It is no secret that I am a bit of a podcast junkie, listening to over fifty different ones regularly, and for me this has largely replaced live radio. The launch of a new podcast centred around one of my passions and led by the insightful Irvin Khaytman was therefore a cause for celebration in the Jeffery household this February. Irvin is the author of Dumbledore: The Life and Lies and has writes under the name “hpboy13” in the Three Broomsticks column covering not just Harry Potter but also Strike, The Christmas Pig and The Ickabog. The Three Broomsticks podcast bills itself as:
A Harry Potter podcast that dives deeply into the seven books and the wider Wizarding World to find new insight and discuss the tiniest of details.
Irvin was a host of the Alohomora! podcast from 2019 to 2022, a fun and slightly anarchic look at the Harry Potter books. Generally one chapter at a time, and featuring many Mugglenet contributors. I had hoped that The Three Broomsticks would follow Irvin’s interest in the post Potter, and so I was delighted when along with Dr Beatrice Groves and Mugglenet contributions editor Sophia Jenkins, I was asked to participate in episode five, looking at the parallels between the villains in Half Blood Prince and The Ink Black Heart. Irvin had previously written on this very subject and more generally and of course Beatrice has also published The Ink Black Prince in The Rowling Library magazine and Ink Black Vampires in Bathilda’s Notebook. These formed the basis of what was a very fun discussion, which at over two hours form, with Alohomora, the longest podcasts that I subscribe to. Talking with Irvin, Sophia and Beatrice was such a pleasure it certainly didn’t seem that long when we were recording.
In this episode:
- Draco parallels ALL the characters!
- Why Death Eaters never wear t-shirts
- Peaches are dumb. So, so dumb.
- Will Charlotte be redeemed? You heard it here first!
- Do we like Madeline or no?
- Is Harry actually a villain?
- RIP the Farting Sofa
You can listen to the episode here, or subscribe on Apple, Google or Spotify. Let me know what you think in the comments below!
On the 21st January J. K. Rowling changed her Twitter header to give us another clue about the upcoming Strike instalment The Running Grave. Beatrice Groves, Research Lecturer and tutor at Trinity College, Oxford, and author of
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