The Harry Potter Lexicon website has been in existence for almost two decades. Over that time, J.K Rowling thrilled us with her magical creation — in novels, interviews, on her websites, on Twitter, and more.
And here at the Lexicon, a small group of dedicated fans have worked very hard over all those years to catalogue all the magical details she revealed. The Lexicon website has always been seen as the gold standard for careful research and faithfulness to Rowling’s created world, all because of these amazing fans.
Now we editors of the Lexicon would like share some of what we’re so passionate about in a new way. So we’ve creating this podcast as a way for you to hear from us. It’s called the Harry Potter Minute, and in it you’ll hear the voices of our editors sharing a few of the many little things which delight us about the Wizarding World. We are fans from all over the globe who love to spend our time keeping track of the interesting details and obscure references which make Rowling’s work so rich and wonderful.
In each podcast, around four or five minutes in length, we’ll talk about anything from cool trivia and interesting canon passages to the latest Wizarding World news. We might share something that’s stuck in our heads as we researched the books or maybe recall some event from the history of Harry Potter fandom.
The podcasts will come out once or twice a week. We hope you’ll join us! And we’d love to hear from you as well. Feel free to use the comment section on the blogpost for each podcast to post your thoughts.
Today, I’d like to talk about a cool fan theory from back in the day that still has not been conclusively proven or disproven. After the “I am Lord Voldemort” anagram twist in Chamber of Secrets, Potter fans were on high alert for any other relevant anagrams in the series. Read More🎙️ CS17: The Strange Diary Horcrux• Podcast Episode
We finally get to really meet the entity responsible for all of the mayhem this year at Hogwarts in chapter 17 of Chamber of Secrets, entitled The Heir of Slytherin. We find out later in the series that the Diary Riddle that possessed Ginny was a… Read More🎙️ Harry's Christmas Gifts• Podcast Episode
While Christmas is magical on its own, at Hogwarts it’s even more magical. This holds true for some of the gifts that Harry receives not all of them, however. Let’s take a look at all the Christmas gifts that Harry has gotten over the years. In his first year,… Read More🎙️ Canon Thoughts: The Philosopher's Stone• Podcast Episode
Today I’m going to start a series talking about each canon source, giving my thoughts about it and maybe sharing some memories from my twenty years of being a Harry Potter fan. We’ll start with book one, Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone. Now you’ll notice I used the American… Read More🎙️ CS16: Ginny and Dumbledore• Podcast Episode
Book and chapter share the same title in Chapter 16 of Chamber of Secrets. There were a couple of things that stood out to me when reading this chapter. These moments were about Dumbledore and Ginny. Chapter 16 showed me how Dumbledore is a symbol of leadership, hope, and… Read More🎙️ OP27: Dull March into Squally April• Podcast Episode
Today we’re jumping into chapter 27 of Order of the Phoenix, entitled “The Centaur and the Sneak.” As I re-read this chapter looking for a good topic for this Minute podcast, I found myself making a series of notes about a lot of disconnected tidbits. So as I’ve done… Read More🎙️ Re-Readability• Podcast Episode
I’m always amazed that every time I re read the Harry Potter books I find something new to wonder about. The story and the world are so rich that it gives the never ending potential for theories and the chance for discoveries of connections you’ve never realized, either because you… Read More🎙️ CS15: Contrasting Viewpoints• Podcast Episode
The opening paragraph of Chamber of Secrets chapter 15, entitled “Aragog,” is describing some very contrasting atmospheres. Outside on the grounds of Hogwarts, summer is approaching. The weather is perfect, but inside of the castle things for Harry have never been going more wrong. The students go fearfully… Read More🎙️ OP26: Things Are Looking Up• Podcast Episode
Chapter 26 of Order of the Phoenix is completely packed. I mean it, this chapter is like a rich tapestry. I’ll just wander through the text, pointing out things here and there. It starts with Hermione’s delightful explanation for Harry of Cho’s behavior during their disastrous date, which includes… Read More🎙️ Magic Brains• Podcast Episode
As a fan of the world JK Rowling created, I’m sure I’m not alone in wondering how it could happen in real life. Recently I was studying the adolescent brain, and was fascinated to find that when kids reach 11/12 their brains are essentially wiped to prepare for adult development. Read More🎙️ CS14: A Chapter Full of Doubts• Podcast Episode
There’s a lot of doubt that goes on in Chapter 14 of Chamber of Secrets, which is entitled “Cornelius Fudge.” At the opening of the chapter Harry is still reeling from the apparent fact that Hagrid was the person who opened the Chamber 50 years ago. We find out… Read More🎙️ OP25: Hitting the Bottom• Podcast Episode
Two very important things happen in chapter 25 of Order of the Phoenix. I’m not talking about Harry’s disastrous date with Cho, which, let’s face it, is just horrible. I cringe as I read it and yes, I do recognize those kinds of awkward moments… Read More🎙️ Summoning Charms• Podcast Episode
I’ve been doing some thinking about Summoning Charms, which, given the option, I would perform at least a dozen times a day, because where are my car keys and is my phone in my purse or did I leave it in the car again? (For those two reasons alone,… Read More🎙️ CS13: Looks Can Be Deceiving• Podcast Episode
I don’t remember where I read or heard this particular bit of information, but I heard that chapter 13 of the Potter books was where we got a little preview of the villain for that book, and boy does that hold true for Chapter 13 of Chamber of Secrets, entitled… Read More🎙️ OP24: Memories in the Pensieve• Podcast Episode
And now we’re to chapter 24 of Order of the Phoenix. This is not one of my favorite chapters of the book. I’m struck again how much I dislike certain characters, in this case Snape and Sirius. And since I know that this is the last time we’ll… Read More🎙️ The Lovegood House• Podcast Episode
On a couple of previous podcasts, I have talked about Ottery St. Catchpole and the Burrow. I’ve discussed why we identify the town with Ottery St. Mary in Devon, near Exeter. I talked about the relationship between the town and the Burrow, located, according to the books,… Read More🎙️ CS12: In Dumbledore's Office• Podcast Episode
At the beginning of Chapter 12 of Chamber of Secrets, entitled “The Polyjuice Potion,” Harry is taken to Dumbledore’s office. While he is waiting for the headmaster he has interactions with the Sorting Hat and Fawkes the Phoenix. I’d like to talk about how these… Read More🎙️ OP23: Tears and Robes• Podcast Episode
Let me just start out by saying that I cry easily. Just ask my wife. I cry at sappy commercials with fathers sending their daughters off into the world while remembering every father-daughter dance and scraped knee. So you’d think that reading the Harry Potter books, especially the first time… Read More🎙️ The Significance of Halloween• Podcast Episode
Halloween has always had a significance in the Harry Potter series. To start with, it’s the date of James’ and Lily’s deaths and Voldemort’s downfall in 1981. Then, in Philosopher’s Stone Quirrell tries to take the Stone for the first time by letting the troll in;… Read More🎙️ CS11: Loyalty• Podcast Episode
There is a lot that happens in Chapter 11 of Chamber of Secrets, entitled The Dueling Club. The final ingredients for the Polyjuice Potion are acquired. The dueling club meeting takes place, which leads to Harry finding out he is a Parselmouth. And Harry discovers… Read More