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Critical Magic Theory: An Analytical Harry Potter Podcast

by Prof. Julian Wamble
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Latest episodes

  • The Lesser Known Muggleborns

    October 7, 2026 · 1 hr 4 min

    Hermione is the most famous Muggleborn in Harry Potter, but she was far from the first to walk into Hogwarts without a map. This episode turns to the Muggleborns who flit in and out of the series: Myrtle Warren, Ted Tonks, Justin…

  • The Secret Life of Kendra Dumbledore

    October 1, 2026 · 44 min

    Kendra Dumbledore has always been the Dumbledore we know least, mentioned mostly as the mother who dies protecting a magic she couldn't control. This episode goes looking for who she was outside of that role, and finds a Muggle-born woman…

  • Prof Responds — Was Lily Potter a "Pick Me" or Was She Picked?

    September 23, 2026 · 51 min

    Professor Julian Wamble returns to respond directly to listener reactions from the Lily Potter episode of Critical Magic Theory. Pulling from Patreon and Spotify comments, this Prof Responds episode tackles three flashpoints: why fans…

  • The Second Hand Account of Lily Potter

    September 16, 2026 · 1 hr 14 min

    Critical Magic Theory takes on Lily Potter, the first Muggleborn episode of the season. Working through 202 listener survey responses, Professor Julian Wamble asks whether Lily was a good person, mother, wife, Muggleborn, Gryffindor…

  • The Best Muggleborn Is the One You'll Never Know

    September 9, 2026 · 51 min

    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 this summer's episodes on the Ministry of Magic, Squibs, and wands…

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  • Prof Responds: Is the Wand Worth the Magic?

    September 4, 2026 · 51 min

    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-favorite deep dives on wand lore — pulling together the best (and wildest)…

  • The [Not So] Magic[al] Wand

    August 26, 2026 · 56 min

    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 create, Ron's broken wand, Voldemort needing Lucius's, etc., and argues…

  • What does the wand choose?

    August 19, 2026 · 51 min

    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 belonging in the wizarding world. Professor Julian Wamble builds on the…

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

    August 12, 2026 · 54 min

    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 in the Wizarding World. Drawing on comments about Filch, Neville…

  • Squibs & the Myth of Who is Magical

    August 5, 2026 · 57 min

    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 of Harry Potter's most overlooked populations: squibs. Using a de…

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

    July 29, 2026 · 1 hr 6 min

    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 Minister." Starting with Hagrid's offhand line to Harry about what the…

  • Prof Responds: The Great Half-Blood Reckoning

    July 22, 2026 · 42 min

    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 Voldemort as the series' worst villain says more about misogyny than…

Full episode archive on Apple Podcasts →

About the show

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.