Teaching With Magic

About Teaching With Magic

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.

Publisher

Elise Cedeno

Category

education

Language

en

Explicit

No

First episode

17 May 2023

Latest episode

7 May 2025

Latest episodes

22 episodes in the feed.

1. 

   7 May 2025

   Andor and Abolition: with Kristi Riley

   Kristine Riley is a PhD candidate in the sociology program at the CUNY Graduate Center. Her studies focus on critical criminology, feminist theory, social justice, public policy, and popular culture. Her dissertation, currently titled “Breaking Glass, Making Prison: How carceral feminism shapes the prison nation,” examines the gendered political economy of the criminal legal system in the contemporary era of reform. She holds B.A.s in psychology and community studies from the University of California, Santa Cruz, a Master’s of Science in conflict resolution from the University of Oregon Law School, and a Master’s of Philosophy in Sociology from the CUNY Graduate Center. Since joining the GC, she’s held fellowships with Humanities New York and the GC’s Center for the Humanities. Before becoming a Fellow with TLC, Kristi spent a decade working in criminal legal services, policy, research, and system reform. I first encountered Kristi's work on Visible Pedagogy (https://vp.commons.gc.cuny.edu/), a blog site run by the Teaching and Learning Center at the CUNY Graduate Center. Visible Pedagogy is a blog dedicated to advancing and expanding conversations about teaching and learning at CUNY. The staff of the Teaching & Learning Center, Contributing Writers, and CUNY faculty, staff, and students collaboratively author the blog. Kristi's series analyzes the Star Wars: Andor series from the lens of abolition and pedagogy: a study of educational practices as they relate to institutional racism, antislavery movements, and the prison industrial complex. Abolitionist pedagogy asks us to imagine and engage in pedagogical praxes “beyond carceral logics of the current penal and criminal justice systems” (Feliciano, Talisa). Abolitionist pedagogy, broadly put, asks us to examine the systemic practices in education that reflect and directly lead to incarceration, from punitive, no-tolerance practices to racist individuals and school cultures that actively put Black, Brown, immigrant, and queer children in prison. Kristine effectively argues that Andor is uniquely situated to criticize our current systems, but also cautions us to reflect on and improve our practices so that we can develop pedagogical strategies that rely on "trusted relationships and not threats of punishment." For more resources on abolitionist pedagogy, check out the following: Critical Resistance: https://criticalresistance.org/ – Abolitionist Educators Workgroups: https://criticalresistance.org/abolitionist-educators-workgroup/ -Ruth Wilson Gilmore: https://www.gc.cuny.edu/people/ruth-wilson-gilmore -Dylan Rodriguez: https://linktr.ee/dylanrodriguez73 scallywag -Mariame Kaba: https://mariamekaba.com/ Angela Davis

2. 

   25 Feb 2025

   Part of a Legacy

   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 live-action filmmaking has changed what was once an entertaining story to an examination of the gritty, traumatic memories of a child in war. Research has shown that the brain, particularly the adolescent brain, drastically changes in the face of trauma and war. As a result, learning and schooling are negatively impacted when faced with continuous trauma. A recent study showed that more than two-thirds of children in the United States have or will experience trauma before the age of sixteen and that this number is likely to increase because 140,000 children have lost a caregiver to COVID-19 in recent years (Ernest, B. W., Reaves, M. & Smith, R., 2022). Many schools and universities have adopted trauma-informed teaching strategies after the COVID-19 pandemic and refugee crises. Still, it can be difficult for educators to imagine what children need in the long term to respond to trauma, as opposed to quick fixes that address negative behaviors at the moment. This presentation will examine Ahsoka's character arc and education as an apprentice to her role as Master to Sabine. I will compare evidence from episodes in The Clone Wars and Ahsoka to educational research to determine how the Clone Wars impacted her learning and apprenticeship. I seek to answer the following questions: 1. How did the constant stress of war and the need to make quick decisions impact Ahsoka's education? 2. How did the trauma of the war impact Ahsoka's apprenticeship with Anakin Skywalker, and consequently her role as Master in teaching Sabine Wren? 3. How can narrative inquiry into fictional stories inform teaching practices and methods in real-world classrooms in the "post-pandemic" era?

3. 

   21 Jan 2025

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

   For books about witches and wizards for young adults, visit https://tinyurl.com/H5B-hpalt (https://tinyurl.com/H5B-hpalt) For Sci-Fi and Fantasy books by Queer authors, visit https://tinyurl.com/H5B-scifi (https://tinyurl.com/H5B-scifi) For Sci-Fi and Fantasy books with Black Protagonists, visit https://tinyurl.com/H5B-blackscifi (https://tinyurl.com/H5B-blackscifi) 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 history, she teaches various courses in World History, Modern European History, the history of science, and historiography. She is the author and editor of several Harry Potter chapters, essays, and books, including Harry Potter for Nerds Vol. II and Potterversity: Essays Exploring The World of Harry Potter. In today's episode, we will reference an essay that Katy wrote for the journal The History Teacher, a publication by the Society for History Education, Inc. In this essay, Katy discusses the lost art of effective lecturing. She uses Hogwarts' History of Magic Professor Binns as an example of the importance of active listening and teaching history.

Reach and audience

Public platform figures. Ratings count people who left a rating, not total listeners.

YouTube views

484

Score snapshot 15 Sept 2025

Apple Podcasts (US)

5.0 / 5

6 ratings

Spotify

5.0 / 5

2 ratings

Podcast Authority Score: 63 / 100

A composite of feed quality, social presence, YouTube performance and engagement. Read the methodology.

Quality

59

Social presence

91

YouTube

64

Engagement

60

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Guest appearances

Books guests

Based on episode analysis; this does not confirm that the show is currently accepting guests.