Material Girls

This week we dig into publics! The Order of the Phoenix is absolutely brimming with secret, self-organized clubs and we're taking some time to consider how they're formed, what makes them powerful and why we see similarities between the Order, the Death Eaters and Dumbledore's Army. Join us as we defamiliarize the very idea of organizing through Michael Warner's definition of publics, building on what we already know about ideology and discourse. It's a good one folks!Stay connected and follow Witch, Please on Twitter and Instagram @ohwitchplease and let us know what you think of the episode through a review on Apple Podcasts. As always, you can join our Patreon for exclusive content including bonus interviews, Q&As, Watch Alongs and more — our tiers range from $2-$13! For Witch, Please merch visit our TeePublic shop. Your support keeps this show running! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this episode we are joined by the wonderful Dr. Addie Merians. Addie (she/her) is a postdoc in Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder. She has her PhD in counseling psychology from the University of Minnesota and her research focuses on trauma and resilience, especially in relation to systemic oppression. In Season One of our reboot, we spoke with Lucia M. Lorenzi, PhD, to unpack trauma theory and to explore gaps, inconsistencies, and unreliable narration as sites where trauma lives in the Harry Potter books. Now, as we think about The Order of the Phoenix, Addie helps us make sense of Harry's behavior in the aftermath of Cedric Diggory's death, the culture of PTSD and silence within The Order itself, and so much more.Content Warning: We speak explicitly about PTSD as a diagnosis, different types of trauma, and specific symptoms of stress, depression and anxiety. Please take care of yourselves and skip this episode if you need — and feel free to check out some helpful resources of support from our guest, Addie, below:Suicide Crisis Line: 1-800-273-8255 (Dial 1 if you are a veteran for the Veteran's Crisis Line)RAINN is the nation’s largest anti-sexual violence organization and leading authority on sexual violence. Call 800-656-HOPE for the National Sexual Assault Hotline.For more information on PTSD click here. The National Center for PTSD has information about PTSD for everyone, not just veterans. People can learn more about what PTSD is, different treatments, and find information for friends and family members of people with PTSD.PTSD Coach offers crisis resources, help finding local care, information about PTSD, symptom assessments, and a variety of tools to help manage symptoms.COVID Coach was developed to help folks with pandemic stressors and includes tools to manage stress and symptoms, information about a variety of topics related to mental health, assessments to track anxiety/depression/PTSD/well-being, and resources.***Stay connected and follow Witch, Please on Twitter and Instagram @ohwitchplease and let us know what you think of the episode through a review on Apple Podcasts. As always, you can join our Patreon for exclusive content including bonus interviews, Q&As, Watch Alongs and more — our tiers range from $2-$13! For Witch, Please merch visit our TeePublic shop! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

It's time for Season 5! You know what that means, Witches? It means we have a whole season coming your way about Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix.This week, we kick it off with Critical Archival Studies: the study of archives (how they're built, sustained and naturalized) at the intersection of race, class, gender, sexuality, and ability. We'll discuss the interrelated (and at times competing) archives of the Wizarding World including The Hall of Prophecy, Dumbledore's Pensieve, the ever-unveiling bylaws of the Ministry of Magic, and even the collection of portraits lining the halls of Hogwarts.Stay connected and follow Witch, Please on Twitter and Instagram @ohwitchplease and let us know what you think of the episode through a review on Apple Podcasts. As always, you can join our Patreon for exclusive content including bonus interviews, Q&As, Watch Alongs and more — our tiers range from $2-$13! Note: If you join at the $10 or $13 tier before October 30th, you can attend our Halloween Watch Along of Hocus Pocus. Get on the discord and join in on the fun for an afternoon spent with the Witch, Please community! For Witch, Please merch visit our TeePublic shop! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Hey Witches! We're dropping into your feed today with a special bonus episode featuring guest Ella McLeod. Ella joined Hannah and Marcelle in June for a Patreon-only episode to discuss policing of magic in the Wizarding World. It's a great chat originally released to Witch, Please patrons in our $5, $10 and $13 tiers — and we thought, you know what, as we get ready to launch into season 5, why not give our general audience a taste of what we get up to on our Patreon? In this conversation, we talk artificial scarcity, the arbitrary delineation of squibs, the "domestication" of cats, the power of wand access and so much more.If you'd like to hear our full backlog of Patreon bonus content, you can become a patron today! And if you join at the $10 or $13 tier you'll be just in time to join us on Discord for our Hocus Pocus Watch Along on October 30th. Of course, if becoming a paid subscriber is just not in the budget right now, we understand! It's just as helpful to tell your friends and family about the show, to leave us a review, and to follow us on Instagram or Twitter @ohwitchplease. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

It's hard to believe, but we are at the end of season four and thus at the end of Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire! In this wrap-up episode, we discuss the transformation of Hermione into an object of desire via her relationship with Viktor Krum, the demarcation of class and gendering through clothing, the Riddle of the Sphinx, Hagrid's personal journey as a teacher, and so much more. Tune in for this playful episode that gathers some loose threads but mostly just contains chatter about moments in The Goblet of Fire we were particularly tickled by.Heads up, next week we will be putting out content usually reserved for our Patreon patrons! So stay tuned and be sure to subscribe so you're notified when we release that extra special episode.Follow Witch, Please on Twitter and Instagram @ohwitchplease and let us know what you think of the episode through a review on Apple Podcasts. As always, you can join our Patreon for exclusive content including bonus interviews, Q&As, Watch Alongs and more — our tiers range from $2-$13! Note: If you join at the $10 or $13 tier before October 30th, you can attend our Halloween Watch Along of Hocus Pocus. Get on the discord and join in on the fun for an afternoon spent with the Witch, Please community! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this episode, we return to a question that has challenged us since the beginning of this podcast: what’s the deal with the Weasleys’ class status? Are they working class, impoverished gentry, or something else altogether? To answer that question, we add some new critical tools to our discussion of the way class operates at Hogwarts and the Wizarding World at large by exploring magical capital. As in our previous episodes, we draw on the work of revolutionary Marxist Keeanga-Yamahtta Taylor and consider what access to magic (through education, buying of wands, "innate" talent, family bloodlines, magical cultural capital, etc) tells us about the class stratification of both beloved and despised characters who populate this series.Be sure to follow us on Twitter @ohwitchplease and let us know what you think of the episode! And check us out on Instagram for pics of Marcelle's new baby, Witch, Please fan art, and random polls and questions we ask to help influence future episodes and Patreon content! Join our Patreon for exclusive bonus content including bonus interviews, Q&As, Watch Alongs and more —our tiers range from $2-$13! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this episode we are joined by author Jess Zimmerman (she/they) to discuss the history of monstrous representation in cultural texts across history. Jess, who recently published a wonderful book, Women and Other Monsters, offers her vast knowledge about Greek mythology and metaphor to our investigation of Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire. We ask questions like: what makes monsters monstrous? How do representations of femininity get used to characterize monstrous threats to "the hero" of our journey? Why is Fleur's "Veela blood" both monstrous and eroticized, while Madame Maxine's "Giant blood" only the former? And how do Molly Weasley's fits of anger fit into this feminist reading?Tune in for a powerful new way to read some of the series' most beloved and interesting women characters.Follow Jess Zimmerman on Twitter @j_zimms and scoop her book at any local bookstore or online! And be sure to follow Witch, Please on Twitter @ohwitchplease and Instagram and let us know what you think of the episode. Join our Patreon for exclusive content including bonus interviews, Q&As, Watch Alongs and more — our tiers range from $2-$13! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

We're revisiting pedagogy, Witches!We first tackled this topic to kick off Season Three by defining the term and considering the teaching methods of various Hogwarts professors (using a D&D Alignment Chart, of course). In this episode, however, we get a bit more granular and look closely at the teaching style of Barty Crouch Jr. and his impersonation of Professor Moody. Ultimately, we get to ask the question: Is Professor Moody AKA Barty Crouch Jr. a great teacher? Can he be one despite his obvious flaws (like...being a Death Eater)? With a little help from Jane Gallop's book, PEDAGOGY: The Question of Impersonation, we dig into the man, the myth, the Moody: Barty Crouch Jr. Tune in for what might be the most lively discussion about pedagogy ever caught on tape.Content Warning: In this episode, we briefly discuss child abuse and grooming as it pertains to Barty Crouch Jr.'s teaching style.Be sure to follow Witch, Please on Twitter and Instagram @ohwitchplease and let us know what you think of the episode through a review on Apple Podcasts. As always, you can join our Patreon for exclusive content including bonus interviews, Q&As, Watch Alongs and more — our tiers range from $2-$13! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This is a must-listen, Witches!Guest Taylor Allgeier-Follet joins Hannah and Marcelle for a conversation on Trans Studies and The Goblet of Fire. Taylor (they/them) is a PhD candidate at University College Dublin who brings their expertise as both an academic and a person who has read the Harry Potter series over forty times. In this episode, Taylor, Hannah and Marcelle dive into transcoding and transphobia as it relates to the characterization of Rita Skeeter. If you're interested in the evolution of Trans Studies and Trans Theory, then you'll love this episode that stems from the work of Susan Stryker, Grace Lavery, Patricia Elliot and Lawrence Lyons — just to name a few.Be sure to follow Witch, Please on Twitter and Instagram @ohwitchplease and let us know what you think of the episode through a review on Apple Podcasts. As always, you can join our Patreon for exclusive content including bonus interviews, Q&As, Watch Alongs and more — our tiers range from $2-$13! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

What happens when Marcelle asks Hannah to do an episode on gay whimsy? We get an episode on post-critique! Dive into this theory with Hannah and Marcelle as they discuss what post-critique offers readers and its downfalls in a world where critique has real, material value. In other words, come for the theory and stay for the discussion about Blast-Ended Screwts. Ron's love of Viktor Krum, and the Prefect's bathroom (all whimsical, pleasurable details of The Goblet of Fire!). Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.