The Witch Trials of J.K. Rowling: A new podcast with J.K. Rowling

[patricio]

The Witch Trials of J.K. Rowling is an audio documentary produced by The Free Press that examines some of the most contentious conflicts of our time through the life and career of the world’s most successful author. In conversation with host Megan Phelps-Roper, J.K. Rowling speaks with unprecedented candor and depth about the controversies surrounding her—from book bans to debates on gender and sex. The series also examines the forces propelling this moment in history, through interviews with Rowling’s supporters and critics, journalists, historians, clinicians, and more.

In an essay to announce the podcast, host Phelps-Roper wrote:

Rowling was ready for the conversation I had suggested—and she had many things to discuss. Her experience of escaping a physically and psychologically abusive marriage. The origin story of “Harry Potter,” and its relevance to the conflict Rowling is embroiled in today. And the details of how—and why—she came to drop a “hand grenade into Twitter” with her tweets in 2020.

Rowling told me that she took that step with full knowledge of the magnitude of the backlash her statements would cause.

“I never set out to upset anyone,” she told me. “However, I was not uncomfortable with getting off my pedestal.” Of the fans who accused Rowling of “ruining her legacy,” the author said: “You could not have misunderstood me more profoundly.”

Megan Phelps-Roper is a writer, host, and producer with The Free Press. Born and raised in the Westboro Baptist Church, Megan left a life of religious extremism in 2012. She has spent the past decade using her experiences to work with schools on anti-bullying campaigns, with law enforcement organizations investigating deradicalization, and with tech companies on the intersection of safety, free speech, and the value of dialogue across ideological divides. Her journey has been chronicled in The New Yorker, a trio of BBC documentaries, a TED talk, and her memoir Unfollow.

The Witch Trials of J.K. Rowling will begin on Tuesday, February 21, everywhere podcasts are available.

[Moscambilhas]

Looks very intriguing and interesting!

[patricio]

The first two episodes have been published. I worked on a transcription of J.K. Rowling parts. You can read them here (episode 1) and here (episode 2).

We know more about the relationship with her ex husband and how abusive he was and a new bit about the first photocopy of the original manuscript of Philosopher's Stone. My favourite quotes are from the second episode though, about Dumbledore and Snape:

In my worldview, conscience speaks in a very small and inconvenient voice, and it’s normally saying to you “think again, look more deeply, consider this.” And I was struck early on actually in the “Potter” phenomenon by how the two characters that cause the most furious debate, and I’m actually using the word furious quite literally there at times, were Dumbledore and Snape. People wanted Dumbledore to be perfect. He’s deeply flawed. But to me, [Transcription by TheRowlingLibrary.com] he is an exemplar of goodness. He did wrong. He learnt. He grew wise. But he has to make the difficult decisions that people in the real world have to make. Very difficult decisions.

Meanwhile, you have Snape. Incontrovertible a bully, he can be mean, he can be sadistic, he’s bitter. But he is courageous. He is determined to make good what[Transcription by TheRowlingLibrary.com] he did terribly wrong. And without him, disaster would have occurred. And I have had fans really angry at me for not categorizing Snape in particular. Just wanting clarity in simplicity, let’s just agree this is a really bad guy. And I’m thinking when I can’t agree with you because I know him. But also I can’t agree with you, full stop, because people can be deeply flawed.

[RTafuri]

I enjoyed the episodes. The second one is more of a history lesson for younger fans, but still good, and it seems to pave the way for the podcast's true intents coming in future episodes. Being an older fan myself, I lived through most of the hate in the early 2000s. Again, I would recommend anyone to watch the magnificent BBC documentary JK Rowling: Harry Potter and Me, which first aired in December 2001, and greatly adds to the whole point of the first two episodes of Witch Trials.