First Years: A Harry Potter Podcast

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: this episode does talk about common responses to trauma. Things like self-destructive behaviors and...

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  Follow us! @firstyearspod (Twitter and Instagram) Follow Emily's and my new podcast: @rewin...

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 your thoughts with me! @firstyearspod (Insta & Twitter), firstyearspodcast @ gmail . com...

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 breakdown of international relations, and wonder WHY the Minister of Magic seems unfazed about ever...

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  Follow us: @firstyearspod (Instagram & Twitter)  SOURCES:  “Ancient Gree...

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 second chances.  Read chapters 26 and 27 for next episode!  SHARE YOUR THEORIES: firstye...

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 (Insta and Twitter) Email us: firstyearspodcast @ gmail . com 

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!  Follow Creating Magic!: @creatingmagicpodcast  Follow us: @firstyearspod  Email us:...

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 50 points!  Email us: firstyearspodcast @ gmail . com  Follow us: @firstyearspod (Insta...

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: firstyearspodcast @ gmail . com  Follow us: @firstyearspod (Insta and Twitter) Earn house...

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!  Follow Jesse!: @iamjesseboone Follow Casey!: @caseyellings  Follow us!: @firstyearspod (Instagr...

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 why it's so important that Arthur Weasley help Mad Eye Moody.  HOUSE CUP STANDINGS:  Huffl...

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.  Follow us on Instagram and Twitter: @firstyearspod Email us your thoughts!: firstyearspodcast @ g...

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 HOUSE POINT STANDINGS:  Hufflepuff: 770  Slytherin: 360  Gryffindor: 300  Rav...

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 and how they relate and overlap with what we see in regards to the ministry and Voldemort in the Harry...

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 Reveal Potential or Predict the Future?" 17 Nov. 2011, www.huffpost.com/entry/can-dreams-r...

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 row?! Or will another house take the title from them? Earn house points by writing reviews, interac...

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 has been listening and sharing the podcast. I'm so grateful to you. I'm so proud to be part of thi...

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 and Hogwarts house, join us for House Cup Cocktail night, send in your theories about Goblet...

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 Night Cocktail Hour! Pour yourself a drink, bring some questions, and be ready to discuss Harry...

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 Black is an animagus. Emily introduces us to fan fiction, "fanon" versus "canon", shipping, and lays out h...

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 out his new podcast, The Pin Pod! The house points totals are as follows:  Hufflepuff: 80 Gry...

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 @FirstYearsPod on instagram or twitter!  To win house points: rate & review and leave your name...

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 world.  Thank you to the hosts of The Book List podcast for writing a review! You've earned 20 hous...

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 enjoy! If you are a first time reader of the books, this episode is not for you -- we'll be back to our r...