First Years: A Harry Potter Podcast
by First Years Podcast
First Years is a podcast for adult first-time readers of Harry Potter, who need a space to enjoy each book and have adult conversations about it. Join us for literary discussions along your journey! Spoiler free! Read Harry Potter before? This is a perfect excuse to reread the series. Come join us!
Episodes
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#67: Thoughts & Ghosts
For today's episode you need to have read CHAPTER of Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix! We chat about the power of thought, how thoughts play into magic, ghosts, and more! We're officially done with Order of the Phoenix! How do we feel?! Get ready for Half Blood Prince coming up! We will…
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#66: Dumbledore's Audacity
For today's episode you need to have read CHAPTER 37 of Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix! We chat about the aftermath of the ministry visit and Dumbledore's audacity! Thank you to everyone who came to my Leaky panels or tuned in via live stream! You guys are the best! For next episode,...
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#65: Mourning
For today's episode you need to have read CHAPTER 36 of Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix! We chat about Harry's heartbreak, what happens when spells go wrong, and dive a little deeper into the veil. Catch me at Leaky Con: Honoring the Unsung Heroes of Your Favorite Series Death as a…
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#64: The Department of Mysteries
Okay, but seriously...who works security and the front desk at the Ministry of Magic?! We're joined by Dani and Paula from Creating Magic today to cover chapters 34 and 35 of Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix! Connect with us! @firstyearspod Email us: firstyearspodcast @ gmail . com…
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#63: Centaurs and Ministry Methods
For today's episode, you need to have read CHAPTERS 32 & 33 of Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix. We're going to chat about McGonagall's absence, Snape's motives, Umbridge's "methods", and we'll deep dive into torture and why it doesn't work and into the mythology of centaurs. Email us:...
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#62: O.W.L.s
For today's episode, you need to have read CHAPTER 31 of Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix! We'll chat about promises, Ron's newfound confidence, O.W.L.s, Umbridge's effect on an entire generation of students, and more! For next episode, you need to read chapters 32 and 33! :) Email us:...
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#61: Adaptation
For today's episode you need to have read CHAPTERS 29 & 30 of Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix. We'll chat about James Potter, Fred & George, higher education in the wizarding world, Grawp, and invasive species. For next episode you need to read chapter 30! Follow us: @firstyearspod…
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#60: Ministry Control & Unlikely Empathy
For today's episode you need to have read CHAPTERS 27 & 28 of Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix. We'll talk about Umbridge's role as headmistress, the ministry interfering at Hogwarts, and Snape's worst memory. Follow us: @firstyearspod (Insta & Twitter) @veritasarahm (Insta & TikTok…
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#59: Seen and Unforeseen
For today's episode, you need to have read CHAPTER 26 of Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix. We'll talk about the reaction to Harry's interview, deep dive into doors/doorways, Snape's past, and Trelawney. Follow us: @firstyearspod (Insta & Twitter) @veritasarahm (TikTok - NOT spoiler…
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Summer Update!
Hey guys! First off: we are not going anywhere! We are just taking a break for the summer. Recently I've been having trouble keeping up with things and I have several trips planned over the next two months. So instead of rushing through and giving you episodes I haven't taken the time to really...
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#58: Occlumency
For today's episode you need to have read CHAPTERS 24 & 25 of Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix. We chat about occlumency, deep dive into telepathy, and why people are starting to turn to Harry for answers. Follow us: @firstyearspod (Insta & Twitter) @veritasarahm (TikTok - NOT spoiler...
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#57: Visions
For today's episode, you need to have read CHAPTERS 22 & 23 of Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix. We talk about visions, prophetic dreams, Harry's frustration with Dumbledore, St. Mungo's, and more. Current house points: Hufflepuff: 880 Slytherin: 450. Gryffindor: 315 Ravenclaw: 295…
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#56: Giants
For today's episode, you need to have read CHAPTERS 20 & 21 of Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix. We go over Hagrid's story, deep dive into giant mythology and thestrals, chat about Harry and Cho, and more! Follow us: @firstyearspod (Insta and Twitter) Email us: firstyearspodcast @ gmail…
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#55: The DA
For today's episode you need to have read CHAPTERS 18 & 19 of Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix. We chat about the DA, the Room of Requirement, Quidditch, Umbridge, and more! Follow us: @firstyearspod (Instagram and Twitter) Email us: firstyearspodcast @ gmail . com Follow my TikTok (not...
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#54: Secret Rebellious Meetings
For today's episode you need to have read CHAPTERS 16 & 17 of Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix. We'll be chatting about the meeting in the Hog's Head, romantic interests, whether Trelawney was singled-out or any divination teacher would have suffered the same, Hedwig's interception, and...
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#53: Percy's Letter & The Hogwarts High Inquisitor
For today's episode you need to have read CHAPTERS 14 & 15 of Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix. We have a lot to discuss in this episode, including: Harry and Cho, Sturgis Podmore, Ron's first quidditch practice, the High Inquisitor, Percy's letter, Parents' involvement in education, and...
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#52: Umbridge
For today's episode you need to have read CHAPTERS 12 & 13 of Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix. We're talking about Umbridge, Harry's "temper", OWLs, Secrecy, and Dumbledore. Follow us: @firstyearspod (Insta and Twitter) Email us: firstyearspodcast @ gmail . com For next episode, read...
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#51: Wizarding NPR with Belated Binge!
For today's episode you need to have read CHAPTERS 10 & 11 of Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix. I am joined by Zac from Belated Binge. We discuss Harry's arrival at school, the Quibbler and the Daily Prophet, the Sorting Hat's song, and more! Follow us: @firstyearspod (Insta and Twitter)...
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#50: Unmet Expectations with Creating Magic Podcast!
For today's episode you have to have read CHAPTERS 8 & 9 of Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix. I'm joined by Dani and Steven from Creating Magic to celebrate episode 50 and chat about Harry's hearing. We discuss Azkaban, Fudge, Mrs. Figg, the influence of Lucius Malfoy, the odd behavior…
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#49: The Black Family & The Ministry of Magic
For today's episode you need to have read CHAPTERS 6 AND 7 of Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix. We'll discuss Sirius Black's family, Secret-Keepers, Doxies, Dumbledore's behavior, and the first look we get at the Ministry of Magic. For next episode, you need to read chapters 8 and 9!...
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#48: Rights Within the Wizarding World
For today's episode you need to have read CHAPTER FIVE of Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix. We chat about goblin folklore, Sirius and Harry's summers, Voldemort's plans, and whether or not there's a "first amendment" within the wizarding world. This is the blog with the art history...
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#47: Division & Things That Are Hidden
For today's episode you need to have read CHAPTER FOUR of Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix. We chat about where we see division and hidden things/secrecy in this chapter. Follow us: @firstyearspod (Insta & Twitter) Email us: firstyearspodcast @ gmail . com For next episode, you need to...
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#46: Abandonment
For today's episode you need to have read CHAPTERS 2 & 3 of Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix. We'll be going over abandonment, the threat of the ministry, Dumbledore's power, animaguses/metamorphmaguses, and whether or not your magical talent is genetic. Follow us: @firstyearspod (Insta…
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#45: Dementors & Anger
**Trigger Warning for this episode -- we dive into the links between PTSD, depression, and anger in this episode. So please be aware that we'll be mentioning some criteria for these and mentioning self-destructive behavior.** For this episode you need to have read CHAPTER ONE of Harry Potter and...
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#44: MOVIE Analysis: Goblet of Fire with Jesse Boone!
For today's episode you need to have finished Goblet of Fire and watched the movie! Jesse Boone joins me again to discuss how this movie matches up against Prisoner of Azkaban, how it lands as an adaptation, as well as things we noticed as far as tone, color, foreshadow, and more. Give Jesse a...
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#43: Trauma
For today's episode you need to have read THE LAST THREE CHAPTERS of Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire. We discuss the events of these chapters, dive into common immediate and delayed trauma responses as well as ASD and PTSD, and speculate about what we might see in book 5. Trigger warning…
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#42: Death and Resurrection with Emily Cavender!
For today's episode you need to have read CHAPTERS 32-34 of Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire. Grab two butterbeers for this one, we dive into death, resurrection, phoenixes, yew trees, pureblood dynamics, ancient magic, trauma, and more. Email in your thoughts! firstyearspodcast @ gmail . com...
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#41: The Pensieve and the Third Task
For today's episode you need to have read CHAPTERS 30 & 31 of Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire. We discuss the memories within the pensieve, what justifies certain actions, the symbolism of the third task, and deep dive into the history of sphinxes! For next episode, read chapters 32-34! Share...
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#40: The Madness of Mr. Crouch and The Breakdown of International Cooperation
For today's episode you need to have read CHAPTERS 28 & 29 of Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire. We chat about Winky's trauma, Hermione's hate mail and the consequences of fake news, Harry's privilege, the incident in the forest with Crouch, question what the third task is testing, discuss the...
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#39: The Second Task
For today's episode you need to have read CHAPTERS 26 & 27 of Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire. We chat about the second task of the Triwizard Tournament, do a historical deep dive on mermaids, and chat about Barty Crouch and Severus Snape! Share your thoughts!: firstyearspodcast @ gmail . com...
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#38: Second Chances
For today's episode you need to have read CHAPTERS 24 & 25 of Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire. Today we chat about Ron and Hermione's interactions post-Yule Ball, Rita Skeeter's article, Dumbledore accepting Lupin's resignation but not Hagrid's, and what it means for Dumbledore to give people...
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#37: The Yule Ball with Jessica Glick!
For this episode you need to have read CHAPTERS 21-23 of Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire. I am joined by the lovely Jessica Glick for this episode. We swap prom stories and chat about house elves, crushes, societal implications of these kinds of dances, and more! Follow us! @firstyearspod...
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#36: The First Task with Creating Magic Podcast!
For today's episode you need to have read CHAPTERS 19 & 20 of Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire. We're joined by Dani & Steven of Creating Magic Podcast! We discuss dragon symbolism, what we know about the champions, what the tournament says about the wizarding world as a whole, and more!…
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#35: Binding Magical Contracts
For today's episode you need to have read CHAPTERS 16-18 of Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire. We chat about the rules of the Triwizard Tournament and how binding they are, unity within Hogwarts between the houses, and we dive into some wand lore again! Shoutout to Simone for earning Ravenclaw…
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#34: The Unforgivable Curses
We go over CHAPTERS 14 & 15 in this episode! We chat about Snape and Moody's teaching methods, the Unforgivable Curses, Hermione's new SPEW endeavor, how owls can find people to deliver mail, and discuss what we can learn about Beauxbatons and Durmstrang through their travel methods. Email us:...
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#33: Mad-Eye Moody & the Triwizard Tournament with Jesse Boone and Casey Ellings!
For today's episode you need to have read CHAPTERS 12 AND 13 of Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire. I am joined by the lovely Harry Potter power couple, Jesse Boone and Casey Ellings! We chat about ghosts, giant squids, the sorting hat song, Mad-Eye Moody, the Triwizard Tournament, and more!...
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#32: Draco, Percy, & Rita Skeeter
For this episode you need to have read CHAPTERS 10 & 11 of Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire. We discuss Voldemort's presence in the book so far, Draco's motivations, how Rita Skeeter causes trouble, if Percy is actually putting out fires or not, as well as his views on Mr. Crouch, and we ask…
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#31: Quidditch & Vulnerability
For this episode you need to have read CHAPTERS 8 & 9 of Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire. We discuss the mythology behind veelas and leprechauns, the rules of quidditch (and what would make it better!), vulnerability, privilege, and interpretations of the colors we see in these chapters.…
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#30: The Weasleys, The Ministry, & "Anti-Muggle" Precautions
For today's episode you need to have read CHAPTERS 5-7 of Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire. We talk about the parenting of Molly and Arthur Weasley, Anti-Muggle Security and what it means for the relations between wizards and muggles, and the various modes of wizarding transportation. CURRENT...
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#29: The Insurrection Through the Lens of Harry Potter
This episode is NOT SPOILER FREE. Please make sure you know all the events of the Harry Potter series before you listen! Today I'm joined by the wonderful Steven and Izzy who help me have a discussion about our political climate, the insurrection on January 6th, the events of the last four years...
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#28: Dreams & Parenting
Today's episode covers CHAPTERS 2-4 of Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire. We talk about dreams and what they mean, the importance of parenting, and Dudley's "diet". Follow us on social media: @firstyearspod (Insta and Twitter) Email us: firstyearspodcast @ gmail . com SOURCES: "Can Dreams…
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#27: Mob Mentality and The Riddle House
We're starting Goblet of Fire!! For this episode you just need to have read CHAPTER ONE of Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire. We talk about loyalty and mob mentality. Get ready to win house points!! We're starting our third House Cup Tournament. Will Hufflepuff win it for the third time in a...
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#26: MOVIE Analysis: Prisoner of Azkaban with Jesse Boone!
Today we're joined by my lovely friend Jesse Boone to go over the movie adaptation of Prisoner of Azkaban. We chat about what works, what doesn't, what we think of the changes made, and more! HOUSE CUP COCKTAIL NIGHT: NOV 30! First Years Podcast ONE YEAR ANNIVERSARY!!! Thank you to everyone who…
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#25: Time Travel
We finish up the last two chapters of Prisoner of Azkaban in this episode! We chat about Snape, Trelawney, how time travel works, and think about what we might expect in Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire. WIN HOUSE POINTS: Participate in Mindful Magic Mondays, rate & review and leave your name...
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#24: Werewolves and WolfStar Part 2! with Emily Cavender
In this episode, we finish up our discussion on chapters 17-20 of Prisoner of Azkaban. We chat about Sirius Black, discuss Werewolf Trials of the 16th century, and chat about what Wolfsbane is actually all about. Join me on Instagram Live on @FirstYearsPod on Friday, October 30th for our Mischief...
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#23: Werewolves and WolfStar with Emily Cavender (Part 1!)
Today I am joined by the lovely Emily Cavender to discuss chapters 17-20 of Prisoner of Azkaban. We discuss Harry's motivations, Snape's motivations, why Lupin doesn't seem more concerned about not taking his potion, and wonder if he made the right choice in not telling Dumbledore that Sirius…
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#22: Divination and Sports
Today we're going over chapters 15 and 16 of Prisoner of Azkaban. We're chatting about crystal scrying, the role of sports in our world and the wizarding world, and Professor Trelawney's prediction. Thank you to Steven who wrote a wonderful review and earned Hufflepuff 10 extra points. Go check…
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#21: Hermione's loneliness and Hogwarts' Security
Today we're going over chapters 13 and 14 of Prisoner of Azkaban. We go over: Hermione's loneliness, the Quidditch Match, Snape's reliability/unreliability, Hogwarts' (bad) security and more! Got a question or want to share an idea? Email us at firstyearspodcast @ gmail . com or DM us at...
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#20: Boundaries, Souls, and Justice in the Wizarding World
For today's episode you need to have read CHAPTERS 11 AND 12! We go over: the transition from the Nimbus 2000 to the Firebolt, Hermione's issues with boundaries, the morality of the Dementor's Kiss, why chocolate is used against the effects of Dementors, and the social statuses of the wizarding...
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#19: Bonus Episode: SVC Harry Potter Panel with Creating Magic Podcast!
THIS EPISODE IS NOT SPOILER FREE. Creating Magic podcast and I were invited to do a panel discussing Dementors, Patronuses, and mental health within Harry Potter as part of a livestream celebration of Harry's birthday by Scum and Villainy. This is the audio recording of that panel. We hope you...
About this show
First Years is a podcast for adult first-time readers of Harry Potter, who need a space to enjoy each book and have adult conversations about it. Join us for literary discussions along your journey! Spoiler free! Read Harry Potter before? This is a perfect excuse to reread the series. Come join us!
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First Years Podcast