Content Warning: Police Brutality We're talking about police brutality in this episode, which includes a brief history of how police came to be in America, how Umbridge and the Aurors' treatment of Hagrid ties into our understanding of police brutality and excessive use of force, and how we can also see that dynamic at Hogwarts.  Support our show for as little as $2/momth by becoming a Patron: www.patreon.com/acciopolitics. Today's Bonus Patron Segment: We talk about the origins of Wizarding Schools, their cultural context, and the problematic aspects of devising school histories within cultures that are not the author's own. 

Accio Politics! A Harry Potter Podcast

531: Umbridge is a Cop (Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, Chapter 31)

Before today's episode, we thought that chapter 30, "Grawp" was a bit of a throwaway chapter. Not anymore. As we delve into this chapter through the lens of politics, specifically the politics of the colonial mindset and forced displacement, we notice that there are many nuances within the chapter that are illustrative of how the wizarding world operates in relation to other magical creatures.  Want more content? You can get access to exclusive content by becoming a Patron at www.patreon.com/acciopolitics. Not only do you get access to earlier episodes and bonus content, but you also help keep this show going.  Today's exclusive bonus content for Patrons: a discussion of the role of blood in the series.    

530: Upholding Wizard Supremacy (Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, Chapter 30)

This week, we're tackling the legendary chapter where McGonagall faces off against Umbridge over Harry and the Weasley twins complete their Hogwarts career in the most unorthodox of manners. We talk about how speaking truth to power doesn't necessarily mean that you don't shield yourself from any negative consequences or prepare for that eventuality and how allegiance is one of the most important aspects of being victorious in a battle of wills.  Support this show by becoming a Patron by heading over to www.patreon.com/acciopolitics. Patrons have access to an extended version of this episode: https://www.patreon.com/posts/49585117 

529: Magic School Dropouts (Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, Chapter 29)

In this episode, Helene and Adri tackle the differences between the politics of anarchy and the politics of norms. They also discuss the ethical dilemma of having a potion like veritaserum in the wizarding world, as well as Hermione's enchantment that led Marietta to have very unfortunate skin problems related to blabbing a secret.  Support the show by becoming a Patron: www.patreon.com/acciopolitics. This week patrons get access to our segment discussing who we'd like to write into the canon and why. This week, it's Adri's turn. 

528: Spilling the Proverbial Tea (Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, Ch. 28)

In this episode, we talk about the iconic chapter where Dumbledore makes a break for it when Fudge thinks he’s got the upper hand on the whole Harry/Dumbledore situation because Umbridge has apprehended Harry red-handed. In current news, we cover the rise in attacks against people of Asian descent, specifically the murder of 8 people in Georgia across three massage parlors, and how white supremacy is still being protected by assigning the smallest amount of blame at the hands of the man who perpetrated these horrendous and despicable acts. Support our podcast by becoming a Patron by heading over to www.patreon.com/acciopolitics. Patrons get an exclusive bonus segment: We talk about the implications of Nymphadora Tonks being gender-flipped in the series and how that would impact how we view the series itself and the plot of the book. Find us online: www.acciopolitics.com Facebook: @acciopolitics Twitter: @acciopolitics Instagram: @acciopolitics 

527: "It's so cute how you think you can outsmart me" - Dumbledore, Probably (Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, Chapter 27)

We cover chapter 26 of OotP and talk about news in the United States (Georgia Republicans restricting access to voting, the COVID Relief Package), as well as news from across the pond (Meghan and Harry's interview with the incomparable Oprah and how race politics inform the Firm's treatment of them). This chapter is where the news of Harry's interview has come out and the tide starts to turn in Harry's favor (more people are believing that what Harry saw is true, rather than the spin the MoM has put forth). We love a good redemption arc, as it were. We also delve deeper into our disgust for one Dolores Jane Umbridge, and we finish up with answers to last week's question.  Support the show and become a patron to get access to bonus content! Hop on over to www.patreon.com/acciopolitics  Today's bonus content is: Women of Color in Harry Potter

526: We Love a Redemption Arc for Harry (Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, Chapter 26)

Harry goes on a very awkward date with Cho in this chapter, and Helene and Adri get into the politics of suspicion and scapegoating. We also talk about Hagrid's similarities to Harry, and wonder what it would have looked like had Hagrid also taken Neville under his wing from day 1.  Wondering where you can get extra content for our episodes while supporting our podcast? Become a Patron by hopping over to www.Patreon.com/acciopolitics. Our Patron-only segment for today is another installment in our Girl Who Lived series. Who is getting gender-flipped this episode? None other than Sirius Black!

525: Awkward Dating and Other Concerns (Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, Chapter 25)

 Masculinity and invasion of privacy. What do they have in common? Chapter 24 of OotP, of course! In this episode, we talk about current news (unsurprisingly QAnon is still prevalent in our politics), Harry's journey through masculinity (and how other characters display this trait), and the invasion of privacy present in this chapter (and in the Ministry and Hogwarts, as the trace tracks students outside of school grounds).   Support this podcast by becoming a Patron: www.patreon.com/acciopolitics Patrons get an additional segment: What would a book about business look like if we took the Weasley twins as models of entrepreneurship?  

524: A Messy B* Who Loves Drama (Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, Chapter 24)

 Texas is under snow and without power, Texas Senator and noted Insurrectionist Ted Cruz flees to Cancun to then throw his daughters under the bus when it becomes a media PHENOMENON (your honor, my daughters made me do it, I swear! Women lead us men astray, let's focus on them and how to hold them accountable), and we cover chapter 23 of Harry Potter & the Order of the Phoenix.   We can empathize with the way Harry is feeling and applaud him for being able to shift his perspective once his friends point out that he is likely not being possessed by Voldemort. Now that's growth that a lot of us can't do because we refuse to change the fundamental ways in which we see ourselves and structure our understanding of the world.   Support our podcast for as little as $2/month and get exclusive weekly content: www.patreon.com/acciopolitics   Today's Patreon-only content: we talk about the implications of a gender-flipped Arthur Weasley within the story. Would a workaholic mom be censured in the Wizarding world? Would people speculate she works because they are so poor or there's something wrong with the husband (in the case that the entire cast was gender-flipped)? 

523: Even Dementors like Cancun (Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, Chapter 23)

For chapter 22 of OotP, special guest Mike from the Potterless Podcast, joins Helene and Adri in talking about the 45th President’s second impeachment trial, the world building involved in creating St. Mungo’s, how people can create narratives based on limited facts and bias, and our love for Ginny Weasley. Support our podcast by becoming a Patron: www.Patreon.com/AccioPolitics Patrons get a bonus segment: Love in the Wizarding World. What role does love play in the series? Is manufactured love (love potion) more problematic than we initially thought?

522: The Politics of Personal Narratives

 A few years ago, Erin and Adri covered the politics of Christmas and how the series was designed around this loose idea of cultural Christianity, even in the wizarding world. Today, we expand on this theme of cultural Christianity as default by having a conversation about what it's like to be a Jewish person living in a majority Christian world with special guest Shoshana, who gives us glimpses of being Jewish in the UK, and with our own Helene, who gives us glimpses of growing up Jewish in the U.S. While these are just two accounts of women living in cultures that have embraced Christianity as a default (think about calendars, holidays, food (kosher vs not), depictions of Judaism in the media, etc.).   Keep this show going and get exclusive segments by becoming a Patron at www.patreon.com/acciopolitics.   Our Patreon Exclusive for this episode is *air horn sounds* everything. We talk about how it would look like if Umbridge had been written as a man, thus expanding our Girl Who Lived universe. Would this male Umbridge be hyper-masculine? Would we find his actions more or less reprehensible? Is your hosts' absolute hatred for female Umbridge based on internalized misogyny? 

521.5: A Calendar can be Political - Being Jewish in a Majority Christian Culture (BONUS)

 In this jam-packed chapter, Harry discovers what those winged horses he can now see are called and the reason why he can see them while others can't, he kisses Cho, gets some emotional intelligence intel from Hermione, and he has a terrifying dream from the point of view of an actual snake. We talk about the nuances of the politics of privilege and perspective, one being about what others cannot see and quantify as a solid entity, and the other being rooted firmly in one person's point of view.    Support our podcast by becoming a Patron for as little as $2 month: www.patreon.com/acciopolitics   Our Patreon-exclusive segment for this week is an addition to our growing installment of Girl Who Lived. This time, we're talking about the implications of Gilderoy Lockhart if he had been written as a woman, how seriously she would have been taken, and if Arthur and Lucius would have been brawling to impress her at Flourish and Blotts, among other high-minded concerns.  

521: Privilege & Perspective and our Love of Alliteration (Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, Chapter 21)

 Hagrid's back and we have a new presidential administration, BABY! In this episode, we talk about Hagrid and Madame Maxime's approach to covertly approaching giants and the biases that Hagrid shows in his re-telling. We discuss the nuances between lobbying and diplomacy, as well as the parallels between historical segregation in the United States, and the segregation of giants in the mountains (as well as Hagrid's implications of "giant on giant" crime).    Today's Patreon exclusive: we talk about the Ministers of Magic throughout Harry's life in celebration of our new President and Madam Vice-President. Become a patron by going to: www.patreon.com/acciopolitics 

520: The Nuances of Giant History and Culture (Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, Chapter 20)

 We've got a special guest this week! Eric from the long-running Potter podcast MuggleCast and his new solo project, the Thank You for Spieling podcast joins Adri, Helene, and K. Alex to talk about Chapter 19 of OotP. In typical Accio Politics fashion, we go very deep into our examination of the text and what that means in terms of social and structural politics.   We talk about domestic terrorism, white supremacy, the ever-expanding notion of whiteness, fashion and fascism, Malfoy's Etsy store, and much more!   Patrons get a bonus segment! Head over to www.Patreon.com/acciopolitics to access exclusive content. Join us as we talk about the insurrection at the Capitol in DC and how that idea can tie back to Voldemort's takeover of the Ministry of Magic. 

519: Malfoy's Etsy Shop (Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, Chapter 19)

We're back with the first episode we recorded after the new year started, and 2021 is certainly not pulling any punches in the political arena. With just the first week of 2021 under our belt, we've seen an attempted coup, this time by force (riots led by white supremacist groups, the proud boys, and Q conspiracy theorists at the Capitol incited by the lame-duck president). In this episode, we cover the politics of teach-ins, silence & knowledge, and coalition when it comes to Harry and his fellow Hogwarts students to build what becomes Dumbledore's Army during this chapter.  Patrons get access to our discussion on what would it look like if the character of Luna was gender-flipped in the series, and what the series would look like if the gender-flipping also extended to her father. To support this podcast and access bonus content, become a Patron at www.Patreon.com/acciopolitics 

518: The One where Dobby Helps Harry Find the Room of Requirement (Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, Chapter 18)

One recovering English major and special guests talk about a politic in each chapter of the Harry Potter series by J.K. Rowling. This podcast is brought to you by MuggleNet.com.