Hey everyone!! Since we have started HP Progs, we have talked about doing podcasts on other subjects as well. We even had a podcast for the TV show, “The Wire” for a few weeks. Well, we would like to announce that we have collaborated with the people who bring you Mugglecast to do a GENERAL news, entertainment and pop culture podcast.  This has been a long time in the making and it is part (and I need to stress the word PART) of the reason HP Progs hasn’t been out in a while.

Anyway, we have just released our Pilot Episode- we don’t even have a name yet. Do us a favor and check it out and please send in your feedback to us at pilotpodcast@gmail.com.  Remember, it is just a pilot so we haven’t tweeked it completely yet.

I also must stress that this is an explicit podcast. Meaning if language and mature content offends you, please don’t listen.

You can find the podcast at: http://tinyurl.com/bjpqgj  You will need to hit subscribe and then the feed for the episode will show up on your own iTunes podcast page.

Thank you so much for your continued support! Happy listening!

-Penny and Greg

p.s. We have guests lined up for the next HP Progs and we couldn’t be happier to interview them on a great topic!  That will hopefully recorded soon.

HPEF announced some VERY exciting news today:

The Next Biggest Podcast Idol Survivor

Do you have what it takes to be the next Potter Podcast Idol? Have you ever listened to your favorite podcast and thought, “I can do that!” – Well here’s your chance! HPEF and MuggleCast are proud to present The Next Biggest Podcast Idol Survivor – a contest and endeavor to make the next great Harry Potter podcast. Individuals will audition on YouTube for our panel of judges by March 15, 2009, and the top 5 will be chosen to make the new podcast. Guided by our judges, the winners will go through all the steps necessary to make a successful podcast, like giving it a name, making the website, defining roles for each host, editing the podcast, finding theme music, and much more. The entire process will be documented on HPEF Presents (the official podcast of HPEF), MuggleCast, and YouTube. The winners will get the chance to podcast live from AZKATRAZ this July in San Francisco at the Podcast Palooza on Monday, July 20, and a Libsyn account to host your podcast, courtesy of MuggleCast. Here are all the details:

Part 1: Auditions:

If you think you have what it takes to be the next Potter podcasting star, then you’ve got to audition of course! Post your audition reel to YouTube with the title HPEF The Next Biggest Podcast Idol Contest – (insert your name here ) by March 15, 2009, to be eligible for the contest. You MUST be registered for AZKATRAZ to enter the contest (otherwise, you couldn’t be at the Palooza!). You must be at least 14 years of age to enter. Those under the age of 18 as of July 18, 2009, must email us a copy of the notarized chaperone form you must submit when registering. After posting your YouTube video, email us at pr@hp2009.org with a link to your video. You must also include the following information: Real Name (not your fandom name), age, email, and phone.

Part 2: Announcing the winners:

A panel of judges (consisting of hosts from the podcasts HPEF Presents and MuggleCast) will choose the top 5 audition tapes and announce the winners on a special edition of HPEF Presents.

Part 3: Making the Podcast

Once the winners are chosen, the work begins! At this point, the hosts will work with our judges to name the podcast, define their individual roles, make a website, come up with a theme song, design the format of the show, come up with new and exciting content, record & edit a first show, promote their show, and much more!

Part 4: The Big Tamale

Finally our new podcasters will have the chance to get their feet wet; there’s no time to waste, so they’ll jump right in! The culmination of this contest will, of course, be recording a live podcast at AZKATRAZ’s Podcast Palooza event this summer. Having worked with the judges for months in preparation for this event, the Podcasters will put on a live podcast by themselves in front of the entire AZKATRAZ conference. We will see if this podcast can become the next great Harry Potter podcast! For questions, please email us at pr@hp2009.org.

HPEF Presents is the new podcast produced by the folks who are bringing us Azkatraz 2009 in San Francisco, California. They have released their first episode today. Take a listen as Aziza and Will interview Gwendolyn Grace who is the Minister of Magic for the upcoming Azkatraz Conference. This episode is especially informative for those of you who are trying to decide whether to attend Azkatraz. It is chock full of information about the conference and you will definitely get a great taste of what is to come!

Click here to listen to the first episode of HPEF Presents. 

As always, if you are interested in attending Azkatraz 2009, you can still register. Please make sure to write “hpprogs” in the referral space and we will all be able to be happy HP conference goers together in July of 2009!!

We showed this teaser trailer (which may or may not…ok, may not, be the teaser trailer for the Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince movie) at our panel at the Portus Podcast Palooza (which was awesome, thank you so much for everyone who came to our panel).

Thanks to Travis for joining us!