Material Girls

We're still on a break and gearing up for our seventh season all about Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows. Of course, we didn't want to leave you with nothing to listen to so please enjoy this unlocked Patreon perk: Witch, Please Tell Me! We do Q&A episodes every month for our $10+ tiers. They're goofy and meandering and very fun to record. You can submit a question to our Q&A through this google form. Be sure to follow us on social @ohwitchplease to stay totally up to date on all things Witch, Please. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

We're in between seasons and thrilled to bring you a one-off bonus conversation with beloved podcasters Lark Malakai Gray and Jessie Blount. You may know them from Hashtag Ruthless, a podcast network that "creates hilarious chapter-by-chapter media analysis podcasts with a queer and trans focus." Lark and Jessie are the minds behind The Gayly Prophet, Esgaype from Reality, The Gay Pirate Podcast, and We are the Gayers. In this episode, they join Hannah and Marcelle to talk about their work with Fandom Forward, a rad nonprofit that brings activism to fan communities with free toolkits and activities.Like us at Witch, Please, Lark and Jessie (along with the whole team at Fandom Forward) are committed to ethically and intentionally engaging with fandoms. If you're someone whose ever thought about how fan spaces can be empowering, hurtful and everything in between, then this episode is for you! Tune in and find out more about Fandom Forward.Learn all about Lark and Jessie here! Read more about "Firing JKR" here. Get involved with Fandom Forward here! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this episode, we wrap up Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, and thus Season Six of Witch, Please. We talk Hermione in Granger Danger and fashion in Lewk Book, and of course we round out the episode with Marcelle's Devastating Fun Facts TM. Tune in for this goofy episode that gathers some loose threads but mostly just contains chatter about moments in Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince that we were particularly tickled by.As always, you can become a Patreon Supporter for more perks and bonus content. If becoming a paying subscriber isn't in the cards right now, no stress! Please leave us a review instead — it truly helps sustain the show. For access to our transcripts, visit ohwitchplease.ca. To become a Patreon supporter head to Patreon.com/ohwitchplease. To stay in touch, follow us everywhere @ohwitchplease. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this episode we discuss Life Writing. We begin with a review of the monomyth and Structuralism, followed by a deep dive into the work of Sidonie Smith and Julia Watson. Using their book Reading Autobiography: A Guide for Interpreting Life Narratives, we consider the Pensieve in the Harry Potter series. How can we read the memories that go into it as life writing? What do we know from the texts about the 'credibility' or 'truthfulness' of each character's recollections? How does the unreliability of the Pensieve memories drive Harry's desire for honesty from the people around him?For access to our transcripts, visit ohwitchplease.ca. To become a Patreon supporter head to Patreon.com/ohwitchplease. To stay in touch, follow us everywhere @ohwitchplease. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this episode we dig into Marginalia! After a brief revision of our episodes on Print Culture and Fan Studies, we take a look at the it's long histoy using Heather Jackson’s book, Marginalia: Readers Writing in Books (2001). Marcelle begrudgingly leads us through the contribution of the Romantics (specifically Samuel Taylor Coleridge) and we ultimately get to take a long hard look at Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince. Not just the book! We actually get to think through Harry Potter and his relationship to the Half-Blood Prince! How can the history and study of marginalia help us think through young Snape's notes? Why are the annotations in Harry's Potions textbook so enticing? For access to our transcripts, visit ohwitchplease.ca. To become a Patreon supporter head to Patreon.com/ohwitchplease. To stay in touch, follow us everywhere @ohwitchplease. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this episode we are joined by Matt Potts, co-host of Harry Potter and the Sacred Text. Matt is a reverend and a professor at Harvard specializing in literature, literary theory and Christian theology. He joins us for an episode all about "the soul" in Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince. You'll hear that we can barely contain our excitement in this episode as we dig into theology for the first time, all while pulling on some theory and frameworks from our episodes on Hauntology and Critical Race Studies. Thanks to everyone who helped us reach our goal of having 1000 patrons by Hannah's birthday on May 25th. We re-scheduled our LIVE Witch Please Tell Me Q&A for this coming weekend, June 4th at 1 pm Pacific so you can still become a Patron this week if you want to join our live show! Just visit Patreon.com/ohwitchplease. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week we get into Security Theatre — and what a timely topic it is! We go over what we learned from Book 3, Episode 6 with Mercedes Eng who walked us through the carceral logics of the Wizarding World. And we review Book 4, Episode 2 about the nation state and the way Benedict Anderson theorized nations as “imagined communities” that are imagined as limited, sovereign, and in need of protection. Then we play a game Cloaks or Hoax! A goofy opportunity for Hannah to make Marcelle laugh before deciding which security measures from the Ministry are performative and which ones might actually keep people safe. Followed by a breakdown of Security Theatre as understood by Bruce Schneier in his 2003 book Beyond Fear: Thinking Sensibly About Security in an Uncertain World. This episode is a great listen for those of you trying to make sense of the "safety measures" put into place after 9/11 that we still encounter two decades later (not to mention how those persist in stark contrast to the rapidly lifted mask mandates).As a reminder, we need your help to reach 1000 Patreon supporters before Hannah's birthday on May 25th! Reaching 1000 supporters would be a financial game-changer for us and we're promising you a LIVE Witch, Please Q&A if we reach the goal — we're only about 70 supporters away! You can become a Patreon Supporter at any tier for more perks and bonus content. If becoming a paying subscriber isn't in the cards right now, no stress! Tell a friend about the show or leave us a review on Apple Podcasts — everything helps keep our boat afloat. And be sure to follow us on Instagram or Twitter @ohwitchplease to stay connected. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this episode, we're talking about Masculinity Studies with our special guest, Aspen!We begin with a brief review of our episodes on Feminist Theory, Celebrity Studies, Trans Studies and Chosen One Narratives (just to name a few) before getting into a discussion about masculinity in the Wizarding World. Aspen offers us a brief historical overview of the roots of Masculinity Studies, as well as an analysis of the field's shortcomings and ever-evolving scope. We learn a bit about Gayle Rubin's work, Rae Wyn Connell’s groundbreaking book Masculinities, Dana D. Nelson's National Manhood, and other contributors to the growing field. Tune in for an episode that digs into Harry and Draco's respective indoctrinations, and takes a closer look at the way masculinity is defined, created and policed in the series. To get in touch with Aspen you can email aspen.urning@gmail.com.Help us hit 1000 Patreon supporters before May 20th! Reaching 1000 supporters would be a financial game-changer for us and we're promising you a LIVE Witch, Please Q&A if we reach the goal! You can become a Patreon Supporter at any tier for more perks and bonus content. If becoming a paying subscriber isn't in the cards right now, no stress! Tell a friend about the show or leave us a review on Apple Podcasts — everything helps keep our boat afloat. And be sure to follow us on Instagram or Twitter @ohwitchplease to stay connected. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Hey friends! Please skip this episode if that feels right for you. We'll be back in two weeks and we want you to take care of yourselves first!In this episode, we discuss Rape Culture. We begin with a brief review of our episodes about discourse, queer theory and classism before diving into the pervasiveness of rape culture in our daily lives and in the Harry Potter series. We'll dig into what it means that Ron feels entitled to be angry at Hermione's interest in other men, how Harry comes to understand he has a crush on Ginny, the role of love potions in the Half-Blood Prince (and in Voldemort's family history), and so much more.Note: In this episode we quote from a New Statesmen article by Laurie Penny. While Penny's article is a useful source in unpacking rape culture in the west, our citations are not endorsements for either the author or the publication.And a heads up! If you join our Patreon at the Prefect tier before May 1st, you'll receive our forthcoming enamel pin in the mail! You'll also help us inch closer to our goal of having 1000 Patreon supporters before Hannah's birthday in late May! Reaching 1000 supporters would be a financial game-changer for us and we're promising you a LIVE Witch, Please Q&A if we reach the goal! You can become a Patreon Supporter at any tier for more perks and bonus content. If becoming a paying subscriber isn't in the cards right now, no stress! Please leave us a review instead — it truly helps sustain the show. Of course, you can always follow us on Instagram or Twitter @ohwitchplease to stay connected. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this episode, we are talking ghosts! Tune in for a conversation with our guest, Lydia, as we consider Hauntology as an analytical tool for better understanding the Harry Potter series — specifically the Half-Blood Prince. Lydia guides us through a revisitation of Jacques Derrida and an introduction to Avery Gordon (among others) who ask us to consider the meaning of absences in narratives, histories, and our own imaginations. What haunts Harry? What haunts the Wizarding World in the aftermath of a war? What haunts the Harry Potter series in 2022? Tune in for a truly epic conversation that leans on our episodes about the Gothic, Critical Race Studies, Disability Studies, Trauma and others to establish an exciting new framework for us to explore.And a heads up! If you join our Patreon at the Prefect tier before April 15th, you'll receive our forthcoming enamel pin in the mail! As always, you can become a Patreon Supporter at any tier for more perks and bonus content. If becoming a paying subscriber isn't in the cards right now, no stress! Please leave us a review instead — it truly helps sustain the show. Of course, you can always follow us on Instagram or Twitter @ohwitchplease to stay connected. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.