NewtCast: A Harry Potter Podcast

Alexis and Mallory dig into the truckload of Harry Potter related news from these past two weeks and pick out all the relevant bits from the introduction of the Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them textbook!

• soundtrack score released!
• FIVE MOVIES. NOT ONE. NOT THREE. FIVE. WHY. NO ONE I KNOW IS EXCITED FOR THIS. Also, what this means and why it’s in all caps here.
• Mobile game app?! What could it be?!
• Chamber of Secrets illustrated edition is gorgeous as ever, the VR headset google announced has some element of Wizarding World wizardry, and all 8 films were on IMAX for a week
• Pottermore Patronus quiz: our patronuses and the fandom reaction
• additional writing on MACUSA released!
• the first bits of Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them: the 2001 textbook (about the author, introduction, and what is a beast)
• how does this old information fit in with Harry Potter canon now (and future) as we discussed in episode 5?

What the fresh heck: Celeste joins Mallory and Alexis in a discussion on Ilvermorny!

• Irish Beginnings: Elias Story an amazing anagram, very neat lore on magical creatures
• Hodag: the Google image search that will be seared into our brains; also, other creature lore
• Boot boys' personalities and speculation on James’ heritage
• Founding of the school, how Native Americans might’ve influenced curriculum
• the good part of Parseltongue in Gormlaith’s revenge
• Ilvermorny today, how the new houses work within the Potter universe

Tweet us your thoughts @NewtCasts or leave a comment on our website or Facebook!

Next time: Fantastic Beasts the book.

Alexis, Mallory, and guest host Moriah dig into what canon even means and the different ways our notion of canon is evolving!

- Jesus fandom (AKA the OG canon)

- Shakespearean, Sherlockian, Lord of the Ringsian canons and how they’ve been adapted/added to

- Transmedia storytelling and sci-fi world-building (the different ways Star Wars and Star Trek have dealt with this issue)

- How Potter is unique, how it’s canon has been interpreted

- Publishing: the birth of canon?

- Cherry-picking and other ways the fandom has coped

Tweet us your thoughts @NewtCasts or leave a comment on our website or Facebook!

Next time: Ilvermorny.

Mallory and Alexis discuss the possibilities of the Wild Wizard West, among the rest of North American magical history.

- News: J.K. Rowling on Cursed Child as canon, Pottermore job opening, 3 new Harry Potter ebooks, Fantastic Beasts updates, NBC Universal acquired the rights to Fantastic Beasts and Harry Potter

- Roanoke: the Wizard Colony

- communication between North America and Africa pre-colonialization: wandless magic combinations merge two styles of divination?

- Native American magic, a bit of the controversy, how words work in the Harry Potter magic system

- wizard farmers and Puritans, magical southern plantation owners? and Mallory’s head canon on the Hogwarts grocer

- wizarding cowboys in the wild wizard west will be the protagonists of the inevitable spin-off series

- Which Founding Fathers were wizards?? Maren puts forth two potential candidates.

- Rappaport’s Law: Dorcus Twelvetrees, the repercussions on squibs and no-maj-borns

- Wizarding World intolerant to Fantastic Beasts: the Ghostbusters are real and Newt’s a Dorcus

- Will Seraphina Piquery have a SOUTHERN ACCENT?!

- Wandmakers of America are beyond cool and we theorize about another possible Parselmouth

Twitter: @NewtCasts | Web: newtcast.com

Part 2 of Mallory and Alexis' discussion of Harry Potter and the Cursed Child, covering new and minor characters and parts of the plot that stood out to us, for better or for worse.

- Draco calling out the trio

- brave Scorpius and Albus: Very Much the Son of Harry Potter

- the Delphi dilemma: difference between first encountering her on stage vs. in script, her purpose: more than a convenient intro to a past villain?

- Delphi theory: related to Isolt Sayre? Veela?

- Dumbledore’s redemption

- Cedric. Diggory. and the mislaid theme of Spares, his purpose in the novels vs the play

- Snape: inauthentic fan service redemption?

- the difference between Amos on stage and on page

- the unjust use of Craig*

- Slytherin house redemption, mixed house attributes

- *and Panju, casualty of plot necessities (save Panju)

- the fallacy of Delphi's prophecy

- lil plot things: old folk’s home, trolly witch, Voldemort day, thank Dumbledore

- introducing a new show segment of just Scorpius quotes, because why not

LINKS:

Reddit Delphi theory

Reddit time-turner post #1

Reddit time-turner post #2

Chat with us @NewtCasts!

Mallory and Alexis discuss the themes and relationships of Harry Potter and the Cursed Child and how the plays handled our golden trio. It's all spoilers!

• Paternal Love: how Harry's father figure(s) influenced his own parenting model and what he comes to learn about himself and his son; Scorpius and Draco's closed off relationship, how young Scorpius mirrors young Harry
• The "platonic" relationship between Albus and Scorpius, the importance of friends
• How romance is portrayed, especially within the trio but also a bit of Scorbus
• Cursed Child Harry is Book!Harry through and through
• Hermione: the good and the bad
• Ron: what the cuss and some good stuff too

Next week will cover Albus and Scorpius and the rest of the cast (plus those who went missing!) in our next episode, along with parts of the story that present some challenges for fans of the original series.

Mallory and Alexis introduce themselves and discuss the Harry Potter fandom—past, present, and future. Spoiler free episode!

• Let’s face it: the Harry Potter fandom is a phenomenon of a phenomenon
• How did we interact with fandom as the books and films were released?
• What's happened since 2011?
• State of the Fandom (today)
• ~~~Future of Fandom~~~
• Our expectations of Cursed Child!

Discuss things with us on Twitter @NewtCasts!