Material Girls

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.

Settle down students because class is about to begin! Cheer for your U of A Champions Hannah and Marcelle as they swoop into the University of Calgary’s English Department on their shiny new Red Arrow broomsticks. It’s kind of like the Triwizard Tournament, except it’s like really safe for all involved.Graciously invited by Dr. Derritt Mason and his Children’s Literature class, Marcelle and Hannah have a topical back-and-forth before opening up the floor to questions that will challenge their wits and long term memories. Will our covenheads reign supreme? (Spoiler alert: everybody wins in this scholarly romp!)PS: Special thanks to photographer extraordinaire @sarahraemurray for this perfect image of Academic Joy.Update: If you’d like to read along with us, here are the relevant articles!Maria Tatar: No More Adventures in Wonderland Native Appropriations: “Magic in North America”: The Harry Potter franchise veers too close to homeNative Appropriations: Magic in North America Part 1: Ugh. Righting Red: Magic & Marginalization: Et tu, JK? 🙁http://ohwitchplease.ca/wp-content/uploads/2016/03/Witch-Please-20160317-EpisodeN-LiveAndScholarlyAtUofC1.mp3Download this schoolgirl romance/episode Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Get your adult colouring books ready, witches! In tonight’s minisode Hannah and Marcelle descend the rabbit hole of adult colouring books, producing a relatively unedited stream-of-consciousness discussion about books, libraries, censorship, Nazism(?!), racism in general, and how good Snape would look in jewel tones.Aaaaaaand! if you live in the Calgary area we hope you’ll come to our public talk at the University of Calgary on Thursday March 17th. Details about the event can be found here! We look forward to seeing you there!http://ohwitchplease.ca/wp-content/uploads/2016/03/WitchPlease-20160307-EpisodeM-TheTechnicolorDreamSnape.mp3Download this meditative minisode Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Image Source: Martin Fisch on FlickrGet ready for a sexy romp with our favourite witches and wizards in this week’s critical analysis of the sexy film adaptation of Harry Potter and the Half-blood Prince. If you haven’t seen the sexy trailer, check it out here as it features sexily in our sexy critique.And if that isn’t sexy enough, break out your Malcoy flirting fans because beloved guy-with-a-sexy-film-degree Neale Barnholden returns to explain all the sexy technical terms necessary to understand this sexy teen comedy.http://ohwitchplease.ca/wp-content/uploads/2016/02/WitchPlease-20160222-E12_TeenSexRomparoo.mp3Download this sexy episode Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Image from tiffany terry on flickrThis outrageously tardy episode marks our FIRST birthday as a podcast, which means it’s also our first anniversary with YOU! We’ve come a long way these last twelve months and our coven has reached farther than we ever dreamed. We even got a fancy-pants makeover to celebrate! Above all, YOU are all the very best, and, to show our appreciation, we bring you our silliest and smartest episode yet!Get your chips ready as we continue our analysis of Harry Potter and the Half-blood Prince.http://ohwitchplease.ca/wp-content/uploads/2016/02/Witch-Please-Episode-11B_The-Half-Coy-Stint.mp3Download this wicked episode Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.