The Enduring Magic of Harry Potter, Teaching Civil Discourse to Kids, Movies This Weekend

Dr. Beatrice Groves on Harry Potter, Kacy Faulconer on Christmas music and books, Kristine Manwaring on chores and children, Dr. Tiffany Mitchell Patterson on teaching civil discourse to kids, and Rod Gustofson on movies coming out this weekend. The Enduring Magic of Harry Potter (00:00) Harry Potter has been around for 21 years now, and it doesn’t seem to be losing steam—with the addition of The Cursed Child, two theme parks, a few new mobile and video games, and of course the Fantastic Beasts film franchise, the Wizarding World is only expanding. But what’s the value in the Harry Potter books and universe? Why do people love them so much? Dr. Beatrice Groves, a Research Fellow at Trinity College, Oxford, and the author of Literary Allusion in Harry Potter, joins us to talk about all things Harry Potter—and particularly what worth the books have when compared to classic literature. You can find her on Twitter @beatricegroves1. Pop Culture (14:49) Show regular Kacy Faulconer and Lisa chat about all things pop culture, focusing on Christmas music and Christmas books. Doing Chores (51:23) If you were raised regularly participating in household chores, it can be easy to be surprised by those who were not, and vice versa: sometimes the way our parents did it can seem like the only way to do it. But are people who grew up doing chores better off? Are there real, actual benefits to raising kids with regular chores and responsibilities around the house? Kristine Manwaring was an adjunct faculty member in the School of Family Life at BYU for a few years. She has since gained a PhD in Instructional Psychology & Technology. She joins us to talk about the benefits of chores and how to help kids who may be resistant to responsibility. She is a mother of four and a grandmother of four. Teaching Civil Discourse (1:06:06) We live in a divided time—an America that feels particularly charged. And we’re not just divided about politics, we’re divided about everything, even whose fault it is that we’re divided! In such a toxic environment, how can we teach young people how to respectfully disagree? Dr. Tiffany Mitchell Patterson, an Assistant Professor of Secondary Social Studies at West Virginia University, joins us today to discuss seven ways to help teach kids how to engage respectfully and effectively with others when they disagree. Her research focuses on advocacy, activism, intersectionality, and social justice. You can read her original article on the topic here. Movies This Weekend (1:26:57) Producer Rod Gustafson and Lisa talk about the movies that are coming out this weekend, Creed II.