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Critical Magic Theory: An Analytical Harry Potter Podcast

Critical Magic Theory: An Analytical Harry Potter Podcast

By: Prof. Julian Wamble
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About this listen

 Instead of seeing criticism as an indication of not liking something, Professor Julian Wamble invites listeners of Critical Magic Theory to explore the things about the characters, plot points, and the Wizarding World of Harry Potter broadly that have always given them pause or made them smile without knowing why. It is in this navigation of the positive and the negative aspects of a world that we find true magic.Copyright Prof. Julian Wamble Art Literary History & Criticism
Episodes
  • Two Years of Critical Magic: Best & Worst Teachers at Hogwarts

    Two Years of Critical Magic: Best & Worst Teachers at Hogwarts
    Jan 21 2026
    In this two-year anniversary episode of Critical Magic Theory, Prof. takes a step back from individual character deep dives to ask a bigger question about pedagogy, power, and responsibility in the wizarding world—and beyond.

    Drawing on listener survey data, this episode explores why some teachers are remembered as effective despite being deeply troubling, while others are overwhelmingly rejected. The conversation then shifts away from the most dramatic figures to examine the quieter labor that keeps Hogwarts running: teachers like Flitwick, Sprout, Binns, Charity Burbage, Madam Hooch, and especially Madam Pomfrey. Through them, we see what Hogwarts values, what it neglects, and how unresolved trauma and institutional ambiguity shape classrooms in harmful ways.

    As the show enters its third year, this episode invites listeners to reflect not just on Hogwarts, but on their own role in shaping how knowledge, care, and critical thinking are passed on.
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    1 hr and 19 mins
  • Prof Responds: Secrecy, Sacrifice, and the Dumbledores We Never Questioned

    Prof Responds: Secrecy, Sacrifice, and the Dumbledores We Never Questioned
    Jan 14 2026
    In this Prof Responds episode of Critical Magic Theory, Professor Julian Wamble revisits the Dumbledore family to examine how secrecy, sacrifice, and institutional failure shape Ariana Dumbledore’s life, and the lives of those around her.Drawing on listener reflections, the episode explores how the Wizarding World’s commitment to secrecy creates harm rather than protection, forcing families to absorb the cost of systemic failure.

    From Kendra Dumbledore’s quiet labor and Percival Dumbledore’s punishment to the rumors surrounding Ariana’s absence from Hogwarts, this reflection asks how trauma is misread, victims are silenced, and care becomes indistinguishable from containment.

    Ultimately, this episode challenges us to rethink what protection actually looks like—both in the Wizarding World and in our own, and why societies so often ask victims to pay the price for keeping systems intact.
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    1 hr
  • Ariana & Aberforth Dumbledore & the Price of Secrecy

    Ariana & Aberforth Dumbledore & the Price of Secrecy
    Jan 7 2026
    In the first episode of Critical Magic Theory in 2026, Professor Julian Wamble steps away from the six-part Albus Dumbledore arc for a rant/rave on Ariana and Aberforth Dumbledore—two characters whose stories expose the wizarding world’s obsession with secrecy. Prof revisits Ariana’s childhood attack by Muggle boys and argues it reveals how ignorance fuels entitlement and violence, while the Ministry of Magic prioritizes concealment over care, pushing families toward isolation instead of healing.

    The episode then turns to Aberforth: the sibling who stayed, the caretaker who absorbed the fallout, and a cautionary tale of what happens when grief and resentment fester in silence—yet who still chooses to protect Harry and resist Voldemort’s world. Finally, the episode complicates what it means to be a “good” half-blood, showing how the Dumbledores don’t fit neat categories of supremacy or bridge-building when their relationship to Muggles is shaped by trauma, passing, and retreat.
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    1 hr and 3 mins
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