Teaching With Magic

Feb 24 2025 21 ep. 57 mins 1
Teaching With Magic Podcast artwork

Teaching with Magic explores fantasy literature, pop culture, literacy, and teaching. This audio blog researches how fictional and real-life teachers make magic in the classroom. We use narrative inquiry to explore teachers in fantasy literature, as well as conducting interviews with other educators and researchers in the fantasy field. You'll hear us talk about J.R.R. Tolkien, Star Wars, The Chronicles of Narnia, Harry Potter, and other wonderful stories that resonate with teachers and students alike.

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Part of a Legacy

Feb 24 2025 24 mins  
The recent release of Ahsoka in live-action has been a delight to fans of The Clone Wars series, the Prequel films, and Star Wars: Rebels. But, while this show has captivated audiences everywhere, it has also emphasized a gradual change in a beloved character. The episode "Shadow Warrior" was an emotional flashback to Ahsoka's participation in the Clone Wars, and the

Professor Binns and the Lost Art of Lecturing: with Dr. Katy McDaniel

Jan 26 2025 96 mins  
For Witch and Wizard School Stories, visit https://tinyurl.com/H5B-hpalt For resources on reading Harry Potter after 2020, visit https://hpafter2020.com/ Today's guest is Dr. Katy McDaniel, co-host of Potterversity: A Potter Studies Podcast. Katy is an Andrew U. Thomas Professor of History at Marietta College in Marietta Ohio. While she specializes in early modern British hi

The Core of the Original

Dec 16 2024 75 mins  
Happy Holidays from Teaching with Magic! The holidays are here, and there are some days when the students (and teachers!) want to just kick back and watch a movie. If you're watching a film adaptation of the class novel, then this episode will help you consider the language of adaptation theory and ways that you can inspire your students to think creatively about the text, critiqu

I Wisely Started with a Map: with Dr. Stentor Danielson

Nov 11 2024 97 mins  
Today's guest is Dr. Stentor Danielson of Slippery Rock University. Stentor specializes in Cultural Geography, Environmental Ethics and Justice, and Wildfire Management. Their research interests often merge their love of cultural geography and J.R.R. Tolkien, with peer-reviewed articles in the Journal of Tolkien Research and some new publications on the way!

Moons and Maths: Teaching Fantastic Math and Science with Dr. Kristine Larsen

Sep 03 2024 42 mins  
Hello and welcome back to another episode and a new "Teaching With Magic" season! Our first guest is the incredible Dr. Kristine Larsen, astronomy and physics professor and pop culture extraordinaire. Kristine teaches courses at Central Connecticut State University. She is heavily involved in science outreach and serves on the Board of Advisors and as co-leader of the Solar Obser

Season 1 Finale: The Teachers with Magic Panel Discussion

Apr 01 2024 132 mins  
Hello all, and THANK YOU for your unwavering support of the Teaching With Magic Project! I am so pleased to introduce the season one finale, a panel discussion with several friends of the Podcast who share their perspectives on the current state of teaching. We talk about the joys and the hardships of teaching and teaching fantasy, and we talk about some of the images and tropes th

The Meta Episode- Podcasting and Learning with Dr. Corey Olsen

Feb 26 2024 52 mins  
Today's episode is all about podcasting! How do podcasting and audio make learning accessible? What do podcasts, streaming, and J.R.R. Tolkien have in common? Learn the answers to these questions and more as Teaching with Magic discusses the beginnings of Signum University, the Mythgard Institute, and the Tolkien Professor with Signum University President Dr. Corey Olsen! Dr.

Reading and Reflecting

Jan 16 2024 12 mins  
It's a New Year, which means that we have some new updates! This episode is an announcement and a call to action- we have lots of fun projects ahead of us, but we need your help to achieve them! First: The Teaching With Magic Discord is open to listeners. To join, click this link. If it expires, send us an email at [email protected] for a new link! Second: We n

Mischief Managed: with Dr. Lana Whited

Dec 11 2023 54 mins  
Meet Teacher with Magic Dr. Lana Whited! Lana edited the first collection of essays on the Harry Potter series, The Ivory Tower and Harry Potter (Missouri, 2002), as well as Critical Insights series volumes on the Harry Potter novels (2015, with M. Katherine Grimes) and the Hunger Games trilogy (2016). Dr. Whited is the director of the Boone Honors Program and professor of English

How Do You Solve a Problem Like Grendel's Mother? Teaching Beowulf with Dr. Larry Swain

Nov 13 2023 68 mins  
Beowulf has been on the shelves and graced many a high school and university English syllabus... but why is it taught, and why should we continue to teach it? This episode features Dr. Larry Swain, coeditor of the upcoming "Teaching Beowulf: Practical Approaches" from Medieval Institute Publications. As any true teacher would, Larry turned the questions and concerns that his studen