Critical Magic Theory: An Analytical Harry Potter Podcast

The Second Hand Account of Lily Potter

Critical Magic Theory takes on Lily Potter, the first Muggleborn episode of the season. Working through 202 listener survey responses, Professor Julian Wamble asks whethe

The Best Muggleborn Is the One You'll Never Know

Before the Muggleborn surveys begins in earnest, Critical Magic Theory looks at the world Muggleborns are actually stepping into in the Harry Potter series. Drawing on th

Prof Responds: Is the Wand Worth the Magic?

They're status symbols. They're propaganda. They might just be really good marketing. In this Prof Responds episode, Professor Julian Wamble digs back into two fan-favori

The [Not So] Magic[al] Wand

Part 2 of Critical Magic Theory's wand series asks what wands actually offer if they don't grant magical ability. Professor Julian Wamble traces the dependency wands crea

What does the wand choose?

Critical Magic Theory returns with Part 1 of a two-part series on wands, tracing what Ollivander's promise that "the wand chooses the wizard" actually determines about be

Prof Responds: The Currency of Magic — Squibs & the Cost of Difference

In this Prof Responds episode of Critical Magic Theory, Professor Julian Wamble digs into listener reactions from Patreon and Spotify to unpack what "squib" really means

Squibs & the Myth of Who is Magical

What does it actually mean to be magical in the Wizarding World, and who gets to decide? On this episode of Critical Magic Theory, Professor Julian Wamble dives into one

The Mess, Mayhem, and Madness of the Ministry of Magic

Professor Julian Wamble kicks off Critical Magic Theory's summer series by unpacking the Ministry of Magic through Half-Blood Prince's opening chapter, "The Other Ministe

Prof Responds: The Great Half-Blood Reckoning

Professor Julian Wamble returns to the Half-Blood Showdown listener mailbag to dig into three of the community's sharpest debates: whether Dolores Umbridge outranking Vol

THE HALFBLOOD SHOWDOWN

Critical Magic Theory closes the book on Half-Bloods with one final superlatives showdown, capping off more than a year spent inside the wizarding world's largest and mos

Prof Reponds: Harry Potter & the Politics of Worthiness

In this second Prof Responds episode, Professor Julian Wamble returns to listener comments from Critical Magic Theory's Patreon and Spotify communities for a deeper dive

Harry Potter is sick with Heroism

Harry Potter's heroism is contagious — in the best way and the most literal one. This episode tackles the back half of the Harry Potter survey, working through good half-

Prof Responds: Harry Potter & the Unreachable Standard

This episode of Critical Magic Theory picks up where the last episode left off, this time handing the floor to the CMT community. Listeners push back, dig deeper, and ref

Harry Potter: The Boy who Survived, not Lived

Is Harry Potter a good person? A good friend? A victim? Extraordinary? We heard from over 600 listeners, and the results were more chaotic than you might expect. In this

Prof Responds- Who is a Hero?

What does it mean to call someone a hero, and how much of what we believe about heroism in the Harry Potter series was shaped for us before we ever thought to question it

Heroes & Halfbloods

What does it mean to be a hero in the wizarding world, and does being half-blood change the calculus? In this episode, Professor Julian Wamble examines the Battle of Hogw

Prof Responds: Seamus Finnigan- The Boy Who trusted his Mom

In this Prof Responds episode, Professor Julian Wamble returns to Seamus Finnigan to sit with what the Critical Magic Theory community had to say. Listeners dig into thre

Seamus Finnigan & the Making of "Irish McIreland"

What does it mean that the number one word listeners used to describe Seamus Finnigan was Irish? In Critical Magic Theory history, no character has ever been described by

Prof Responds: D.A.D.A, Power, and the Politics of Fear

Professor Julian Wamble returns to the Defense Against the Dark Arts bonus episode with listener responses from Patreon, Discord, and Spotify. Three threads drive the con

Defense Against the What???

In this episode on Hogwarts courses, Professor Julian Wamble takes on Defense Against the Dark Arts and finds more to critique than expected. The central argument: DADA w