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.

Hey y’all!  Penny just couldn’t stand being bedridden any longer, so she drug herself out of bed and we did a podcast!  Things have been a bit hectic around HPProgs HQ the last week or so, as Penny has suffered a pretty nasty injury to her spine.  Were still trying to figure out how we’re going to fix that; in the mean time, there’s no sense in not prognosticating.  This week’s quasi-episode features a bit of discussion into what’s going on with Penny (if you care), a little prognosticating on Potter, and a little off-topic discussions (sorry for the off-topic-ness, but we’ve been a bit busy) which are clearly marked as spoilers for those of you outside the US (you can listen until we tell you not to).  I have a pretty bad cold and therefore sound like a post-pubertal Kermit the Frog.  Anyways, thanks for listening, we hope to be back with your regularly scheduled all-Potter-themed podcast next week.

Update: Here is a link to the forum. There are a lot of great conversations going on there and you should join in. The thread about the TV finales is in the “All You Want to Talk” forum. We can’t wait to hear your thoughts!!

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

Sure, they’re the bad guys (well, not the bad guys, but they certainly get a bum rap), but are they really all that bad? Maybe they’re just misunderstood. What are the essential characteristics of the Slytherins, is there anything at all redeemable about them, and how will they figure in the final showdown with their sometime-Master, Lord Voldemort.

In the News:

• Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows will be 784 pages and green (that isn’t the color of the cover though)
• OoTP video game seems pretty cool.
• Greg won’t be able to fulfill his dream of playing Hermione Granger in the sixth and seventh Potter movies.
• Potter contest for kids in the U.K.

The blog post of the week goes to our friends over at Sirius Discussion, a brand new Harry Potter podcast. Make sure to check out their first episode!

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