Material Girls

Source: Flickr, The CommonsGrab your opera glasses, witches, because this week Hannah is joined by actor, director, and playwright Jeremy Mason for a discussion about the pleasures of reading plays, and why Rowling might have turned to the theatre for her newest addition to the Harry Potter canon. Don’t forget to take notes, because we’ll be asking you for your questions about Harry Potter and the Cursed Child in the coming weeks.http://ohwitchplease.ca/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/WitchPlease-20160815-E1655JeremyMasonandtheCursedChild.mp3Download this Theatrical minisode Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Image source: Deviant ArtAre you prepared for a rambling, margarita-fuelled discussion of pamphlets, propaganda, British fascism, lightning bolts, and how to browbeat your beloved hosts into getting your very own episode? No? Then you should probably skip this one. But if you actually love all those things, plus gratuitous lightning sound effects*, then this minisode is for you!http://ohwitchplease.ca/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/WitchPlease-20160801-E165BritishTechnocraticWetDreams.mp3Download this Ministry-Approved minisodePlease note: as lightning doesn’t actually make a sound, we used thunder instead. But it’s, like, symbolic, you know? Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Image source: TumblrWelcome to our brand new podcast, The Harry Potter Hour, Starring Feminism! It’s a lot like our old podcast Witch, Please except, uh, Newer and Different!This truly is the last episode of classic Witch, Please, though. After this it’s all paratexts, minisodes, and shenanigans! No more rules, no more social decorum, no more consistency. If the episode seems a little early, that’s because the Internet screwed up and we didn’t know how to fix it we wanted to give you a special present before leaving you NOT FOREVER PLEASE DON’T FREAK OUT. Look to your podcatchers on August 1 for the next minisode. Until then, you can settle in comfortably with your reliably clever and hilarious hosts as we’re joined by the über popular Guy With A Film Degree Neale Barnholden to talk about the last official Harry Potter film, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Part 2.http://ohwitchplease.ca/wp-content/uploads/2016/07/WitchPlease-20160711-E16-WitchPleaseNewAndImproved.mp3Download this New and Improved episode Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

photo credit: slgckgc on flickrBut we’re not dead yet! cry your coven mistresses as we claw our way back into your podcast apps. That’s right, witches! We still have two more official (and, like, scores more unofficial) episodes for you!Tonight we’re joined by real life guy with a film degree, Neale Barnholden, for the ultimate—no, no then penultimate—wait no! the antepenultimate—WHATEVER, FOR ANOTHER EPISODE! Turn on all your lights and settle in with a companion species for a spooky episode from the podcast boneyard about the second-last (or is it?!) of the Harry Potter films, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part One.http://ohwitchplease.ca/wp-content/uploads/2016/06/Witch-Please-20160627-E14-GhostOfPodcastPast.mp3Download this episode from beyond the grave Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

With Marcelle a million miles* away, we’re presenting to you a live event organized by Edmonton Potterwatch. “Project Firenze: Minority Representation in Fantasy Literature” was the organization’s first-ever live panel on that topic, focusing this time on the Magic in North America stories and the representation/appropriation of Indigenous cultures. We were joined by Lucinda Rasmussen and Roxanne Harde from the University of Alberta, and moderators Emily Hoven and Nina Legesse, to talk about YA, North American history, and the empowerment of owls in Rowling’s work.(Please pardon the sound quality: it was a live venue and we had one mic to share amongst six speakers of wildly varying volumes!)http://ohwitchplease.ca/wp-content/uploads/2016/06/WitchPlease-20160613-EXiProjectFirenze.mp3Download this soft-spoken episode Further Reading:Killer of Enemies, by Joseph BruchacLightfinder, by Aaron PaquetteSummerland, by Michael ChabonThe Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian, by Sherman AlexieThe Birchbark House, by Louise ErdrichSettler: Identity and Colonialism in 21st Century Canada, by Emma Battell Lowman and Adam J. Barker“My Year of Watching Only Women on Netflix” *11, 134 km Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Well, this is it, witches. Buckle in for an extra long episode, because this is the LAST (third) part of our discussion of the LAST (seventh) book (Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows) and we have a lot of ground to cover and old friends to mourn.But don’t you worry. Even though we make about a hundred jokes about it, we’ll be back with more moviesodes and minisodes before the summer is through!{TW for sexual assault, rape culture}http://ohwitchplease.ca/wp-content/uploads/2016/05/WitchPlease-20160530-E13CHallowsandGoodbyes.mp3Download this false finale episode  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Image Credit: Eric/Kimber on FlickrHowdy witches!Marcelle edited tonight’s episode in a flurry of packing so please forgive the dearth of whimsical sound effects! We hope that even without an obscene number of honks and hoots you’ll enjoy this second instalment of our discussion of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows. But, to be honest, we’re so internet famous now that we might just start making weird avant-garde artsy episodes to fuck with you. Probably not. But we could!{TW: episode contains use of the song “Taps” and references to death}http://ohwitchplease.ca/wp-content/uploads/2016/05/Witch-Please-Episode-13B_DeathlyFamous.mp3Download this infamous episode Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Howdy, witches!While Hannah was off feministing her heart out in Ontario, Marcelle and Trevor and Neale recorded a live episode at the Calgary Comic and Entertainment Expo! A word of warning: the sound quality is lousy but there are some cute hippogriff baby coos AND the attendees were RADIANT! Also there’s a slide show to accompany our panel below if you like visuals.Download this wild slideshowhttp://ohwitchplease.ca/wp-content/uploads/2016/05/WitchPlease-20160502-EN_PoliticallyJoyfulCalgary.mp3Download this wild episode Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Photo credit: Peter Trimming, FlickrTonight, witches, we bid farewell to a friend and confidante. As the Harry Potter series draws to an end Hannah and Marcelle get selectively weepy because compassion fatigue is real and, like, everybody dies in this book. So pour yourself a stiff drink and, while you’re at it, pour one out for Hedwig that she may soar again in our dreams.{TW: episode contains use of the song “Taps” and references to death}http://ohwitchplease.ca/wp-content/uploads/2016/04/WitchPlease-20160418-E13A_HedwigsLastFlight.mp3Download this reminder that life is fleeting—er, this episode Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Pull out your scissors and glue sticks, witches, because today we're bringing you a very special montage-filled minisode. As part of our public lecture, “Witch, Please: Feminist Fandom, Public Pedagogy, and Podcasting,” delivered at the University of Calgary, Marcelle prepared two audio montages of our book and movie episodes. They're pretty charming, and you should probably listen to them and share them with everyone you know.If you'd like to see a little more of our public lecture, you can check out the live tweet stream and some gratuitous gifs on our Storify.http://ohwitchplease.ca/wp-content/uploads/2016/04/WitchPlease-20160402-E125MontagesThroughTheAges.mp3Download this fragmented minisode Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.