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A weekly podcast delving into the deeper themes and meaning of the Harry Potter novels.
Recent Posts Tagged With 'deathly hallows'
Episode #88: Delayed!?! And, The Eyes Have It
So, it’s been a week or so since the last episode of HPProgs; while you were waiting for the next show, and even larger wait was sprung upon you: Half Blood Prince, The Movie, was delayed from 2008 to 2000-and-freakin-9. Penny’s been cov...
Episode #85: Free Will and Choice in Harry Potter
One of the over-arching meta-themes of the Harry Potter books is, without a doubt, choice. From early on the books the theme of choice is empasised, when the Sorting Hat defers to Harry’s wish to be in Gryffindor, or when Dumbledore makes it cl...
Episode #83: Patterns in Potter - Deathly Hallows
We’re back for another action-packed episode of Patterns in Potter. This time, we take on the latest contender in the Harry Potter series, The Deathly Hallows. We begin with an analysis of the prologue, of both The Libation Bearers by ...
Deathly Hallows Will Be Two Movies
It is official, the LA Times has reported that WB will be making the announcement tomorrow that Deathly Hallows will be split into two movies with David Yates directing them. Here is what the article says: WATFORD, England — It’s offi...
Episode #66: Introducing Patterns in Potter
It’s finally time. It’s been several months since Deathly Hallows came out, we’ve discussed most of what there is to discuss relating to the characters, the themes, the news that came out after the book was released. It’s...
Deathly Hallows to be Split into Two Movies?
Rumors are circulating that Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows will be made into not one, but two movies. Sources say the reasons are artistic and practical, and not aimed at squeezing more money out of the franchise. We’ll update with any ...
Episode #65: Leadership in Harry Potter
What makes a leader? For centuries, philosophers have debated the essential qualities of a leader (the differences in what a culture values in it’s leaders is often a good indication of the values of said culture). When looking at Harry Pot...
Episode #63: Harry Potter and the End of Innocence
There comes a time in a person’s life when they realize, for the first time, that the world is not actually the way they thought it was. That the picture they had in their mind about how the world works, the rules of the game, are suddenl...
Episode #59: Draco Disappoints
Was it just us, or was Draco’s finale just a bit disappointing? By the end of Book 6, it looked like Draco was prime for some kind of glorious and game-changing redemption. His failure to off Dumbledore left him in a bad place, but it was c...
Episode #58: Harry Potter Potpourri
The more interviews J.K. Rowling gives, the more show topics we get. This time, J.K. Rowling spoke with the Dutch newspaper Volksrant (not to be confused with Volkswagon or Voltron) and discussed many topics. Amongst them were the issues of life af...
Episode #57: Fatherhood in Potter
Last week we discussed love, and focused on the distinctly maternal focus taken by J.K. Rowling. This week, we examine the father figures in Harry’s life. From his actual, albeit ephermeral father James, to surrogates in Lupin, Sirius and e...
Episode #56: Love in Harry Potter
Although in English we have one basic term for love, there’s really all different kinds of love: brotherly love, selfless love, erotic love, and all make some kind of appearance in the Harry Potter novels. In this week’s show, we take a l...
Episode #55: Dumbledore is Gay! (Not that there’s anything wrong with that!)
At the New York City stop on J.K. Rowling’s Open Book Tour, J.K. Rowling announced (in response to a question from the audience) that Dumbledore was gay. For various reasons, this has caused quite a stir. How does this change, if at all, ho...
Episode #54: J.K. Rowling Speaks
J.K. Rowling has begin her Open Book Tour, with stops in Los Angeles, New Orleans and New York City. At the press conference at the LA appearance, J.K. Rowling spoke for the first time at length on the religious themes of the Harry Potter books, spe...
Episode #53: The Making of a Wizard - The Story of Neville Longbottom
One of our most favorite characters from the Harry Potter series is the one and only Neville Longbottom. From a shy, sheepish kid in the first book, to Snake-Killer, Neville goes through one of the most noticeable transformations of any other chara...
Episode #52: Meet the New Wizards
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...
Episode #50: The Quest for the Deathly Hallows
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...
Episode #49: Voldemort’s Downfall
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,”...
Episode #48: Dumbledore and the Greater Good
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 p...
Episode #47: The Prince’s Tale - The Tao of Snape
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 sacrif...
Episode #46: The Religion of Harry Potter
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&#...
Episode #45: The Dearly Departed
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 t...
Episode #44: Prophecy 2007 Recap
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 reca...
Episode #43: Making Sense of Deathly Hallows
*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...
Episode #42: Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Reviewed
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. WhatR...
Deathly Hallows Ships From Amazon
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 n...
Episode #41: The End of Harry Potter
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 the...
Episode #39: More Unanswered Questions
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 fr...
Stephen King Prepares for The End
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 feeli...
Episode #38: Unanswered Questions
We’re getting pretty close the end game. Zero hour. The End of Potter. And we’ve got plenty of unanswered questions. Earlier, we solicited your thoughts on what questions still need to be answered in Book 7. We had a great response,...
