New Wizards Aaron Horton & Josh Nalven

Do you remember when Harry Potter first took the world by storm? Aaron and Josh discuss their memories of Pottermania, and their different tastes in literature as children. Josh then shares some of his previous knowledge of the Potterverse, some spoilers he inadvertently caught (SPOILER WARNING), and his burning questions before diving in for the very first time…

We start our adventure with some loveable folks: the Dursleys. Could they be the most beautiful, tragic characters in the Western canon? (Absolutely.) We also discuss the complex tension between the Muggle and wizarding worlds, the spooky Mr. Ollivander, and the memorable Sorting Hat scene.

We finally get to discuss the main subject of all seven books: the Weasleys, and their lust for violence. We also learn more about our new sorta-friend Hermoine, and quidditch, the Worst Game in History. Oh, and the book ends, too.

The wizards are joined by noted ~dark fiction~ writer and close personal friend Mel Kassel (@melkassel) to discuss the first part of book two! We touch upon wizard inequality, wizard racism, magical hominids of all kinds, and everyone’s wizard bae Gilderoy Lockhart.

SPOILER ALERT: Josh spoils himself (...?) about the book’s ending. The wizards parcel out some Parseltongue takes, explore just how badly Hagrid deserves to be fired, and most importantly, discuss the noble savagery of the Weasley car.

The wizards spelunk into the titular chamber, and reflect on this fearsome and satisfying book as a whole. Under the crunchy shell of this extremely metal ending lies the sweet, chewy nougat of some interesting character development. Snake guts, too.