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“And unless Harry’s ears were deceiving him, the old radio next to the sink had just announced that coming up was …”— Chamber of Secrets, chapter 3What it’s all about … I’ve had some amazing adventures in over a decade as a Harry Potter fan — reading and researching the books, visiting the sets of the film, enjoying Wizard Rock concerts, speaking at conventions, traveling throughout Britain discovering Harry Potter’s world, and writing two books. One of the best parts has been sharing my love for Potter with fans in my presentations in libraries, conventions, and bookstores. I’ve often been asked for those presentations to be recorded and available somewhere like YouTube. Those requests are the impetus behind this podcast project. The HP Lexicon podcast will give me a chance to talk about things that I discuss in my presentations. I’ll talk about canon sources (those wonderful Daily Prophet newsletters, for example), about the way the books work together to tell one glorious tale, and about my experiences wandering through Britain in search of Harry Potter’s magical world. I’ll talk about the books mostly, although I am a huge fan of the films and I won’t be able to keep myself from chatting about them as well. This page will be the home base for show notes, comments, and links. Each new episode will be available here as soon as I get it ready to post. You can use the contact links on this page to make comments on the show, ask questions, or make suggestions. I hope you all enjoy the podcast and find it interesting and engaging. Steve Vander Ark email | Facebook | Twitter
- 36 - OP9: Lucius? I Remember Him
This is truly a case of “You had to be there.”
When I read this chapter for the first time, the day after the book was released, I distinctly recall feeling a little bit surprised by Harry’s reaction to Lucius Malfoy. I knew there was no love lost between them, of course. However, the fact that Lucius Malfoy would be skulking around the Ministry and taking meetings with Fudge seemed perfectly normal. Of course a slimy guy like that would be trying to get in tight with the Minister for Magic.
Here’s how Rowling describes it:
They had just reached the ninth-level corridor and Cornelius Fudge was standing a few feet away from them, talking quietly to a tall man with sleek blond hair and a pointed, pale face.
The second man turned at the sound of their footsteps. He, too, broke off in mid-conversation, his cold grey eyes narrowed and fixed upon Harry’s face.
‘Well, well, well… Patronus Potter,’ said Lucius Malfoy coolly.
Harry felt winded, as though he had just walked into something solid. He had last seen those cold grey eyes through slits in a Death Eaters hood, and last heard that man’s voice jeering in a dark graveyard while Lord Voldemort tortured him.
All that is true, of course, but for fans reading this in June of 2003, it had all happened several years ago. A lot of discussion, a lot of re-reading, a ton of fan fiction, and the filmed versions of the first two books had come out since. In other words, for most fans the last they had seen of Lucius Malfoy was in the film of Chamber of Secrets, as Jason Isaacs’ long white wig whisked out of sight after his characters had accidentally freed Dobby.
I supposed it’s impossible to explain for those who weren’t reading the books at the time how the three years between books four and five affected fans — how it affected the whole world. Between July of 2000, when Goblet of Fire was published, and June of 2003, when Order of the Phoenix debuted, Harry Potter became a world-wide phenomenon. The characters of Harry, Ron, and Hermione now looked in everyone’s minds like Dan, Rupert, and Emma. There were trading cards and action figures and jewelry boxes and who knows what else. The first Harry Potter convention, Nimbus 2003, was held in Orlando. The internet became the new way for people to communicate and online fandom was essentially invented by Harry Potter fans.
So much had happened and so much had changed since fans had read those last few chapters of Goblet of Fire that the next paragraph they read in Order of the Phoenix just seemed odd. Rowling described Harry’s reaction to Lucius this way:
Harry could not believe that Lucius Malfoy dared look him in the face; he could not believe that he was here, in the Ministry of Magic, or that Cornelius Fudge was talking to him, when Harry had told Fudge mere weeks ago that Malfoy was a Death Eater.
“Mere weeks ago”? It’s true, the graveyard in Little Hangleton had only been a couple of weeks ago in the story timeline. Fans had to come to a screeching mental halt and try to remember how they had felt three years before, when Cedric Diggory had been murdered, when the Priori Incantatem effect had given Harry just the edge he needed...Wed, 30 May 2018 - 4min - 35 - Encore Episode: “Oh wait a minute, who was that?”
This is an encore presentation of an episode from June, 2011
Steve talks about Pottermore misconceptions, how Rowling changed the online world once before, cool and interesting sources of canon information, Galleons changing the world, the late Quidditch match in book one, and other bits of Potter lore.
Links:
* Harry Potter for Writers blog about Pottermore, including screen shots and a link to the video
* HP Lexicon sources: The Daily Prophet Newsletters
* HPL: Galleons, Sickles, and Knuts
* HP Lexicon essay: Wizard Money
* HPL: Reader’s Guide to Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone
Sat, 02 May 2020 - 28min - 34 - Encore Episode: Did Dumbledore Walk Around With It in His Pocket?
This is an encore broadcast of the first Harry Potter Lexicon Podcast from June of 2011.
Welcome to the Harry Potter Lexicon Podcast, in this first episode:
* Steve introduces the podcast
* thanks a few people
* reminiscing about visiting the graveyard in Godric’s Hollow
* the missing twenty-four hours
* the mystery of Quirrell
* and a few other oddities.
Links:
* The Harry Potter Lexicon
* Facebook page
Wed, 13 Nov 2019 - 29min - 33 - Episode 31: The Crimes of Grindelwald Trailer
The last week or two has just been chock full of new stuff for members of the fandom. We have a new audiobook version of Quidditch through the Ages which also has a dramatization of the 2014 Quidditch World Cup which is particularly entertaining. We have a new gameplay trailer for Hogwarts Mystery, a new logo for the Wizarding World as a whole. Everything came to a head though when the first trailer for “Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald” dropped, giving us plenty of tidbits to pour over, which we did in this episode.
We first talked about all the other new things, one at a time, and then we dug into the trailer and discussed it in length. If you haven’t watched the trailer yet, we recommend you watch the trailer before you listen to this podcast, as we’d hate to spoil something before you have a chance to see it.
The longest bit of discussion about the trailer has to do with this image from the trailer:
At first glance the image doesn’t make any sense, but as you start reading it carefully you can tell it is what appears to be a Lestrange Family Tree.
Shout outs to both the Super Carlin Brothers and the Harry Potter Wiki who digested this family tree before we had a chance to do it. The Wiki, in particular, does a great job of picking apart every name and the connections between them, be sure to check it out.
The big connection is that this family tree indicates that Credence is actually Leta Lestrange’s half-brother Corvus Lestrange V. Naturally this mind-blowing reveal gave us plenty to talk about and our other topic of conversation we had on the docket we’ll have to save for a future episode.
There’s plenty more to talk about and figure out, for example, what the heck is that moose thing? Also, stop obsessing about apparating onto the non-existent bridge! The bridge does not exist in the books anyway, so apparating onto it doesn’t mean anything, and even if it did, they apparate to a point on the bridge far away from the castle, that could very well be where the boundary on that side of the grounds is.
We hope you enjoy this episode as much as we enjoyed recording it.
For our things that caught our eye lately, Steve was excited about yet another new Lego set (the Thestral Carriage from the new trailer), and Nick talked about a video he had watched this week about the reasons that Warner Brothers won out over Disney for the movie rights, and why Universal Studios ended up with the Wizarding World of Harry Potter instead of Disney World.
Mon, 19 Mar 2018 - 1h 23min - 32 - Episode 30: Discussing The Harry Potter Lexicon Minute
Episode 30 of our main Lexicon Podcast is shorter than usual and is all about discussing our new podcast, the Harry Potter Lexicon Minute.
We started the episode by talking about the rich collection of essays on the Lexicon and the recent feedback we’ve received telling us that we have incorrect information in some of these essays that were published before the books were all written. We talked a bit about an upcoming new feature that will make it easier to understand just where in the history of the Harry Potter Fan community each essay was written.
We talked a bit about the first trailer for Harry Potter: Hogwarts Mystery and how excited we are for the upcoming game.
We then spent a few minutes talking about our new sponsor on our Support the Lexicon page. Thanks to Magic Alley for supporting the Lexicon, and especially for sponsoring the new Harry Potter Lexicon Minute Podcast, we are very grateful. To our readers, if you find yourself in need for some Harry Potter Memorabilia, please check out our friends at MagicAlley.co.uk.
The remainder of the episode was spent talking about our new feature, the Harry Potter Lexicon Minute. Our editors (not just us) have been recording some great tidbits of Harry Potter fandom insights and if you haven’t checked it out yet, you really should check out the new podcast, which releases twice a week on Wednesdays and Saturdays, you can find it on the home page or here.
If you like the Harry Potter Lexicon Podcast as much as we do, don’t worry, we aren’t stopping this podcast, the Harry Potter Lexicon Minute is just an additional podcast for you to enjoy.Sat, 03 Mar 2018 - 23min - 31 - Episode 29: “…and it was all just cabbage”
In this episode recorded on December 19th, Steve, Nick, and Barbara all record from the same room, which happens to be a hotel room in Anaheim Hills, CA as we were on a Disney filled vacation involving Disneyland and touring the Walt Disney Studios.
What’s new in the Lexicon
Not much, we talked about mystery pages on the old lexicon that have shown up in analytics.
Harry Potter News
There’s now an official Harry Potter RPG coming. We talk about how exciting this is and what we are hoping for out of the game. Steve and Barbara talk about Stardew Valley, a game that it is mentioned this game is based on. We also talk a little bit about Portkey Games, the new Warner Brothers Interactive and Pottermore for wizarding world games.
We also talk a bit about the latest updates (as of then) from the production of Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald and how much we are looking forward to it.
Why Voldemort Killed his parents in 1942, not 1943
Our first of two main topics this episode is a discussion about the phrase “In his sixteenth year.” Every so often we get feedback stating that we are wrong to put the murder of Tom Riddle’s parents in 1942 instead of 1943 as other sites on the internet are known to do.
Steve explains why the murders have to take place in 1942 because “In his sixteenth year” means “his sixteenth year of life” as opposed to “when he was sixteen.” We also discuss a bit about the different levels of canon and how to make decisions on things such as what position James played on the Quidditch team.
Is Gamp’s Law a Legal or a Scientific Law?
Our next topic of conversation is about Gamp’s Law of Elemental Transfiguration. The three of us had long run under the assumption that Gamp’s Law is the magic equivalent of a Scientific law, such as the laws of thermodynamics, or the law of gravity. That is to say that it is an explanation of how magic works and why. A recent essay that Steve had read, however, assumed that Gamp’s Law was actually a written legal law to prevent misuse of magic.
After our discussion, we are still pretty convinced that Gamp’s Law is a scientific law, but we’re eager to know what you think down in the comments.
We also take this opportunity to discuss what Gamp’s Law really is based on what we know of the wizarding world.
Wrap Up
We hope you enjoy this special episode as much as we enjoyed recording it. It is a rare treat that we can sit down together and record a podcast live.Fri, 09 Feb 2018 - 1h 02min - 30 - Episode 3: “There’s an Elf head hanging outside the window!”
Steve talks about Harry Potter canon levels, Rowling skipping the ‘t’, teaching styles of Snape vs. Flitwick for First Years, wandering around Grimmauld Place, and other random Potter things.
Show links:
* Grapevine Library: Harry Potter Presentations July 16, 2011
* The Black Family Tree
* Essay: Arthur Weasley’s Relationship to Sirius Black: First Forays into the Black Family Tree
* Mysterious Britain: Black Annis
* Facebook page
Fri, 08 Jul 2011 - 31min - 29 - Episode 2: “Oh wait a minute, who was that?”
Steve talks about Pottermore misconceptions, how Rowling changed the online world once before, cool and interesting sources of canon information, Galleons changing the world, the late Quidditch match in book one, and other bits of Potter lore.
Links:
* Harry Potter for Writers blog about Pottermore, including screen shots and a link to the video
* HP Lexicon sources: The Daily Prophet Newsletters
* HPL: Galleons, Sickles, and Knuts
* HP Lexicon essay: Wizard Money
* HPL: Reader’s Guide to Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone
Sun, 26 Jun 2011 - 28min - 28 - Episode 1: “Did Dumbledore walk around with it in his pockets?”
Welcome to the Harry Potter Lexicon Podcast, in this first episode:
* Steve introduces the podcast
* thanks a few people
* reminiscing about visiting the graveyard in Godric’s Hollow
* the missing twenty-four hours
* the mystery of Quirrell
* and a few other oddities.
Links:
* The Harry Potter Lexicon
* Facebook page
Tue, 21 Jun 2011 - 29min - 25 - Episode 28: New Fan Theories!
Episode 28 is finally here! This episode (Recorded on November 25th) is all about a couple of recent fan theories we’ve come across lately. We discuss the recent updates to the Lexicon, dissect the new cast photo, and debate theories we’ve seen online lately.
What’s New in the Lexicon
We began our podcast as always by talking about what’s new with the Lexicon. We started with talking about the new header navigation, landing pages, lists and breadcrumbs. We also talk about how we have a lot more A-Z lists.
When we get to talking about the original jkrowling.com website (and startrek.com) and how we seem to have lost a bit of that charm of immersive websites of the late 90s and early 2000s. We talk about how it was lost in favor of more informational sites, how there was a resurgence with sites like pottermore, but then ultimately killed by mobile.
We then talk about some of the bigger new features including an overhaul of the search system (and hint at some cool new features coming soon) and about timelines.
New Stuff in the Wizarding World
We talk about the title of the new film “Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald” and talk about how we’ve lost the word “and.”
We talk about the new cast photo and about how it is a shame that Albus doesn’t have Auburn hair (Steve wishes Nick hadn’t mentioned the hair color, because before that he thought Jude Law looked excellent as Dumbledore).
We also mention the Holiday stuff going on at the Wizarding World of Harry Potter at Universal Studios in both Hollywood and Orlando.
Fan Theory Time
Is The Enchanting Snake Girl Nagini?
We spend a while talking about a theory that comes to us from the Hogwarts Professor site. The theory is based on the information on the aforementioned Cast Photo. All of the characters have names except for the character played by Claudia Kim. All we know about her from the Pottermore article is that she is one of the Circus Arcanus‘s “attractions” and that she is a Maledictus, “a carrier of a blood curse that makes her transform into a beast.”
We don’t know much about what a Maledictus is, other than this is different than an Animagus as an Animagus can transform into an animal at will, a Maledictus is cursed to eventually become a beast and this is outside of the Maledictus’ control.
Concerning the Circus Arcanus, we’ve also seen a bit of artwork (seen above) for a ticket to this circus. Of the various acts advertised on this ticket, the largest advertisement by far is “The Enchanting Snake Girl” (“Alive! Beguiling! Mesmerizing!”)
In the first movie, we actually got to see an advertisement for the Circus Arcanus as well, and it also dedicated the largest bit of advertising space to The Enchanting Snake Girl.Tue, 09 Jan 2018 - 1h 17min - 24 - Episode 27: The Hogwarts Deathtrap
New at the Lexicon
Steve and Nick began Episode 27 by talking about the task of moving remaining content over from the old legacy site into the current, modern Lexicon. We also talked about the ongoing work on the Timeline system.
New in the Harry Potter Universe
We talked about the 20th anniversary of Philosopher’s Stone, and about the new Harry Potter Book Club. We also discuss the reason for pottermore’s less interactive design.
We talk about the casting call for Fantastic Beasts 2 where they are looking for teenage versions of Newt, Leta, Gellart, Albus and someone named Sebastian, which means that there is not 1 but 2 flashbacks since Newt and Leta were not teenagers at the same time as Gellart and Albus. We try to determine if we’ll hear about the incident that got Newt expelled. We wonder if Sebastian might be the student whose life was threatened.
We talk about how it seems like this movie in a way is sneaking up on us. “Wait they are filming already?”
Harry Potter British Museum books: Harry Potter: A History of Magic and Harry Potter: A Journey Through a History of Magic. These books sound great, as it will include original drawings and manuscripts from Rowling. There could be new canon from the notebooks we’ve all been desperate to get a look at.
Main Topics
Did Dumbledore set the whole thing up in Philosopher’s Stone?
We talk a bit about all of the “coincidental” events that help Harry on his journey. Why send Hagrid with Harry to pick up the stone in the first place? Why have the mirror out in a place Harry can find it (multiple days in a row)?
What kind of idiot would send their kids to a deathtrap like Hogwarts?
Psychopath as the headmaster (apparently) who purposely puts children in dangerous situations, just to see what happens. Don’t go into that place, or you’ll die. Sure it’s fine if as punishment for being out of bed, you send the person who was guilty of illegal Dragon breeding to take those kids into a forest full of monsters, and then split up.
So let’s believe, ok, the kids go to a year, come home and talk about how there’s a floor with monsters, kids being taken into the forest, and a kid nearly died fighting an evil wizard, should we send the kids back? Ok kids, have a good school year!
Second year: kids get turned into statues, threatening messages written in blood on the walls, and a kid kidnapped and taken into a chamber with a giant snake that can kill you just by looking at you. Hmm, should we send the kids back? Have a nice third year kids!
Third year: you get to the end, kids tell their parents that Dumbledore hired a known Werewolf, it was common knowledge that a known murderer was repeatedly breaking into the castle, and the government purposely surrounded the school with dark creatures that like to suck out the souls of anyone who get in their way.
In general, kids in Quidditch where they fly 60 feet above the ground and are hit in the head with solid iron balls. Kids do things in potions class where they accidentally lose body parts. This is not a safe place.
And on top of this, the education is clearly lopsided. Students are expected to write essays, but aren’t taught English. They have to measure ingredients in potions but don’t take standard math classes.
What’s Struck us in the Wizarding World
Free Harry Potter Walking Tour in London
https://strawberrytours.com/london/tours/free-harry-potter-tour
Sounds like a fun tour, and it is free (though they ask you to donate what you can).
The Cauldron
NickThu, 13 Jul 2017 - 1h 09min - 23 - Episode 26: Fantastic Beasts and the 2001 thirst for canon
Episode 26 of the Lexicon Podcast focuses on Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them (the schoolbook released in 2001 and a new edition released this week), and Quidditch Through the Ages (the book that was originally published along with Fantastic Beasts in 2001).
We first talked a little bit about the process of how we add new content to the site. We first create stub entries (empty entries) and then we make a list of articles that need content and our editors work on the list.
Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them (2017 Edition)
We then talk about the news of the newly published edition of Fantastic Beasts and we discussed the Audiobook a little.
Steve asks Nick if he likes the new stuff. Nick comments that it is interesting reading again even the old stuff because now we have more of an idea of who the “writer” of this book actually is. Now that we have some context into the life of Newt Scamander things feel more connected reading this book where previously our only connection to it was the mentioning of it as being one of Harry’s Schoolbooks.
Steve mentions that an issue he has with the new introduction is that it felt to him as just a “blurb for the film.”
Steve mentions the 6 new beasts were fine but if you are going through the trouble, why not give us a lot more than 6. But if you are going to include 6 you really should include more, for example why isn’t Pukwudgie as you have the other 3 house animals, but omitted Pukwudgie. Nick points out that Pukwudgie might be classified as a “being” rather than a “beast” since Pukwudgies are intelligent enough to hold real conversations (like House Elves and Goblins).
Steve then asks about the audio version and Nick talks about his experience listening to it. Nick comments that it is both great and annoying that Eddie Redmayne reads the book “as” Newt Scamander. This bugs Nick because the introduction makes it clear that this new introduction is being written now, but being read by Newt Scamander with a voice identical to the Newt Scamander of 1926 at age 29 even though in 2017 he should now be 130.
Nick’s other problem with the new book is that the old schoolbook indicated that it was the 52nd edition of Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them, but the new introduction indicates that the 2001 edition was a reprint of the first edition of the book.
Timeline problems in this book, some of the changes to connect to the film and the rest of the book series. For example, in 2001 Dumbledore was not alive. Of course, there were date issues no matter what, for even in the 2001 editions, the Quidditch Through the Ages.
After our arguments about inconsistency, we go back to talking about the audio book. We play a tiny clip of the audiobook (I highly recommend you go get a copy yourself to hear the rest) and talk about some of the interesting things, like the background sounds and the way he handles footnotes.
Steve then launches into the fandom history and talks about what the situation was like in 2001 when the schoolbooks set was released. These books are vastly different than the things that come out in like Pottermore Essays.
A significant portion of all of what we know about the Wizarding World beyond the events of the book comes from these 2 little books, we learn a history of magic through 2 very different perspectives,Mon, 20 Mar 2017 - 1h 14min - 22 - Episode 25: The Horcrux Conundrum
For the majority of Episode 25, Steve and Nick puzzle over the topic of Horcruxes, and more particularly how they are created and when Voldemort created each of his Horcruxes. Listen in as we end up with more questions at the end then we had at the beginning. We are back to audio only this week, but stay tuned, more Video podcasts will be coming soon.
What’s New in the Lexicon
* Lots of editing been happening
* Server was just moved
* Still need to move the SOLR server (used for search)
* Timelines and a revamped Search is still ongoing
What’s new in the Wizarding World
* Not a lot since Fantastic Beasts
* Slightly quiet times
* New version of Fantastic Beasts book coming out
* Audio book narrated by Eddie Redmayne (Newt Scamander)
* Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them coming out on DVD and Blu-Ray on March 28th (iTunes and Amazon will get it Digitally on March 7th)
* Work is going on for Fantastic Beasts 2. J.K. Rowling has been hanging out in the writer’s room and tweeted a picture of a typewriter and the script
Having a Beastly day… pic.twitter.com/xRGCC9gt3B
— J.K. Rowling (@jk_rowling) February 27, 2017
In writer's room at film studio. How wonderful is this typewriter, provided by the props dept? pic.twitter.com/hEEauZ1LPH
— J.K. Rowling (@jk_rowling) February 28, 2017
Support the Lexicon
* If you buy something on amazon, please consider using our link to get to Amazon before you buy, we’ll get a percentage of your purchase
* The March J.K. Rowling’s Wizarding World Loot Crate is sold out, but you will be able to buy the May crate soon, or you can subscribe to any other crate, use promo code HPLEXICON and get a discount and help the lexicon at the same time.
* If you really want to help, become one of our Patrons on Patreon and help us directly. We will be doing a great give-away to one of our Patrons (more on that at the end of the episode)
Horcruxes
* First we argue a bit about which came first, the Diary or the Ring
* Next we get down into talking about if using the Basilisk to kill Myrtle should count as murdering Myrtle
* Then we start talking about Frank Bryce and Bertha Jorkins
* Rowling said (BLC) that the murder used to turn Nagini into a Horcrux was Bertha Jorkins
* Dumbledore says (HBP23) that Voldemort didn’t even get the idea to turn Nagini into a Horcrux until Voldemort “used Nagini to kill a muggle man” which would be Frank Bryce, which was at least days, but probably weeks after he killed Bertha Jorkins
* Possible Dumbledore is just wrong,Mon, 06 Mar 2017 - 1h 13min - 21 - Episode 24: J.K. Rowling’s Wizarding World Loot Crate Unboxing (x2)
Episode 24 is a little different than usual, it is actually 2 mini-episodes put into 1 (mostly because after recording the first J.K. Rowling’s Wizarding World Loot Crate crate unboxing, I was so busy I didn’t have time to actually edit and post it).
As such, the second Wizarding World Crate came before I ever managed to post the first one. When the second Wizarding World crate came in, we were unable to arrange a time with Steve to record so we recorded it ourselves.
Crate 1: Welcome to the Wizarding World
* New York Ghost Newspaper T-Shirt
* Niffler Funco POP Vinal (one of several options)
* Pigwidgen Stuffed Owl
* MACUSA Notebook
* Owl Post Keychain
* Bowtruckle Pin
Crate 2: A Matter of Time
* Severus Snape “Always” T-Shirt
* Assorted Funco POP (Nick got Hermione in Yule Ball attire, Barbara got Sirius Black)
* Platform 9 3/4 Socks
* Deathly Hallows Pocket Watch
* Time Turner Charm
* Prophecy Pin
Get your own Wizarding World Crate!
Loot Crate’s Wizarding World crate is great, containing a ton of exclusive Harry Potter and Fantastic Beasts collectibles. Take a look at our unboxing of the first two crates and then if you want your own J.K. Rowling’s Wizarding World crate, go to lootcrate.com/hplexicon and use promo code HPLEXICON and order one. The next crate will be themed “Hogwarts House Pride.” When you select your crate you can declare your house and the products in this next crate will be tailored to your selected house.
Using this promo code not only saves you some money on your order, but you’ll also be supporting the Lexicon at the same time.
If you’d like to support the lexicon in other ways, be sure to visit our Support the Lexicon page.Mon, 13 Feb 2017 - 35min - 20 - Episode 23: Fantastic Beasts and the Wait for the Next Movie
The week Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them came out, Lexicon Tech Wizard Nick Moline just so happened to be on a business trip. On the way home, he stopped in Texas and together Steve and Nick (along with Steve’s wife Mitzi) watched the movie together. After watching the film, they couldn’t wait to sit down and talk about it, so for their first truly live podcast — so without having to call each other remotely over Hangouts — Episode 23 is all about Fantastic Beasts.
Those of you who haven’t seen the film yet, you can listen to the first 20 minutes of the podcast before they break down and start talking spoilers.
Topics of Discussion
* Isn’t it great that we now have 4 more films to anticipate and wait for, leading all the way to 2024 (and hopefully to 1945)
* Why some people have issues with pacing (but we don’t)
* How richly detailed the film is
* Can we go see it again?
I won’t put the spoiler filled topics of discussion in the show notes (at least for now) but we go on for a good 40 minutes talking about various aspects of the film and what we think the rest of the franchise will include.
What Struck Us
At the end of the podcast in the “What Struck You” segment, Steve pointed out a site where there are ambient noise audio mixes of the various Hogwarts Common Rooms. Nick was struck by a negative Cursed Child youtube review he had watched that week but particularly by something the reviewer said starting at 25 minutes 31 seconds into the review. The reviewer (Austin Mcconnell) said “Harry Potter books are Mystery Books disguised as Fantasy Books, Harry Potter and the Cursed Child is a Time Travel Book disguised as a Harry Potter Book.” While Nick disagrees with much of what the Reviewer had to say about Cursed Child, that statement had struck him as an interesting way to sum up what makes a Harry Potter book special.
Coming up next time
We end by discussing what is coming up for Episode 24 of the podcast. Episode 24 will be a video podcast (we’ve already recorded it so it’s coming real soon) where we unbox the Loot Crate Wizarding World Crate #1 “Welcome to the Wizarding World.”
Support the Lexicon
If you want to get your own Loot Crate Wizarding World, be sure to use our promo code HPLEXICON at lootcrate.com/hplexicon, you’ll get $3 off your purchase and you’ll be supporting the Lexicon while you do it.
You can also support the Lexicon by supporting us on Patreon or by using our link when you shop on Amazon. You know you want to buy a copy of the Fantast...Sun, 04 Dec 2016 - 1h 10min - 19 - Episode 22: The One About Draco
Episode 22 of The Harry Potter Lexicon Podcast focuses on the character of Draco Malfoy. Steve and Nick start by talking about the latest news about the upcoming Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them movie franchise, now announced to be five movies instead of three, and theorize on how far this franchise will go in the five movies.
After talking about what is new in the Wizarding World, they turn their attention to talking about Draco Malfoy. In particular, they talk about what ways Draco has matured in Cursed Child, and just what the reason for this might be. Steve and Nick disagree a bit about if Draco and Harry are friends in the 21st century or not, but they both agree that the relationship is in a very different place than it was in the 1990s.
Also during this podcast episode, Steve and Nick announce a new partnership between the Lexicon and Loot Crate. Loot Crate, the premier mystery box subscription service for Science Fiction and Fantasy fandoms, has created a new subscription just for the Wizarding World. Sign up for the Wizarding World crate or any of Loot Crate’s other great subscriptions at lootcrate.com/hplexicon using promo code HPLEXICON and you’ll get a $3 discount off the cost of your subscription. Make sure you use that promo code to get your discount and support the Lexicon at the same time.
We ended the episode with a discussion of what has “struck” us in the Wizarding World in the last week. Nick talked about his re-listen to OP31 and how he was struck just how old Professor Marchbanks must be. Steve talked about a youtube video he had seen recently about how difficult it was for translators to translate the Harry Potter books into other languages. He recalled a conversation he had with one of the translators about the difficulty of translating the title to HBP3 Will and Won’t because the wordplay simply didn’t work the same way in the other language. We’ve embedded the video below so you can watch it yourself before or after listening to this episode.
Thu, 27 Oct 2016 - 1h 04min - 18 - Episode 21: Do Seers see alternate realities?
Steve and Nick continue their discussion of Cursed Child, so here is your spoiler warning (which we didn’t quite get to mentioning until we had already been talking about cursed child quite a bit), don’t listen to this episode if you haven’t read or seen Harry Potter and the Cursed Child yet unless you don’t mind spoilers.
We managed to mostly avoid the Time Travel rabbit hole, but we did come up with an interesting theory about Divination based on what we know about Delphi. We also spend some time discussing the way other characters are represented in Cursed Child.
In addition to talking about Cursed Child, we also spend some time going over all the new canon from Pottermore, the Pottermore Presents e-books, the MACUSA article, and the Patronus quiz.
We also talk a bit about upcoming enhancements to the Lexicon website, and we talk a little about how you can support the Lexicon.
Stay tuned for Episode 22, where we plan on focusing our conversation on the character of Draco Malfoy.Sun, 16 Oct 2016 - 1h 09min - 17 - Episode 20: Is Cursed Child Good?
Steve and Nick finally got a chance to sit down and talk about Cursed Child, some good, some not so good, and found it is very hard to steer away from the Time Travel rabbit hole. So much stuff to talk about and we debate a few big issues on the story.
SPOILER WARNING: Don’t listen to this episode if you haven’t read Cursed Child yet because we are not holding back on this episode.
Topics of this episode
* We read some negative Lexicon feedback on air and talk about it
* We talk about the upcoming new version of the timelines project (coming soon)
* We talk about the rumors of an impending Cursed Child movie (not happening any time soon folks)
* We talk about the upcoming new deluge of books coming out.
* Rowling’s September 1st mistake.
Cursed Child Topics
* Is it good?
* Things are a bit different, how do we rationalize this?
* Time Travel
* Delphi’s parentage
* Time Travel
Wrap Up
* Episode 21 we’ll talk more Cursed Child trying our hardest not to talk about Time Travel
* Nick is working on the Lexicon Timelines and arguing Cursed Child stuff on the internet
* Steve is busy with the start of school, but also happily editing the Lexicon whenever he can find the time.
Wed, 07 Sep 2016 - 54min - 16 - Episode 11: “What happened to the whimsy?!”
Steve marvels at the levels of the soundscapes on Pottermore, then bemoans expensive canon and Rowling’s lost website, reads a wonderful insight from a fan about the magic of books, then finds book five to be “really jarring on a number of levels” … and yet his favorite book of the series.
Show links:
* Book five on the Lexicon
* about Rowling’s old website
* Facebook fan page
Wed, 13 Jun 2012 - 1h 04min - 15 - Episode 10: “This gap is where it all changed …”
Steve starts “season two” of the podcast by reviewing the past nine episodes, then discusses new things on Pottermore, discovering Diagon Alley in London, how the world of Harry Potter changed during the gap between books four and five, and why that gap left many fans unprepared for book five when it came.
Show links:
* essay index from the Lexicon
* Quidditch Through the Ages
* Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them
* the Famous Wizard Cards
* MuggleNet’s Alohomora! podcast
* HP Lexicon facebook page
Fri, 08 Jun 2012 - 1h 14min - 14 - Episode 9: “The Dark Arts … are you TRYING to be bad?”
Steve wonders about the numbers 1531 and 4157, then talks about December in the Harry Potter universe, what makes the Dark Arts dark (and where Crouch Jr. could have learned them), mixes up the spelling of a spell and forgets the order of Priori Incantatem, then recalls experiences with anti-Potter book-banners.
Alternate titles:
* “There are connections everywhere! Oh, no, I guess there aren’t.”
* “It’s all fun and games until someone gets their fake magical eye knocked out.”
* “Over the course of a year, you MIGHT start to wonder …”
Show links:
* Calendars: PS, CS, PA, GF, OP, HBP, DH
* Hogwarts academics, classes
* Dark Arts
* Goblet of Fire on the Lexicon
* Ennervate (spelled correctly, regardless of how I spelled it in the show …)
* Facebook fan page
* Google+ page
* Kindle: Reader’s Guide to PS
* Nook: Reader’s Guide to PS
* email: steve.lexicon@gmail.com
Sun, 04 Dec 2011 - 1h 00min - 13 - Episode 8: “And then book 3 came along … a bolt of lightning!”
Steve raves about Pottermore, then talks about dragon breeds, interviews from the misty past, offensive spells, Rowling’s trickery, missing the whole point, and other odds and ends of Harry Potter lore.
Show links:
* Facebook fan page
* Accio Quote
* Book three on the Lexicon
* Kindle: Reader’s Guide to PS
* Nook: Reader’s Guide to PS
Sun, 18 Sep 2011 - 49min - 12 - Episode 7: “There’s a door … a black door with no handle …”
Steve wanders down Charing Cross Road, then talks about hidden pubs, anti-magical roads, questions in book two and answers in books six, floating kitchenware, hanging animals, and other bits of Potter lore.
Show links:
* Cuthbert Binns
* Charing Cross Road
* Leaky Cauldron
* Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets
* The Reader’s Guide to Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone on Kindle
* Facebook page
Mon, 05 Sep 2011 - 41min - 11 - Episode 6: “Only two people are known to have done it … and they’re both dead!”
Steve discusses McGonagall and Walpurga and their friends, wobbly bridges, mutant chickens, Bertie Botts Shots, who can and can’t fly, a fateful decision to retrieve a forgotten diary, and other odds and ends of Harry Potter canon.
Show links:
* Lexicon’s timeline: 1920 through 1945
* Lexicon Bestiary introduction page
* Notes about Wizards NOT flying
* Millennium Bridge on Wikipedia
* Bertie Botts Every Flavour Beans
* King’s Cross Station
Tue, 16 Aug 2011 - 47min - 10 - Episode 5: “In front of me was a signpost that said ‘Burrow’…”
Steve explains how choices were made about Lexicon content ten years ago, then discovers the Burrow among the hedgerows, an intriguing list from Rowing’s notebooks, and two Harrys over the course of the saga.
Pictures of the Burrow farm and a Devon country lane:
Show links:
* What’s In A Name?
* HP Lexicon: How to find the “More idle jottings” special on JK Rowling’s website
Sun, 31 Jul 2011 - 43min - 9 - Episode 4: “Boom! There comes Neville!”
Steve lists things he liked and didn’t like about Deathly Hallows part 2 (SPOILERS), and discusses the warm and cozy Great Hall, the Famous Wizard cards, prejudice through the ages, what Dobby knew and how, and other Harry Potter odds and ends.
NOTE: There are spoilers for the Deathly Hallows part 2 film in this episode. Also, everyone didn’t hang around in the common room at the end of the Battle of Hogwarts, they hung around in the Great Hall. I do know that, I just said it wrong. It happens.
Show links:
* Facebook fan page (includes poll questions and trivia)
* Famous Wizard Cards
* Timelines
* History of Magic
* History of the Ministry of Magic
* Essay: “…over a thousand years ago…” Britain at the founding of Hogwarts by E.D. Blanning
Wed, 20 Jul 2011 - 36min - 8 - Episode 19: The Grand Circle Tour of the Lexicon
On this, our second Live episode of the Harry Potter Lexicon Podcast, Steve and Nick take the viewers on a tour of the New Lexicon and show off a bit of the new unique navigation and some of the special features that we’ve put our blood, sweat and tears into.
We also took live questions from our viewers about the Lexicon and our content.
Be sure to tune into Steve’s Facebook Page this Saturday night as he live broadcasts from one of the many Cursed Child release parties.
We still released an audio version of this podcast below, but we really recommend the video version for this particular episode as we were screencasting pages of the Lexicon and then talking about them. Check out the embedded video below, or watch the episode on Youtube.
Wed, 27 Jul 2016 - 1h 12min - 7 - Episode 18: We’re LIVE!
Episode 18 of the Harry Potter Lexicon Podcast is very special, for multiple reasons.
* Our first ever Live Podcast (with live Canon questions from the audience)
* Our first ever Video Podcast (don’t worry, you can still listen to audio!)
* We pushed the New Lexicon Live during the podcast!
Tonight’s episode was a lot of fun for both of us as we got to interact with you in real time. We are sure to do this again soon. Canon Topics included are:
* How many super big things, hinged on minute events (like Sirius happening to get to see a newspaper that just so happened to include a picture of Wormtail).
* The happening Music Scene at Hogwarts
* Did Rowling keep Canon details from us on purpose?
* Favorite (and least favorite) Potter related Memes
Fri, 22 Jul 2016 - 1h 08min - 6 - Episode 17: Trademarks, Contracts, and Butterbeer
Steve and Nick talk about live data on the new lexicon, which spawns a debate about wizarding currency. Just how much is a Galleon “really” worth anyway? We also try to make sense of the concept of Magical Contracts, and Nick recounts a tale of his recent visit to the new Wizarding World of Harry Potter at Universal Studios Hollywood1And comparing with the Hogsmeade portion of the Wizarding World of Harry Potter at Universal Studios Islands of Adventure in Hollywood jQuery('#footnote_plugin_tooltip_1257_70_1').tooltip({ tip: '#footnote_plugin_tooltip_text_1257_70_1', tipClass: 'footnote_tooltip', effect: 'fade', predelay: 0, fadeInSpeed: 200, delay: 400, fadeOutSpeed: 200, position: 'top right', relative: true, offset: [10, 10], });.
We have something extra special planned for Episode 18 and we need your help! We are going to do Episode 18 live as a Hangouts on Air this Thursday at 9:30 pm Eastern Time, 1:30 am GMT. Don’t worry if you can’t make it, we will still upload the episode here for everyone who can’t make it (or just wants to listen later), but if you can make it, we have a special announcement to make about the New Lexicon, and you can interact with us live. Ask us your most challenging Canon Mysteries and we’ll try to puzzle them out. Ask us about the new Lexicon and we’ll answer what we can. The next episode is about you, so be sure to tune in.
Notes[+] Notes
↩1 And comparing with the Hogsmeade portion of the Wizarding World of Harry Potter at Universal Studios Islands of Adventure in Hollywood
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Steve introduces a new series with this episode to coincide with the new version of the Harry Potter Lexicon website, and also introduces a new co-host, Nick Moline. They discuss the new website, for which Nick is the programmer, and then delve into the mysterious Marauder’s Map, answering the age-old fan question of why <insert name here> didn’t see <insert another name here> on the map?
Topics
* The history of the new Lexicon Project
* Why a new Lexicon
* Spoilers and when can we talk about Cursed Child
* How did Fred and George figure out how to work the Marauder’s Map
* Why didn’t blank see blank on the map?
Be sure to join us next time when we intend to have a conversation about Wizarding MoneyFri, 08 Jul 2016 - 1h 03min - 4 - Episode 15: The one who is both brave AND clever
The Harry Potter Lexicon podcast is back with a new series. In this episode Steve talks about Severus Snape (and calls him “Snake” by accident more than once),
discussing how Snape changes from book to book until a moment of cruelty in book four changes everything.
Links:
* Snape in the Lexicon
* The Lexicon on Facebook, on Twitter, and on Google+
* The Harry Potter Lexicon collection
* Email Steve if you’re interested in being a Lexicon editor
Fri, 19 Jun 2015 - 59min - 3 - Episode 14: “It’s the Mirror all over again.”
Steve talks about the upcoming Potter play, the latest Pottermore updates, various arcana from the Book of Spells, and sources which may or may not be canon. Then he finally tackles the complexities of the seventh book and explains why, for the entire series to make sense, the Hallows are essential and Harry’s final confrontation with Voldemort absolutely cannot be violent.
* Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows on the Lexicon
* The Harry Potter Companion
* Accio Quote
* Lexicon’s Facebook Fan Page
Sat, 04 Jan 2014 - 1h 00min - 2 - Episode 13: “The budding new baby hero!”
Steve digs into the interview archives, discussing Rowling’s control of her story and her characters, then explores the murky challenge of finding name sources, discovers the not-so-murky Grimmauld Place in London, and discusses the essential elements of book six which allow us to truly understand book seven.
Show links:
* The Lexicon on Kindle and Nook
* Accio Quote
* “Potter’s magic school first appeared in 1950’s classic” (The Independent, September 22, 2000)
* Lonsdale Square (Wikipedia)
Sat, 07 Jul 2012 - 1h 03min - 1 - Episode 12: “Why weren’t we told about this sooner?”
Steve chats about Rowling’s take on “official” Harry Potter, then discusses different modes of storytelling in book five, fan recommendations for best re-reads, how Sectumsepra just might be necessary, and how Molly Weasley rocks long before her showdown with Bellatrix.
Show links:
* Accio Quote
* J.K. Rowling: A Year in a Life on YouTube
* Lexicon: Molly Weasley
* MuggleNet’s Alohomora podcast
Tue, 26 Jun 2012 - 1h 02min
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