As 2020 comes to a close, we're so thankful to have all of you! Happy Holidays and Happy New Year! To celebrate the holidays, the hosts each pick a Harry Potter-themed cocktail of their choice and taste test live on air! See who comes out the winner as Andrew, Eric, Laura and Micah battle it out for the title of Heads Up champ! Main Discussion: 2020 Year in Review. From Grindelwald's recasting to J.K. Rowling's tweets to Hogwarts Legacy and Harry Potter at Home, we reflect on the most notable Po...
Dec 22, 2020•57 min•Transcript available on Metacast The hosts are joined by Dave Jorgenson, Washington Post's TikTok Guy, who's a huge Harry Potter fan and a longtime MuggleCast listener! Dave is a long-time listener of MuggleCast and has his finger on the pulse of Harry Potter TikTok trends. This week's Main Discussion: The gadgets and gizmos of the Wizarding World We ask this of each gadget: How does it work? Is it cool or dumb or dangerous? Also, what would we pay for each? Far fewer people are on Team Cool regarding Dumbledore's Put-Outer tha...
Dec 15, 2020•1 hr 24 min•Transcript available on Metacast It's the holiday season, so we're discussing some great fan-made Harry Potter item with MuggleCast listener and Etsy creator Hannah, owner of Flighty Temptress Adventures! Hannah shares her story of becoming a fan creator, product creation, her favorite item and the community overall The hosts share some of the main reasons they support fan creators How long will the market for fan-made Harry Potter items last? Jewelry? Artwork? What fan-made products have the hosts purchased over the years? Hos...
Dec 08, 2020•1 hr 8 min•Transcript available on Metacast Thanks to all who came out to Quizzitch Live: Weasley Thanksgiving edition! If you missed it, watch it now! Main Discussion: What chapters from the Harry Potter books best define the "Big Seven" characters? Is Harry's heroism better represented anywhere than in "The Forest Again"? Does Draco's inaction speak as much to his character as his inaction? Can a character's defining chapter be the chapter in which they are introduced? The hosts propose runner-up chapters that show different sides of a ...
Nov 24, 2020•1 hr 9 min•Transcript available on Metacast Thanksgiving is all about family! Join us for a Weasley Family-themed Quizzitch Live on Sunday, November 22nd! The hosts share their reactions to the news that Mads Mikkelson will replace Johnny Depp as Grindelwald in the Fantastic Beasts series MuggleCasTBT: In May 2016, which characters did we predict we’d see in the Fantastic Beasts series? The answers may surprise you! Main Discussion: Which character would we want to be in the Harry Potter series, and why? Charlie Weasley? Nearly-Headless N...
Nov 17, 2020•1 hr 7 min•Transcript available on Metacast Thanksgiving is all about family; join us for a Weasley Family-themed Quizzitch Live on Sunday, November 22nd! Breaking News: Johnny Depp is OUT as Grindelwald! Warner Bros reportedly asked Johnny to leave the role. Andrew breaks down what happened and details a chain of events. Why is this happening now, and why didn't it happen sooner? WB gave him the professional courtesy of stepping down with dignity, but was Johnny Depp actually fired? Is Fantastic Beasts a doomed series? Is it a sinking sh...
Nov 09, 2020•56 min•Transcript available on Metacast In celebration of Halloween, we hosted a brand-new, spoooooky edition of Quizzitch Live! Join us later this November for another round of trivia! News: MinaLima confirms they are working on a Chamber of Secrets Illustrated Edition while Laura introduces us to the latest trend on TikTok... POTTAH! Muggle Mail covers Halloween Happenings at Hogwarts, additional Potter plot holes and more scary moments from Chamber of Secrets and Deathly Hallows! With Election Day upon us, this week's main discussi...
Nov 03, 2020•1 hr 25 min•Transcript available on Metacast In celebration of Halloween, we're hosting our next Quizzitch Live this Saturday, October 31 at 3 p.m. ET! We hope to see you there! Chris Hansen takes on Tom Riddle! Watch it on our social media channels later this week. Only one week left until Election Day! Please make sure you are registered to vote in your state right now by visiting IWillVote.com. You can also find out great ballot information at BallotReady.org and sign up to be a poll worker at PowerThePolls.org. We review the brand-new,...
Oct 27, 2020•1 hr 2 min•Transcript available on Metacast It's our annual Halloween episode and we discuss the scariest moments in the Harry Potter series! Some our favorite past Halloween episodes have included Episode 61: Ghosts in Harry Potter and Episode 343: Halloween Happening! In Sorcerer's Stone: Fluffy and Professor Quirrell's death are just two of the most terrifying moments for 11-year-old Harry. Aragog, the Baslisk, Tom Riddle's possession of Ginny and Gilderoy Lockhart - could Chamber of Secrets be the scariest book in the series? With wer...
Oct 20, 2020•1 hr 20 min•Transcript available on Metacast PSA for the USA: Many voter registration deadlines are approaching in the United States. Please make sure you are registered to vote in your state right now by visiting IWillVote.com. You can also find out great ballot information at BallotReady.org and sign up to be a poll worker at PowerThePolls.org. Quidditch Through the Ages gets a fully-illustrated edition by Emily Gravett. We dig into the book and share what we love about it! The new edition has an illustration on every page, and nearly 3 ...
Oct 13, 2020•59 min•Transcript available on Metacast PSA for the USA: Many voter registration deadlines are approaching in the United States. Please make sure you are registered to vote in your state right now by visiting IWillVote.com. You can also find out great ballot information at BallotReady.org and sign up to be a poll worker at PowerThePolls.org. MuggleMail covers Dumbledore and Tom Riddle's first encounter and Voldemort's ability to love Our Main Discussion focuses on The Biggest Plot Holes in the Harry Potter books! The Lost Day: What wa...
Oct 06, 2020•1 hr 17 min•Transcript available on Metacast Welcome Slug Club member Shyam! He, too, has gotten a letter from the author! MuggleMail includes MORE casting of gingers, Sorting Hats, Slytherins and Aussies. Could the eventual Potter TV show be on network television, rather than a streaming app? Our main discussion this week is about orphans in literature! Why are there so many, and how are they alike? Are there benefits for authors wanting to start a hero off with a blank slate that makes orphaning them appealing? How does Harry's orphan st...
Sep 29, 2020•1 hr 9 min•Transcript available on Metacast Andrew's prophecy comes true... almost! Hogwarts Legacy is coming to a video game console near you in 2021! What are our initial reactions to the trailer for this open-world video game? We offer some suggestions on what fans can do who are hesitant about purchasing this game. Muggle Mail covers The Pizza Wizard, The Lost Day, Neville, Sirius, a Harry Potter television station and more! Main Discussion: Fantasy Casting The Harry Potter Television Series Peeves, Professor Binns, Ludo Bagman, Augus...
Sep 22, 2020•1 hr 18 min•Transcript available on Metacast Muggle Mail answers some of our questions regarding Neville's sorting, and asks why Harry isn't more grateful to Lupin. This week the hosts ask, What are key, never-before-seen moments from the Harry Potter books that we want to see adapted in the TV series? This is our chance to FINALLY see some critical scenes that never made it into the books or films! Andrew kicks things off with light and grim moments: The creation of the Marauders Map, and the entire night of James and Lily's deaths. Will ...
Sep 15, 2020•1 hr 22 min•Transcript available on Metacast We take a deep dive into Harry and Neville’s parallel journeys throughout the Harry Potter series Muggle Mail covers how you correct someone who is wrong about Harry Potter, Snape fan fiction and more The Chronicles of Narnia, Lord of the Rings and King Arthur: the hosts share some of their favorite stories influenced by cultural artifacts Let's get religious (not really)! We compare Harry to Jesus and Neville to John The Baptist Linked from the start via prophecy, did anyone suspect pre-Order o...
Sep 08, 2020•1 hr 19 min•Transcript available on Metacast This week, to celebrate a new term on September 1, we're rating every professor of Hogwarts School! How do the DADA professors measure up with one another on quality and on difficulty? We offer individual grades to help us compare them all. How about Potions? Is Slughorn a higher quality instructor than Snape? We all have high marks for McGonagall, but what about Dumbledore, who we saw teach in Fantastic Beasts? We set a Seer against a Centaur and wrap up with Charms, Herbology, and History of M...
Sep 01, 2020•2 hr 51 min•Transcript available on Metacast 20 Years Ago: Dan, Emma and Rupert were announced to play Harry, Ron and Hermione Sorcerer's Stone surpasses $1 billion at the box office as theaters reopen in China Fantastic Beasts 3 set to resume filming in September -- will the movie's release date be delayed? Main Discussion: The Best Chapters of the ENTIRE Harry Potter series, and why these are our favorites! What makes a good Harry Potter chapter? Pivotal moments? Action? Suspense? World expanding moments? Hindsight? The ability to connec...
Aug 25, 2020•1 hr 8 min•Transcript available on Metacast Welcome to the show Marissa, co-author of MuggleNet's new Character Compendium, available now in bookstores everywhere! MuggleMail has Umbridge fever! An e-mail from Matt suggests actress Olivia Coleman for the future role of Umbridge in a Harry Potter TV series! Here is a highlight reel for your consideration. Should MuggleCast make Umbridge pillows that you can punch? And, finally, a mention of Umbridge from Half-Blood Prince is brought to our attention. In our Main Discussion, we ask Marissa ...
Aug 18, 2020•1 hr•Transcript available on Metacast News: The Harry Potter film series is moving to Peacock and leaving HBO Max. Muggle Mail covers Potter People The Podcast and an interesting fan fiction about Voldemort's return! It's our Order of the Phoenix Rewind episode! Acceptable. Troll. Exceeds Expectations. Just how good were our 7-Word Summaries during Chapter-by-Chapter? The grades are in! Dumbledore vs. Voldemort. The Lost Prophecy. Harry's trial. What were the Top 7 Most Critical Moments of Order of the Phoenix? We take a Time Turner...
Aug 11, 2020•1 hr 27 min•Transcript available on Metacast SPOILER WARNING: Do not listen if you haven't finished Book 6 yet, but today we're celebrating 15 YEARS OF MUGGLECAST! Welcome back everyone's favorite Brit, Jamie! He has some huge life updates for everyone. Why in the world did we ever decide to start a podcast? Who is this mystery "Sarah" person? We dig deep into the archive to roll clips from Episode 1! Were our predictions any good? Or totally wrong? From Steve Jobs to David Heyman to Pickle Pack and more, Andrew, Eric, Micah, Laura and Jam...
Aug 04, 2020•1 hr 23 min•Transcript available on Metacast It's our final Chapter-by-Chapter episode! The reading archive is now complete! Congratulations to our recent Quizzitch Live winners Morg97, Molly, Melissa, Kate, and Kiran. Eric has a new podcast, Thank You For Spieling! Find it on your favorite podcast app. MuggleMail includes Occlumency lessons, the Marauders watching Snape and Lily, and whether you can grow out of reading Harry Potter books. Chapter-by-Chapter CONCLUDES with Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix – Chapter 38: Second War ...
Jul 28, 2020•2 hr 39 min•Transcript available on Metacast Our next Quizzitch Live is Tuesday, July 21 - The topic is Deathly Hallows! Harry Potter at Home has wrapped up their chapter readings for Book One. In Muggle Mail, the hosts are asked how Harry Potter led them to branch out into being a fan of other things. We debut a brand new listener-inspired segment, Wizard Court! Bellatrix is on trial for killing Sirius. Chapter-by-Chapter continues with Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix – Chapter 37: The Lost (?) Prophecy 7-Word Summary: Dumbledor...
Jul 21, 2020•2 hr 31 min•Transcript available on Metacast Our next Quizzitch Live will be Tuesday, July 21 - An installment themed around the Deathly Hallows book! Muggle Mail covers Kreacher, the Department of Mysteries, The Veil, Lupin and more! Which came first, the Ministry or The Veil? Listeners weigh in with their thoughts! We debut a new game... Guess. That. Book! Chapter-by-Chapter continues with Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix – Chapter 36: The Only One He Ever Feared 7-Word Summary: Voldemort is trying to kill Harry Potter Neville c...
Jul 14, 2020•1 hr 16 min•Transcript available on Metacast News covers the latest chapter of Sorcerer's Stone with Matthew Lewis and Imelda Staunton. Plus, an update on the Harry Potter RPG! Chapter-by-Chapter continues with Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix – Chapter 35: Beyond The Veil 7-Word Summary: Sirius falls through the unknown to death Our initial impressions of Bellatrix Lestrange Dreams vs. Reality: Where’s Sirius, and how can you tell what's a dream and what's not? What do we make of Harry’s leadership in his first real battle? Why d...
Jul 07, 2020•1 hr 17 min•Transcript available on Metacast News covers The Blair Partnership controversy and suspended Chapter Readings This week: It's a double dose of Chapter-by-Chapter! First up, Order of the Phoenix – Chapter 33: Fight or Flight 7-Word Summary #1: Centaurs react aggressively to Hermione’s faulty argument Did Umbridge fail to search Hagrid's Hut after she gave him the boot? Leading Umbridge into the Forbidden Forest: was it Hermione's top Gryffindor moment? Listeners weigh in with their thoughts. Umbridge vs. The Centaurs: What happe...
Jun 30, 2020•1 hr 27 min•Transcript available on Metacast International football star David Beckham joins actor David Tennant to read the Quidditch chapter of Book One. And now viewing this requires a login? The MuggleCast 15th Anniversary T-Shirt is here! Just one week left to become a Patron at the Dumbledore’s Army level or higher to get yours! MuggleMail topics include exams in other countries, the secrecy surrounding the prophecy, and whether Hagrid had a battle assist from Dumbledore (sorry McGonagall!) Chapter-by-Chapter continues with Order of ...
Jun 23, 2020•1 hr 23 min•Transcript available on Metacast On this special edition of MuggleCast, the hosts are joined by Dr. Sarah Steelman (Marriage & Family Therapist, Ph.D., LMFT) to discuss J.K. Rowling's recent tweets and open letter regarding trans people. We review her statements and why so many of them are wrong, share responses from around the Harry Potter community, and analyze our own feelings. Given the sensitive nature of this conversation, please be aware that this episode carries a trigger warning. Below is a list of resources referenced...
Jun 15, 2020•2 hr 48 min•Transcript available on Metacast MuggleCast opens with a listener email addressing current events in America. Also, please note we recorded this episode before JKR's latest hurtful tweets. Some suggested recommendations and resources that can help us all learn: Understand racism doesn't "go away" - it mutates. Learn from organizations like The Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights, The Vera Institute of Justice, The National Civil Rights Museum, The Innocence Project, and The MBK Alliance. Everyone has biases , many o...
Jun 09, 2020•1 hr 22 min•Transcript available on Metacast There is a new children's story from JKR, and she's releasing fresh chapters every week day! All eight Harry Potter movies have been made available for streaming on HBO MAX. In Bonus MuggleCast, available now on Patreon, the hosts and listeners share their go-to HP films, and Micah tears apart Deathly Hallows, Part 2. The MuggleCast 15th Anniversary T-Shirt is here! Become a Patron by June 30 at the Dumbledore’s Army level or higher to get yours! MuggleMail topics include Sirius' relationship wi...
Jun 02, 2020•1 hr 28 min•Transcript available on Metacast Welcome Slug Club member Ryan! WizardingWorld.com's reread continues with Eddie Redmayne and Stephen Fry The MuggleCast 15th Anniversary T-Shirt is here! Become a Patron by June 30 at the Dumbledore's Army level or higher to get yours! Muggle Mail covers lots of feedback on Snape's Worst Memory Chapter-by-Chapter continues with Order of the Phoenix – Chapter 29: Career Advice 7-Word Summary: Harry speaks to McGonagall about career opportunities Harry struggles with what he saw in Snape's Worst M...
May 19, 2020•1 hr 27 min•Transcript available on Metacast 
