Harry Potter After 2020

How does it feel to read Harry Potter after 2020? The words on the page don’t change. But times change. We, the readers, change. And that changes the story. Join podcast hosts Lorrie Kim and JC on a re-read of the series, chapter by chapter. As we delve into the story, we’ll remember what the books meant to us when they were first published and analyze what we see differently now. Find more episodes, transcripts, and more at hpafter2020.com.

6.16: A Very Frosty Christmas 08/12/2026

6.16: A Very Frosty Christmas Everything about what Lupin has been up to is so fascinating, because he says that he has been living amongst werewolves and they don't trust him because he's obviously human-coded. This is so similar to Snape's espionage post being that he has to go back to the high school where he was bullied. This is pure trigger, right? For full show notes, transcripts, ways to contact the hosts or support the show, and more, visit . /episode/index/show/11a7f4ac-40ef-499a-93b4-537ae4aade2e/id/42053775

6.15: The Unbreakable Vow 08/05/2026

6.15: The Unbreakable Vow If anybody is marked to be a failure, it's Crabbe and Goyle, so if almost all the teachers have given up on them, you can be in Snape's position as the one person who hasn't given up on them, knowing that there's no guarantee. It may turn out that all your colleagues are looking at you like, "I told you you were wasting your time." Yeah, that might happen, and that's not why you do it, right? You do it because everybody is worth somebody caring that you get a chance. For full show notes, transcripts, ways to contact the hosts or support the show, and more, visit . /episode/index/show/11a7f4ac-40ef-499a-93b4-537ae4aade2e/id/42052535

6.14: Felix Felicis 07/29/2026

6.14: Felix Felicis It's a beautiful way to teach Ron that whole lesson of, 'Yes, it's taking place in your head, but that doesn't mean it's not real.' You can learn to do things in life without having to go through them while you are able to think yourself into knowing how to do things. So yeah, this is Harry moving into his baby Dumbledore era. For full show notes, transcripts, ways to contact the hosts or support the show, and more, visit . /episode/index/show/11a7f4ac-40ef-499a-93b4-537ae4aade2e/id/42045700

6.13: The Secret Riddle 07/22/2026

6.13: The Secret Riddle JC: Here is finally an adult who can set a boundary that Tom can't cross, and it makes sense then that later on, people say, "Oh, Dumbledore was the only one he was ever afraid of." I was like, "Well, yeah, he imprinted on that." For full show notes, transcripts, ways to contact the hosts or support the show, and more, visit . /episode/index/show/11a7f4ac-40ef-499a-93b4-537ae4aade2e/id/42041545

6.12: Silver and Opals 07/15/2026

6.12: Silver and Opals JC: It's an interesting point to think, when you're interacting with the author or the creator of any text, that you are interacting with a past version of them that hadn't yet become the person they are now… LK: And how much can you hold the earlier, younger, more naive persona accountable for things that that person is going to have done in the future? For full show notes, transcripts, ways to contact the hosts or support the show, and more, visit . /episode/index/show/11a7f4ac-40ef-499a-93b4-537ae4aade2e/id/41375160

6.11: Hermione's Helping Hand 07/08/2026

6.11: Hermione's Helping Hand Quidditch is used as a metaphor in this series for other ongoing struggles… If he's now Quidditch Captain and legitimate and popular and interesting, and all of these people are showing up out of interest, these are who your allies are going to be in the fight. For full show notes, transcripts, ways to contact the hosts or support the show, and more, visit . /episode/index/show/11a7f4ac-40ef-499a-93b4-537ae4aade2e/id/41374300

6.10: The House of Gaunt 07/01/2026

6.10: The House of Gaunt "The house seemed to contain three tiny rooms. Two doors led off the main room, which served as kitchen and living room combined." Where did Merope sleep? For full show notes, transcripts, ways to contact the hosts or support the show, and more, visit . /episode/index/show/11a7f4ac-40ef-499a-93b4-537ae4aade2e/id/41345870

6.9: The Half-Blood Prince 06/24/2026

6.9: The Half-Blood Prince Is there something in this series that's going to poison people's minds? When we read it, uncritically and with enjoyment before the author revealed what a TERF she is, were we being poisoned without our own awareness? Is it okay to become invested in what a book advises without thoroughly first vetting the author? How can we do that anyway? For full show notes, transcripts, ways to contact the hosts or support the show, and more, visit . /episode/index/show/11a7f4ac-40ef-499a-93b4-537ae4aade2e/id/41328565

6.8: Snape Victorious 06/17/2026

6.8: Snape Victorious Snape, you have won yourself a second chance to make decisions about 16-year-old Death Eaters and about whether you give in to the Dark Arts or defend against them. Slughorn back… and every second with Dumbledore could be the last. If you mess up… Oh, you'll have yourself to blame. You get one second chance. This is it. For full show notes, transcripts, ways to contact the hosts or support the show, and more, visit . /episode/index/show/11a7f4ac-40ef-499a-93b4-537ae4aade2e/id/41000505

6.7: The Slug Club 06/10/2026

6.7: The Slug Club JC: Coming from a teacher education perspective, we spend so much time talking about building appropriate relationships with students. That just hits all the wrong buttons for me, but for creepy reasons. Why would you be choosing students? Who are you as an adult that you need that to bolster your -- We tell people, "You have your own life. Go have your own life and set up boundaries." For full show notes, transcripts, ways to contact the hosts or support the show, and more, visit . /episode/index/show/11a7f4ac-40ef-499a-93b4-537ae4aade2e/id/40971060

6.6: Draco's Detour 06/03/2026

6.6: Draco's Detour Lorrie: Because Voldemort cursed the curriculum... JC: If people can't defend themselves on a very basic level -- people can't do critical thinking or media literacy, or just basically being able to do things without having to turn to AI -- that feels like an intentional long game to do damage to society so that people have to rely on something else. For full show notes, transcripts, ways to contact the hosts or support the show, and more, visit . /episode/index/show/11a7f4ac-40ef-499a-93b4-537ae4aade2e/id/40931890

6.5: An Excess of Phlegm 05/27/2026

6.5: An Excess of Phlegm Harry and Draco are in that liminal space between being old enough in many ways to be an adult, but still technically young enough so that they're still a bit malleable. There's still a chance to turn back. Is there still time to save Draco? A little bit. This is a moment where, even if it's too late for some things, it's not too late for everything; it's still worth doing. For full show notes, transcripts, ways to contact the hosts or support the show, and more, visit . /episode/index/show/11a7f4ac-40ef-499a-93b4-537ae4aade2e/id/40923975

6.4: Horace Slughorn 05/20/2026

6.4: Horace Slughorn The thing that Dumbledore wants to force Slughorn to do against Slughorn's will… Dumbledore actually has Slughorn's best interests at heart. That's the greatness of this character: he will go against your will and he'll be right. After he's done with you and you do what he made you do against your will, will you be thankful? Yeah, kind of. For full show notes, transcripts, ways to contact the hosts or support the show, and more, visit . /episode/index/show/11a7f4ac-40ef-499a-93b4-537ae4aade2e/id/40919485

6.3: Will and Won't 05/13/2026

6.3: Will and Won't JC: Dumbledore taking the Dursleys to task. That's the way that he is throughout this chapter, and I remember thinking this feels like fanfic because it felt like such fantasy fulfillment. I had wanted to see somebody tell the Dursleys how badly they treated Harry for so long, and to have Dumbledore come in and do it, I had to keep thinking, 'Really?! Is this really happening?' For full show notes, transcripts, ways to contact the hosts or support the show, and more, visit . /episode/index/show/11a7f4ac-40ef-499a-93b4-537ae4aade2e/id/40907425

6.2: Spinner's End 05/06/2026

6.2: Spinner's End This is the closest that Snape ever gets in his life to a wedding. It's not that he's going to be loved, but he is going to be needed. He won't be loved, but he'll have to love. Three times, Narcissa asks him to swear an oath; three times, he says, "I will." He's being called upon as a teacher. He's not a father, he's not just a friend. What is he? He's a teacher. For full show notes, transcripts, ways to contact the hosts or support the show, and more, visit . /episode/index/show/11a7f4ac-40ef-499a-93b4-537ae4aade2e/id/40882975

6.1: The Other Minister 04/29/2026

6.1: The Other Minister This volume is going to humble us all. We're all going to have to face the parts of ourselves that we're not sure we're strong enough to face, and everyone else in the world can see these things about us. What are you going to do if the world is in an urgent enough crisis so that we don't actually have time for self-delusion anymore? Well, just give it up and just do what you have to do. For full show notes, transcripts, ways to contact the hosts or support the show, and more, visit . /episode/index/show/11a7f4ac-40ef-499a-93b4-537ae4aade2e/id/40677990

5.38: The Second War Begins 04/22/2026

5.38: The Second War Begins On Umbridge: How would you feel if you had tried your absolute best to get somebody destroyed and they come to save you? It's not because they love you; it's because you have worth -- because people have worth. I think that being face-to-face with the greatness of that humbling mercy and that moral code is world-destroying for her. For full show notes, transcripts, ways to contact the hosts or support the show, and more, visit . /episode/index/show/11a7f4ac-40ef-499a-93b4-537ae4aade2e/id/40655380

5.37: The Lost Prophecy 04/15/2026

5.37: The Lost Prophecy Recently, having seen what becomes of people when they become billionaires, how it warps them… I have felt a greater appreciation for what Dumbledore did for Harry by not having him be raised from the age of one as The Boy Who Lived, the Chosen One, the savior. Neglect and abuse are awful; uncontained indulgence is frightening in a completely different way. For full show notes, transcripts, ways to contact the hosts or support the show, and more, visit . /episode/index/show/11a7f4ac-40ef-499a-93b4-537ae4aade2e/id/40509730

5.36: The Only One He Ever Feared 04/08/2026

5.36: The Only One He Ever Feared Grace Candido-Beecher [author of Voldemort] reads that phrase "the boy" as when Voldemort says it, he means Harry and he also means that part of himself that was the young Tom Riddle growing up in an orphanage. For full show notes, transcripts, ways to contact the hosts or support the show, and more, visit . /episode/index/show/11a7f4ac-40ef-499a-93b4-537ae4aade2e/id/40494445

5.35: Beyond the Veil 04/01/2026

5.35: Beyond the Veil When your friends are literally in mortal danger around you, the only important thing is these people's lives have to be saved. That is such a good, strong value that I think the Harry Potter generation, the millennials that grew up with this, really internalized from this international bestseller, which is one of the reasons why there's so much confusion and mass indignation at thinking that it's now okay to throw trans people under the bus. For full show notes, transcripts, ways to contact the hosts or support the show, and more, visit . /episode/index/show/11a7f4ac-40ef-499a-93b4-537ae4aade2e/id/40422705

5.34: The Department of Mysteries 03/25/2026

5.34: The Department of Mysteries The locked room, the one that you can't do anything about. You can't get in, there's no handle, there's no nothing. I associate this room with Snape in all ways. To me, the energy that keeps this room sealed is exactly what this whole volume has been showing us about Occlumency. For full show notes, transcripts, ways to contact the hosts or support the show, and more, visit . /episode/index/show/11a7f4ac-40ef-499a-93b4-537ae4aade2e/id/40393625

5.33: Fight and Flight 03/18/2026

5.33: Fight and Flight I see it from people who accepted these books when they were children and didn't have the critical faculties to see, 'Okay, this is a woman of a certain race and background writing these limitations that are her own personal prejudices.' But it's not too late to go back and reread and build up those defenses. That's just what any rereading does. For full show notes, transcripts, ways to contact the hosts or support the show, and more, visit . /episode/index/show/11a7f4ac-40ef-499a-93b4-537ae4aade2e/id/40226050

5.32: Out of the Fire 03/11/2026

5.32: Out of the Fire JC: Madam Pomfrey says, "I would resign in protest, but I can't abandon the students." I hear teachers say that all the time. "I hate that the government wants me to put up the Ten Commandments or whatever. I hate that I can't call kids by their chosen name. I hate that I can't ask them how they're feeling or express concern over their mental health. I would quit in protest, but then who is going to take care of these kids? They still need someone." For full show notes, transcripts, ways to contact the hosts or support the show, and more, visit . /episode/index/show/11a7f4ac-40ef-499a-93b4-537ae4aade2e/id/40188155

5.31: O.W.L.s 03/04/2026

5.31: O.W.L.s JC: ICE comes in the middle of the night to take Hagrid, basically. LK: Where are they taking him? What are they charging him with? Harry demonstrates something that is painfully real and current: he's so upset by all of this that he gets three hours of extremely poor-quality sleep the night before his History of Magic exam, so that exam is doomed. For full show notes, transcripts, ways to contact the hosts or support the show, and more, visit . /episode/index/show/11a7f4ac-40ef-499a-93b4-537ae4aade2e/id/40172930

5.30: Grawp 02/25/2026

5.30: Grawp The bullying that Grawp was suffering (that Hagrid had to save him from) is a result of colonization and displacement because giants were not meant to be in such close quarters. They've been attacking and killing each other because they weren't meant to be crammed into wherever they've escaped to, but there's nowhere else for a giant to go. This is about land rights and displacement. For full show notes, transcripts, ways to contact the hosts or support the show, and more, visit . /episode/index/show/11a7f4ac-40ef-499a-93b4-537ae4aade2e/id/40148860

5.29: Career Advice 02/18/2026

5.29: Career Advice Even if Harry can't understand it right now, he is getting some of his father back by seeing that there were real living people -- full-fledged people -- who knew the whole James and demonstrate that they knew all of him and they loved him, and that complexity is restoring some of Harry's feelings. You can't really blame Voldemort for being dead of jealousy that Harry gets this. For full show notes, transcripts, ways to contact the hosts or support the show, and more, visit . /episode/index/show/11a7f4ac-40ef-499a-93b4-537ae4aade2e/id/40016225

5.28: Snape's Worst Memory 02/11/2026

5.28: Snape's Worst Memory Snape's worst memory is that he regrets betraying Lily by referring to her hunted status and reinforcing it. That supports the notion that Hermione did a sort of favor for Marietta by preventing her from having the same guilt on her conscience. If Marietta later had to think about her murdered friend Cho and exactly what it was that led Cho to be found and punished, this stopping people from going there is a form of protectiveness without affection. For full show notes, transcripts, ways to contact the hosts or support the show, and more, visit . /episode/index/show/11a7f4ac-40ef-499a-93b4-537ae4aade2e/id/39875895

5.27: The Centaur and the Sneak 02/04/2026

5.27: The Centaur and the Sneak Marietta catches a sight of herself as framed in Umbridge's agenda, and seeing what she really is in that agenda? That's this moment of recognition that shuts her up. Marietta has now just seen a different part of herself written on her face. I have wondered if people who thought on previous rereads that Hermione went too far see what is going on with ICE and current events and if that has changed their perspective on this. For full show notes, transcripts, ways to contact the hosts or support the show, and more, visit . /episode/index/show/11a7f4ac-40ef-499a-93b4-537ae4aade2e/id/39866040

5.26: Seen and Unforeseen 01/28/2026

5.26: Seen and Unforeseen Somebody is being a grown-up, and he is taking on a dangerous duty so the kids don't have to fend for themselves. "It's not your job to find out what the Dark Lord is..." "That's your job, isn't it?" "Yes, it is." This is what it looks like when Snape stops hiding his agenda and tells something, the rare thing that is true about himself from every perspective. For full show notes, transcripts, ways to contact the hosts or support the show, and more, visit . /episode/index/show/11a7f4ac-40ef-499a-93b4-537ae4aade2e/id/39892000

5.25: The Beetle at Bay 01/21/2026

5.25: The Beetle at Bay This is her chance to explore this unexplored concept of writing journalism as a member of the Fourth Estate, trying to hold people accountable; she's never done that, and when Hermione reminds her outright, “I can blackmail you,” then she gives Rita the assignment. “Harry, are you ready to tell the public the truth?” She has just become Rita's editor. For full show notes, transcripts, ways to contact the hosts or support the show, and more, visit . /episode/index/show/11a7f4ac-40ef-499a-93b4-537ae4aade2e/id/39611645

Harry Potter After 2020

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