Alohomora!: A Global Reread Of Harry Potter

On Episode 259 we discuss... → Find us on Pandora → The most insane challenge → Is Crouch Jr. trying to be caught? → Humble Harry → "Oh no, it's sports day." → Irresponsible adults → Magical 3D printing → Did Harry cheat? → The pros and cons of widening the Wizarding World → The Life and Lies of Rita Skeeter

On Episode 258 we discuss… → First Impressions →Do you HAVE to see the original cast? → 30 Crescendos → Main character confusion → The Search for Scorpius → Thor Cups for Poppy Miller → Nomione → Move along, timeline → “That sheep is on fire!” → Trains and . . . sewing machines? → The dementor’s hug → Crying hangover → Another Human Horcrux? → Cursed Child: The First Draft → Will the play last?

On Episode 257 we discuss... → I don’t like puzzles, I’m a Gryffindor! → Hermione gets acknowledged! Gasp! → Harry’s wand, a crutch and a rebirth → Grindelwald vs. Voldemort: who was worse? → Did Dumbledore create his own enemy? → Possibly projecting power’s pull onto Harry → Five years? Are we seeing a possible retcon? → Can veritaserum break through dementia? → S***! S***! S***! → The depths of despair → Why didn’t Rita interview Grindelwald? → Do we want to know everything about Dumbledore?

On Episode 256 we discuss… → Ghost rules - personality, portraits and progression → Ghost Amazon → Historical ghosts around the world → Ghost festivals → More haunted than Hogwarts? → Ghosts on camera → The Hogwarts Ghosts  

On Episode 255 we discuss... → Hermione gets no birthday love → Does Jo hate cats? → The unforgivable vanishing spell → Sirius is an angel from on high → How close are the Dumbledore brothers? → Luna has a temper! → Harry, the next Lupin → Was the Hog’s Head the best meeting place? → Are we any better than Zacharias Smith? → Read the fine (invisible) print! → Hermione - brilliant but manipulative → Political or escapist fantasy?

On Episode 254 we discuss... → Ring Theory vs. Ring Composition: Wizards don't do math → Shoutout Maxima: Percivals; supporting a large family; what's going on in Percy's head?; Does Percy have anxiety? → What is Ring Composition? (Hint: Turtles!) → Immediate chapter parallels: Peeves's water balloons and the lake task?! → A handy visual from John's book → Kat has a new podcast idea → Latches and turns → Privet Drive by motorcycle → The obviousness of "Owl Post" and "Owl Post Again" → Speculation about the rings in the Fantastic Beasts series → Alison has a major new academic project → The literary value of Rowling's work → Internal book rings

On Episode 253 we discuss... → Lupin, chocolate, and rain...all Michael needs to be happy → Love potions and pimps named Posie → Are we getting our first glance at the Order of the Phoenix? → Double hugs all the way! → Carriage vs. Compartment - a lesson on British trains → How good of an actor is Lupin? Asleep or faking? → Sneakoscope are useless → LUPIN LOVE → Watch out Willy Wonka...here come Lupin Bars! → Flitwick sortings → Hagrid’s a teacher! Hallelujah! → One of the best movie adaptations of a chapter

On Episode 252 we discuss... → Shoutout Maxima: Ireland; Potter as a Netflix series; poems! → Percy's namesake, meaning, and tangled wizard family lines → Percy and Ron: astrology match - or maybe not? → Secret Hufflepuff inter-house make-out rooms → Percy is the Weasley that tries the hardest → What might Percy's wand be? → Sibling relationships → Is Percy a coward? → Coping through family → Redemption arc parallels → Should Percy have died? → Slytherin or Gryffindor?

On Episode 251 we discuss... → Happy birthday, Harry! → Too bad wizard google doesn’t exist → Harry doesn’t know he’s in a 7 book series → Twelve Fail-Safe Ways to Charm Witches → Scrimgeour’s relationship with Dumbledore → Elections for the Minister of Magic → Could the deluminator be a tracking device? → The sign of the deathly hallows as Grindelwald’s sign → Horcrux lessons carefully curated to build

On Episode 250 we discuss... → What is popular culture anyway? → J.K. Rowling made bank! → Harry Potter’s YA ancestors → From Baby-Sitters Club to Shakespeare → What’s Potter got that the others don’t? → The fan fiction springboard → “Snape… Snape… Severus Snape…” → The diminishing return → Can Potter really be everything?

On Episode 249 we discuss... → Foreshadow maxima! → Ghouls: pests of the after-life → Arthur Weasley’s Muggle World Podcast → Honest portrayals of poverty → Is fire travel unique to Potter? → Ring theory epicness! → Draco unmasked → Burke, the body snatcher → What was Hagrid really doing in Knockturn Alley? → So much Harry love → Did Lucius target the Weasleys or was Ginny a convenience? → Mr. and Mrs. Granger - blissfully ignorant

On Episode 248 we discuss... → Guessing about Gamp's Law → Can you conjure air?! → Turns out you can study Alchemy at Hogwarts → Could the plague actually be dragon pox? → Mandrakes are real and science = magic → Flying brooms are less conspicuous than flying bathtubs → Revisiting the desk pig! → No such thing as too many Star Trek references → There actually is a math class at Hogwarts → We pull out our punnett squares to talk genetics in HP → Wizards can use electronics...just not at school → Are wizards really space aliens?

On Episode 247 we discuss...  → JKR told us Harry would live, it’s okay → Wizard cards answer exam questions! → The things the trees have seen → “...after they kill Neville...” → Can ghosts become invisible? → Fluffy went to the Forest... or back to Greece? → Muggle medicinal uses for Devil’s Snare vs. wizard death plant → Where is the Stone from July to December?? → Absurdly easy keys → Chess symbolism on point → Troll wrangling suspicions → One potions riddle, many versions

On Episode 246 we discuss... → We’ve got all four Houses here for a discussion on the four Houses! → The Four Temperaments or “Humors” that make up all of humanity → Katy’s Shoutout Maxima tackles nightmare fuel, Luna love and YouTube → What do the Sorting Hat songs say are each house’s key attributes? → Which students embody the stated attributes of each House / which do not? → Who does Pottermore say were Hatstalls, and what does that mean? → Would Cedric Diggory, Hogwarts Champion, ever be a Death Eater? → The benefits and pitfalls of Sorting too soon → Do Hogwarts Houses overlap with Ilvermorny ones, a la this chart?

On Episode 245 we discuss... → Let the tears flow with Michael's reading of the chapter! → Untested magic → A moment for parallels → Harry's cadaver career → James is important too, guys! → "I'm Spartacus!" → Everything but the Ford Anglia → Other ways to kill a wizard → Stupid movie → The Master of Death → 19 years of recovery → What is the Flaw?

On Episode 244 we discuss... → JKR's admissions of how the death of her mother shaped the series → Immortality and the fear of death → Voldemort: The most useless, magic-dependent wizard ever → Grief over death and loss → How unresolved grief can stunt growth → Acceptance of death and its inevitability → The Flamels are Hobbits → What was on Dumbledore's bucket list? → Church Grims bring out Katy's angst → Death is more trustworthy than God or the Devil → Quotes to grieve by → Listener experiences using Potter to help them grieve

On Episode 243 we discuss... → Best HBP chapter EVAR!! → Leaving Hagrid to grieve alone? Rude. → Half-Blood Prince: a metaphor for being 16 → Slughorn: B+ teacher, A+ motivator → Half an eyebrow now, half an eyeball later! → Felix has no morals... and kind of makes you drunk → Did Tom Riddle get lucky? → Spiders are so ungrateful → Wizard minors can drink alcohol... no biggie → Actors' names in literature → We need more drunk men hugging, crying, and singing → Odo the non-hero... which is sad

On Episode 242 we discuss… → A role model for teenage activism → Why is Harry so determined to be a "good guy?" → Harry, listen to Michelle Obama → Why does he insist on going it alone? → Harry is Batman... and Luke Skywalker → Why should he NOT be angsty? → No, Harry is not his Horcrux... or a Cylon → A sensitive male protagonist? Wicked! → Why isn't Harry a favorite character? → Daniel Radcliffe, we love you! → Harry is brown AF → Cursed Child Harry... WTF?

On Episode 241 we discuss... → Does Harry finally learn from his shortcomings? → A perfect moment for Dumbledore to mention his family → Voldy is watching you, always watching → The Fidelius Charm has so many freakin' loopholes → Four claps for you, Severus Snape; you go, Severus Snape → When do phoenixes actually die? → Harry breaks a bunch of cool stuff → Petunia's complicated feelings for Harry → The flaw in the plan → Would Dumbledore have killed Harry? → "Thrice defied" - how? → Why does Snape not spill about the plan?

On Episode 240 we discuss... → Jack Russel terriers should be renamed Ron terriers → Could Ron ever turn to the dark arts? → Ron's wands reveal a lot about him → Is Ron mean? → Pottle → The "fwoopers and the billywigs" talk → Ron = Nessie → Nose picking on endless repeat → Newsflash: Ron is hilarious → Ron is a voracious eater → Is Ron Aragorn or Gimli?