This week on MuggleCast we bring back the most heavily listener-requested segment, Chapter by Chapter! Join Andrew, Eric, Laura and Micah as they begin Sorcerer’s / Philosopher’s Stone with Chapters 1, 2 and 3! Our read-through of the Potter series contains segments both old AND new (complete with sound effects) and the hosts are all much older now than when they first started more than 16 years ago!

On this week’s episode:

• Chapter by Chapter is rebooted! We first started the segment March 19, 2006 on Episode 31 (transcript here).
• What to expect from CbyC includes: 7 Word Summaries, the same (but older) hosts, and brand new segments and games.
• Main Discussion Part 1: Sorcerer’s Stone Chapter One, “The Boy Who Lived.”
• 7 Word Summary: Vernon thinks that people are behaving oddly
• Eric asks, “What are the wizards and witches thinking?! The Statute of Secrecy is at stake here!”
• Laura makes an excellent point about what humans do after being cooped up and being afraid for long.
• Was it safe for Dumbledore to leave Harry unattended on a doorstep overnight?
• Despite the magical protection, we ask, WERE the Dursleys the best option for Dumbledore to choose? Why didn’t Albus raise Harry himself?
• Main Discussion Part 2: Chapter Two, “The Vanishing Glass.”
• 7 Word Summary: Dudley can’t understand why he sucks badly
• Having read the whole series, how do we account for the magic that Harry did when he was young?
• Where exactly did the “Vanished” glass go? In the book, it is not put back.
• Would the zoo be able to stay in business after such an incident?
• The hosts get depressed about the Dursleys’ abuse of Harry, which hits differently now!
• Main Discussion Part 3: Chapter Three, “The Letters From No One.”
• 7 Word Summary: Chaos awaits the Dursleys everywhere and above
• How is it exactly that the letters change addresses for Harry? Is Vernon right, and are the Dursleys being watched?
• Why don’t Petunia and Vernon just tell Harry who/what he is? Why are they SO resistant?
• The hosts play What If? regarding Harry opening his Hogwarts letter while in the foyer.
• Most Valuable Chapter/Character of the Week returns
• Next week’s Quizzitch question: Who are the four known members of Dudley’s Gang, from Chapter 3 of Book 1?
• On next week’s episode: Chapters 4-6 of Harry Potter Book One
• This week’s episode is brought to you by Indeed (Go to Indeed.com/mugglecast to start hiring now), BetterHelp (Go to BetterHelp.com/mugglecast and get 10% off your first month), and MeUndies (Go to MeUndies.com/mugglecast for 20% off your first order)

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