MuggleCast: The Harry Potter Re-Read Podcast

Has everyone got their tissues handy? Our chapter-by-chapter segment at last reaches the penultimate chapter of Half-Blood Prince, wherein the recent actions of a certain “Prince” are discovered by Harry and friends. Also, there’s a new headmistress in town and she intends to rule by committee?! Andrew, Eric, Micah and Laura discuss all of that and more on episode 756 of MuggleCast. Chapter by Chapter: Half-Blood Prince Chapter 29, “The Phoenix Lament” Harry retraces Snape’s final steps. And they involve knocking out Flitwick! Is this protective or adversarial behavior from Snape? Could Snape have helped the Order when they were pinned in the corridor? Did he, and we just don’t know it? Harry refuses to tell McGonagall about his and Dumbledore’s mission. He thinks he’s being faithful, but is this smart? Is Harry’s decision partly to protect Minerva? Andrew has a HUGE foreshadow alert Micah blows Eric’s mind with a comparison between Hogwarts founders and the current heads of house Harry forces a funeral to happen for Dumbledore before the students leave. Is this safe? Odds and Ends: what does Horace mean that he thought he knew Severus Snape? You, like Bill Weasley, are bitten by a magically cursed beast, but not during the beast’s “time of the month.” What’s the beast you wanna be bit by and why? In this chapter, Harry feels the healing power of Fawkes’s song. In a 1984 study done by Roger Ulrich, he examined the healing properties of bird song in real life. Ulrich’s research, done between 1972 and 1981, took place in a hospital in which US State? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

As Valentine's Day approaches in the Muggle world, romance is also a focus in this area of Half-Blood Prince. Join Andrew, Eric, Micah and Laura as they watch Harry watch Draco, watch Hermione regret her revenge against Ron, and watch Snape learn that Harry is suddenly good at Potions. New Throwback Content: This Saturday, February 14 at 11am ET, MuggleCast will stream the Chamber of Secrets PC Game LIVE on our Twitch! It will later be available on our YouTube channel. A listener recently reviewed us being “as cozy as a warm blanket on a cold day.” We’re very touched! If you feel similarly, be sure to tell us by leaving a review. Chapter by Chapter continues with Half-Blood Prince, Chapter 15: The Unbreakable Vow The MC Pensive segment takes us back to an episode we recorded seven years ago. Hermione decides to take Cormac McLaggen to Slughorn's Christmas Party, just as Ron feared she would. Is this revenge satisfying for the readers? Do we feel bad when it doesn't work out for Hermione? Should love potions be taken more seriously than they are, by everyone? Harry is (rightly) worried. Eric asks, how does Cormac not know how to show someone a good time? Harry says that he kinda always thought Filch and Madame Prince were a thing. The hosts pick apart that offhand comment... ...and then we speculate. COULD that be a thing? Filch and Madame Prince? What do they have in common? How does Mrs. Norris feel? Is Snape's attempt to detect Draco's lying ethical? We know there's more in it at stake for him. Should Draco have been suspicious that Snape was working for Dumbledore, based on Snape's emphasis on the importance of DADA for Crabbe and Goyle? What If?: Harry overheard that Draco's mission was to kill Dumbledore? What if it was said aloud? What would Harry do? Odds and Ends include the Number 12 (our favorite), and vampires. Our MVP segment asks who is the best character to take to Slughorn's Christmas party? Our Lynx Line topic this week for Slug Club patrons: Who should Snape and Trelawney have invited as their dates to Slughorn's party? And, what would their pick-up lines have been? Participate in our weekly trivia segment by answering this week’s Quizzitch question at MuggleCast.com/Quizzitch! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This week, bring your finest gin (Andrew's is indigo!) to a party at the Muggle orphanage where Mrs. Cole is meets Dumbledore, as our Chapter-by-Chapter series continues discussing Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince. Our Chapter 13 discussion of "The Secret Riddle" is thought-provoking and focused largely on Dumbledore's actions and his intentions, based on what he might have known about things way back in the early 1940's. News: We discuss two new castings for the recent Prisoner of Azkaban full cast audiobook release. Stay tuned for a review of these new audiobooks! Chapter-by-Chapter continues with Half-Blood Prince, Chapter 13: The Secret Riddle Is Harry treating Dumbledore differently at the start of the chapter than Young Tom Riddle treats him during the memory? What changes in Dumbledore's response to Harry if he already knows what Harry is saying about Draco is true? The Pensieve memory with Burke might seem different - but we've actually seen something like it before! A listener email asks, could Dumbledore have sent Mundungus to raid Grimmauld Place for Aberforth? How is what Dumbledore does to Mrs. Cole different than what Young Tom does to his fellow orphans? What made Merope still honor her father when naming Tom? We discuss Tom Riddle's mental state and one possibly identifiable diagnosis for his behavior. How come Harry didn't turn out like Tom Riddle given their similar trajectories? Was Dumbledore intentionally trying to impress Tom by making fire? Is he therefore playing with fire? Our MVP segment asks what the creepiest thing Young Tom Riddle does in this chapter? Our Lynx Line topic this week for Slug Club patrons: Which character would you most like to Confund and get to spill all the tea? Participate in our weekly trivia segment by answering this week’s Quizzitch question at MuggleCast.com/Quizzitch! Coming up in Bonus MuggleCast: it's another edition of Harry Potter Hot Takes, NSFW! Pledge to MuggleCast on Patreon to listen to this and all of our bonus episodes. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Happy 2026! No trio member is safe, as Chapter by Chapter covers Chapter 11 of Half-Blood Prince, “Hermione’s Helping Hand.” Does Hermione do the wrong thing for the right reasons? Should Harry do the right thing and expose her actions or, even worse, not choose Ron for the Gryffindor Quidditch team? And, separately, is Hagrid letting his brother join classes? All that and more on this latest episode of MuggleCast. What did the hosts get from Santa this year? And is Andrew about to reveal more than ever before? Chapter by Chapter continues with Half-Blood Prince Chapter 11, “Hermione’s Helping Hand.” Nonverbal spells are now standard in several classes, but does the trio ever learn them? Should teachers be required to eat meals in the Great Hall? Some appear to be skipping out. A comment from Hermione makes Harry warm, and may ignite some fires in the shipping community. Do we pity Ron for his need to show off and overcompensate? What Hermione does at Quidditch practice is highly risky. Why does she take the chance when she could be exposed? Should Harry have made another decision once he discovers Hermione’s actions? Despite his friendship with Ron? An email asks: should Hermione have kept Care of Magical Creatures given her established future career trajectory? It turns out Hagrid is dealing with more than just the kids not taking his class. Should the kids have to lie about another teacher just to make Hagrid feel better about himself? Our MVP segment has us ranking the beasts that Hagrid introduced the trio to. Our Lynx Line topic this week for Slug Club patrons: “Have you ever stacked the odds in favor of a friend for something that they wanted? And did you cheat to do it?” Participate in our weekly trivia segment by answering this week’s Quizzitch question at MuggleCast.com/Quizzitch! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices