Critical Magic Theory: An Analytical Harry Potter Podcast

Prof. Julian Wamble
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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. 

  1. 1D AGO

    Prof Responds: Fleur Delacour & the Patriarchy’s Sleight of Hand

    In this Prof Responds episode, Professor Julian Wamble revisits Fleur Delacour and the surprising truth many listeners shared: we didn’t like her when we were younger, and we weren’t always sure why. Drawing on the post-episode chat, this reflection explores how internalized misogyny, pretty privilege, and patriarchal expectations shape how we judge female characters in Harry Potter. The episode examines the rivalry between women, the real social weight of beauty, and why Fleur’s loyalty and bravery were always there, even when the story and the fandom overlooked them. By the end, the question isn’t whether Fleur is a hero, but why we needed her to prove it in the first place.

    52 min

  2. FEB 4

    Fleur Delacour & The Price of Pretty Privilege

    Fleur Delacour is one of the most misunderstood women in the Harry Potter series. She's often blamed for her beauty, scrutinized for her confidence, and held responsible for the reactions of everyone around her. In this episode, we examine how Fleur becomes a lightning rod for gendered blame, punished not for what she does, but for what others assume about her beauty, her Veela ancestry, and her femininity. Drawing on listener survey data, we unpack why Fleur’s competence as a Triwizard Champion is questioned, why her confidence is read as arrogance, and why both men and women are so quick to fault her for male desire. We also return to our earlier conversation about Lavender Brown to explore how readers inherit Hermione Granger’s gendered lens, and how that lens teaches us which women are worthy of empathy and which are not.

    1h 20m

  3. JAN 28

    Prof Responds: Hogwarts & the Pedagogy of Wartime Education

    In this Prof Responds episode, Professor Wamble reflects on listener responses to the “Best & Worst Teachers at Hogwarts” discussion and steps back to ask a larger question: What does it mean to teach in the shadow of war?   Drawing on Hogwarts faculty, Defense Against the Dark Arts, and Dumbledore’s leadership, this episode explores how education changes under sustained threat, how silence functions as pedagogy, and why students, especially marginalized ones, so often bear the cost of adult indecision. The conversation connects the magical world to the present political moment, examining the dangers of ignoring reality, the limits of preparing students without transparency, and the ethical responsibility educators carry when the world outside the classroom is already on fire.   This episode is invites us to reckon with power, authority, and the consequences of what schools choose to teach and what they refuse to name.

    1h 10m

  4. JAN 21

    Two Years of Critical Magic: Best & Worst Teachers at Hogwarts

    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.

    1h 19m

  5. JAN 14

    Prof Responds: Secrecy, Sacrifice, and the Dumbledores We Never Questioned

    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.

    1 hr

  6. JAN 7

    Ariana & Aberforth Dumbledore & the Price of Secrecy

    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.

    1h 3m

  7. 12/25/2025 · BONUS

    IT IS CHRISTMAS... AT HOGWARTS

    MERRY CHRISTMAS TO ALL (WHO CELEBRATE)!! AND TO ALL.... AN INVISIBILITY CLOAK!!  USE IT WELL! In this episode of Critical Magic Theory, Prof. looks at the various Christmas moments throughout the series and analyzes them.

    50 min

  8. 12/18/2025

    Prof Responds: Dumbledore, Necessity, and the Myth of “No Other Choice”

    In this Prof Responds episode of Critical Magic Theory, Professor Julian Wamble returns to Harry Potter to engage listeners’ reflections on Albus Dumbledore. Rather than asking whether Voldemort had to be defeated, this episode interrogates how necessity becomes moral justification, why “not a villain” is not the same as “good,” and what responsibility adults bear when children are asked to fight a war they did not choose.   Through questions of prophecy, hindsight, and power, Prof Responds examines whether Dumbledore’s choices were truly constrained—or whether “no other choice” narratives obscure avoidable harm and institutional failure. The episode ultimately shifts the focus away from hero-versus-villain debates and toward harm, accountability, and the moral residue left behind in the Harry Potter universe after the war is won.

    1h 8m
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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. 

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