of Kansas) about the border-crossings of students like Harry and Hermione, which M’Balia calls the “Harry Potter Border-Crossing Analogy” (HPBCA). Wizarding world characters’ experiences of going into a different world, with a different language and social system, can help us develop empathy for real-world border-crossers, including particularly second-language learners in the classroom environment. M’Balia also talks personally about how the Harry Potter novels have helped her find her authe...
2019-10-151h 12Potterversity: A Potter Studies PodcastEpisode 29: Tolkien and Rowling (Part 2)Fandoms and film adaptations of Middle-earth and the Wizarding World in this week’s episode.Katy and John continue the conversation with Dr. Sara Brown and Dr. Amy Sturgis, this time focusing on the fans and the film versions of the iconic fantasy series of J.R.R. Tolkien and J.K. Rowling. We discuss whether the Rowling and Tolkien fandoms are oppositional or intersecting, and what the newer Rowling fan community can learn from Tolkien fans’ experiences. In both fandoms, there are questions about how people became interested in the worlds (books, movies, cosplay), intergenerational and global differences, and...
2019-09-2449 minPotterversity: A Potter Studies PodcastEpisode 28: Tolkien & Rowling (Part 1)What does the wizarding world owe to Middle-earth?This month, Katy and John talk about the fantasy worlds of J.R.R. Tolkien and J.K. Rowling with guests Dr. Sara Brown (Rydal Penrhos School and Signum University) and Dr. Amy Sturgis (Lenoir-Rhyne University). Though Rowling has minimized the influence of Tolkien’s saga on her own world-building, readers can spot several connections at the superficial level, from names (Wormtongue/Wormtail, Butterbur/butterbeer, Longbottom) to frightening magical beings (Ringwraiths/Dementors, Shelob/Aragog) and important magical objects (Mirror of Galadriel/Mirror of Erised/Pensieve). The influence carries over to the th...
2019-09-091h 00Potterversity: A Potter Studies PodcastEpisode 27: Humor and Harry Potter (Part 2)J.K. Rowling’s comedy helps us connect with the darker themes of the Harry Potter story.Join us for Part 2 of our discussion of “Humor and Harry Potter,” where we continue our conversation with Emily Strand (Mount Carmel College of Nursing), Louise Freeman (Mary Baldwin University), and Caitlin Harper (NYDA - Harry Potter Alliance, New York City). Exploring humor theories, we analyze how Rowling’s comedy works and its effect on the reader. We talk about how the laughs are balanced out by frightening and tragic moments, and how so much of the tragedy in the books stems fr...
2019-08-2649 minPotterversity: A Potter Studies PodcastEpisode 26: Humor and Harry Potter (Part 1)What are your favorite funny moments in Harry Potter?J.K. Rowling’s deft use of humor is one of the core reasons for the success of the Harry Potter series, yet one which is not much discussed. In this first of a two-part episode, we remedy that lack! Katy talks with Emily Strand (Mount Carmel College of Nursing), Caitlin Harper (NYDA, Harry Potter Alliance—New York City), and Louise Freeman (Mary Baldwin University) about the silliest scenes, wittiest phraseology, funniest foods, and most amusing characters in the Harry Potter series.
2019-08-121h 06Potterversity: A Potter Studies PodcastEpisode 25: Literary Alchemy and the Mythic ContextUncover the literary secrets within Harry Potter, Cormoran Strike, and Fantastic Beasts!In this episode, Katy and John do a deep dive into the symbolism and transformative power of J.K. Rowling’s work. First, John describes the concept of literary alchemy and how literature can effect an alchemical transformation on readers. Then, special guest Evan Willis (University of Dallas) explains how Renaissance alchemical symbolism intertwines with classical myth in Harry Potter and Cormoran Strike. From the Orestes myth to Castor and Pollux and Leda and the swan, we learn about the well of myths Rowling draws from in he...
2019-07-081h 21Potterversity: A Potter Studies PodcastEpisode 24: The Wand in the Stone? Harry Potter and King ArthurExplore the many Harry Potter references to King Arthur in this month’s episode!
Three generations of Potter scholars gather to talk about J.K. Rowling’s Arthurian influences. From significant naming of characters to points of plot and theme, Katy and John discuss the many connections between the wizarding world and the medievalism of the King Arthur stories with special guests Laurie Beckoff (MuggleNet, MSc University of Edinburgh) and Beatrice Groves (Oxford University, author of Literary Allusion in Harry Potter). Come along for this wide-ranging and meaningful discussion about knights and enchanters and women in ponds distri...
2019-06-101h 18