MuggleCast: The Harry Potter Re-Read Podcast

Welcome Slug Club member Jamima! Crimes of Grindelwald continues to struggle at the box office - what can they do to improve future numbers? Harry Potter: Wizards Unite releases their first official trailer Andrew speaks with Universal Orlando's Manager of Entertainment Creative Development, Lora Sauls, to discuss the Wizarding World's holiday plans Main Discussion: Aurelius Dumbledore Theories Does Ariana's obscurus live within Credence? Is Grindelwald speaking to the obscurus or Credence at the end of the film? Could it be possible Dumbledore is unaware of his brother's existence? Are Ariana and Aurelius twins? Why was Aurelius never mentioned by Aberforth? Unearthed by Rita Skeeter? Why was Aurelius being shipped off to the United States? Is there still a chance that Credence is Corvus Lestrange Jr.? Could Credence be Ariana? One patron provides an alchemy theory and another asks if Dumbledore and Grindelwald created Credence through their blood pact? Did the fandom misjudge how old Professor McGonagall actually is? Could Queenie be a double agent? Quizzitch: What does Yusuf Kama say upon awakening in Nicolas Flamel's home? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

We check our initial predictions - who got the opening weekend box office total right? Eric and Andrew give their thoughts after seeing the movie for a second time Could an elusive iceberg creature have caused the Atlantic shipwreck? What's up with the Deathly Hallows being carved into a Hogwarts desk? How did Dumbledore know to warn Theseus about Grindelwald's rally? Did he tip off Nicolas Flamel as well? Mirror of Erised: Is Dumbledore's greatest desire now undoing the blood pact? Andrew and Micah dive deep into the Crimes of Grindelwald script book Do a few initially missed moments suggest Grindelwald is leading Credence on? We analyze Dumbeldore's description of an obscurus and The Predictions of Tycho Dodonus Did we miss an early clue when Leta says to Dumbledore: "not unless you had a brother who died too"? Dumbledore was in the Room of Requirement when he looks into the Mirror of Erised Was Leta's death intentionally ambiguous? If both her and Corvus Jr. are gone, how does the Lestrange bloodline continue on? JKR has been hinting at Aurelius for over two years on her website! Voicemails cover calls from inside the theater, Queenie's allegiance, Tina, Leta, Nagini and more! A great email analysis on Aurelius, Credence, Corvus and the raven/phoenix chick Listeners call in live with their thoughts and questions! Quizzitch: According to the “Crimes of Grindelwald” screenplay / film, what is Travers' official position at the Ministry of Magic? This week's sponsors are Stamps.com (enter code 'MuggleCast' for a four-week trial plus postage) and Bombas (visit Bombas.com/MuggleCast and use code 'MuggleCast' to get 20% off your first order) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Hypable's Danielle joins the show as we review The Crimes of Grindelwald! What better place to start than with THAT ending! Is Grindelwald lying to Credence about who he really is? What we know (or think we know) about the Dumbledore family The blood pact: what happens if you attempt to break it?   Who initially turned Credence on to trying to discover his family history?   The Lestrange red herring: were Leta and Yusuf even necessary? Why was Yusuf still beholden to an Unbreakable Vow given... ...that night on the boat in the middle of the ocean Most talked about pre-release spoilers: Nagini and McGonagall   Going back to Hogwarts! Newt and Dumbledore: was their relationship well established? Jacob and Queenie: were we surprised by the sides they chose? Who exactly did the Prophecy implicate?   Nicolas Flamel, Abernathy, Spielman and Grimson Favorites: New Beast & Scene What exactly are the Crimes of Grindelwald? Quizzitch: What is the Crimes of Grindelwald's Opening Weekend U.S. box office total? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Welcome back Patrick, and Slug Club member Shannon joins the show! News: a shifty JKR assistant and several new Crimes of Grindelwald promos! MuggleMail covers Dumbledore understanding parseltongue and nonverbal spells The hosts give their official Crimes of Grindelwald predictions! What characters will be Team Grindelwald by the end of the movie? What will be the big shock about Credence that JKR mentioned? Will we learn where Fantastic Beasts 3 is set by the end of the film? Will Nagini be more than Credence's emotional friend? How will Jacob remember Queenie? What other Potter characters will be name-checked? How explicit will the Grindelwald/Dumbledore relationship be? Why can Dumbledore not move against Grindelwald? What does it mean that Leta is implicated by prophecy? Who will be the unsuspecting hero of the movie? Will the core four make it through the film? Who else likely won't? Will we see Jacob's bakery? Nurmengard? We reveal our Most Anticipated New Character and Most Anticipated New Beast! Quizzitch: What are the names of Newt’s three pet Kneazles? Next week: Our Crimes of Grindelwald spoiler-FILLED review! Call or e-mail us after you see the movie with your own thoughts! This week's episode is sponsored by Casper (Visit Casper.com/MuggleCast and use code 'MuggleCast' at checkout) and Robinhood (Visit MuggleCast.Robinhood.com for a free stock!) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Laura's back! #ProtecttheSecrets! Some fans have gotten to see Crimes of Grindelwald early! We speak to Lucas, one of the lucky few. JKR all but reveals that Rio will be the location for Fantastic Beasts 3! HQ Trivia - Harry Potter Edition is coming November 14! If we can't win this one, we've got issues. Voicemails cover Hermione confunding Cormac, Potter Halloween costumes, Potter pickup lines, Dumbledore and parseltongue and a theory on Draco's real father Chapter-by-Chapter continues with Silver and Opals 7-Word Summary: Draco is trying out poisoned necklaces hooray! Harry continues to test spells from the Half-Blood Prince. Is this safe to be doing on fellow students? Filch? Ron? How do we think wizards create spells? Clues abound over Snape being the Half-Blood Prince! Why does Hermione take a liking to the Slug Club meetings? Harry and Dung square off in Hogsmeade How good is Draco's plan to get the cursed necklace to Dumbledore? Where's the security to prevent all of this Imperius-ing in Hogsmeade? Is Draco being given orders or coming up with these plans on his own? Should Harry put more trust in McGonagall? The hosts give their MVPs of the Week and Rename The Chapter Quizzitch: To date, the Wizarding World film series has won ONE Academy Award. In what category was the award? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Slug Club member Nicole joins the show! Claudia Kim weighs in on the Nagini controversy  The hosts predict the U.S. opening weekend box office total for The Crimes of Grindelwald  MuggleMail covers obsessive love and Care of Magical Creatures Chapter-by-Chapter continues with Hermione’s Helping Hand 7-Word Summary: Harry tries to prune Buckbeak’s big lunch Hermione reveals why Harry is so appealing... and it definitely bothers Ron! Did people think this provided a window for Harry and Hermione? Or was it always Hermione and Ron? Stan Shunpike's comments land him in Azkaban. What does this tell us about the current state of wizarding affairs? Gryffindor tryouts - whose vetting these people?!?! Why is Hagrid letting Buckbeak just chill outside his hut? Couldn't he be recognized? Shouldn't Hagrid be more mature in his initial reactions to the Trio? Time Turners: were they really all destroyed? Cursed Child begs to differ! Did Hermione confunding Cormac help along the Ron/Lavender relationship? Is Harry to blame at all for not replacing Ron with Cormac after he found out the truth? Connecting The Threads: The Evening Prophet, Stan Shunpike & Aragog The hosts give their MVPs of the Week and Rename The Chapter Quizzitch: Who delivers the message to Harry about Dumbledore's second lesson? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Welcome Slug Club member Sam! News: JKR shares why everyone is headed to Paris… Credence! Voicemails cover Book 1 and 7 connections, Hogwarts professors, Leta Lestrange and more Chapter-by-Chapter continues with 'The House of Gaunt' 7 Word Summary: A memory comes before another big reveal Sam shares why this chapter is one of her favorite in the series Why can't Hermione accept following alternate directions? Does Slughorn remember Snape as a student? Do Trelawney's mumblings shed insight on future Pensieve memories? Stepping inside Bob Ogden's memory Pureblood mania is alive and well inside the House of Gaunt Merope is part of a horrible family dynamic with Marvolo and Morfin. Is her family lineage at all to blame for her actions? Do we blame Tom Riddle Sr. for abandoning his son? What if he didn't? Horcrux alert: the ring and the locket As readers, what are we to make of all this guesswork by Dumbledore? Who is the worst character in this chapter? Merope? Marvolo? Morfin? Connecting the Threads: Parseltongue, snakes on doors and Bob Ogden The hosts give their MVPs of the Week and Rename The Chapter Quizzitch: How old is Stan Shunpike? In Bonus MuggleCast, available exclusively on Patreon for Dumbledore's Army members and above, we discuss news on Yusuf Kama, Queenie & Grindelwald, the Chupacabra and the French Ministry escape Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This week's episode is brought to you by ZipRecruiter and Bombas!  News covers Harry Potter: A History of Magic in NYC, Beedle The Bard Illustrated Edition and a cool Funko Advent Calendar The hosts try and guess the official runtime of the Crimes of Grindelwald and analyze recently released photos and posters Fans can see Crimes of Grindelwald early at your their AMC! We take voicemails on Nagini, Moody, Cursed Child, Hogwarts Mystery and more Chapter-by-Chapter continues with 'The Half-Blood Prince' 7 Word Summary: Potions is taught by a quirky walrus Harry is still trying to convince his friends Draco is a Death Eater Is Hagrid even qualified to teach a N.E.W.T. level course? Why do teachers accept certain O.W.L.s for N.E.W.T. level courses but others don't? Snape is again the focal point of the chapter. Are there any clues in this chapter to suggest that he is the Half-Blood Prince? What do we think of Snape's remodeling of the DADA classroom? The importance of non-verbal spells Do we think Hermione's DADA comparison of Snape and Harry is a fair one? Potions Class: should Harry really be using a mysterious book with mysterious handwriting? What if Ron had gotten the book instead? Patrons joint he hosts in sharing their MVPs of the Week and Rename the Chapter Quizzitch: What is the topic of Hermione's essay in Chapter 10? In Bonus MuggleCast, available exclusively on Patreon: Johnny Depp finally talks Fantastic Beasts Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This week's sponsor is BeachBody OnDemand! Text 'MuggleCast' to 303030 to try it for free! Welcome Slug Club member Lottie! Our first glimpse at the new ride coming to Wizarding World Orlando!  Is a new open world Harry Potter video game on the way? We discuss the recently leaked trailer! Lethal White is headed to the BBC in a four-part series! Chapter-by-Chapter continues with Snape Victorious One listener writes in to reveal Slughorn's full name 7 Word Summary: Harry feels really frustrated by Snape's attitude Connecting The Threads: Late arrival to Hogwarts and a confrontation with Snape Tonks finds Harry on the train; much like the movie, would we have preferred Luna? Why aren't alarms going off and an official manhunt underway if Harry is missing? The security measures in place set a much darker tone at Hogwarts We discuss Snape's behavior towards Tonks, Harry and as a professor overall Did Dumbledore appointing Snape DADA professor seal his own fate? Why does Ron think Moody was a professor - does he not know the truth about Barty? Why won't Ron still not believe Harry about Draco being a Death Eater? Grawp's New Mountain Home - could it play a role in Fantastic Beasts? We give our MVPs of the Week and Rename The Chapter Quizzitch: What is Snape's first DADA arts lesson about? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

We take listener feedback and voicemails on the latest Crimes of Grindelwald trailer Chapter-by-Chapter continues with The Slug Club 7 Word Summary goes off the rails: The tasty pheasant boards scrumptiously Belby’s mouth Connecting the Threads: this isn't the first time Harry has suspected Malfoy of something very serious! Why do Ron and Hermione have such a hard time believing Draco could be a Death Eater? Is his age a legitimate concern? Why does Arthur Weasley not take Harry seriously? Crushes and The Cool Kid's Table: the hosts share their experiences Harry acknowledges that Neville could have been The Chosen One Hugh "H.E.F." Slughorn... what does the E.F. in his name stand for? What are our initial impressions of the Slug Club? Elitist or a chance for house unity? If Draco were a true Death Eater, why didn't he just off Harry in the train compartment? We give our MVP of the Week and Rename The Chapter Quizzitch: Who comes to Harry’s rescue when he finds himself locked out of Hogwarts? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices