We met several new wizards and witches in Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows.  Some we’d actually met before, but never really got to know properly; others were brand-spanking new characters.  Each one, of course, comes with a mini-mystery in their name, a tiny puzzle only to be attempted by a stalwart few.  This week, we take a look at some of the new witches and wizards and try to decipher something from their names.  So, Elphias Doge, Bathilda Bagshot and, of course, Pius Thicknesse: step on up, it’s your moment to shine!

A few pages referenced in the podcast:

• A page with details on a few Potter character’s names and their relation to people from the real world.
• HogwartsProfessor.com (John Granger) on the possible connection between Pope Pius XII and Pius Thicknesse.
• Sword of Gryffindor on the Fabian Society.

No news this week.

You can listen to the podcast with the player below, or download an mp3 directly.

Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.

This episode is about the Deathly Hallows. Not the book “Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows,” but rather the Deathly Hallows in the book Deathly Hallows. Does that make sense? I hope so, since the Deathly Hallows (the things, not the books) is pretty confusing. We’re not quite sure we’ve got them figured out, but we’ve taken our best shot. It’s very zen-like: When is the Deathly Hallows not really the Deathly Hallows?

Oh, and this is our 50th episode! Hurray!

No news this week.

You can listen to the podcast with the player below, or download it directly as an mp3.

Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.

Voldermort’s downfall was a long time coming. Despite his efforts to ensure his longevity, Voldemort’s overall approach to life almost guarunteed his defeat. By ignoring the signifcance of some very important “deeper magics,” Voldemort opened up a proverbial chink in his armor that ultimately led to his demise. In Chapter 35, King’s Cross, an etherieal Dumbledore sums it up nicely:

That which Voldemort does not value, he takes no trouble to comprehend.  Of house elves and children’s tales, of love, loyalty and innoncence, Voldemort knows and understands nothing.  NOTHING.  That they all have a power beyond his own, a power beyond the reach of any magic, is a truth he has never grasped.

In this week’s episode, we take a deeper look at the general and specific causes of Voldemort’s downfall, paying particular attention to Dumbledore’s assessment.

In the news:

• Daniel Radcliffe’s December Boys jump the gun and premiere on September 14.
• Equus may come to Broadway. In other news, the Kentucky Derby has been cancelled.
• Dumbledore makes Wizard of the Month on JKRowling.com. It’s about time he was recognized for all his hard work.
• Order of the Phoenix second most profitable Potter film. But still the worst book.
• Scholastic announces 40 schools of very lucky children. I think I can still pass as a sixth grader if I shave really close.

You can listen to the podcast with the player below, or download it directly as an mp3.

Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.

Before Deathly Hallows, our view of Dumbledore was nothing less than a saint; although Harry had his questions with his methods, certainly there was nary a doubt as to his motives.  In Book 7, quite a different picture of the wizened old wizard is presented.  Harry spends much of the book struggling with the Dumbledore he knew and the true person who Dumbledore was.  We learn the dark secrets of Dumbledore’s past, and Harry’s role in the greater plan to defeat Voldemort.  In this episode, we take a closer look at Dumbledore, his history and philosophy (both past and present).

For some great Owen Wilson sound effects, check out the World-of-Owen audio page.

In the news:

• John Williams may possibly score Movie 7.
• Filming for Movie 6 taking place in Wiltshire.
• Potter wins Teen Choice award.
• Stephen Fry celebrates 50th birthday with J.K. Rowling and other Potter-lebrities.

You can listen to the podcast with the player below, or download it directly as an mp3.

Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.

Without question, Severus Snape is one of the most intriguing characters in J.K. Rowling’s wizarding world. In the beginning, he was simply a mean teacher, and obstacle for Harry; but by the end of the series, Snape became a paradigm of sacrifice for love and courage, to the point that Harry names his son after his once-despised teacher. In this episode, we take a closer look at Snape, now that we have the complete picture of his tale.

For an insightful and prescient examination of Snape’s character, check out Orson Scott Card’s essay Who is Snape? (If you haven’t already, read Orson Scott Card’s book Ender’s Game. You’ll thank me later.)

In the news:

• First British National Movie Awards nominations go to Potter cast.
• Tom Felton likes carp.
• J.K. Rowling is not writing a crime novel.

Check out our new Harry Potter t-shirt design; we call it “Always.” It looks good on most light colored tees (ignore the white background around the image; that will be removed when the shirt is printed).

Get it in white or in a vast array of colors (we prefer green).

You can listen to the podcast with the player below, or download it directly as an mp3.

Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.

There’s no question that there are religious/Christian undertones and themes to the Harry Potter books. In 2000, JK Rowling stated that if she were to divulge her religious beliefs, it would make the ending of the story obvious. Now that we’ve read Book 7, the religious content is clear; not only is Harry’s final battle with Voldemort very much a passion play, there are overarching religious themes to the entire book. What is the character of the religious content of Deathly Hallows in particular, and the Potter series in general? Is JK Rowling preaching or does she have a different intention? In this podcast, we explore the religious themes and try to figure out the religion of Harry Potter.

After you listen to the podast, make sure to read John Granger’s posts on the Christian Content of Deathly Hallows.

Not much news this week, in the mean time, make sure to check out:

• Stephen King’s last word on Harry Potter.
• Two great videos of The Prince’s Tale: one and two.

Don’t forget to get your entries in for the HPProgs Thank You Book to J.K. Rowling. Thank yous are due by September 1st.
You can listen to the podcast using the player below, or download it directly as an mp3.

Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.

Ask not for whom the bell tolls, for in Book 7, it tolled for quite a few folks.  The body count in the final book gets higher and higher as the book goes on.  Some deaths, granted, were quite welcome, such as Bellatrix and Voldemort; others were tragic and shocking.  All of them, however, held a special meaning for Harry and for the books.  In this episode, we examine the specific meaning of that which gives ultimate meaning, the deaths of Deathly Hallows.

This episode is dedicated to the memory of Hedwig the Owl, Alastor “Mad-Eye” Moody, Dobby the Free Elf, Fred Weasley, Remus Lupin, Nymphadora Tonks, Colin Creevy and all those who gave their lives in the Battle of Hogwarts.  And, of course, Severus Snape.

In the news:

• Rowena Ravenclaw is Wizard of the Month at JKRowling.com.
• 16 year-old French boy arrested for posting his translation of Deathly Hallows online.
• J.K. Rowling fights the law, and the law wins.
• Bookie lose over ambigious death of Harry.
• Scholastic printing an additional two million copies of Deathly Hallows.

You can listen to the podcast with the player below, or download it directly as an mp3.

Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.

We’re just back from Prophecy 2007. In short, we had a great time, came home and immediately sat down to recap . Between the amazing sessions, the vast array of Potter fans and the great discussions, it was a weekend to remember. Penny recapped day one and day two in two previous posts, with some great links to many of the amazing speakers we got to hear. Make sure to check them out, as well tune in to this episode to hear our thoughts.

No news for this episode, we’ll be back with a regular episode later this week.

You can listen to the podcast with the player below, or download an mp3 directly.

Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.

*Deathly Hallows Spoilers Included*

It’s been less than a week since the release of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, yet most of us have now read the book more than once; inevitably, bits and pieces need to be re-read to make sense of them. In addition to re-reading, the comments on our last post were extremely amazing, and really helped make sense of the book. This week, we look back through the comments and pull out a few topics to discuss further: a possible relationship between Harry and Voldemort? Examples of Voldemort’s spells not working, references to Nazis, the fittingness of Snape’s death. What was the purpose of the epilogue? And what did we need the Deathly Hallows for anyhow? Of course, there’s more questions that need to be discussed (who discovered magic later in life? Where did Harry’s parents get all that money from?), but they’ll have to wait until next time.

Thanks so much for all the great comments, keep them coming, we couldn’t do the show without them!

In the News:

• Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows is breaking sales records.
• JK Rowling on the Today show: Announces Encyclopedia of characters and talks about DH.
• Naomi Watts, Joseph Fiennes, and Stuart Townsend not necessarily in the Half Blood Prince movie.

Make sure to listen to our interview on The James Madison Show from Friday, July 20. The interview can be found a the website if you click the podcast button. Special thanks to James and Frank for having us on.

Don’t forget to order your HPProgs t-shirts! Contact us if you’re interested in a red, white or black limited edition t-shirt.

Join in on the HPProgs Thank-You Book to JK Rowling!

You can listen to the podcast with the player below, or download it directly as an mp3.

Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.

We’ve finished Deathly Hallows. We sat down to record our initial thoughts immediately after completing Book 7. I don’t think we’ve covered everything, but it’s a good start with out immediate thoughts on the book. What’s to say? The book was great, a great ending to the saga of Harry Potter.

Please note: this podcast is SPOILER-FULL. If you haven’t yet finished Deathly Hallows, and don’t want to hear spoilers, DO NOT listen to this podcast. Comments on this episode will also be SPOILER-FULL.  The rest of the HPProgs.com web site will remain moderated and spoiler-free until Monday, July 23rd.

You can listen to the podcast using the player below, or download it directly as an mp3.

Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.

As zero hour approaches, we are being hit with not only the actual evidence that this is the end, but the flurry of emotions that everyone in the “Potterverse” is inevitably feeling.

The only comparison I can make is the feeling of graduation week from high school. You are anticipating the momentous occasion and you know that nothing will be the same after it happens. You have gone on a journey with a group of people and you have ambivalent feelings about it ending. On one hand, you feel excitement- the future is about to start, on the other hand you feel unready and wonder where the time has gone. Throughout the time leading up to graduation, exciting things happen every day. One day there is a Senior Dinner, the next day, an awards ceremony. Throughout this time there is a mad scramble to sign as many yearbooks as possible and to try to hold on to the moment for as long as possible.

These last few months and even more so these last few weeks have been like this for me. We started on a journey 10 years ago- some of us were fans from the beginning, some of us were turned on to the books by an eager relative or friend. We are all here because we have fallen in love with something.

Everyone says that Harry Potter “turned a generation back onto reading”. But they did so much more than that. They allowed children of all ages to become immersed in a world of fantasy, drama and mystery. They allowed us an escape when life felt overwhelming. They allowed us to read about a boy who was probably not so different than we were. A boy who made a difference whether he wanted to or not.

So, now I would like to publicly thank JK Rowling for giving us Harry Potter. We know that she didn’t write the books for us, but the fact that they have touched so many of our lives is a testament to the wonderful work she has done. So, for: the trips to Diagon Alley, the Quiddich matches, the Prophecy, the relationships (R/H forever!!), the thestrals, the earwax (alas!), the DA, the nitwit, blubber, odment and tweak, the Mauraders, the spells, the potions, the professors, the 1:1 talks between Dumbledore and Harry, the O.W.L.s, the indignant looks of Hermione, the jokes, the Weasleys, the house elves, the pure evil of characters like Bellatrix and Umbridge, the chamber of secrets, the exclamations of Ron (Blimey, Harry!), the warewolves, the brooms, the Daily Prophet, the Felix Felicis, the horcruxes, the Slytherins who we loved to hate, the mandrakes, the blast ended skrewts, the Cedrics, the Creevy brothers, the OoTP……(we could go on and on)….Thank you.

And to all of our fellow Potterverse fans. Thank you for the fansites, the websites, the podcasts, the blogs, the fanfiction, the fan art, the wizard rock and so much more. This has been a wonderful journey to embark on with all of you.

“And now Harry, let us step out into the night and pursue that flighty temptress, adventure.”

-Penny

In my email this morning:

Greetings from Amazon.com.

We thought you would like to know that we are preparing your items for
shipment.

!!!

A close friend of ours actually got his copy already (he had ordered online from the place that’s in the news that shipped early); he wrote about it on his blog (NO SPOILERS in his post, just a rundown of the legal brouhaha). Apparently, Scholastic is offereing $50 to those who received the books to wait until Saturday to read it.

As a warning, there are major spoilers out there, even the mainstream media, such as the NY Times and Baltimore Sun, are getting in on ruining the book for everyone, which is a shame. HPProgs, of course, will remain spoiler-free.

This may very well be our last full episode before the release of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows. In this episode, we discuss how we’re feeling (perhaps the five stages of loss would be appropriate), and take one final crack at a few theories before signing off and preparing for the weekend.

No news this week, but a few links of interest:

• Get your HPProgs T-Shirts. You can order through the HPProgs Store, or email us (harrypotterprogs AT yahoo DOT com) to get a limited edition HPProgs red, white or black tee.
• Check out Filmspotting.net’s review of Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix.
• If you’re in NY, make sure to check out Wizard Rock 2007.
• Catch us on the James Madison Show on Friday between 6 and 7 PM, it’s all about Potter, and you can call in!.

That’s it. Enjoy the show, towards the end we discuss our plans for the podcast after the release of the book(in short, we ain’t going no where as long as folks want to hear what we have to say).

You can listen to the podcast with the player below, or download it directly as an mp3.

Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.

More unanswered questions!  True to our word, we’re upping the ante with the movie and book coming out in the next few weeks.  This episode doesn’t have a major news segment, but more unanswered questions, including a killer question from Sister Judy (our sister, not a nun) regarding the Grand-Potters.

We’ll be back later this week with our review of the OotP movie.  Stay tuned!

And check out our new logo!

You can listen to the podcast with the player below, or download it directly as an mp3.

Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.

Stephen King writes a semi-weekly column for Enterntainment Weekly, and has many times in the past expressed his love for the Harry Potter books.  In this week’s edition, Uncle Stevie devotes his column to Harry Potter and how he’s feeling approaching the conclusion of the series:

I’m having a day of mixed feelings: happy because I’m reading the manuscript of a novel that’s full of magic, mystery, and monsters; sad because it will be finished tomorrow and on my shelf, with all its secrets told and its surviving characters set free to live their own lives (if characters have lives beyond the end of a novel — I’ve always felt they do).

Read the rest, it’s really great.