Episode #723: Fudge’s Therapy Session (HBP Chapter 1, The Other Minister)

/ Eric

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That new assistant named Kingsley is a high performer! This week we’re starting our Chapter by Chapter re-read of Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, and discussing all the problems that Cornelius Fudge has just dumped on the British Prime Minister’s doorstep. It’s a rare Harry-less chapter this week, titled “The Other Minister.”

  • News: Congratulations to SIR Gary Oldman! (He really puts the Sir in Sirius)
  • Chapter by Chapter continues with Half-Blood Prince Chapter 1: The Other Minister
  • Where were the hosts when the sixth Potter book came out? It was only 3 weeks shy of MuggleCast’s first episode!
  • The MuggleCast Time-Turner segment is now the MuggleCast Pensieve! It’s Book-6-themed and, this week, flashing back to MuggleCast #376, from July 16, 2018!
  • The hosts compare favorite chapters and discuss this is one of them.
  • The poor British PM believes the chaos was his to own, only to find out that the wizards are at fault for all of it!
  • Do wizards have a superiority complex? It sure seems like it, around the Muggle PM.
  • Is this chapter tied to a particular politician or administration from years past, when the book was set? Or perhaps when it was written? The hosts speculate.
  • Is the portrait of the “frog-like” man (Umbridge’s dad?) a privacy concern for the Muggles?
  • MVP of the Week: Who was the best working man in this chapter?
  • Lynx Line: What event from human history was magical in origin, but was covered up between the two governments?
  • Participate in our weekly trivia segment by answering this week’s Quizzitch question at MuggleCast.com/Quizzitch! 
  • On Bonus MuggleCast, we discuss the newly released album art for the upcoming full cast production audiobooks.

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