This week on Podtrificus Totalus, a Harry Potter podcast done chapter by chapter, book by book, Joe and Cassie get spooky for chapter ten of Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone, “Halloween.”
Harry and company continue their magical educations in this chapter when they learn the levitation charm Wingardium Leviosa (which also serves as our Spell of the Week). Harry and Ron’s rocky relationship with Hermione comes to a head on Halloween, and Hermione is left crying in the bathroom and in mortal danger when a troll gets loose in the dungeon.
We make a number of references to outside sources and pop culture, which are listed below:
- WBUR Radio Interview with J.K. Rowling (Christopher Lyndon; 12 October 1999)
- Chasing the dragon, a slang phrase for drug use
- The Damsel in Distress trope
- Wingardium Leviosa on the Harry Potter Wiki
We encourage our listeners to send emails to [email protected] correcting us, expanding on something we mentioned, asking questions, and sharing their experiences with the Harry Potter series. You can also interact with us through @podtrificus on Twitter, our Facebook page, Tumblr, or by leaving a comment below.
We are available on podcast services. You can subscribe to us via Apple Podcasts, Google Play, Pocket Casts, Stitcher, and more — just search for us on your favorite podcast app or use a direct link to our feed. Hit the subscribe buttons on our website to make sure you don’t miss out on new episodes of Podtrificus Totalus.
Thanks for listening, and we’ll see you again for 1.11, “Quidditch.” Have a magical day!
One response to “1.10 Halloween”
So I really think Cassie is going to need to tamp down her extremely favorable bias towards Hermione if you plan on discussing this series in any sort of meaningful way. Hopefully Joe will be able to push back against that. For example, there are plenty of times throughout the series where it’s Hermione that starts in on Ron and Harry for no good reason, it’s not always Ron instigating. Another example is that Ron isn’t bullying Hermione in this chapter. He doesn’t say anything directly to her or in a way where he knows she’ll here him, he says what he says to Harry and Hermione overhears him. That’s not bullying. Words do have meanings. Another thing is that we know Hermione doesn’t handle stress that well, so yes, it makes complete sense that Hermione would freeze up.