Episode #506: Shipping Harry and Tom Riddle, More Security Nightmares, and Other MuggleMail

  • We asked our listeners, following last week’s discussion, what fan films they would like to see made.
  • From Arthur and Molly’s courtship, to Regulus’ thwarting of Voldemort, the hosts discuss what the best plots yet to be seen could look like.
  • Since Ilvermorny has been more or less forgotten about by the author, should fans take it back / make it their own?
  • This week’s episode is all MuggleMail!
  • Theories on how Ron inherited Charlie’s wand, and similarities between Hogwarts and boarding school arrive in hushed tones in new voicemails from our listeners.
  • We’ve received a litany of responses to our Security Nightmare series, agreeing that Hagrid, the Floo Network, the troll, and the Chamber of Secrets all prove Hogwarts is not safe.
  • We hear from a listener who homeschools her kid and loves sharing Harry Potter as a proud parent.
  • MuggleMail covers other topics such as: Could Harry and a Young Tom Riddle be romantically involved? Could Mrs. Norris be a secret Animagus? And how one listener feels about the women of Harry Potter.
  • We answer a vintage email from August 2007! Where is 13-year-old Blake now?
  • Quizzitch: What secret does the Grey Lady say Rowena Ravenclaw kept from the other founders? Visit MuggleCast.com/Quizzitch to submit your answer!
  • This week’s episode is sponsored by BetterHelp: Get 10% off your first month of therapy at BetterHelp.com/mugglecast
  • Support us on Patreon and receive magical benefits, like a personalized thank you video from one of the hosts and Bonus MuggleCast!

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Episode #505: Seven Harry Potter Fan Films That Expand The Story in Brilliant Ways

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Episode #504: The Achievements of Women in Harry Potter

  • Welcome Slug Club guest Olivia!
  • The Hogwarts Legacy video game will reportedly allow for players to customize their character’s gender identity.
  • To celebrate International Womens Day 2021, the hosts discuss achievements by women in the Harry Potter series
  • Not only did Lily Potter save her son, but she ended the war with Voldemort the first time, saving thousands of lives!
  • Hermione has saved Ron and Harry’s lives more times than we can count!
  • Ginny overcame the trauma of Tom Riddle’s teenage Horcrux and turned out well adjusted, in spite of a lack of psychological services at Hogwarts
  • Fleur Delacour and Nymphadora Tonks distinguish themselves as strong and powerful witches
  • Sirius Black’s mother defeats the Order of the Phoenix! How comes nobody could get her painting down?
  • The hosts uncomfortably talk about Umbridge’s attack on Privet Drive and Harry, before they even met.
  • Others we discuss include Luna, Professor McGonagall, Narcissa, and Molly.
  • Do the ladies on our panel feel like women in the series were brought to the forefront in a way they’re happy with?
  • To wrap up our International Womens Day celebration, the hosts tackle multiple choice trivia questions based on J.K. Rowling’s Witch or Wizard of the Month segment
  • And finally, we recognize that the author herself faced an uphill battle in the publishing industry as a woman, which she overcame.
  • Quizzitch: Name this famous female campaigner for breaking the Statute of Secrecy, she’s been imprisoned several times for her blatant and deliberate use of magic in public placesVisit MuggleCast.com/Quizzitch to submit your answer!
  • This week’s episode is sponsored by MD Acne (Take the quiz and get your first month supply for free, just pay shipping) and ThirdLove (Get 20% off your first purchase)
  • Support us on Patreon and receive magical benefits, like a personalized thank you video from one of the hosts and Bonus MuggleCast!

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OR, now read the Episode 504 Transcript!

Episode #503: The Best and Worst of Ron Weasley

  • Happy Birthday, Ronald Bilius Weasley! Today we’re kicking off a new monthly feature, where we’ll be hosting a main character discussion timed around their birthday. We start with Ron!
  • One of the most underrated characters in the Wizarding World, let’s get Ron’s Fandom ID!
  • We discuss our first impressions of Harry’s best friend and Ron’s complex about his family’s socioeconomic status
  • What were our favorite Ron moments in the books? What was his defining chapter?
  • What were some of Ron’s worst character moments? We discuss The Yule Ball Dating Lavender, and more.
  • In celebration of Rupert Grint, we share our favorite Ron scenes from the movies!
  • … But we can’t forget all the great Ron moments that were given to Hermione in the films!
  • What would each of the hosts get Ron for his birthday?
  • We play two Ron-themed games: Snog, Marry, Avada Kedavra and Two Truths, One Lie!
  • Quizzitch: What did Fred turn into a spider when Ron was three? Visit MuggleCast.com/Quizzitch to submit your answer!
  • This week’s episode is sponsored by MDAcne (Visit MDAcne.com/mugglecast to get your first month supply free!) and HelloFresh (Visit HelloFresh.com/12muggle and use code 12 muggle for 12 FREE meals!)
  • Support us on Patreon and receive magical benefits, like a personalized thank you video from one of the hosts and Bonus MuggleCast!

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Episode #502: All The Ways Hogwarts Is A Security Nightmare

  • Did Wizards Unite finally confirm a long-standing theory about Lavender Brown?
  • Main Discussion: All The Ways That Hogwarts Is A Security Nightmare
  • For decades, students and teachers have been lied to about Hogwarts safety! 
  • Are moving staircases really a good idea?
  • The Forbidden Forest & Black Lake are no place for students of any age!
  • The Triwizard Tournament? Ask Cedric Diggory how that turned out!
  • Background check, anyone? We discuss how professors like Quirrell, Lockhart, Hagrid & Impostor Moody endangered the students year-after-year.
  • Quidditch… need we say more?
  • Dear Dumbledore, you REALLY couldn’t find the the Chamber of Secrets? Or the giant snake?
  • The Whomping Willow (emphasis on whomping)
  • Mental health check: should students really be experiencing their worst fears (Boggarts) in  front of each other?
  • Remember that year Dementors “safeguarded” the school?
  • Listeners weigh in with their security concerns, including The Room of Requirement, Portraits, Secret Passages and more!
  • Are parents ever notified about all of the dangers at Hogwarts?
  • Quizzitch: After Neville falls off his broom in Year 1 who tells Malfoy to shut up? Visit MuggleCast.com/Quizzitch to submit your answer!
  • This week’s episode is sponsored by MDAcne (take the quiz and get your first month’s supply for free, just pay shipping) and BetterHelp (receive 10% off your first month)!
  • Support us on Patreon and receive magical benefits, like a personalized thank you video from one of the hosts and Bonus MuggleCast!

Download now OR, now read the Episode 502 Transcript!

Episode #501: Fantastic Beasts 3 Opening Scene Ideas, MuggleMail

  • A new Harry Potter Exhibition will be touring the globe. How similar will it be to the one we’ve already been to?
  • The hosts discuss how they would like to see Fantastic Beasts 3 start, from blood pact flashbacks to a street chase in Rio!
  • Will director David Yates finally make a substantive flashback sequence?
  • Will the colors of this film at last be cheery and bright?
  • Lynx Line: Our Patrons weigh in with their opening ideas. What if our heroes are all turned into Nifflers?
  • Could Leta Lestrange still be alive?
  • Voicemails cover thoughts on being an adult Harry Potter fan, how John Williams joined the world of Harry Potter, getting our kids into Harry, and what if Voldemort had killed Draco?
  • Ron, Neville, and Ginny are three potential POV’s that our e-mails analyze for the story.
  • The last two e-mails involve Snape and his love for Lily. What if Harry had been a girl, and did he leave Harry under the rubble in Godric’s Hollow?
  • We answer a question sent to us in July 2007!
  • Our pick-up lines segment from Episode 500 inspired a Chicken Soup segment this week.
  • Quizzitch: When Harry and Dumbledore Apparate to the Cave, what is the first spell Dumbledore uses? Visit MuggleCast.com/Quizzitch to submit your answer!
  • This week’s episode is sponsored by MeUndies and Quip
  • Support us on Patreon and receive magical benefits, like a personalized thank you video from one of the hosts and Bonus MuggleCast!

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Episode #500: The Best Harry Potter Pick-Up Lines, Popular Head Canon Ships

  • We made it to Episode 500! To celebrate, we have a fun a look at MuggleCast By The Numbers
  • How many emails have we received over the years? How many times has the show been downloaded? Which host has appeared on the most episodes?
  • Guess That MuggleCast Episode Title! Eric quizzes Andrew, Laura and Micah on some of the more memorable episode titles on the last 15 years!
  • To celebrate Valentine’s Day, we set the mood and deliver some of the best Harry Potter Pickup Lines
  • Alternate Universe Pairings that’ve been popular head cannon: could Harry and Luna have really happened? What about Hermione and Draco? Remus and Sirius?
  • We examine some of the more popular head canon couples in the series and try to identify the turning point where they could have become a reality!
  • What Hogwarts House is your soulmate in? Take the quiz!
  • Quizzitch: How far did Harry throw the gnome that bit him?
  • This week’s episode is sponsored by ThirdLove (Get 20% off your order at the link!) and our newest sponsor Magic Spoon (hit the link and use promo code ‘mugglecast’ for $5 off your first order!)
  • Support us on Patreon and receive magical benefits, like a personalized thank you video from one of the hosts and Bonus MuggleCast!

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OR, now read the Episode 500 Transcript!

Episode #499: Life As An Adult Harry Potter Fan

  • Welcome to our listener and Patron Julia, whose son Wyatt sent us a great question a few weeks ago.
  • News: As we predicted, a Potter television series is reportedly in the works. And, Fantastic Beasts 3 finishes filming this week!
  • In Bonus MuggleCast, available on our Patron, we’ll discuss when to expect more news and updates about the third Fantastic Beasts movie.
  • Today we discuss the trials and tribulations of being an adult fan of the Harry Potter series!
  • The hosts discuss whether they’ve received backlash for liking Harry Potter as adults.
  • How the New York Times Bestseller List  cleverly sidelined Harry Potter back in the heyday to make room for more “adult” book series
  • Eric discovered a 2003 Telegraph article overflowing with derision for adults who like “kids movies”
  • We discuss the United Kingdom “adult edition” book covers, and ask why Scholastic never did the same thing in the United States.
  • Listeners who got into Harry Potter as adults weigh in over on Twitter!
  • When is the best time to get your child into Harry Potter? Julia gives her thoughts!
  • Troll in the Dungeon: Andrew takes on 3 incredible personas and grills the hosts to defend their love of Harry.
  • Quizzitch: What statue resides next to the Prefect’s Bathroom?

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Episode #498: Harry Potter’s ‘Midnight Sun’: The Companion Stories We Want Written

  • News: With a new appointment at Warner Brothers, could a Harry Potter television show be in our future? (Note: This episode was recorded before The Hollywood Reporter reported on January 25 that a live-action Harry Potter series is officially in development, but our news discussion still relates to the news)
  • It’s Not Just For Kids! Listeners weigh in on Ollivander’s wand choosing ceremony at the Wizarding World theme park.
  • Main Discussion: Harry Potter Companion Novels. As we continue the 20th anniversary celebration of the Sorcerer’s Stone movie, whose eyes would we want to see the first story through?
  • Twilight and Fifty Shades have taken this approach: have other book series? (MuggleCast interviewed Twilight author Stephenie Meyer back on Episode 156).
  • What would Sorcerer’s Stone look like from Professor Quirrell’s perspective?
  • Would Draco Malfoy and The Boy Who Snubbed Me be a bestseller?
  • Would readers enjoy Severus Snape’s story and his constant struggle to protect the son of his worst enemy?
  • Andrew takes us further into the series looking at Prisoner of Azkaban through Hermione’s eyes.
  • Other characters discussed include: Firenze, Professor McGonagall, Remus Lupin and Hagrid.
  • Why did none of the hosts choose Ron? Dumbledore?
  • Chicken Soup For The MuggleCast Soul (from Greece)
  • Quizzitch: What is Albus Dumbledore’s favorite flavor of jam?
  • Support us on Patreon and receive magical benefits, like a personalized thank you video from one of the hosts and Bonus MuggleCast!

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Episode #497: The First Movie’s Best Character Introductions, MuggleMail

  • Welcome Slug Club member Pablo to the show! Spanish language speakers, check out Pablo’s HP podcast Cuarantena 9 3/4!
  • In a bit of sad news, Hogwarts Legacy has been given a 2022 release window, not 2021 as we had hoped.
  • How will the hosts fill the time without the new game? By checking out other games like Micah?
  • The Sorcerer’s Stone movie turns 20 this year! To celebrate, we’ll be hosting discussions about the first film throughout the year!
  • The hosts discuss which character was given the best introduction in the movie.
  • The rest of today’s episode is all MuggleMail! The hosts answer your e-mails and voicemails
  • Why don’t we hear more about teachers’ spouses at Hogwarts?
  • Should Samuel L. Jackson voice the Sorting Hat on a new TV series? We listen to his audition tape.
  • Did Dumbledore fail to protect Frank and Alice Longbottom sufficiently in the wake of the death of the Potters?
  • 12-year-old listener Wyatt asks us, would throwing a Horcrux through The Veil destroy it?
  • The hosts ruminate on whether a Chapter by Chapter reboot lays in our future.
  • Quizzitch: Which actress reportedly turned down the role of the witch Sybil Trelawney in “Prisoner of Azkaban” because she did not believe boarding school life should be glorified?
  • This week’s episode is sponsored by Quip (Get a free dispenser for their new chewing gum) and MeUndies (Get 15% off your first order
  • Support us on Patreon and receive magical benefits, like Bonus MuggleCast!

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