Critical Magic Theory: An Analytical Harry Potter Podcast

In this Prof Responds episode, Professor Julian Wamble revisits Fleur Delacour and the surprising truth many listeners shared: we didn’t like her when we were younger, and we weren’t always sure why.

Drawing on the post-episode chat, this reflection explores how internalized misogyny, pretty privilege, and patriarchal expectations shape how we judge female characters in Harry Potter. The episode examines the rivalry between women, the real social weight of beauty, and why Fleur’s loyalty and bravery were always there, even when the story and the fandom overlooked them. By the end, the question isn’t whether Fleur is a hero, but why we needed her to prove it in the first place.

Fleur Delacour is one of the most misunderstood women in the Harry Potter series. She's often blamed for her beauty, scrutinized for her confidence, and held responsible for the reactions of everyone around her. In this episode, we examine how Fleur becomes a lightning rod for gendered blame, punished not for what she does, but for what others assume about her beauty, her Veela ancestry, and her femininity.

Drawing on listener survey data, we unpack why Fleur’s competence as a Triwizard Champion is questioned, why her confidence is read as arrogance, and why both men and women are so quick to fault her for male desire. We also return to our earlier conversation about Lavender Brown to explore how readers inherit Hermione Granger’s gendered lens, and how that lens teaches us which women are worthy of empathy and which are not.

In this Prof Responds episode, Professor Wamble reflects on listener responses to the “Best & Worst Teachers at Hogwarts” discussion and steps back to ask a larger question: What does it mean to teach in the shadow of war?
 
Drawing on Hogwarts faculty, Defense Against the Dark Arts, and Dumbledore’s leadership, this episode explores how education changes under sustained threat, how silence functions as pedagogy, and why students, especially marginalized ones, so often bear the cost of adult indecision. The conversation connects the magical world to the present political moment, examining the dangers of ignoring reality, the limits of preparing students without transparency, and the ethical responsibility educators carry when the world outside the classroom is already on fire.
 
This episode is invites us to reckon with power, authority, and the consequences of what schools choose to teach and what they refuse to name.

In this two-year anniversary episode of Critical Magic Theory, Prof. takes a step back from individual character deep dives to ask a bigger question about pedagogy, power, and responsibility in the wizarding world—and beyond.

Drawing on listener survey data, this episode explores why some teachers are remembered as effective despite being deeply troubling, while others are overwhelmingly rejected. The conversation then shifts away from the most dramatic figures to examine the quieter labor that keeps Hogwarts running: teachers like Flitwick, Sprout, Binns, Charity Burbage, Madam Hooch, and especially Madam Pomfrey. Through them, we see what Hogwarts values, what it neglects, and how unresolved trauma and institutional ambiguity shape classrooms in harmful ways.

As the show enters its third year, this episode invites listeners to reflect not just on Hogwarts, but on their own role in shaping how knowledge, care, and critical thinking are passed on.

In this Prof Responds episode of Critical Magic Theory, Professor Julian Wamble revisits the Dumbledore family to examine how secrecy, sacrifice, and institutional failure shape Ariana Dumbledore’s life, and the lives of those around her.Drawing on listener reflections, the episode explores how the Wizarding World’s commitment to secrecy creates harm rather than protection, forcing families to absorb the cost of systemic failure.

From Kendra Dumbledore’s quiet labor and Percival Dumbledore’s punishment to the rumors surrounding Ariana’s absence from Hogwarts, this reflection asks how trauma is misread, victims are silenced, and care becomes indistinguishable from containment.

Ultimately, this episode challenges us to rethink what protection actually looks like—both in the Wizarding World and in our own, and why societies so often ask victims to pay the price for keeping systems intact.