Critical Magic Theory: An Analytical Harry Potter Podcast

THIS is a Dumbledore Episode

In the first installment of our Albus Dumbledore series, Critical Magic Theory host Professor Julian Wamble unpacks the contradictions that define Albus Dumbledore—the most beloved and baffling figure in the Harry Potter universe. Is he truly a wise protector of Hogwarts, or a master manipulator whose brilliance excuses too much? Does being “for the greater good” make him noble, or merely dangerous in more elegant ways? We also ask whether Dumbledore embodies what it means to be a “good Gryffindor,” when courage so often borders on recklessness, and whether his leadership as Headmaster reflects moral strength or moral blindness. Drawing on listener surveys, we explore Dumbledore’s manipulation, his mythology, and the uneasy parallels between him and Voldemort—two men shaped by power and haunted by restraint. In tracing how Dumbledore curates his own legend while hiding his flaws, we uncover how faith, myth, and morality intertwine in the wizarding world, and what it means to believe in someone after the evidence runs out. This episode of Critical Magic Theory invites us to see Dumbledore not just as the greatest wizard of his age, but as a mirror for our own longing to trust brilliance, even when we know it can break us.

Prof Responds: Hogwarts & the Fallacy of Equity

In this Prof Responds episode, Professor Wamble tackles the fallacy of equity at Hogwarts: the idea that sharing wands and classrooms means sharing opportunity. Building on listener insights, he traces four fault lines: curriculum that trains spell-casting but not citizenship, a hidden labor economy (house-elves/goblins) that sustains privilege, ableism that sidelines Squibs, and a house system that rewards conformity over curiosity. Along the way, he draws clear parallels to our world, showing how “equal access” without critical thinking, support, and inclusion simply reproduces the same power structures—magical and otherwise.

WTF is Hogwarts doing???

What is Hogwarts actually for? Beyond floating candles and talking portraits lies a school with deeply entrenched ideologies—one that prepares students less for life and more for assimilation into magical bureaucracy. This episode of Critical Magic Theory critiques Hogwarts’ narrow curriculum, its implicit promotion of pure-blood supremacy, and its role in maintaining the magical world’s social hierarchies. From the house system’s siloed culture to the glaring lack of civic or ethical education, we explore how Hogwarts both shapes and limits magical identity. The episode ends with an invitation to imagine a better, more just magical education, because spells are not enough. We must teach students what to do with power.

The Horizontal Arc of Severus Snape: Unpacking His Final Lessons

After six deep-dive episodes, Professor Julian Wamble closes our exploration of Severus Snape—one of the most complex figures in the Harry Potter series. This final Prof Responds examines the ethics of Snape’s teaching at Hogwarts, the tension between redemption and guilt, and what his story reveals about power, trauma, and morality in the Wizarding World. Through listener reflections, we unpack how Snape’s double life as spy and professor complicates ideas of heroism, forgiveness, and accountability.   From The Half-Blood Prince to The Prince’s Tale, we ask: can understanding someone’s pain ever excuse their harm? And if Snape never truly changes—why do we?

The Ends, the Means, and the Man: The Ethics of Severus Snape

In this final chapter of The Severus Snape Trilogy, Professor Julian Wamble takes listeners back into the moral heart of the Harry Potter universe to ask: was Severus Snape a hero, a villain, or something in between? What does true redemption require—and can it exist without accountability?   Drawing on hundreds of listener responses, Julian unpacks how perspective shapes our sense of good and evil, and why the Wizarding World so often confuses effectiveness with goodness. From the tension between ends and means to the uneasy divide between creator and creation, this episode challenges our need for clean-cut heroes and clear-eyed villains.   As Julian reminds us, the story of Snape—and the stories we tell about him—reveal that morality isn’t fixed, it’s interpreted. And in both magic and the modern world, the truth lives in the gray between.