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October always feels like the perfect time for a Harry Potter marathon—but why is that? Katy and Emily are joined by frequent guest Lana Whited to explore Halloween in the series. We look at the Muggle origins and customs surrounding the holiday, including religious elements that connect to the themes of the story. What does our first Halloween celebration at Hogwarts look like, and how does that set up future Halloweens at the school? Important events occur during Harry's first four Hogwarts Halloweens—a troll gets into the castle, the Chamber of Secrets is opened, Sirius Black attacks the Fat Lady, and the Triwizard champions are selected. Clues tend to be dropped at this time that become significant later on. While Halloween stops being mentioned after the fourth book, the whole series is full of witches, ghosts, and magic. Is Harry Potter simply Halloween-themed?

What does English poet John Keats have to do with Harry Potter? Katy and Emily are joined by Beatrice Groves (Oxford University) to discuss echoes of John Keats in Harry Potter. Bea is particularly interested in Keats's poem "The Eve of St. Agnes" - namely, the medievalisms present in the poem and the medieval vibe of Hogwarts. We consider why these allusions are significant and how Bea determined that the author was familiar with Keats's work. The influence Bea sees extends beyond Harry Potter into the Fantastic Beasts series and The Ickabog. Finally, find out about Bea's upcoming book on Harry Potter!

Sirius Black wasn't the only prisoner of Azkaban—or the only victim of a deeply flawed penal system. Our guest for this episode is Marjolaine Martin, host of our French counterpart podcast at La Gazette du Sorcier, ASPIC, as well as their new Multiplettes podcast. She has also worked for the French Ministry of Justice at the Research Office of the Directorate of Prison Administration, which inspired her presentation at last year's Harry Potter Academic Conference, “Prisons in the Wizarding World: Symptoms of Failing Democracy.” We discuss Azkaban's historical and literary predecessors—and why they tend to be fortresses that are repurposed as prisons. Azkaban's most distinctive feature is probably its guards. What does the Ministry's use of Dementors in this role tell us about this society views criminality and justice? What is the relationship between a prison system and the democracy in which it exists? How does capitalism connect to the Muggle and wizarding reluctance to engage in prison reform? We consider the larger consequences of prison systems, what we can learn from Azkaban, and how we can fix some of the problems.

Harry Potter is a global phenomenon - but how has it been received in Russia? Katy and Emily are joined Dr. Eliot Borenstein, professor of Russian and Slavic studies at New York University, to discuss his recent book The Politics of Fantasy: Magic, Children's Literature, and Fandom in Putin's Russia. Eliot tells us about how Harry Potter came into Russian culture, the initial response, and why it became such a cultural touchpoint within the country. The series gained popularity within Russia, but also raised concerns and a level of moral panic. We consider Russian fan engagement, how the experiences of fans as Russians shape the content they produce, and what that tells us about Russia and the tensions within Russian culture in the 21st century. Russian fans have also used the vocabulary and imagery of the series to respond to Vladimir Putin and his regime. The conclusion of Eliot's book is titled "The Cruel Optimism of the Wizarding World" - what does that mean in the context of not only Russia but a global rise in totalitarian capitalism? Does fantasy literature like Harry Potter - and its transmedia cultural movement - have the power to liberate, or to help people liberate themselves?

Why is it important to read Harry Potter critically?  Katy and Emily talk about bridging the academic and fan worlds with Dr. Julian Wamble, who teaches a course called Harry Potter and Social Identity at George Washington University. Julian's class allows students to approach complex political issues through the lens of Harry Potter, such as prison abolition based on Sirius Black's experience. When Julian started posting clips from his class online, he encountered enthusiastic discourse and debate. Hermione can be a controversial character, particularly considering her identity as a Muggle-born and her views on house-elves. The Weasleys, the Malfoys, and Severus Snape also inspire strong opinions. Julian engages with this passionate feedback in his podcast, Critical Magic Theory, for which he circulates surveys about different characters, asking provocative questions to get readers to think deeply about identity, power, and morality. Loving something doesn't mean we can't be critical of it, and Julian will explore this further in his upcoming book.

We're going back to school, and specifically Latin class, on this episode. Dr. Mitchell Parks (Knox College) joins us once again to connect classical studies to Harry Potter, but this time, we're not looking as far back as ancient times. Inspired by Mitchell's presentation at the last Harry Potter Academic Conference, we're going to the 1950s to explore the satirical Molesworth books written by Geoffrey Willans and illustrated by Ronald Searle. These novels, narrated by St. Custards schoolboy Nigel Molesworth, parody the British school story genre and feature several names found in Harry Potter. We consider the influence Molesworth may have had on Potter, including its humor and portrayal of education. Mitchell is particularly interested in how the study of the ancient world and Latin is presented in the Molesworth books and how that reflects upon our reading of classical echoes in Potter. We think about traditionalism and imperialism in both texts via their use of Latin. Moving into modern times, we discuss parallels between methods of teaching Latin at these fictional schools and current debates around artificial intelligence in the classroom.

This special episode is a call to join us at our favorite event of the year - the Harry Potter Academic Conference! The 15th annual conference is back in person at Chestnut Hill College in Philadelphia this October and accepting proposals until April 10. Katy and Emily are joined by conference board members Laurie Beckoff and Lauren Camacci to reminisce about past conferences, discuss what we're looking forward to in this landmark year, and encourage our listeners to consider submitting an abstract. If you've listened before, you've probably already heard us wax poetic about the value of this conference and critical analysis of the series in the current moment. We also talk about what kinds of topics are welcome, where you can find inspiration and sources, and why you should make it a priority to get to Philadelphia on October 23 and 24, 2026. Find more information on the conference and submit your abstract at harrypotterconference.com.

We're entering the Upside Down to compare Harry Potter and Stranger Things following the Netflix series's final season. Spoilers ahead - proceed with caution! Katy, Emily, and producer Laurie reflect on the end of Stranger Things and how the series as a whole, and its conclusion in particular, connect to Potter. Season 5 was released in three installments at the end of 2025 to mixed reviews and a multitude of Potter comparisons. We see a coming-of-age story with characters starting around the same age as new Hogwarts students, the highs and lows of friendship, teens working together to fight evil, a hidden world of magic intersecting with the mundane, and government corruption. Parallels between the villains Voldemort and Vecna were particularly strong this season as were those between their respective targets Harry and Will Byers as well as Ginny Weasley and Holly Wheeler. One common criticism of the season was that there was too much time spent on emotional sharing rather than action, but we see good reason for this when thinking about the role of emotion in magic in Potter, such as casting a Patronus or learning Occlumency. Like Potter, Stranger Things ended with an epilogue, and we consider what these flash-forwards tell us and what possibilities there may be (promising or not) for spinoffs. Finally, we respond to a recent New York Times editorial about Harry Potter's continuing relevance or lack thereof.

We're heading to Hermione's favorite place in this episode: the library! Ian McLaughlin, an PhD student in English who also holds an MLIS, joins Katy and Emily to reflect on libraries and librarians in Harry Potter, following up on his recent presentations at the Harry Potter Academic Conference. Hogwarts librarian Madam Pince is portrayed as extremely strict and irritable, but is she unfairly maligned, and is she actually a good librarian? While books are portrayed as important in the series, theoretical knowledge is not sufficient, as demonstrated by the need to form Dumbledore's Army to learn practical defense skills when Umbridge only allows reading. Books aren't the form of media in the series - Ian compares the Mirror of Erised and two-way mirror to smartphones, which leads us to think about how wands function as technology. Back to librarians, we discuss the issues with censorship and limiting children's access to books, including Harry Potter. We also touch on yet another of Ian's HPAC presentations, exploring the significance of double-casting in Harry Potter and the Cursed Child.

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 these days, and look at its connection to nationalism. When do we first start to see "authoritarian creep" in the series, how does it progress, and what insights can we glean from the series that might help us identify and head off similar trends in our society? As dark and depressing as this conversation can be, solidarity and resistance in the face of oppression are an essential part of Harry Potter. How can fiction help us fight fascism in our own world? We can't wait to attend the 15th annual conference back in person at Chestnut Hill College in Philadelphia. Hope to see you there! This episode was edited by Land Deer.

Why 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 as magical athletes and musicians? Is that kind of physical work different? Previous guest David Martin also wrote in wondering about what is considered a service business. Gringotts? The Knight Bus? St. Mungo's Hospital? Niche specialized skills or blended businesses that provide a product as well as a service, like newspapers or wedding marquee rentals, seem to be different than straightforward services. What does this say about the significance of tangible objects wizards can own?Why don't wizards open businesses to provide services to Muggles, secretly using magic to easily make or fix things? Why is any wizard poor when there's a whole untapped market of Muggles who would have more need of their skills? The International Statute of Secrecy and resulting segregation between wizards and Muggles may stop anyone from crossing that line. Magic leaves a trace, and magical repairs may not always work exactly as intended or may be suspiciously effective. The risks may just not be worth it to most people.

We'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 context of implanted memories in Star Trek.We focus on Captain Picard's life in an extinct civilization on the Next Generation episode "The Inner Light" and Chief O'Brien's prison sentence on Deep Space Nine's "Hard Time." Both experiences take place only in the characters' minds within a few minutes yet feel like years to Picard and O'Brien. Technically, Picard never left the bridge of the Enterprise and O'Brien never served time in jail - it happened inside their heads but felt real to them and had lasting effects.We also discuss Captain Pike's time on Talos IV on The Original Series, where aliens can create convincing illusions either to trap people or to give them a better quality of life, which is particularly appealing for Pike after he becomes severely disabled. Nog's time in a Las Vegas nightclub in a holosuite following a traumatic injury on Deep Space Nine's "It's Only a Paper Moon" leads us to consider Potter's ghosts and another Dumbledore quote: "It does not do to dwell on dreams and forget to live" (SS 214). These "unreal" experiences can have positive or negative consequences and demonstrate the power of escapism not only within these series but for audiences who feel immersed in them.Can you think of any other connections between Harry Potter and Star Trek? We’d love to hear from you! Send us an email at [email protected], and connect with us on Facebook, Instagram, and Bluesky.

Space: 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 story with fantasy elements and a hero's journey, but Trek, like Potter, deals with issues of prejudice, cultural relativism, fascism, justice, and institutional corruption. The magical world and the scientifically advanced society of Trek still have problems. We discuss which Star Trek series is the most like Potter and why it's Deep Space Nine.We compare the loathsome characters Dolores Umbridge and Kai Winn, the troublesome ones Peeves and Q, and the self-sacrificing nonhumans Dobby and Data. Both series also have mirrors (literal or figurative), time travel, and explorations of the past, even though Trek is set centuries in the future. Another important theme is the power of friendship - something that can transcend time, species, and genre.Live long and prosper, listeners!

Let'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 world seems to have many consumer goods businesses that sell products but not many service-based businesses, such as plumbing or broom repair. Businesses like the Leaky Cauldron and Honeydukes serve as thresholds for Harry to enter magical areas like Diagon Alley and Hogsmeade. While commerce and wealth are often portrayed as evil in fantasy and children's media, they appear to be morally neutral in Potter, where a business can create good or bad things and their products can be used for good or evil, such as Weasleys' Wizard Wheezes items.Fans who create their own Potter-themed businesses are often motivated by a desire to participate in the wizarding world. Before there was so much official merchandise available, fans were creating the types of products they would want to have using their own artistic skills. Abbie surveyed 46 business owners, 44 of whom were women, and was surprised to find that most did not think of themselves as entrepreneurs, a term she advocates for more small business owners to claim for themselves.Fan businesses can also be a tool for positive change, allowing fans to support each other rather than a large corporation and a wealthy author and to reclaim their fandom for the LGBTQ+ community in the wake of the author's comments. Abbie feels that entrepreneurship can be a form of activism. She also offers some helpful tips for listeners who may be interested in starting their own business!

Vengeance 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 some similarities between Harry and Orestes, the former spends much more time wrestling with his options and emotions than the latter. The two texts have very different gender politics, which have been reinterpreted in different ways over the years based on current contexts.Although authorial intent is not Mitchell's main interest, the author made a very deliberate choice to include the epigraph, which is formatted similarly to the lightning bolt-shaped dedication. Still, if a reader can notice parallels and convince other readers of their significance, whether or not the author had a deep familiarity with the referenced text doesn't invalidate the meaning.