Keep Your Friends Close And Your Beetles Closer (OOTP Chapter 25, The Beetle at Bay)

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On this week’s episode, listen during Chapter-by-Chapter as the MuggleCasters discuss Harry juggling TWO dates in Hogsmeade. One which may have been doomed from the start (with Cho), and another which likely changes the course of Wizarding history (with Rita). Andrew, Eric, Laura, Micah, and Slug Club guest Katie dig in, because it’s time for Chapter 25 of Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix.

Welcome Slug Club member, Katie!
The hosts wish to reassert their disavowal of J.K. Rowling for her role in making women less safe in the U.K. Please visit GLAAD’s amazing page for links including FAQs, resources, and tips for allies.
Chapter-by-Chapter continues with Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, Chapter 25: The Beetle at Bay. MuggleCast last discussed this chapter on Episode 462!
Harry’s feelings toward his fellow students in light of the Azkaban breakout headlines have us once more feeling like we are living in the books today.
The Ministry’s control of information and issuance of propaganda, the extent which is confirmed in this chapter, is massive but not perfect. Some who look deeper are beginning to see the cracks in the facade.
Umbridge’s power grabs are becoming unenforceable. The hosts discuss how her main goal appears to be to frighten and dissuade dissenters, even among the staff.
Harry and students are impressed by Neville’s recent hard work in the D.A. This reminds us about when we made the “Neville Gets Swole” Spotify playlist, perfect for your summertime runs and workouts!
Is Hermione single-handedly changing the course of the Wizarding world? We think so.
Is there anything the students can/should be doing about Hagrid and his probation? Or is his behavior just too weird, and the students too buried in coursework?
Ron has a fair idea, but Hermione shuts him down cold. We hold a memorial service for Ron’s strategical aptitude subplot from Book 1.
In what ways was “Madame Puddifoot’s” NOT the perfect Valentine’s spot, and whose fault is it that Harry and Cho’s date is a disaster? Was it doomed from the start?
Is Rita Skeeter looking for redemption, or just some hot goss?
Odds & Ends asks why Ron, Fred or George do not seem to know about Antonin Dolohov’s connection with their uncles, nor do they mention it.
Most #RealTalk moment of the week? Hosts weigh in.
Lynx Line: we asked our Patrons to submit a one-sentence headline sure to grab all of the attention.
Quizzitch: What prison was the site of the largest jailbreak in British history – when 38 inmates, members of the Irish Republican Army, overpowered guards in 1983?