Celebrating 20 Years of MuggleCast, and Predicting the Future

Happy Birthday, Ronald Bilius Weasley! Today we're kicking off a new monthly feature, where we’ll be hosting a main character discussion timed around their birthday. We start with Ron! One of the most underrated characters in the Wizarding World, let's get Ron's Fandom ID! We discuss our first impressions of Harry's best friend and Ron's complex about his family's socioeconomic status What were our favorite Ron moments in the books? What was his defining chapter? What were some of Ron's worst character moments? We discuss The Yule Ball Dating Lavender, and more.  In celebration of Rupert Grint, we share our favorite Ron scenes from the movies! ... But we can't forget all the great Ron moments that were given to Hermione in the films! What would each of the hosts get Ron for his birthday? We play two Ron-themed games: Snog, Marry, Avada Kedavra and Two Truths, One Lie! Quizzitch: What did Fred turn into a spider when Ron was three? Visit MuggleCast.com/Quizzitch to submit your answer! This week's episode is sponsored by MDAcne (Visit MDAcne.com/mugglecast to get your first month supply free!) and HelloFresh (Visit HelloFresh.com/12muggle and use code 12 muggle for 12 FREE meals!) Support us on Patreon and receive magical benefits, like a personalized thank you video from one of the hosts and Bonus MuggleCast! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

2 Mar 20211h 8min

Did Wizards Unite finally confirm a long-standing theory about Lavender Brown? Main Discussion: All The Ways That Hogwarts Is A Security Nightmare For decades, students and teachers have been lied to about Hogwarts safety!  Are moving staircases really a good idea? The Forbidden Forest & Black Lake are no place for students of any age! The Triwizard Tournament? Ask Cedric Diggory how that turned out! Background check, anyone? We discuss how professors like Quirrell, Lockhart, Hagrid & Impostor Moody endangered the students year-after-year. Quidditch... need we say more? Dear Dumbledore, you REALLY couldn't find the the Chamber of Secrets? Or the giant snake? The Whomping Willow (emphasis on whomping) Mental health check: should students really be experiencing their worst fears (Boggarts) in  front of each other? Remember that year Dementors "safeguarded" the school? Listeners weigh in with their security concerns, including The Room of Requirement, Portraits, Secret Passages and more! Are parents ever notified about all of the dangers at Hogwarts? Quizzitch: After Neville falls off his broom in Year 1 who tells Malfoy to shut up? Visit MuggleCast.com/Quizzitch to submit your answer! This week's episode is sponsored by MDAcne (take the quiz and get your first month's supply for free, just pay shipping) and BetterHelp (receive 10% off your first month)! Support us on Patreon and receive magical benefits, like a personalized thank you video from one of the hosts and Bonus MuggleCast! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

23 Feb 20211h 17min

A new Harry Potter Exhibition will be touring the globe. How similar will it be to the one we've already been to? The hosts discuss how they would like to see Fantastic Beasts 3 start, from blood pact flashbacks to a street chase in Rio! Will director David Yates finally make a substantive flashback sequence? Will the colors of this film at last be cheery and bright? Lynx Line: Our Patrons weigh in with their opening ideas. What if our heroes are all turned into Nifflers? Could Leta Lestrange still be alive? Voicemails cover thoughts on being an adult Harry Potter fan, how John Williams joined the world of Harry Potter, getting our kids into Harry, and what if Voldemort had killed Draco? Ron, Neville, and Ginny are three potential POV's that our e-mails analyze for the story. The last two e-mails involve Snape and his love for Lily. What if Harry had been a girl, and did he leave Harry under the rubble in Godric's Hollow? We answer a question sent to us in July 2007! Our pick-up lines segment from Episode 500 inspired a Chicken Soup segment this week. Quizzitch: When Harry and Dumbledore Apparate to the Cave, what is the first spell Dumbledore uses? Visit MuggleCast.com/Quizzitch to submit your answer! This week's episode is sponsored by MeUndies and Quip Support us on Patreon and receive magical benefits, like a personalized thank you video from one of the hosts and Bonus MuggleCast! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

16 Feb 20211h 5min

We made it to Episode 500! To celebrate, we have a fun a look at MuggleCast By The Numbers How many emails have we received over the years? How many times has the show been downloaded? Which host has appeared on the most episodes? Guess That MuggleCast Episode Title! Eric quizzes Andrew, Laura and Micah on some of the more memorable episode titles on the last 15 years! To celebrate Valentine's Day, we set the mood and deliver some of the best Harry Potter Pickup Lines Alternate Universe Pairings that've been popular head cannon: could Harry and Luna have really happened? What about Hermione and Draco? Remus and Sirius? We examine some of the more popular head canon couples in the series and try to identify the turning point where they could have become a reality! What Hogwarts House is your soulmate in? Take the quiz! Quizzitch: How far did Harry throw the gnome that bit him? This week's episode is sponsored by ThirdLove (Get 20% off your order at the link!) and our newest sponsor Magic Spoon (hit the link and use promo code 'mugglecast' for $5 off your first order!) Support us on Patreon and receive magical benefits, like a personalized thank you video from one of the hosts and Bonus MuggleCast! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

9 Feb 20211h 17min

Welcome to our listener and Patron Julia, whose son Wyatt sent us a great question a few weeks ago. News: As we predicted, a Potter television series is reportedly in the works. And, Fantastic Beasts 3 finishes filming this week! In Bonus MuggleCast, available on our Patron, we'll discuss when to expect more news and updates about the third Fantastic Beasts movie. Today we discuss the trials and tribulations of being an adult fan of the Harry Potter series! The hosts discuss whether they've received backlash for liking Harry Potter as adults. How the New York Times Bestseller List  cleverly sidelined Harry Potter back in the heyday to make room for more "adult" book series Eric discovered a 2003 Telegraph article overflowing with derision for adults who like "kids movies" We discuss the United Kingdom "adult edition" book covers, and ask why Scholastic never did the same thing in the United States. Listeners who got into Harry Potter as adults weigh in over on Twitter! When is the best time to get your child into Harry Potter? Julia gives her thoughts! Troll in the Dungeon: Andrew takes on 3 incredible personas and grills the hosts to defend their love of Harry. Quizzitch: What statue resides next to the Prefect’s Bathroom? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

2 Feb 20211h 4min

News: With a new appointment at Warner Brothers, could a Harry Potter television show be in our future? (Note: This episode was recorded before The Hollywood Reporter reported on January 25 that a live-action Harry Potter series is officially in development, but our news discussion still relates to the news) It's Not Just For Kids! Listeners weigh in on Ollivander's wand choosing ceremony at the Wizarding World theme park. Main Discussion: Harry Potter Companion Novels. As we continue the 20th anniversary celebration of the Sorcerer's Stone movie, whose eyes would we want to see the first story through? Twilight and Fifty Shades have taken this approach: have other book series? (MuggleCast interviewed Twilight author Stephenie Meyer back on Episode 156). What would Sorcerer's Stone look like from Professor Quirrell's perspective? Would Draco Malfoy and Boy Who Snubbed Me be a bestseller? Would readers enjoy Severus Snape's story and his constant struggle to protect the son of his worst enemy? Andrew takes us further into the series looking at Prisoner of Azkaban through Hermione's eyes. Other characters discussed include: Firenze, Professor McGonagall, Remus Lupin and Hagrid. Why did none of the hosts choose Ron? Dumbledore? Chicken Soup For The MuggleCast Soul (from Greece) Quizzitch: What is Albus Dumbledore’s favorite flavor of jam? Support us on Patreon and receive magical benefits, like a personalized thank you video from one of the hosts and Bonus MuggleCast! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

26 Jan 202159min

Welcome Slug Club member Pablo to the show! Spanish language speakers, check out Pablo's HP podcast Cuarantena 9 3/4! In a bit of sad news, Hogwarts Legacy has been given a 2022 release window, not 2021 as we had hoped. How will the hosts fill the time without the new game? By checking out other games like Micah? The Sorcerer's Stone movie turns 20 this year! To celebrate, we'll be hosting discussions about the first film throughout the year! The hosts discuss which character was given the best introduction in the movie. The rest of today's episode is all MuggleMail! The hosts answer your e-mails and voicemails Why don't we hear more about teachers' spouses at Hogwarts? Should Samuel L. Jackson voice the Sorting Hat on a new TV series? We listen to his audition tape. Did Dumbledore fail to protect Frank and Alice Longbottom sufficiently in the wake of the death of the Potters? 12-year-old listener Wyatt asks us, would throwing a Horcrux through The Veil destroy it? The hosts ruminate on whether a Chapter by Chapter reboot lays in our future. Quizzitch: Which actress reportedly turned down the role of the witch Sybil Trelawney in “Prisoner of Azkaban” because she did not believe boarding school life should be glorified? This week’s episode is sponsored by Quip (Get a free dispenser for their new chewing gum) and MeUndies (Get 15% off your first order Support us on Patreon and receive magical benefits, like Bonus MuggleCast! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

19 Jan 20211h 4min

Welcome to 2021 - our 16th year of Potter podcasting! What Harry Potter gifts did we receive over the holidays? Main Discussion: The New Year's Resolutions of Harry Potter Characters But first... the host share resolutions of their own! Which character shouldn’t make promises he can’t keep? Who might want to regularly check on his Horcruxes this year? Which character should wash his socks? Smile more? From Lucius Malfoy and Bellatrix to Neville and Lavender Brown, our Patrons weigh in with their Potter character resolutions! For more fun, we discuss what Harry Potter lines we and fellow fans say out loud? The hosts try their hand at some of most notable lines in the Harry Potter series! Quizzitch: Which actor, who had worked with Chris Columbus before, asked to audition for Hagrid? This week’s episode is sponsored by BetterHelp (Receive 10% off your first month) and ThirdLove (visit ThirdLove.com/mugglecast for 20% off your first purchase). Support us on Patreon and receive magical benefits, like Bonus MuggleCast! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

11 Jan 202158min