The Harry Podcast

In the Season Two opener, your hosts talk about the power dynamics of the Dursleys' new living arrangements.

In the Season 1 finale episode, we examine Harry's first encounter with Voldemort, Dumbledore's motivations, and the enormity of his influence on Harry's behavior. There is a happy ending for now, but what does it all mean?

We draw substantial comparisons between the events of this chapter and those of Greek myth, as well as the Romantic archetype in general. All three of our protagonists' skills and strengths are utilized to their fullest extent, and they begin to learn how to complement each other.

Your hosts discuss the skilled foreshadowing present in the chapter through vague predictions presented as humorous. Also, what kind of school sends children into the woods to fight an unidentified unicorn-killing monster??

David and Madeline discuss the entirely self-contained storyline of this chapter, and why it's important to the rest of the book.

The hosts discuss a certain 14th century French manuscript scribe, his posthumous legendary status as an alchemist, and why we're not (that) pretentious for referring to the book as "Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone." Darn you, Scholastic!

We discuss Harry's understandably damaged psyche, the power of a certain Mirror, and Dumbledore's strange influence on our protagonist's actions.

Your hosts discuss the rather strange first Quidditch match of the series, Rowling's particular issue around writing sports games, and some key information that the heroes receive.

David and Madeline talk through Hermione's character shift from the previous chapter to this one, and the first demonstration of fairly good teamwork by our trio.

We discuss the character development of Neville, Harry, and Malfoy, and how the latter's rivalry begins to escalate. We also go into Hermione's first serious interaction with the story, and how she is first presented.